Gem Puzzle — Steve Elliott

Kar has decided to show his feelings for Ama by surprising her with a present. With Zea in tow as a dubious Gift Consultant, he ventures into a jeweler's store to choose something appropriate. When he decides that nothing he sees would be sufficiently distinctive for Ama, the store owner shows him a unique item. It's a fragment of a marvelous gem and Kar is given directions to where the rest of it may be found. Recruiting an unsuspecting Ama on a discovery mission, the trio uncover a mysterious stone map which leads them into a series of perplexing and dangerous traps. During their journey, Zea discovers a most amazing and unwelcome truth about herself. She unearths a previously unsuspected ability, one which she never dreamed would be possible. Finally, after solving the various life-threatening puzzles along the way, and escaping a hideous magical entity, they encounter the ultimate riddle, in the shape of a lock that can't be opened except by the most bizarre method imaginable.