A wooden pawn on the stone grid

A tiny clack... then silence. I paused. Wide-eyed. Right across the cool carved stone of the outdoor chess table sat a solitary wooden pawn, worn smooth and rounded at the top. I inched forward, leaning my weight against its polished flank. A soft wobble... then roll! It tipped and spun in a lazy circle across the chiseled squares. Oh... my breath caught. I gave it another firm nudge with my side. Clack-clack-roll. It rattled across the engraved lines and dropped into a shallow hollow in the stone, settling with a hollow thud. I blinked, pausing in quiet awe at the noise I made.