- "These rings are brass and engraved with the purple dragon symbol of the Obarskyr royal family. The Purple Dragons use these rings to protect the royal family from assassination attempts by poison. Over 4,000 of these rings have been made. Rings with similar functions are in common circulation, created for nobles or merchants fearing poison."
- -Purple Dragon Ring, item description
Cristoff entered his father's room without bothering to knock. It had been a long journey from the Sword Coast back to Thunderstone, and the young monster hunter was short on patience. And besides, he had never been one for courtesy and niceties. While Ludoff, his father, was a respectful Chauntean and the gods-fearing head of the household, Cristoff had always been the rebellious disappointment of the family.
Cristoff realized he resented returning home. He remembered how his father had tried to make him stay on the farm as a lad. He recalled his father's skepticism when Cristoff had said he was going to stay with the Purple Dragons. "If you can't follow my rules, what makes you think you can follow all of theirs? You'll be back after training." Cristoff could imagine Ludoff's snide smirk even now. That smirk was one of the things that had made him stubbornly stay with the Purple Dragons for sixteen years.
"So I've got to die to get you to come back, eh?" Ludoff, thin and emaciated from sickness and old age, gazed at Cristoff from his bed.
"If you'd had your way, I'd have lived and died on this damned farm," Cristoff retorted. "I got no interest in following in your footsteps."
Ludoff chuckled. "So what danger has my idiot son been courting recently?" Cristoff's brow furrowed; his father had never expressed an interest in his work before.
"You know I left the Purple Dragons last year. Since then, been making decent coin killing monsters for people." Cristoff answered grudgingly. "Taken on a contract with a paladin recently, actually. He's got some stupid rules, but he's also got coin. Rich family, apparently."
His father's amusement faded and he regarded his son with a grave expression. "What kind of work are you doing for this paladin?" He asked softly.
Cristoff looked at his father oddly, and was tempted to ask why in the Hells he cared. He chose to answer instead. "Something to do with his church. Hunting down some evildoers and whatnot. He also wants me to help him hunt some devils, but we're going to have to talk serious coin for that kind of trouble."
Ludoff regarded his son quietly for several long moments. "You've felt the touch of a god on your shoulder," he said after examining Cristoff's face.
Cristoff considered himself a hard man to surprise, but when his father made his observation, Cristoff had to struggle to keep his face straight. "How did you know that?"
"Well, first off, I couldn't see you putting up with a paladin's rules unless you thought there was something to them." His father chuckled. "And secondly, I've met a paladin. If the one you're working for is anything like the one I met, it would be enough to change a man." Ludoff paused, remembering quietly. Then he said, "I think you should keep working for this paladin. You're doing the work of the gods."
Cristoff stared at his father. "Where is this coming from? Since when did you want me doing this kind of work at all?"
"I would still prefer for you to stay on this farm and do Chauntea’s work," Ludoff responded. "I'm your father, Cristoff. The first thing I want for you, always, is for you to be safe." He reached for a small box on his bedstand. "To be a fighting man is not a safe and happy path, as you know. And to be a righteous man is even less so." He opened the box and held it out to Cristoff.
Cristoff picked up the Purple Dragon ring within the box and examined it closely. It was an original, not a reproduction, meaning that the ring once belonged to a Purple Dragon charged with protecting the royal family of Cormyr. Cristoff realized he’d never asked his father about his past, had never been interested. He looked at his father for several silent moments. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" he finally asked.
"It's not a life I could wish for my children," Ludoff said simply. "I never wanted you to live a fighting man's life, my old life. But if you have chosen for yourself to walk with the righteous, then I must give you my blessing."
Then Cristoff asked his father about his life, and the two men spoke until it ended.
Hidden: show