No Halo, No Wings

38 - The Ring of Connection

Chapter 38

"And now Seniors, please follow me," The staff from the museum gestured for all of us to follow her. We all did as she took a right turn. When we were all in place with Rachiel and Rogziel on either side of me and all other students around us, we paid attention to the weird artifacts encased in thick glasses. The guide waved her hand on the artifacts, all of which looked like precious stones.

"These are the precious stones discovered by a mining company and was donated to the museum for their preservation. Now you kids may find it to be just like other precious stones that are molded to become your parents' engagement rings, but what makes these stones different, unique, special and rare are that they can't be molded, no matter how much hot lava you pour on it or how strong you'd strike it with a diamond, they won't get a scratch and still remain in their original shape."

I heard the other students groan out of boredom. A lot of artifacts were already shown to us, from robes, crowns, staffs, to jewelries, masks, tombs and now this. Just like the ones before, all of us found it boring, but don't have the guts to make a single comment out of it, mainly because of the grumpy tour guide with the big eyes that we had right now.

But among all the artifacts showcased, what peaked my interest were these stones, 3 of them, to be specific. Of course, the others before were also described as 'unique' and 'enchanted', most especially the tombs and crowns. I even wondered on why these stones were not described as enchanted when among all the artifacts they are the most 'wicked-looking' and seemed like they came straight from a charmcaster's bag.

The tour guide stepped beside the first glass box encasing a weird green stone in it. The stone was placed in a piece of cloth, and it looked like an ordinary stone with green paint poured all over it. In front of the glass box a small parchment was attached bearing the name of the stone, and despite the fact that it was impossible for a human to read it from where I was standing, I was still able to, without much effort.

And it read, La Vida, and I have no idea what it means.

"This children," The tour guide said. "Is the La Vida in Spanish, and in English, it is translated as Life. This is the stone of Life."

I stared at the stone. Green, fitting for it's name, Life. Why would the mining company bother donating these kind of stones and give it weird names?

"This next one children," The tour guide continued, gesturing for the next stone, which was charcoal-black in color, like a rotten wood. "Is the La Muerte, the stone of Death."

I gulped at the description. Now that's creepy. Why do I suddenly feel something weird towards the stone? It's like they're all possessed with evil spirits.

"This last one, children," The tour guide went on. "Is the stone of Protection. Apparently, this last one wasn't discovered by the same mining company. The Shield Mining Company found this stone mixed with other precious stones, and like the first two, didn't deform when dipped in hot lava or even get a scratch, so they also donated it here and asked for it to be named somewhat synonymous to their company. Thus the name, protection."

"Do the stones have some sort of effect on people based on their names?" A student in the front asked, probably intrigued with the stones too.

The tour guide looked at him before answering. "These stones weren't originally donated in this museum. The mining companies donated these first in a museum in Los Angeles and were passed from one museum to another until it ended here. For what reason, that we don't know."

With that, the tour guide proceeded to the next artifact, instructing the students to follow her. But Rachiel, Rogziel and I, being the sneaky students, left the group and hid behind one of the statues and waited for the group to proceed to the next article before we got out.