"Actually, I was helping him test two rings that had already been tested," Luke responded. "So technically, that was still just Zack's turn."
"He is right Mark..." Max said, eyeing his twin. It was almost like Max was telepathically communicating with Mark, reminding him that he still got a turn after helping Mark with the two-in-one ring.
Mark signed and raised both of his hand palms forward, "Your right... your right. Go ahead Luke."
Luke turned back to the box of rings, unsure of which to choose. "You know..." He stated his thoughts aloud, "This does not seem to be as organized as you guys thought."
Mark considered that. "Well, I still think there is a system of organization, but who is to say that all of the rings are in the spots they should be. Just think... the person who gave you the rings might have mixed up a few to keep things interesting."
Luke frowned. His friend's guess was as good as any. Some of the rings had effects comparable to one in their row, and other did not. Looking back at the box, he gazed over the other options, which were still numerous.
O O O O O
O O O O O
O O O O
O O O
O O O O O
O O O O O
They had seen the effects of eight rings, from most of the columns, but no one had yet to take from the sixth. Luke whispered to himself, "Should I brave one of the last column's rings, try one from one of the others, or use a different one from the ones we've already used?" Luke rubbed the sides of his head in frustration. Brainstorming and theorizing was not his strong suite.
Luke grabbed a ring from the second column. It felt surprisingly heavy in his palm, and appeared to be made of silvery metal. It did not have any jewels, only one rune or symbol etched into the top. "Um... we know this column tends to ruin clothes. Can you turn around while I get out of these."
Mark and Max smiled sheepeishly but turned around so their friend would not get embarrassed. Max and his new twin brother, Jack, were slower to turn around. At first, it seemed like they tried to turn in opposite directions, making them nearly topple over. Zack whispered something, that Luke could not hear, and they managed to shuffle around and face one of the walls.
As Luke undressed, he wondered about Zack and Jack. When he volunteered to use the two-in-one ring with Zack, their joint body felt like it was split down the middle. He could only move and feel everything on his 'half' of the body, just how Mark and Max had explained earlier. Thankfully he and Zack did not try to walk anywhere. He wondered if Zack and Jack could now only feel their 'half' of the body.
Luke shrugged his shoulders, tabling his racing thoughts for now. He slipped the silvery metallic ring onto his left index finger. Instantly, he felt the power of the ring flow up his arm and through out his body. His skin felt like it was burning away, leaving golden-green scales. His bones cracked loudly, forcing him to all fours. His head and neck felt like they was being stretched forward.
Luke stared, amazed at his hands. The fingers were blending together, leaving only three with long black claws. His arms were leanly muscled. He realized that his legs were also blending together, into a single elongated appendage. He looked behind him, taking advantage of his longer neck. His legs were gone, and in their place was a single snake-like tale. Finally, two massive bat-like wings sprouted from his spine.
Luke looked down at his friends, realizing just how much bigger he'd grown. He still fit inside his bedroom, but he had taken much of the room. Max and Mark wore matching expression of awe. "Your a dragon!" they exclaimed together. Zack and Jack were on the floor; they must have fallen when trying to turn to see the transformation.
"A dragon? Why do I have a long snake-body then?"
Mark answered mater of factly, "Dude, there are tones of dragons in myths, and they all look different. But... I think you are a Norse dragon."
"Norse?" Jack asked. "You mean a viking dragon?" Zack continued.
"Yeah, you look kind of like a Lindworm." Mark had already seemed to have found a photo of the mythological dragon.
"Okay, well I better turn back for now. It feels cramped in here." Luke said.
Guessing that Luke wanted them to turn around, Mark and Max helped their younger brothers back up. With all of the facing away, Luke pried off the ring. Within minutes he was back to himself and re-dressed.
"Okay, so is that a dragon, Lindworm ring?" All five of them were in a circle, and Luke held the silvery metallic ring in the center.
Max shook his head, "I don't think so. We've seen four rings that completely transform a person into some kind of creature." He began listing, "A serpent-lion thing, a dragon, a hydra, and a living tree."
"A treant." Mark clarified. "The living tree was a treant."
"I don't think so. There are walking, talking trees in myths too." Max continued. "Any ways, I have a feeling that those rings are not so specific. We obviously won't know until someone tried them on again, but I think that they turn the wearer into a creature from those myths. Maybe they even turn a person into a creature that best represents their personality, from those myths."
"Cool!" Zack and Jack said at the same time. Zack snatched the ring from Luke's open palm and held it between himself and Jack. "If we wore this one, we could turn into a two-headed Lindworm." Zack excitedly said to his twin.
"Or we could be a two-headed giant. I think those were in Norse myths." Jack matched his twin's expression.
"Not so fast tweebs!" Zack grabbed the ring from them.
They protested, "Hey!"
"Its my turn next." Mark then turned to his own twin. "I think your idea is worth a shot. We could have rings from Norse, Greek/Roman, Egyptian, and some other culture."