The amulet was made out of bear poop. Or at least that's what I think the artist, a short hedgehog with pink quills, was trying to communicate. English wasn't really her first language, and she started miming something akin to a large creature with claws, hence the bear. The amulet smelled kind of funny, and the crystal it was made from was brown, like poop. I put some cash into her hand and went off with it.
According to the artist, or at least what I think she was trying to mime for me, the amulet was supposed to protect me from evil spirits. Or was it supposed to draw evil spirits toward me? I wouldn't have minded either way, and for the price that I paid I don't feel like I could have been disappointed. Maybe she didn't make it herself after all, and imported these amulets from a sweatshop in China. Maybe the amulet wasn't even made out of precious stone, but rather plastic. Either way, I didn't feel like finding out. I stuck the amulet in my pocket, and forgot about it for a while, which I think is why I must have lost it along with my pants down in a hotel fifty miles away. But that is another story for another time.