The Drums of Jeopardy the Drums of Jeopardy

Strange that every so often, despite the horror, he had to take them out and gaze at them. He sat down upon the stool, spread a towel across his knees, and opened the pouch. He drew out a roll of cotton wool, which he unrolled across the towel. Flames! Blue flames, red, yellow, violet, and green - precious stones, many of them with histories that reached back into the dim centuries, histories of murder and loot and envy.