[ooc: You're trying your best to make this awfully complicated, aren't you?
]
John glares impatiently at Jack, while Arthur glances up from his seat. "The requirements are as follows. Ahem.
1) The ring's owner must not intentionally allow the ring to leave his care. Care is defined as on his person or within arm's reach. 2) The ring's owner must not intentionally allow anyone but himself to handle the ring, with the exception of the apprentice upon final transfer of the ring. 3) No third party may be involved in the transfer of the ring. 4) If any of these conditions exist without the will and/or intent of the owner, he is obligated to do his utmost to correct them, even at cost of his life. 5) If any of these conditions exist with the will and/or intent of the owner, or if he does not act to correct them, he shall be subject to such punishment as the ruling Guild board shall determine; ownership of the ring and any other related rights shall devolve on a party chosen by the board. It's pretty simple. If he abandons it on purpose, he's punished and someone else is appointed. If it wasn't under his control, he's obligated to regain possession of it."
D (aside to Jack) "From what I've seen of the guild in question, they take the possession and handling of apprenticeship rings very seriously, even when there is no enchantment involved. For a ring like this, which is obviously very heavily guarded, it's probably a very touchy matter."
Arthur "If you're thinking about any alternate means of getting the ring into my possession, remember that I'm forbidden to accept it and would have to return it to John. If you're thinking about further study on the ring, that's something that would have to be negotiated after I receive it, as John's forbidden to permit you to handle it. Frankly, I understand that the rules are quite blunt; but remember that our guild values its traditions very highly, and apprenticeship rings are among the oldest and most revered traditions we hold to. Besides, the sooner we resolve this, the sooner you can finish the detection spell and we can get on with our plans."