The jewelry shop owner's eyes dully tracked him as he browsed the main display, as if attempting to bore a hole in stone by means of dripping water. This stranger wore a black hood and cloak that overshadowed his face and wrapped his entire body. The cloaked man slowly extended his arm towards the display, revealing his quivering hand, which was not cold, skeletal, or frightening in any sense. Finally, he picked up one of the many Rings that sat gleaming before him inside the glass case. He stood firmly in place, glancing nervously back and forth between the owner of the shop and the glittering golden Rings. His rasping, wraithlike voice chimed like a broken clock.
"Sir? I need help."
The owner meandered towards the stranger's location and asked what the problem was.
"When I came into this shop, it was because I was drawn to the Ring. But now, I am drawn not only to the Ring I am holding, but also to the ones in the case. I am unable to move as a result."
The owner chewed his jaw excessively for several minutes. There hung between them a silence whose awkward quality rivaled that of the duck-billed platypus.
"Sir? If you don't do something soon, I may begin spinning around."
"You're not a bright one, are you?"
"I'm dark and evil and I serve the One Ring and my master Sauron, its forger."
"Forgery's a capital offense."
The owner started chewing his jaw again. The Wraith King, now human, followed his word and began to spin around, unsure of which Ring or Rings drew more heavily upon him. At that moment, another figure entered the shop. It took one look at the spinning Wraith King and slapped its forehead so hard that the original bump from earlier nearly opened.
"You imbecile! Stop spinning around!"
The Nazgul turned towards Sauron, and a horrifically cheesy grin breached his face.
"By Hell, you've started smiling! DESIST! You look like Saruman puked up a cat!"
The grin faded, and once again the face was shadowed in pure blackness.
"That's better. Now look here. I exerted my will upon you for years, bending you to the power of the One Ring. You are deeply drawn to it, so much that you can sense its presence. You were psychologically battered until you craved only the Ring. Tell me, what in Hell are you doing here staring at imitations?"
"I...was confused."
"RIDICULOUS! You have passed through the Great Oblivion and returned, just as I have. If you weren't so single-minded in the previous life, you wouldn't be so psychologically screwed up now. You're here because your craving for the Ring lived on while your ability to sense its true presence faded. You saw the Rings and you entered this shop, and now you're...spinning in circles. Come with me."
Sauron grabbed the Nazgul lord by the hand and dragged him out of the shop.
The owner picked up and stared down the barrel of a revolver while chewing his jaw. 5 minutes passed.
"...nah. Not yet."
"Sir? I need help."
The owner meandered towards the stranger's location and asked what the problem was.
"When I came into this shop, it was because I was drawn to the Ring. But now, I am drawn not only to the Ring I am holding, but also to the ones in the case. I am unable to move as a result."
The owner chewed his jaw excessively for several minutes. There hung between them a silence whose awkward quality rivaled that of the duck-billed platypus.
"Sir? If you don't do something soon, I may begin spinning around."
"You're not a bright one, are you?"
"I'm dark and evil and I serve the One Ring and my master Sauron, its forger."
"Forgery's a capital offense."
The owner started chewing his jaw again. The Wraith King, now human, followed his word and began to spin around, unsure of which Ring or Rings drew more heavily upon him. At that moment, another figure entered the shop. It took one look at the spinning Wraith King and slapped its forehead so hard that the original bump from earlier nearly opened.
"You imbecile! Stop spinning around!"
The Nazgul turned towards Sauron, and a horrifically cheesy grin breached his face.
"By Hell, you've started smiling! DESIST! You look like Saruman puked up a cat!"
The grin faded, and once again the face was shadowed in pure blackness.
"That's better. Now look here. I exerted my will upon you for years, bending you to the power of the One Ring. You are deeply drawn to it, so much that you can sense its presence. You were psychologically battered until you craved only the Ring. Tell me, what in Hell are you doing here staring at imitations?"
"I...was confused."
"RIDICULOUS! You have passed through the Great Oblivion and returned, just as I have. If you weren't so single-minded in the previous life, you wouldn't be so psychologically screwed up now. You're here because your craving for the Ring lived on while your ability to sense its true presence faded. You saw the Rings and you entered this shop, and now you're...spinning in circles. Come with me."
Sauron grabbed the Nazgul lord by the hand and dragged him out of the shop.
The owner picked up and stared down the barrel of a revolver while chewing his jaw. 5 minutes passed.
"...nah. Not yet."