The elves didn't know what to do with the ring. They didn't want to become braggy like Dess. So they read one of the papers to see the effects:
This is the Sapphire of Wisdom. It will make you much smarter, but it will severely reduce your physical strength.
"Oof," Anthony commented. "Doesn't sound good. By the way, I CALL IT!!"
Cade and Gerald agreed. Anthony had the least physical strength and the most smarts. He was one of the smartest elves on the globe. It wouldn't be much of a problem if Anthony switched physical for mental strength.
As Anthony put it on, he immediately fell to his knees and said, "Weak, yep, definitely weak here. HELP!"
Gerald then helped Anthony up and slipped the ring off.
"I think I just have to get used to it," Anthony said after taking a quick breather. "Here, give me the ring back."
Gerald gave it back, and started leading the group to a nearby elvin village, since he couldn't get any food in the woods.
When they got within two hundred yards of the village, each of them got a sharp needle of pain in their head. They wondered why until they saw a pillar of shadows rising up into the sky. They ran into the village to see what was happening, and they saw a girl with dark hair, shadows in her palms, and dirty, torn clothes. She was fighting a group of people--it looked like a gang--and she was losing.
"Should we help?" Cade asked Gerald and Anthony. "I mean, she's in trouble, and obviously, she's losing."
"Well, duh," Anthony responded.
"Yeah, let's go," Gerald agreed.
"YAAAAAA!!" was their battle cry.
The girl didn't notice them at first, and she kept fighting. But when she did, she asked them, "What are you doing??"
"We're trying to help you idiot," Gerald said, annoyed. "Wait, is it not good to call someone an idiot when you're helping them?"
The girl did not laugh.
Just then, the gang charged. The girl shot beams of darkness straight at them. Gerald and Cade let loose a thunderstorm. Anthony was shouting strategies at them. In time, the entire gang was dead.
"Come on!" Cade shouted as he opened a portal back to their camp. "Before anyone sees our faces!"
The girl hesitated, looked back, then jumped into the portal with the fellow elves.