We were in a dense forest, at first I thought it was trees, but then noticed the strange appearance of the trunks. It was bamboo. We were on a mountainside but couldn't see much in the distance because of all the leaves in the way.

"I will wait here for you," he said and I nodded. It would be much easier for one person to get in and out than two. Plus the fact that I didn't know where we were or if either one of us would fit in, or if we would stick out like sore thumbs. I kissed him and started walking down the mountain. I needed to get the next stone, but I also had to be careful to remember where I was so I could find my way back.

As I got to the bottom of the slope, the ground leveled out and the plants and trees looked like they were trimmed and taken care of. Bushes were planted in even rows, following gravel pathways. Flowers were growing in colorful patterns. Then I realized where I was.

Looking around the garden I found myself in, I guessed that I was somewhere similar to Japan or China. The cherry trees were in full bloom and the sky was blue with few wispy clouds. I followed the gravel path under maple trees until I saw a building. It looked like a small shrine, the roof curved out at the bottom and there was a gold statue surrounded with flowers inside. I was still wearing the grubby cloak and thought that I would need to find something a little more suitable for this world soon. I heard voices, it sounded as if there were people walking toward the shrine. I hurried over to a row of shrubs on the other side of the path and ducked down behind them. Soon I saw three women walking up to the shrine, carrying more flowers. They wore embroidered silk robes in bright colors. I looked around the rest of the garden. I could see a large house past the trees, and decided I would try to find out a little more about this place there.

There were very few people around. Other than the three women at the shrine I had only seen one other person, an ancient old man tending the flowers at the end of the garden. He didn't seem to see or notice me. The house was raised up, there were several steps to go up to get to the door. I glanced around but there was no one nearby. I slid open the screened door and quickly slipped inside.

I almost fell as I turned around and there was someone standing there. It appeared to be a large man until I noticed that that it was just a large suit of some strange armor. My breathing became steadier as I stood there waiting for my heart to stop pounding. I moved past the armor to the next room. There was a futon pad on the floor, and a wooden chest against one wall. I went over to the chest and opened it up. There were several silk article of clothing in it, I pulled out one of the robes and pulling off my cloak, put it on. It was a little long, but that was good, it would hide my shoes. I wished for a mirror to see how I looked. Not that I was really vain or anything, but I was always told that blue was my color. It matched my eyes. The silk robe was a dark, almost navy blue with a lighter blue embroidery all over. Looking closer at it, I saw there were dragons stitched with sliver threads as well.

I stuffed the cloak into my satchel. I thought I would look a bit fat with the satchel under the robe, but it would be okay. I was ready, or so I thought. I pulled my hair up into a bun up on top of my head. I looked down into the chest and saw two hair sticks, so I picked them up and stuck them through the bun. Luckily the little empath's fur matched my own hair and was nearly invisible tucked up at the nape of my neck. Okay, now I was ready. I left the room, waddling a bit as I walked. I had to figure out where the next stone was.

Walking through the house, there were noises coming from the back. I felt someone grab my arm and start pulling me, chattering in a scolding tone. A wrinkled old woman was saying something about we had to hurry, the guests would be here soon and we weren't ready yet. I followed along after her, hoping that I could pull off whatever it was that she thought I should be doing. She led me into the kitchen, and had me start cutting a strange turnip kind of vegetable. I began slicing it up.

There were other people cooking in the kitchen, and talking excitedly. Apparently there was some big event going to be happening soon and it was very important. I watched as one of the women dressed in a white robe with sparkling gold threads began selecting certain items from a shelf on the wall and set them carefully on a tray, delicately arranging them. She finished with the first and started a second tray, setting the items as precisely as the first. I caught her eye and she motioned me over. Picking up a tray, she nodded at me to do the same. I picked up the next tray and followed her out of the kitchen. We went out from the kitchen to the garden to another small building. Ducking down to go through the small doorway, we went inside. I looking around inside the room, there was a low table and cushions, but nothing else. On one wall was a beautifully painted scroll. I felt a wave of emotion flow through me, something like respect and a sense of honor.

I set the tray down on the table as the other woman had. I took another look around, then followed her out. We went back to the kitchen and I was put back to work. A few moments later, everything became quiet. I looked out the back to the building and saw four people standing outside. They were washing their hands in a small fountain right by the door. They went inside. The woman with the trays nudged me and handed me a different tray, this one with four small bowls of rice. I was sent to the building and went inside. I kept my head lowered as I served the people sitting there. I was ignored as I left and headed back to the kitchen.

I was handed the next tray and sent off again. The woman whispered to me before I went out that I was to stay this time, and wait just inside the doorway. I carried the tray out to the building and ducked down again to go inside. I took the empty bowls and put them on my tray, then set out the lacquered ceramic bowls in front of the guests. I stepped away from the table and stood quietly by the door. I watched carefully as one woman lifted a teapot and poured the steaming water into tiny teacups in front of each person. Each of the guests lifted their cups and swirled the liquid around. They sniffed the cups before taking a sip. They all nodded to each other, never saying a word. They then picked up their chopsticks and moved on to the next course.

When the food in the ceramic bowls was finished, another woman came into the building. She had a large bowl in her hands and a towel over her arm. She went around to each guest and they dipped their hands in and rinsed them off. She offered the towel for them to dry their hands, and then stepped away from the table to leave. I went back over to the table and collected the empty bowls. I stood back by the door again, unsure of what else I was expected to do.

The woman who had poured the tea now held up a different pitcher, this one smaller. She poured this liquid into small thimble sized cups. All four of the guests bowed their heads over the cups, and then in unison lifted them up toward the ceiling. They then brought the cups down and drank the fluid down.

I found this ritual fascinating, but the pull of the stone was demanding. I needed to figure out how to get out of here in order to look for it. The people in the building were getting up now, and walking over to the scroll on the wall. I took the moment to duck outside and taking the tray back to the kitchen, I looked around for a way to leave. I set the tray down inside the kitchen and before anyone had a chance to say anything hurried back outside.

I went back out through the garden and headed back to the mountain. I wasn't sure why, but I felt that the stone was back there somewhere. I had just left the garden when I noticed a dark place on the hillside. It was almost hidden by a tree, it'½s lower branches covering the shadow. I glanced back at the garden, but there was nobody else around. I crawled under the tree.

There was a small opening, almost child sized. There was a door there as well, so I pushed it open. I climbed inside and found a room paneled in wood that looked almost identical to the room that the tea ritual had been held in. In this room the table had the tree symbol set into it. I knelt down in front of it and found the stone. Setting the satchel on the table, I brought out the box and set the stone into it quickly. I don't know where this sense of urgency was coming from, but I felt a serious need to hurry. Smoke rose from the box and I smelled a spicy scent like incense that I couldn't quite identify. It was familiar, but I couldn't place it. A sense of urgency went through me as I felt Boo shift on my neck. I wasn't sure but something felt wrong.

There was nothing else of any kind of value in the room, so I crawled back outside. I dusted myself off and began to climb up the side of the mountain. I was almost to the spot where I had left Ahmed when I heard shouts.

I crouched down and slowly crawled on hands and knees up toward the voices. Pushing a branch down out of the way, I saw several men surrounding Ahmed. Oh shit! I thought to myself. None of them would be able to understand each other. I debated on jumping out and confronting them or staying hidden. Jumping out won.

I stomped over to them acting as angry as I possibly could. "What do you think you are doing" I demanded, "Leave him alone!"

I must have startled them pretty well, because they jumped back rather quickly.

"Pao Xia! We, uh, didn't know, uh, that you were here," One of the men stuttered out.

"This man is my guest, step back," I told them. I had no idea who this Pao Xia was, but if they thought it was me, that seemed to be working in my favor.

The men stepped away, and I nodded to Ahmed with a quick wink. I suddenly had an idea. I pulled my arm inside the sleeve of the robe and squeezed my hand into the satchel. I fished around, trying to find the knob on the box. I finally found it and pulled out the stone disc. I pulled it out and looked to see which stone was glowing the brightest. That would be the next destination. Quickly I thought, okay, back two stones would be the desert again. Or should be. I walked straight toward Ahmed and wrapped my arms tightly around him and rubbed the gemstone. I barely saw the men throw their hands up to shield their eyes against the flash and we were gone.