Snippet #2265339

Slanu had not been sure about stepping up, but after the responses of the others, he was glad that he had. He took the agreement of both Valinor and Gunvald as his go-ahead to take one of the rings... He looked at the two remaining. It was a simple choice; did he want the one encased in rock, or the one that was not? His better judgement told him that the ring that was encased in stone was not wearable, and therefore not much of a danger for overpowering Slanu's will. However, he wondered if he would be able to carry the damned thing without it dropping out of his pocket or something... But then, a thought came to his head. He already had a stone in his necklace, so why not just replace it with the ring-bearing stone instead?

With that matter being settled in his own head, he stepped forward and grabbed the ring that was encased in stone.. 'I'll be a rotten orc's bum before I lose one of these rings,' He thought to himself as he picked the ring up. Even though the stone encasing was not particularly bulgy, the combination still seemed rather heavy; as if it were not a ring at all, but a being all of its own. He supposed that, in a way, it was. He untied the knot on the back of his necklace, taking the stone that was already in the necklace out and slipping it into his pocket. He then wrapped the stone into the many knots of the necklace, enough so that it would take a good chisel or knife to hack through the many twisting ropes, and then firmly secured the back of it once more. The weight was immediately apparent, but in a way it was comforting; he felt a more pressing need for redemption, as if this was some sort of reminder that he would never be rid of until his task was done. Yes, he was satisfied with this, indeed. He stepped backwards to the spot he had been standing, his arms falling to his sides, and waited for someone to pick up the last ring bare ring.

To Valinor's promise, he simply replied, "Let us hope that your words will not be necessary." Indeed, Slanu hoped that none of the ring-bearers would be corrupted by the forces of these powerful entities.