A Score of Sundry Rings

[Tucked in a dim and lightless dungeon, a small casket of aloeswood is opened -- and handfuls of rings tumble free. Magical? Cursed? Or simply small objects of wonder ...?]


1. A broad ivory band etched with hundreds of tiny runes picked out in cinnabar

2. Two “ropes” of silver and gold wire, twisted together and tied into a square knot; the silver rope tipped in gold, the gold in silver

3. A heavy signet carved from a single piece of carnelian, its bezel etched with the device of a long-extinct noble line – a crane with a rose in its beak

4. A braided band of hair from a dragon's mane, bound with thin black iron rings

5. A plain gold band inlaid with twinned clusters of grapes, mosaic style, of amethyst and green tourmaline

6. A thin and flickering “band” of brilliant scarlet flame, magically bound together; pleasantly warm, it does not actually burn

7. Two conjoined rings of electrum, meant to be worn on adjacent fingers; atop the join is set a cluster of dog's-tooth pearls in the shape of a rosette

8. A smooth, weighty band of highly polished black iron; the inside surfaced is etched in silver with arcane runes that read “Yours Ever”

9. A smooth, iridescent naga's scale, shaped and bent into the form of a ring and trimmed with delicate gold wire

10. A band of tortoiseshell, inlaid in electrum with a repeating and esoteric symbol resembling a predator's fang

11. A ring of smooth-polished bloodwood, unadorned; a tiny hidden compartment contains three seeds

12. Three golden rings – one for each joint of the finger – linked by delicate golden chains; the least ring is mounted with a long, curved spur or claw of white coral that arcs over the fingertip

13. Endlessly-looping miniscule clockworks of brass and crystal, held in a frame of mirror-bright steel

14. Twenty round beads of emerald and sapphire, threaded on a heavy golden wire

15. Seven motes of brilliantly-coloured light orbiting in a tiny circle

16. A malachite serpent with tiny golden eyes, biting its own golden-plumed tail

17. A tiny, perfect, and ever-living rose vine, its blossoms deep velvety black

18. A pair of intertwined bands of greenstone, cradling a sphere of transparent golden amber

19. A circlet of fresh blood, held intact within a magical field

20. A plain silver band, cool to the touch and perpetually coated in frost