Fading Echo

I bought the scale online for twenty bucks or so, so it ain't that mysterious.

And the shell belonged to a Paryphanta or Powelliphanta snail, fairly obviously due to the unique appearance of their shell. That actually makes the whole story way weirder, because I found it nowhere near anyplace that it might have been stolen from or found naturally.

Oh wow, that's pretty!

And you found that with two semi precious stones?! Sounds like someone helped themselves to some illegal souvenirs.

As for the scales, I think that's a sentimental thing. My grandpa used to sell grain and he had some antique brass scales with iron weights on display but I was never allowed to touch them because the acid in human skin would tarnish the brass.

Some pretty random souvenirs, though. There was a shard of polished shell in there too, which makes a quartet of items too random to be nicked off any single shop/museum display. Not that there were any plausible shops/museums for miles in any direction. And I repeat, they were buried under a tree out back of a public toilet. Weirdest thing I've ever seen.

And the scales aren't antique by any stretch of the imagination. Look more like some B-grade decoration piece than anything else.