You knock on the door. The sounds from inside the house stop. You still smell charcoal, the windchime makes a clanking noise.

"Hello?" A woman's voice calls from inside, wary but not overly so. "Who is it?"

You call back. "Uh, I'm kinda lost? Could I maybe use your phone?"

You can hear the person approaching the door. She opens it a crack, hinges wheezing. The smell of charcoal becomes overwhelming. The woman in front of you looks like she's in her 60's. You can't see much of what she's wearing other than a heavy looking apron. She has long, yellow gray hair tied back in a braid, and cold blue eyes. She looks you up and down before telling you "Phone's for customers only." She waits.

"Oh, well uhm, I lost my wallet at some point? My phone too, and I really just need to make a quick phone call..." she doesn't move a muscle, and you trail off.

"We take barter."

Barter? What do you have besides the clothes on your back? Then you remember the weird pendant you got from somewhere. Maybe a quirky club giving them out instead of wrist bands? You don't know or care. You pull it out from under your t-shirt and you think you see a hastily suppressed gleam in the woman's eye. In a split second she's stoic again, though, and you're not sure whether you imagined it. And yet, she swings the door open saying, "Come on in."

The house is really more like one room cottage. You spot a small kitchen in the back, an old looking couch to your right, and something resembling an armoire to your left. The kitchen window is wide open and you see an extension cord running from an outlet to the outside. You're relieved to see an old corded phone handing on the wall.

"This way, this way," the woman says, ushering you toward the armoire. "I am Ksenija. Business first, then you may use the phone as you like." You notice the doors of the armoire are carved with bird's feathers, and the feet are shaped like little talons. A quirky piece of furniture for sure. You're a little uneasy, but you need the phone. The woman swings open both of the doors at once- a little flourish of showmanship. You're relieved and a little annoyed to see that the cabinet is full of shitty jewelry just like your necklace. Pendants of various materials hanging from different kinds of chains or leather strings. You even spot some kind of feather tied to what looks like a shoelace. The woman opens drawers below to show you a collection of rings and bracelets too. She looks at you expectantly.

"Wow," you say, and mean it, although not necessarily in a positive way. "So, uh, Xenia, I can choose from all of this?" The woman's lips quirk at your pronunciation of her name but she looks pleased overall.

"Anything you like in exchange for that amulet of yours." Amulet? Whatever. She's obviously a weird lady who makes her own jewelry. You peruse her wares and make small talk, trying to make it look like you're being picky.

"So, do you sell this stuff in stores, or like advertise or anything? I have to tell my friends about this." She's watching you closely, but not hostilely.

"I have an Etsy store."

You bite off a reply and make a generic noise.

"Sometimes I take my best pieces up to the town, on market day. They always sell."

"That's great," you reply, examining a chunky ring that looks like it was made from melted down aluminum foil. Some inscrutable design was stamped into the top, off-center.

"That one's one of my favorites," the Ksenija says, still watching you. "Melted from a piece one of Kozyrev's own devices. My mother was friends with Dr. Petrova, you see. Although she left Russia soon after the experiments."

"Wow." You say again, unable to think of anything else. "Well, I'm sold! I'll take it. My... amulet for your ring. And a phone call."

Ksenija has that greedy look in her eye again, and her smile is a little manic-looking. She turns toward the armoire and starts to pull the ring from its placing. Its obvious now that she really, really wants your amulet.