[Valeria, Witch of Angmar]

Valeria bristled at Dire Lance's words. Her lip curled and she prepared to say something to him, when Derakis got up silently and left.

She watched him go. It seemed as though everyone she'd found was suddenly leaving...Maybe they had the right idea. Perhaps she had stayed too long.

Valeria turned back to Dire Lance. "You say you want to know about my ring, sir," she said. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I fear it is nothing like your own gem. Since you so wish to hear about it, though," and she held up her hand, "I will oblige you in that request."

"In the first few months after I left the Citadel, I soon fell in with a company of warriors. They traveled a portion of the countryside, defending small villages and settlements from a growing number of orc raids."

"I fell in love with one of the men in that band. He was the first person I ever told that I am a witch. I feared he would reject me, but instead he said that his mother had been a sorceress of a kind and that magic had come to his aid in the past. He saw no reason to fear it and no reason to fear me."

"I traveled with him and the others for several weeks. One day, as we approached a town to bargain for supplies, we saw a mass of orcs coming down out of the hills, headed for the town. I made to ride with the company and do battle with them, but my love held me back."

"He told me not go. I demanded to know why, and he said that he had dreamed of this. In the dream, I had ridden off to this very battle and had died. He said he would not have that and bade me ride off to where we had camped the previous night and he would meet me there as soon as he was able."

"I nearly refused, until he took this ring off of a chain he wore at his throat. He said it had belonged to his mother, the sorceress, and that it protected him. He hoped it would in turn protect me."

"I told him I could not take such a family treasure from him and made to give it back. Before I could, he slid it onto my hand and told me to ride. There was such command in his voice, it was like a spell in itself and I rode fast back to our old camp."

"When night fell and none of the company had returned, I started to ride back to the village. It was midnight when I reached it. The place was burned to the ground and the bodies of orc and man were strewn about. I searched the dead for my love but did not find him."

"Frantic, I rode to the next village and begged for news of the battle. The villagers there said that members of the company had passed through. Not long after I had ridden away from my beloved, a second group of orcs, far outnumbering my company, appeared from behind the hills on the other side of the village. The company was caught between and many perished. Those that did not die were grieviously hurt."

"The survivors had passed through the village where I then was, getting what supplies they could and riding fast away for fear of pursuit. One man told me that some of those who lived were so badly wounded that he did not expect them to live much longer. No one could tell me if my love was among the survivors."

Valeria's eyes seemed to reflect the firelight as much as the red gem on her hand. "I know not if my love lies in unmarked grave that I shall never find, or if he lives and yet battles on, on unknown field that may become his unmarked grave."

Valeria stood up, standing straight and proud. "I am tired of this not knowing. You asked for the tale of my ring, stranger, and I have given it. I have appreciated the hospitality of this place, but fear I have tarried too long. May whatever powers you believe in keep you safe. I go to find my love."

She turned away from the table, placing some coins on the bar as she left. She passed out the door and to the stables where she mounted her horse, Lestrata. Horse and rider raced into the dark.

Cold wind snapped Valeria's hair like a midnight flag. A single snowflake drifted down from above.