CHAPTER 21: Purpose

"I'm in your head, you beautiful idiot. And I can there's a lot more to you in here than hanging about with goblins, I can tell you that." The voice was smooth, low, the voice of a suave man in the common tongue. It was accented, though. In a way close to what I'd once heard called 'cockney', too.

"How are you speaking to me?" I asked in Common. "Have I gone crazy?"

"You're not crazy. Well. You did just lead a siege against a town using goblins. That's insane. But I can see that the leader goblin had you over a barrel. He's a lot stronger than you, by the way. You were wondering who's stronger? Well it's him. And by a LONG shot, too, mate. Now let's get the f*** outta here." I couldn't argue with foul-mouth about putting some serious distance between the caves and myself. "And quit your chin wagging, will you? You're talking out loud. I'm in your head, see. You can just think at me."

"Okay," I said mentally. "So, what do you want?"

"Well, first things first, I don't want to hang 'round no goblins. I get they're the right height and all, but they're way too ugly for a beautiful lass such as yourself." My cheeks blushed a little at that.

"Can you…err…can you see me?"

"I'll have you know that my vision is QUITE a bit better than yours, as it turns out. Yes, I can see you. I could even see those goblins in the darkness, and I tried to warn you, too, now didn't I?" I thought back to the gut feeling that I'd had about that goblin crew. If I hadn't gotten out my shield before that scrap had begun, or if Threepaw and I had walked right into them instead of stopping… I didn't want to think about it.

"So, you warned me," I thought. I began walking south, going slow so I could pay attention to my surroundings and still have my mental conversation.

"Well, I have always been a champion of the little guy" said the voice. I caught the tone of a joke, but it went over my head. "Now mind you, that didn't make it no easier to see them villagers getting offed. You may have had a grudge, but I don't see that as no reason to betray common folk. You side with monsters against peasants again, I'll do a lot more than make your hand hurt."

I flexed and stretched my hand as I walked while I considered his words. "It was you who did that. That was kind of a jerk move." I thought about the Ring of Mind Shielding. 'prevents others from magically using unwanted telepathy…'

"I can tell what you're trying to do." Came the unbidden voice of the man. "It's no good. You're stuck with me. Names Ander, by the way. Ander Tealeaf." I sighed inwardly then, as well as out loud. The voice made no reply.

"Alright, Ander. So how did you get trapped in the ring?"

"Funny you should ask, love. As it just so happens, when you die wearing the ring, your soul hops inside of it. I'm not trapped in here exactly. I can leave any time I want. But why would I? And where the heck could you think you're walking to, anyway?"

"Actually, I'm not really sure, Ander." Having left the goblin caves far behind, I stopped my steps and took a rest against a tree. "Ander Tealeaf… your name… and your accent… Are you a halfling?"

"HOBBIT. I am a HOBBIT and proud. Bit rude to be calling people names. 'Specially not racist ones!"

"I- I- I'm sorry!" I stammered, "I just always hear that-"

"Hahaha" His laughter was a relief, and at the same time irritated me a little. "Just pulling your leg, dear! We 'Halflings' call ourselves Hobbits. 'Halfling' is just a human word for it in the common tongue."

"Oh." I said, understanding. "So, what do you call humans in your language?"

"Dire Halfling," he said. It was my turn to laugh. I'll say this for Ander, he was charming as we talked and walked. I grew comfortable with his presence oddly fast. He told me a bit about his life as an adventurer. I told him that I was wanted on some trumped-up charges, and he was extremely sympathetic. "What you gotta do is head to a big city. Get lost in the crowd. Much less suspicious than being the only one out in the woods."

"I don't know… they seemed to recognize me pretty easily from the wanted poster…:

"Yeah," said Ander Dryly. "Have you thought about maybe – oh, I don't know. Wearing your hair different? Maybe NOT going back to the scene of the crime dressed EXACTLY as when you stole from them in broad daylight?" Hmm. He made a good point. "What we need to do is get you a good set of clothes. Mind you, I'm a fan of the way that leather armor looks on you. But you know, you CAN wear clothes AND armor. You can even wear clothes OVER your armor to hide it. Especially these cold coming winter months when there's nothing wrong with a fine bird such as yourself wearing layers?"

"Oh! I do have clothes!" Suddenly I had the set of clothes from the 'Criminal' background in my hands. They were dark and hooded.

"Just how DO you keep doing that?!" Exclaimed Anders. "I've got to say, I've seen some fancy finger work before but I knew the second that I saw you start swiping into a portable hole or magic bag or WHATEVER you got that we'd be friends." I explained my inventory to him – and that meant explaining a little about the system. He didn't believe it at first, but he was in my head. He probably either could tell that I was being truthful or just wanted to humor me. As an experiment, I popped the ring itself in my inventory.

"What about now? I asked. "Can you see where you are?" There was no response. I popped the ring back out and returned it to my finger, asking him quickly, "What was it like in there?"

"Nothing." he said. I made a disappointed little 'humph' sound and he went on. "No, you don't get it. It was like being nowhere. Even when I'm not on your hand, I can see where I am. But in there… there was just nothingness. I don't think I like it. Do me a favor, love: don't put me in there unless you truly must. If you've gotta run to the loo, just put me into your pocket. Or I can promise not to peek – not that I'd want to. Okay?" It was a reasonable request, so I did both. I made Anders promise not to look and put him in a pocket as I got some soap out of my inventory to wash off the smell of goblin. With the ring tucked away, I washed a little, but the smell wasn't bothering me as much. I suddenly recognized my own change in attitude and realized what was happening. After changing into the black clothes putting everything else into my inventory but the ring, I put it on my finger. I felt a lot more comfortable now that I was clean, but I was beginning to wonder if these feelings were really mine.

"Ander, you said you hated goblins and liked people. And I can hear you in my head. Have you been influencing me? Trying to change my thoughts?" I asked.

"No! He began. "No, it's not like that! …but I know what you're talking about. I can tell how you feel a bit, but I'm not TRYING to make you feel some type of way." He was silent for a moment. "Well… let me just put it like this. I WAS trying to warn you that I could see those goblins ahead in the darkness last night. I was trying to speak to you, but you couldn't hear me. You felt me all the same, didn't you? I can feel you're worried right now, but you don't have to be. I'm not trying to control you; you've just been feeling a bit of what I've been feeling. And the same thing is going around the other way."

"Okay." I said. "I want to trust you. I need to put you back into my inventory for a bit, though, just to clear my head." I took the ring off my finger to his protest.

"No, you don't HAVE to d-" and then as the ring was off my finger, held in my hand, he went silent. The ring disappeared silently as he went into my inventory. I told Ander about the system. A lot about it, as a matter of fact. One thing I didn't tell him, though, was that I could ask it questions. It was intelligent. As far as I knew, the System had never lied to me.

"System, this magic item can talk. Where did it come from? Is it a real person?"

*ting!* The system told me then. It told me how my magic item rewards weren't created by the system – they were just gathered by it. The ring had existed somewhere unclaimed for years and the system just teleported it to me. Anders Tealeaf had been a real person. The system even told me a little more about sentient items, when I probed further.

"Is he in my head? I mean, I can hear him. He says that he's not trying to control me. Can I trust him?"

*ting!* "Rarely, certain types of magic items have their own awareness, alignment and personality. Such items have the ability to communicate with their wielder through words, thoughts or emotions." Safe to say Ander couldn't speak out loud, though he did seem to be able to hear me. He obviously could communicate through thoughts and emotions, though. The system went on, "If a conflict arises between the item's purpose and the user's actions, the item may attempt a battle of wills, pitting its CHARISMA against the user's." One thing I knew about Ander Tealeaf, he was a charismatic guy. I don't know precisely what his CHARISMA score must be like, but the mind inside the ring was a self-described 'silver tongued rogue', and I didn't want to risk it.

"What happens if I lose this contest of wills?", I asked.

*ting!* "After winning such a battle, a sentient item, such as the ring, may insist that the user do one or more of the following; wear the ring constantly, dispose of anything that offends the personality of the ring, pursue the item's PURPOSE above all else, or even forfeit the ring to another creature." Great. I had been walking aimlessly for a bit, and decided to sit and take it all in. On the one hand, it meant that the ring hadn't been controlling me. He was telling the truth about this emotional spillover. On the other hand, though, it meant that if Anders and I had a falling out, he could try and control me at that point. Then the system told me even more bad news. "If you refuse to meet such demands after losing this contest, the ring may choose to do any or all of the following: remove the users attunement, suppress its own abilities, or attempt to possess the owner."

"Geeze! I'll have to hope it doesn't come to that. Please let me know if you think I'm about to do something to 'conflict with his purpose' – or if he says something that you know isn't true! One other thing: System, you said that the item had a 'purpose'. What is his purpose?"

*ting!* "Unknown."

"Great." I said, exasperated. "That doesn't leave me with much, but at least I know where Anders and I stand." Being cranky wouldn't help anything, though. "I do appreciate it, System. Thank you." Then I had another thought. "System, can Anders hear you?"

"No."

Nice. I had a bit of an edge, anyway. I need to get on the ring's good side. Given how persuasive Anders can be, I could use a little advantage. Something to help my own persuasiveness. I could use a little… "Guidance!" I say. The spell takes hold and I'm hoping that it will help butter Ander up. I placed the Ring of Mind Shielding back onto my finger. "Anders, can you hear me? Are you okay?" I said, trying to sound thoughtful.

"I'm here. I'm fine. I wish you wouldn't do that, though." I didn't need this starting off on the wrong foot.

"I'm sorry," I said to smooth things over. "I just needed to take a minute – the thought of you in my head, your voice and your feelings… well, you have to know how I feel." He was silent for a moment.

"I get it. See, though, I told you, It's not like that." He said pleadingly.

"And I believe you!" I cut in. "And I'm sorry. I'll really try not to put you away. I just needed a minute to wrap my head around things, like I said. Truly, I can't imagine what it's like, being a ring. I don't know what I'd want out of life, for instance. It must be hard, being in there and wondering about your sense of PURPOSE." Oh man, this had better work.

"Well, I appreciate you saying so. I do suppose that there are still some things I want in this world." Yes! Now we're getting to it. He went on, "I don't suppose you've ever even SEEN a hobbit woman before, though. You know they're really quite beautiful, once you get past the –"

"I'm not dating a tiny woman for you, Anders." Conflict be damned. He chuckled a little, though and, feeling bolder, I went on, "Although, maybe there's something else? Maybe if we talked about what you really want, I could help. It's not as though I really have anywhere to be." Somehow, even though the words weren't perfect, I could tell they'd do. My tone wasn't pleading, just helpful and nonchalant, and it seemed like it resonated with Ander.

"Heh he heh. Well, as far as hobbit girls, it was worth a try. But I hear what you're trying to say, love, and I'm moved. Let me level with you. I'm not exactly a good guy. Not a bad one, mind you. Somewhere in the middle. And I don't mind none that you took what you could from the town near the river. Like I said before, that was some nice work with the crowbar. Any idiot could bash through the door to an herbalists shoppe and clean 'em out. But if you had a set of lockpicks that I could help talk you through a lock with, and with your little 'inventory', you'd be a truly rare talent for the cause of kleptomania…

*ahem* I coughed to get his attention.

"Right, right. Purpose. So, it's like this, love. I grew up poor. I'd say dirt poor, but I didn't even have dirt. Because of that, I've always ALWAYS looked out for the little guy. I'm not asking you to help old ladies cross the street, but as I've said, I won't be silent while the common folk are downtrodden. Just look out for the little guy, love. Look out for the little guy." That was… doable. And it gave me an idea…

"Anders, I've got my own purpose. I want to get stronger. You know how I told you about the system? Well, I want to use it to beat tougher opponents until I'm much more powerful. Powerful enough to protect myself. Strong enough to be able to do what I want. I'll look out for the little guy along the way. And while I'm at it, I'll take the big guy down a peg when I can. Sound good?"

"Music to my ears!" Came the smooth tone. "Now about that city…" The 'city' he was talking about was no place I'd ever heard. Mind you, I haven't travelled further than the woods I'm in, but I have studied, and thanks to my Keen Mind, I have some Sword Coast maps memorized. When I explained it to him, he was nearly speechless. "What do you mean the SWORD COAST? How the heck did I get here? I died far and away. In a dungeon in the jungles of Chult, see. Well, no sense in 'wondering about the weave'. My advice still stands, though. We go to the closest large city. With our heads, we'll make it our own. Where's the closest big city? Has to be big enough to blend in, mind you. And I wouldn't mind if it was a little warmer."

"What do you care about temperature? Luskan is a town not too far, and I'd blend in, I bet, but it's even further north and colder as we reach higher altitude. Then again, Neverwinter is on the coast and even bigger."

"The bigger the better. Neverwinter, eh? Does that mean it's never winter there? Does it have Hobbit girls? And a nightlife?"

"Not like you'd hope for, I'm sure. It's big, but there's one town that's even bigger. There's only one place that has what you're looking for within a long distance, then." I said. "And it's exciting enough. Plus, there will be monsters that I can fight. I know that for sure. It's farther south on the coast. Through the woods and crags and on the roads. It would take weeks, even if we had horses. You up for that, city boy?"

"We'll be alright." He said. "We may even … he heh … ACQUIRE some horses on the way. I'm an easy companion. I don't eat much, after all."

Now I finally had a reason to trudge onward. A purpose and a destination. We were headed to Waterdeep.