They came presently to a deep stream which divided itself and circled the foot of the round hill like a moat, and which had vine maples growing thickly along both banks. Iniiq said quietly, ‘Wait,’ and walked down the near bank to the water’s edge. From out of her leafy raiment she produced a stone the size of a man’s fist, which was opaque, and coloured with hints of purple, blue, and amber swirls within. Kneeling before the water, she held the stone before her bowed head as if in a gesture of reverence, quietly muttering words of power in her strange tongue. In response, the stone began to glow with an eerie, warm light, and with a hiss, large, flat rocks began to appear through the water, impeding its flow without blocking it. Within moments, there was a way across the deep stream, which was much swifter than it had first appeared.
‘Come,’ she said abruptly, ‘this passage will last only a matter of moments.’
Even as they crossed, they could feel the stones begin to settle once again beneath their feet. By the time they gained the far shore, the stones behind them had already sunk beneath the water.
Mraan raised his head in wonder, studying the huge evergreens which towered over them like monoliths. Haloch, too, was struck by the same sense of awe.