The Prince, the Thief & the Artifact

Chapter 3: The Artifact

Summer lived in the woods.

In a tiny shed she and Boyd had built years ago. Big enough to accommodate her cot, a few blankets, her books, a few pieces of clothing and a pot. She only went inside to sleep, and did almost everything else outside. Including taking a bath.

That evening, the creek was unusually cold. Water frozen needles on her skin, teeth chattering, she dove in one go then emerged. It didn't take long before her skin was finally desensitized to the chill. She rubbed her body and hair, then floated for a minute. The shed was deep enough in the woods that no one ever ventured its way, so she took her time and relaxed.

Her concerns, however, refused to stay at bay.

Her heart ached for Rose and her son. He had been sick ever since he was born, one bout of illness after another. The worry had shaved years off her friend's life. And the physician was useless. The only good thing he did was put Rose in contact with the medication provider.

Time was running out. If Berry was too sick to travel like the physician said, maybe a doctor can come instead. But Summer knew from her experience in life that people never did anything out of the goodness of their heart.

Maybe she could travel, put a knife to some doctor's neck, and bring him down here under the threat of a sliced throat.

It was wishful thinking, though. Summer had never left this place. Boyd had taught her how to survive in the woods on nothing but what the earth offered. Travelling to places unknown would certainly be different.

"Bother, bother," she said out loud, staring at the darkening sky overhead. "This would be a perfect time for a miracle."

Unfortunately, the sky didn't open with avenging angels, nor did it rain riches on her. After a few minutes she stood on her feet again. "Well, all we can do now is have enough medicine to keep Berry alive. Until we figure something out. Hopefully."

Her eyes caught something bobbing along the water's surface. She moved closer, and snatched the unknown object out of the water. It was surprisingly heavy for such a small size. How could it be floating with such a weight?

It looked like a pendant. A fist-sized, round pendant. Its metal was an unusual shimmering blue. Its surface was engraved with ruins and odd symbols. But what interested Summer was the opaque white stone embedded in its center.

"A gemstone?"

She'd never seen one like it. But her experience with gemstones was limited to the sparkling pieces she saw in a jeweler's stall or adorning a woman's neck. They were all glass like and glittering. This stone was opaque and pure white. It looked more like a regular stone.

She touched it.

For a second, Summer felt her body's weight disappear- no, her body disappeared. For a split second, she felt like she was hanging midair looking down at the empty creek. The illusion lasted a blink and everything went back to normal with a whoosh of wind in her ears.

Summer blinked and shook her head. What the...?

It must be the hunger. It was making her hallucinate. She should have ate more than the loaf of bread she swept from the baker's stall.

"Hmm." Anyway, the white gemstone should be good enough. Maybe she could pawn it off tomorrow. She didn't like the pawnshop owner; he had untrustworthy eyes. But if he was willing to pay, she was willing to tolerate him.

***

Summer was the first person to set foot in the pawnshop. He presented his jewelry in a market stall in front of his shop by sunrise. So Summer was in his shop before then. It was a small square with a counter spanning the length of it, displaying various kinds of jewelry and knickknacks.