Feats of Clay
In Cairo, three thieves break into a mansion, looking for a valuable urn. One picks the urn up and a symbol on it glows and disappears. Clay Muniz, one of the thieves, takes possession of the urn and the three plan to meet up in San Francisco. The Guardian of the Urn appears to another of the thieves, Wesley, and places a spider on his chest. The spider delivers a fatal bite as Clay and Palmer escape. Palmer is the only one who witnesses Wesley's death. Three days later, Clay appears at the Halliwell Manor; he turns out to be an ex-boyfriend of Phoebe.
The sisters are talking at Quake when a waiter, Doug, drops some glasses. Piper freezes him and saves the glasses. Doug's girlfriend, Shelly, also works at Quake. She has dumped him, he's a wreck and he's constantly dropping dishes. Feeling sorry for the man, Piper decides to help him out instead of firing him like she should have.
Clay and Phoebe catch up before Clay mentions about the urn, which he is hoping for Prue to sell it via Buckland's. Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster had skimmed off so much in auction proceeds that a bank forced Buckland's into bankruptcy and sent Claire Pryce to run it. Claire wants to move $1.2 million of merchandise the next day, or she will close Buckland's. Clay brings the urn in, and Phoebe talks Prue into selling it. Clay bumps into Palmer, who mentions the urn in front of Phoebe.
After finally feeling tired of cleaning up for Doug, Piper casts a spell to boost his confidence. She and Phoebe walk into Quake and find Doug shaking a cocktail and with a half dozen girls fawning over him. Shelly looks on, jealous.
At the auction, Claire shows Prue that some files she recovered prove that the urn is stolen. Prue uses her power to switch the tags on the urn and a picture, and takes the object away. She meets Palmer in her office, who tells her of the curse on the urn. Prue uses telekinesis to move the urn, making Palmer believe that the curse is activating, and he runs out.
Buckland's has raised $1.28 million and Claire agrees to leave it open. Andy walks into Prue's office and tells her about Palmer. He had found Prue's business card on Palmer's body. The Guardian catches Wesley as he is about to skip town. She places a scorpion on his neck, which gives him a fatal sting. Prue tells Phoebe that the urn is stolen and cursed. Phoebe is reconnecting with Clay, though, and has a hard time believing Prue.
Phoebe confronts Clay about the urn and he admits the truth. He knows that Wesley and Palmer are dead, but had not known about the curse. Phoebe believes that Clay had brought the curse among her sisters. Later, Clay meets Phoebe at the manor and offers to take the urn and turn himself in to the police. Phoebe gets a vision and sees Clay confronting a giant cobra. At Buckland's, the Guardian appears to Clay, Phoebe and Prue. With Prue's telekinesis barely affecting the Guardian, the two sisters flee with Clay.
The three sisters consult the Book of Shadows, and find nothing about the urn — but that a curse for greed can be reversed by a selfless act. They come back down and find Clay gone. Clay has returned to Buckland's and offers himself to the Guardian. The Guardian throws down a glowing cord, which turns into a huge cobra. The sisters run in and Clay blocks the cobra from Phoebe. This selfless act redeems him. The Guardian disappears, and then so does the urn.
Piper has reversed the confidence spell and Doug is back to dropping dishes. He spills a tray in front of Shelly. Piper freezes him and Prue pulls an engagement ring out of his apron. Shelly finds the ring and Doug asks Shelley to marry him. She had given up on waiting for him to ask, but now they are reconciled. Clay walks in and asks if there is any chance Phoebe will return with him to New York. She tells him San Francisco is her home now.
Tropes
- Curse: The urn has a magical guardian that will kill anyone who steals it.
- Gone Horribly Right: The confidence spell Piper casts on Doug. It ends up making him too confident and charming, to the point he starts arranging dates with multiple women instead of proposing to the one he actually loves.
- The Klutz: Doug, a waiter at Quake, keeps on dropping things (usually plates). Piper is getting tired of freezing him all the time.
- The Matchmaker: Piper attempts to help Doug get back with Shelly, mostly because she's sick of him constantly knocking things over.
- New Old Flame: Clay for Phoebe.
- No-Sell: The guardian of the urn is not affected by Prue's telekinesis.
- Taking the Bullet: Clay leaps in front of Phoebe in order to protect her from a venomous snake. This selfless act also breaks the curse of the urn.
