“Hmm,” mused Ember, “these trees seem different. The grass is almost the same.” Aadi heard the magic stone’s voice; it appeared to emanate from a distance. His head felt heavy. He couldn’t open his eyes. Ember’s voice was faint, but clear. The stone continued voicing its train of thought, “There is little magic in the atmosphere. That’s certainly different. The concentration has reduced drastically, too.” Ember stopped speaking. The seconds went by. Just as Aadi began to wonder if something had gone wrong, the stone resumed speaking. “There’s a village over there,” Ember said, “It’s probably a considerable distance on foot. I wonder if Aadi knows the way.”
He tried to turn towards Ember’s voice, but his body didn’t budge. Aadi wanted to say something, anything, but his mouth didn’t oblige. “Am I unconscious?” he thought and wondered then, “Is this Ember’s mind?” He remembered how, in the cave, he had witnessed one of the stone’s memories and listened to it reminiscing about Aaron Flint’s past. “Is the same thing happening now?” Aadi thought and tried to focus on Ember’s voice. “I don’t sense any hostility nearby,” said Ember, apparently scouting their surroundings. He didn’t know how the stone was doing it, since it couldn’t fly or move on its own, at least as far as he knew.
“Maybe Ember’s using a spell,” Aadi thought. Ember said, “Things seem safe. Pity it’s night-time. Aadi can’t use a torch while dragging those bodies. Maybe…” The stone stopped again and this time, when it resumed, both Ember and Aadi seemed to speak simultaneously, “It’s better to wait until sunrise.” That surprised him! Neither his mouth nor his tongue had moved; of that he was certain. Yet, Aadi was equally sure that he had spoken. The magic stone was just as astounded. He felt Ember startle and turn. The stone had no physical form that he could see here, but he was sure that it fixed its gaze upon him. That confirmed Aadi’s hunch; he was sharing Ember’s mind indeed.
The magic stone said nothing and continued to stare at him. Moments later, he heard Ember ask gently, “Aadi?” That single word carried deep concern, which touched him. He wanted to reply energetically, but he couldn’t replicate his earlier feat. Aadi tried focusing his thoughts into a single word, “Yes,” and hoped Ember would hear it. Whether or not it did, Ember simply said, “Try to get up.” “Easier said than done,” thought Aadi, but he tried regardless. Suddenly, he felt weighed down. There were heavy things attached to him. Where he thought his eyes should be, he felt pressure bordering on pain!
“I can feel my limbs,” he thought. His arms and legs were nearly numb, just like his head. Gradually, he felt a tingling sensation in his nerves, which intensified with each passing second. A sudden warmth washed over him and he knew that he was in his own body again. His mind was his own. “I am still here though,” quipped Ember. Aadi sensed that he could see again, even though everything was still dark. “Open your eyes,” said Ember, pointing out the obvious. Aadi tried to say, “I am trying,” but his mouth felt stiff and dry. He made an effort to open his eyes and his eyelids slowly obeyed.
His surroundings were still dark, but the waxing moon in the sky shed enough light for him to see the trees, grass, and stones lying around. At least he knew that he was finally awake. His limbs tingled aggressively and Aadi wanted to do nothing but lie there for a good while. Ember was having none of it though. The stone exhorted, “Get up! Are you going to lie there all night? You aren’t that weak.” He wanted to squeeze the stone dry in reply. Ember read his thoughts and said, “You can’t. I am a stone. Magic too, just so you know.” Aadi snorted and his chest heaved in response. That movement filled him with some energy and he tried to get up again.
His limbs responded, albeit slowly and he rose on his elbows and knees. “Ouch,” said Aadi in response to his legs tingling sharply. As soon as his elbows took his torso’s weight, his upper arms prickled and he just wanted to lie down again. However, that meant listening to Ember’s exhortations. “I could give you a nice, long speech,” the stone remarked and Aadi grunted in reply. He used that to force his arms to raise his body and finally, sat on his thighs. Aadi heaved a sigh of relief. He felt his limbs burn lightly and gradually, that sensation subsided too.
With another grunt, he forced himself to his feet and raised his head, looking at the few stars in the night sky. “Are we in the forest back home?” he asked no one in particular and heard Ember answer, “I believe this is your home, yes.” Aadi looked for the magic stone and his eyes floated towards his right hand. He still held Ember firmly clasped therein and now, his fingers cramped. Quickly shifting the magic stone to his left hand, he gently relaxed his aching fingers and flexed them a few times. “Are you all right?” asked Ember and he replied, “I think so. It’s a little hard to take in.” “What is?” asked the magic stone and Aadi replied, “It’s hard for me to believe that I am back home.”
He felt Ember nod, but it said nothing further and Aadi looked around slowly, still wary of any aches and pains. None troubled him anymore and all around him, he sensed nary any danger. Then, he sought the bodies of his dear ones and the two hunters. He had prepared them for transport earlier, in the cave and had lost sight of them while focusing on his magic. The moonlight wasn’t bright enough to reveal the wrapped bodies, which were also partially hidden in the grass. Aadi didn’t despair though. His eyes might not be good enough in the night, but… “Over there,” said Ember and he followed the stone’s thought to a location just a few feet away from him.
Aadi couldn’t make anything out. He trusted Ember, though and confidently strode in that direction. Sure enough, there they were; the bodies of his father and best friend, along with Quince and Pati, neatly wrapped and tightly bound. He said to Ember, “Nicely spotted,” and felt the stone’s silent acknowledgement. Aadi couldn’t see any damage to the bodies from the teleportation magic, but the only way to be sure was to inspect them during the day. Ember interrupted his thoughts, “Where do you plan on waiting until then?” Aadi replied, “Here will be fine.” “In the open?” asked Ember and Aadi nodded. “Isn’t that dangerous?” questioned Ember and he replied, “No. There aren’t any dangerous animals around.” The stone said, “Not right now, but if you are asleep and…” Aadi interrupted it this time, “I will start a fire and we can camp by it. It is not going to rain tonight. The fire will keep any animals away. Besides, how heavy a sleeper do you think I am?”
He felt Ember struggling with its thoughts and suddenly, something occurred to him. Aadi asked, “Ember, have you never camped out before?” The stone was silent for a minute and then, replied, “No.” Aadi pictured camping in his mind as vividly as he could. He had camped out many times before, usually on hunting trips and he drew on those experiences to form detailed images. Aadi hoped that Ember would see them, just as he had seen its memories and heard its thoughts. His attempt seemed to work to an extent. “That seems safe,” muttered Ember and then, said louder, “Should we really stay out in the open?” Aadi chuckled and asked instead, “Where’s my knapsack?”
With Ember’s help, he found it lying nearby. It contained the supplies he needed to start a fire and shortly, Aadi had one burning happily. “That’s cosy,” he mumbled and prepared a sleeping spot next to it. He had a bedsheet to lay on the ground, but no pillow to follow it. Aadi hadn’t planned on an extended excursion into the forest to begin with. A pillow had seemed excessive and hindsight is a luxury. He sat down on the bedsheet and stretched his limbs. “See,” he said to Ember, “This is nice, isn’t it?” The magic stone replied, “Perhaps. I detect no danger nearby.” “I could have told you that,” said Aadi. Ember ignored him and continued speaking, “I’ll keep an eye out for trouble while you sleep.”
Aadi wanted to remind the stone that there’d be no trouble that night, but thought the better of it. “When you do something for the first time,” he thought gently, “you will no doubt be nervous.” As it turned out, Ember needn’t have worried. The night passed uneventfully and the sun rose the next morning beaming joyfully. Aadi hadn’t lain on his makeshift bed the whole night. Instead, he had slept with his head on his knees. He yawned, stretched his hands out, and slowly rose to his feet. “See,” said Aadi triumphantly, “It was perfectly safe.” Ember grunted in response; at least he thought he heard the stone grunt. Given it was a stone, even though magical, he had to grant that it might have been his imagination.
Aadi folded the bedsheet neatly and packed his camp supplies up. Turning to the bodies that he had risked his life to return home, he said to Ember, “Let’s go.” This time, he was sure that he sensed its firm agreement.