"That's it," Peter said, eyes wide as he slowly reached down and took the peculiar object from its bony cradle.

Peter felt a slight tingle as he touched it, and shuddered involuntarily.

"Something wrong?" Frankie asked. Nothing got past her.

"I'm...not sure," Peter said.

"What do we call this artifact?" Ina asked.

"There is a a southeast Asian legend regarding a wish-  fulfilling jewel known as the Cintamani Stone," Peter said. "It is most often depicted in Buddhist scripture, on Tibetan prayer flags and the like as a spherical blue gem. But it is but a myth, and I've never found evidence that it actually exists. Even though this artifact hales from somewhere in Africa or the Middle East, perhaps we can call it our C...

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