Year minus 2000-

  The person who found what would be called the Ring of Baldwin didn’t know what he

  had found. He had stumbled over it while running from a small monster trying to eat

  him. He dodged out of the way as the thing brought a forepaw shaped like a saucer

  down to pin him in place. He felt a shock as he was sent flying through the air.

  He landed at the end of a rut in the ground. He tried to catch his breath. He smiled at the

  realization that he could still breathe. He wouldn’t be visiting the underworld to work

  off some of his numerous sins.

  He still had to get away from the monster. It didn’t look like it was ready to give up,

  even rocked by what had just happened. It was a big boy, and demanded big food to

  quiet its stomach.

  He was determined not to be the dinner for his enemy.

  He picked himself up and started running. If he could lose the beast, he would circle

  around to take another look at the ring. Maybe there was some kind of magic he could

  use.

  He saw a line of trees ahead. If he could make that, he could use the trees as cover. The

  monster should be stalled enough that he might be able to elude it.

  It wouldn’t be the first time he had outraced a monster in the wild.

  He reached the tree line, and turned right. He ran under the branches, keeping an eye on

  the monster as it hit the first trees behind him. He nodded that it couldn’t just uproot the

  wider trunks to get at him faster.

  He paused to catch his breath, looking at the monster trailing along outside the woods.

  Its wide body was made for plains, or forests with more space to allow it to move

  around. A bunched in area like where he stood stymied it from just cutting him off and

  ripping him apart with the giant talons it sported.

  Maybe he should move on and find a place to camp out of range of the beast. Should he

  just leave the metal ring where it lay? What could he do with it?

  What should he do?

  He still had a tingling in his hands. He didn’t know what had caused that. Something

  from that artifact had lit up his bones. Maybe he could use it as some kind of defense

  from lesser monsters if he could get inside it without shocking himself again.

  Maybe he could move it to his village and use it as something to keep people out of his

  cabin.

  A shock like a lightning bolt would deter most people in the village from being too nosy

  about what he was doing.

  The monster paced up and down the tree line. It wasn’t giving up, and it wasn’t hunting

  slower food. How long did he have before it came into the trees after him, knocking the

  living barriers out of its way?

  He didn’t know if the ring was worth fighting a bull rock devil over. It could eat the

  ground out there and keep him away from the ring. He might have to leave and come

  back with some help to run it off.

  Would anyone want to help him over some artifact laying on the ground?

  He decided that no one would help him with this. He could go home and come back

  when he thought the monster had left to chase some other idiot caught in the open. He

  didn’t know how long that would take.

  He decided that he should get away from the monster and hope for the best. He would

  have to walk a big circle so he didn’t lead the rock devil back to the village. Maybe he

  could get some help, maybe not.

  He doubted anyone would believe him. He smiled. He wouldn’t if the shoe was on the

  other foot. You normally didn’t just outrun a rock devil. Usually you got gored to death

  by its horns.

  He worked his way slowly among the trees and moved beyond the attack range of the

  monster. He felt its beady eyes following him long after he lost sight of it.

  He started jogging when he had a wider path to run through the forest. He thought

  regular deer and other animals moved along the path, but kept away from the center.

  Maybe they had learned the consequences of running in the middle with something as

  big as a wagon coming up from behind.

  He hadn’t learned what would happen to him, but staying away from the center of the

  path was fine with him. He didn’t want to lose a chance to run away because he was out

  in the open and unable to get in the trees for cover.

  How many times had a little forethought saved his life? He had no idea.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  He hoped he didn’t run into that devil as it paced the trees out of sight as he jogged

  away. He doubted anyone from the village would want to go back to collect the ring. A

  monster like that was tough to hurt with the weapons they had among the villagers.

  He didn’t blame them, and he didn’t know why he had wandered so far from the walled

  town he grew up in and rarely left. He should have known better than travel the wilds

  without an adequate weapon. All he had on him was his work knife, which wouldn’t do

  much against a monster bigger than him, with a skin like stone.

  Maybe if he got lucky, he could poke out an eye with his knife.

  He laughed at himself. He had never been that lucky. Anything like that usually cost

  him more than what he wanted to spend.

  He saw a road through the veil of trees. He cut into the trees, looking for the monster.

  If he could get on the road, he had a straight shot to his village behind its wall.

  He stepped out on the road. He didn’t see the rock monster. It was probably still

  guarding the ring from anyone wanting to retrieve it. He started for the village. Once he

  was home, he would take a moment to celebrate his near death experience.

  Maybe he could get some people to go out and look at that ring. A power would be

  useful against the roaming monsters near the village. One major one breaking the wall

  would be a catastrophe.

  Sometimes they traveled in packs. The village had been lucky that the local animals

  were enough to keep the monsters moving. He feared sooner or later that luck would run

  out and they would have to face an invasion. A power might be enough to safeguard the

  place if that happened.

  He wished he had something that could be used to keep the village safe, but he was

  average to below average in every way. He laughed at the thought of being able to throw

  fireballs and killing enemies with a wave of his hand.

  That would be nice if he could handle some of the bigger monsters like that.

  He reached the gate. The watchman waved down at the gatekeeper to open it for him.

  They were two of the volunteer guards on duty. Everyone had a rotation at keeping

  watch and making sure the gate could be opened, or closed. The village didn’t have that

  many visitors, but some of the ones they did have had to be kept out.

  When he took a turn, and walked the top of the wall in the lookout. He slept the next

  day in his own bed, then went to work for his food the day after that. He thought it was

  a good routine to have.

  He had never had a problem when he walked the wall. He knew that could change, but

  doubted it. His village was just too poor and small to be bothered by the nearby

  kingdoms, and didn’t have enough for monsters to turn to sweep through it.

  On the other hand, both of those things could change based on how the weather went,

  and the hunting.

  They let him inside and he decided to head home. Tomorrow he had to be back working

  the small fields for the village. He had watch after that. The next day would see him

  sleep most of the day away.

  He heard shouts from the wall. He turned. What was going on? He saw the watchman

  on top of the wall shouting the alarm.

  What was going on?

  Something slammed into the gate. The lockbar cracked as the gate leaves were thrown

  against it from outside. The sound of the crash was like listening to a falling tree hitting

  the ground.

  He ran to the wall and climbed the ladder to get to the lookout. That was the safest place

  to be unless the thing could climb too. He looked down. The bull rock devil was

  backing up to do another charge.

  He groaned. The monster had followed him back to the village. If it got inside, it would

  wreck the town. Nothing they had would stand up to one of its charges at full speed.

  He had to do something about this before things got worse.

  He had to lead it away. He could do that. It had already followed him from the ring.

  It would follow him away from the village.

  He just had to act fast.

  “Let me borrow your sword,” he said. “I’m going to try to get it to follow me away from

  the village.”

  “Are you sure?,” asked the lookout. He unbuckled the weapon, and handed it over.

  “It’s the only thing to do,” he said. He buckled the sword belt around his waist. “There’s

  a magic ring out in the woods. I found it, and then this thing chased me away. It must

  have followed me home. Let’s see if it will follow me away.”

  “Be careful,” said the lookout.

  “I’m going to run for the hills and hope that it follows me,” he said. “Hopefully, I will

  be able to outrun it.”

  “Good luck,” said the lookout. “Bring me my sword back.”

  He smiled as he went to the ladder and slid down to the ground. He reached the gate as

  the monster slammed into it again. A couple more times and it would be in with them.

  He helped the gatekeeper lift the bar up and open the gate enough to get outside. The

  monster snorted when it saw him. Yes, it had followed him all the way home.

  He lifted his arms and waved them around as he shouted at the beast. Then he ran along

  the wall toward the trees. The monster gave chase, head down, horns out.

  It smashed into him with a cracking of bone and spraying blood. He flew across the

  ground and rolled to a stop. He groaned, unsure why he was still alive. At least he

  hadn’t been gored.

  He could see being stuck on a horn and swept through the air until he was thrown down

  and stomped on by the weight of the thing.

  He heard more crackling. He wondered what was going on. What was his body doing?

  He demanded it to lift him up so he could keep running.

  The stony monster rushed over and jerked him off the ground and flung him against

  the wall. He lay there in pain. He groaned as the monster stomped him a few more times.

  It snorted against his broken heap of a body. Then it turned and headed back into the

  forest. It had delivered its message. Stay out of its territory.

  He lay on the ground and wondered why he was still alive. He heard the crackling of his

  bones. He felt heat building up in his body as the cuts in his flesh closed.

  What was going on?

  Geoff Cantrell lifted his hand as his eye popped back together. He saw his fingers

  straighten in a cloud of haze. His vision cleared as more of his wounds repaired

  themselves.

  He thought it was because he had touched the ring and it had granted him some healing

  power. He wondered how long it would last.

  He was still wondering thousands of years and miles later.