An ancient artifact

Twigs and leaves crunch beneath your feet as you stroll along the rough, winding path. The trees hang close on either side, the light of the full moon filtering in through their branches.

Wanting to tread new ground, and perhaps delay your inevitable capture and return for a few hours longer, you diverge from the path. Pushing through a large bush, you weave between the trees for a while, letting your feet guide you.

You didn't know what you were looking for, but you certainly know when you find it. Suddenly, the trees open up and you find yourself in a glade, perhaps twenty paces across. The dew-coated grass shines beautifully in the moonlight, the long blades swaying gently in the breeze.

Noticing a peculiar boulder in the center of the clearing, you move closer to inspect it. Its features have been worn away by the wind and rain, but it's still recognizable as a lion's head, mane and all. It's roughly to scale (as near as you can tell by what you've read about the beasts, anyway), the face jutting out of the ground at a peculiar angle. You can't help but wonder if there's an entire statue underneath.

Somewhat curious, and **** for a task to occupy your addled mind, you pick up a flat stone and begin to dig. After you've cleared a few inches of dirt away from the lion's neck, your makeshift shovel hits a small, hard object, flinging it onto the ground several feet away. Retrieving it and brushing the dirt off, you can tell that it's a ring of some kind.

You can't help but laugh, grinning like an idiot as you hold your prize. Though it's too dark out here to tell if it's valuable or not, a ring is definitely treasure of a sort. Your childhood mission is finally accomplished... And just in time, too, you realize with a pang of sadness. This will probably be your last silly adventure into the wilderness.

Ring in hand and the lion statue forgotten, you slowly make your way back the way you came. After a few uncertain minutes you manage to find the path again, and begin the walk back to the manor. There's still a few hours of night left if you're any judge, so it's unlikely that anybody will notice your absence.

You manage to slip back into your chambers unnoticed, whereupon you light a few candles and stoking the dying fire. Kicking off the muddy boots, you retrieve a basin of water from your bathroom and set about cleaning the ring.