Hi. I just registered because I have a question that I couldn't find an answer to in any of the FAQ's/Walkthroughs I looked through. Basically, this gnome claimed to be William Radcliffe, and I believed him, and gave him the ring, and now he's gone. That was awhile ago, and I'm starting to realize from the dialogue options that I can use to ask about it, that I should still have it. I checked some Walkthroughs and they all say "This guys lying. Don't give him the ring". But what if I did give him the ring? Is there any way to get it back now? I guess I can restart, I'm only level 3, but still. That would be a bit annoying.
Having the ring gives you the chance to sell it for 100 gold to its original owner later in the game, no actual impact on the game or storyline.
My good characters usually don't hand it to the gnome because they tend to keep it until they are sure they're giving it it to the rightful owner. My evil characters usually don't hand it to the gnome because they know there is a chance that he is indeed the rightful owner and giving him the ring would actually be a helpful thing, yuck. Besides, Ristezze offers more coin. My neutral characters usually do hand it to the gnome because they don't really give a crap about the whole affair and are glad to get rid of the ring as soon as possible.
I usually sell the ring to the old coot as gaining a positive reaction from him is as simple as continually saying to oppose unions.