These rings belong to Mario Luis de Guzman, a mage in the service of the constabulary of Nuevo Alvar. They are used to control certain magical duels within the city (ie, duels of a personal nature; duels between high-level wizards for control of a dominion or craft must, by law, take place outside the city). There are two rings, housed in a wooden box ornately carved with magical symbols. The rings, of gold filigree with an inset ruby, are of a size to fit most men comfortably on the small finger, and most ladies on the thumb.
Whenever two people want to duel within the city limits (which include the fields and woods outside of town), they choose their weapons: sword or other weapon, or magic. If they should choose magic, they are required by law to present themselves to the constabulary up to 24 hours before the duel is to take place. Mario Luis will prepare the rings, and will personally bring them to the chosen duelling site at the appointed time.
To prepare the rings, Mario Luis casts five spells onto the closed box. These spells are magically stored in both rings, in random order. During the duel, the wearer of the ring must only will the spells to be released.
Since most hot-headed Belcadiz duel to the death, Mario Luis typically enchants the rings with potentially deadly spells (see the Wizard's Spell Compendium; the DM may choose the exact spells). No spells which can cause a large amount of damage to the area, such as fireball or lightning bolt are used, and the spell levels are usually relatively low (no death spells or power words). Should neither dueller be killed, the one who has taken the least damage is declared the winner. Should both die, it is a draw. In some cases, Mario Luis has been asked to prepare the rings with non-deadly, or even amusing, spells for "quick-draw" contests and duel between friends simply to settle a score.
This item was created by the Princess's daughter, Maria de Belcadiz y Fedorias Velasquez, for her husband, Don Carlo Velasquez. Carlo is the secret head of F.A.E.R.Y., and is in the habit of leading midnight expeditions into Erewan territory. Afraid that Carlo would be captured by Erewan's E.L.F. faction, Maria created the Faery Mound.
The Mound is stored as a small, pebble-sized ball of an indeterminate hard, green substance. This ball radiates a strong aura of protective magic. Whenever the ball is tossed on the ground and the command word spoken, the ball erupts into a small hill, a "faery mound" which covers all creatures within a ten-foot radius, up to ten man-sized creatures. Within the mound, the space appears to be large enough for all occupants to stretch out comfortably; there is air, water, and soft ground on which to sleep. The area is protected by a silence spell, which permits those inside to converse normally without anyone outside the mound being able to hear them. However, the occupants can hear everything from outside normally.
Outside, the mound blends perfectly with its surroundings; it appears as a small hill, in a forest clearing. It can be walked on, stomped on, even slept on - those outside will have no idea that the hill is not what it appears to be; however, its protective aura can still be detected. If someone on the outside shoves a sword through the hill, he will withdraw it covered in nothing but dirt and grass.
The mound lasts until the command word is spoken again; at that time, it folds back up into the small green ball. The mound can be used as often as is needed; however, there is a 2% chance per use (non-cumulative) that the silence spell will fail, and that anyone outside will hear the occupants talking and laughing within.
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