Shaddeck listens to Pyior with an even expression and no interjections.
"Well, I don't know what your true intentions or motivations are," he says. "Either you're in this because of some sense of duty to protecting that region, or you're in it for whatever payment Iriana has offered you. Frankly, I don't particularly care to know your reasons.
"I'm not surprised that Iriana would send someone in her stead. She is weak. I don't know exactly why she has undertaken this endeavor to reclaim the Keep and the ring, but I would caution you not to accept her intentions as entirely pure or noble. I suspect she's only in it for the ring, and her claims to use it to secure the region are either outright lies or only half-truths intended to get the help she needed to push out the rhodin."
He pauses, studying each member of the group as if trying to read their souls.
"It was only by circumstance that I became aware of her activities. I had never had any intention of interfering, but when the ring practically fell into my possession I began to wonder just what she was up to. I have no personal interest in keeping the ring. Its magic, while powerful, is also tainted. I won't deny her the right to claim it, but as one old friendly rival to another, I decided to make her earn it without the help of her hired army. Hence, I placed it in the one place she most fears to go.
"The Ebonring is in Kisthmetch. If you still wish to claim it, then you need only prove yourselves worthy of that place's legacy. The resting place of the ring can only be found by those who have passed the test. What you do with it then is up to you - return it to Iriana, keep it for yourselves, or find some way to be rid of it. I just urge you to use your best judgement before handing it back over to a woman whose courage is at best left wanting."
