Nathaniel glanced up at the owl that sat as sentry over the dell. It was still watching him.

“I’ve never seen a fox,” he said, looking at Ada’ii.

T’shan translated. Ada’ii smiled up at him. She closed the book, holding it in one hand while she picked up the stick once more and returned it to the flame. The mushrooms were beginning to shrivel and char at the edges, and she turned the stick delicately so that the less charred sections were able to blacken.

“The wisdom is here,” T’shan said, taking advantage of Ada’ii’s silence. “It is all around us. That is why this place is sacred.”

“Here?” Nathaniel asked, looking around.

His eyes scanned the scene: the pool,...

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