The Longing Ring — Christopher Kubasik

THE THIEF ADEPT
was an ork named Garlthik, pursued by a mighty magician betnt on reclaiming the ring the ork had stolen. With no other choice, Garlth4k entrusted both the magic ring and his own life _to J'role, a young man cursed by a terrifying burden, unwilling hbst to one ofthe Horrors which ages before had driven humans, elves, dwarves, and the like to seal themselves behind spell barriers. But now the age of hiding was over, and the search for the treasures of Thera was about to begin.

Hoping to free himself from the creature within by joining the ork on a quest, J'role abandoned his village for the lure of adventure. But possessed by his own Horror and the ring's seductive promise of a city of light, and pursued by enemies with far greater power than his own, ]'role was about to discover that there were far worse fates than staying at home....