On the nineteenth of October in the two-thousand-and-fourth year of the Second Age, Dr. Naugle visited Williams again after a long absence and went straight to Freddy’s dorm room. Accepting his offer of Earl Grey with a single mint leaf sweetened with honey, along with a second breakfast, Dr. Naugle asked Freddy for a look at his golden ring. When Dr. Naugle promptly threw it into the Sunbeam Hot Water Dispenser which had no exposed heating element, Freddy cried out, saying, “No, it’ll melt!”

“No,” said Dr. Naugle. “Not even a Sunbeam Hot Water Dispenser with an exposed heating element could melt this ring!” After a few moments, Dr. Naugle removed the ring and, telling Freddy that it was “quite cool,” he asked Freddy to look at it.

“There are markings here,” said Freddy. “I can’t make it out. It’s some form of Turabian. I can’t read it.”

“There are few who can,” said Dr. Naugle. “The language is that of servant-leadership-rhetoric. Translated into English it says, ‘One DBU Cross Ring to enslave them all’! Freddy, you have to take this ring to Dr. Bell’s office so we can all have a council. In the meantime, Dr. Denison sent me a message saying he wants to discuss the Transforming Vision with me. I’m outta here. Be at Dr. Bell’s office by next Monday.”

So, after throwing supplies for the journey (pens, pencils, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research by A. T. Robertson, three scantron sheets), Freddy left Williams with his friends Mary, Polly, and Sam, aiming for the cafeteria in Crowley.

Arriving at the Crowley cafeteria, Freddy, Sam, and Polly promptly ordered shepherd’s pie and sat down, looking suspiciously at all the tall upperclassmen. Mary joined them a few minutes later with a huge glass of chocolate milk. “What is that?” said Polly. “This is a pint,” said Mary. “Chocolate milk comes in pints? I’m getting one!” cried Polly.

A tall upperclassman suddenly sat down with them and said, “I’m from the DBU Snipe society. Call me Sniper. Dr. Naugle told me you have the DBU Cross Ring. The enemy has agents and servant leaders everywhere. Come with me and I’ll guide you to Dr. Bell’s office.”

“Ok,” said Freddy, disappointed with the shepherd’s pie and ready to hit the road. “Where are you taking us?” he asked.

“Into Turner Park!” replied Sniper.

After a long journey they reached the top of Turner park where they stopped to rest. Sam, Mary, and Polly made a fire to cook some bacon while Sniper explained to Freddy how they were being hotly chased by Blair Blackburn’s posse, who craved the DBU Cross Ring and its evil power.

Suddenly the posse was upon them, and Sniper told them all to run for their lives. As they raced towards Dr. Bell’s office the Blackburn posse called out to Freddy: “Come to Blair Blackburn’s office. Learn from Jamie Lash. Enjoy the chapel messages. We will make you into a servant leader. To Blair Blackburn’s office we will take you!”

“By Dorothy Patterson and Peggy Trammell the fair,” cried Freddy, “you shall have neither the DBU Cross Ring nor me!” The stress was all too much, and Freddy lost consciousness. He later woke up to hear Sniper explain how they had escaped into Dr. Bell’s office just in time. “You couldn’t have done much to fight them since you’re just a freshman,” said Sniper. “More deadly to them was the name of Dorothy Patterson.”

Dr. Naugle was there and they all sat down to a great Council. First he had to explain why he had not been around to help the four freshmen. “Dr. Denison has betrayed us. I got to Park Cities Baptist Church and he said to me, ‘I’m evil now. I’m against you. I’m holding you hostage here in the PCBC tower.’ Luckily, I escaped somehow and came here just a few minutes ago.”

Dr. Bell explained the importance of the DBU Cross Ring. “It was forged in the Mahler fountain, and it’s a sinister thing really. Besides being overpriced it turns anyone who wears it into a servant leader. It’s a very dangerous ring. The best thing to do is to get rid of it. For that purpose, we should chuck it into the Mahler fountain. Only there can it be unmade. But who will take the DBU Cross Ring on such a dangerous mission?”

“I will take the ring,” said Freddy, “though I do not know the way to the Mahler student center.”

“I’ll come with you, Freddy,” said Dr. Naugle. Also chosen to be a part of the Fellowship of the DBU Cross Ring were Mary, Polly, Sam, and Sniper. As the DBU Cross Ring was the foe of all DBU people, Josh was chosen to represent the music majors on the quest, and Jeremy Greenleaf was chosen to represent the philosophy majors; finally, Chris Crawford was chosen to represent Lange.

And so they set out. After they had been walking a few minutes, Dr. Naugle called a halt. “Denison has BGCT cars in the parking lots between the Mahler and Strickland,” said Dr. Naugle. “We’ll have to use an alternate route. How about chapel?”

“Chapel is dark,” said Sniper. “I don’t like it.”

“My cousin Bolin has been working with Glowing Heart,” said Josh. “We should go through chapel.” Eventually they reached a majority vote and decided to go through chapel.

But as they were sneaking through the Burg, the chapel speaker commented on how wonderful Glowing Heart’s style of worship was. “No!” cried Dr. Naugle. “Worship is a lifestyle!”

“It’s the Fellowship of the Cross Ring!” cried a trustee who was sitting in the front row. “Get them!” And so Dr. Naugle began to debate the chapel speaker about dualism while scores of trustees rushed at the Fellowship.

“I will lead you now!” said Sniper. And the eight escaped out through the north doors, but the trustees were not far behind. As they ran they wept for the loss of Dr. Naugle. Sniper led them to the safest place on campus: Gail Linam’s office. Here they were rested and the Gail Linam looked at each one of them and talked to them telepathically. “Hope remains while the company is true,” she told them. “I got presents for all of you. Freddy, you get a nice Christmas tree ornament that looks like starlight. Sniper, you get a new machete, but be sure to use it only on plants. Maybe you can get those overgrown bushes in front of Williams that Grounds Crew just never seems to get to.” She distributed gifts to almost everyone and then asked, “What would a music major ask of Dr. Linam?”

“I don’t know. Can we get a picture of me shaking hands with you or something? Make sure the camera can see your hair,” said Josh.

Finally they left. But it was only a few minutes before Chris Crawford said, “Hey Freddy, I decided I want to be a servant leader. Give me the DBU Cross Ring!”

“No,” said Freddy, “it’s evil, it corrupts its wearer.”

“Oh come on, it’ll be so much fun to turn it around when I graduate. You’re so mean. Ok, fine, well, I see those trustees finally caught up with us, I’ll go fend them off, you get on to the Mahler fountain. Bye, bye!”

Deeply disturbed by the way the DBU Cross Ring had made Chris Crawford want to be a servant leader, Freddy decided to go on alone, except for loyal Sam. So they left the others and went on alone.

PART TWO COMING JUST AS SOON AS IT’S WRITTEN. MAYBE WE’LL CALL IT “THE TWO CLOCK TOWERS.”