Aragorn's interest piqued. "Rings? What do you mean?"
With a swift motion, Aragorn removed the ring from her neck, and the dark energy dissipated. The woman collapsed, exhausted but free.
Aragorn recognized the ring as one of the mysterious artifacts forged by Sauron's craftsmen. "You're under his sway, aren't you?" he accused.
Aragorn nodded. "I am. I've been tracking a darkness that threatens these lands. Tell me, Thorne, what's been happening here?"
Thorne glanced around nervously before leaning in. "It's the forest. People have gone in to gather wood or hunt, and they haven't come back. We've heard whispers of shadowy figures lurking just beyond the treeline. And then, there are the...the rings."