Chapter III, Reading 12

After her austere dinner was eaten and the fire was only embers, Flindra spread her furs on the hard ground. She stretched out on her bed and wiggled, trying to find a spot where a rock wasn't digging into her back. She finally had to put her saddle blankets beneath her sleeping furs before the rocks no longer dug into her side.
Because her bed was so uncomfortable, she couldn't sleep right away. With her head pillowed on her saddle she looked up and gazed into the night sky. Tonight there was a new moon so the sky was bright with stars. She looked at the stars and picked out the familiar constellations. The Bear was still trying to catch the Horse as they raced through the stars. The Traveler always looked so burdened with his huge sack thrown over his shoulder. Flindra felt a certain degree of empathy for this stellar figure tonight. Her burden was more emotional but it still weighed her down.
She laughed aloud as she realized how silly it was to compare her situation to an imaginary figure in the sky. The laugh lightened her mood so she surrendered to her blankets and closed her eyes.
"Beloved Spirit," she whispered, "thank you for another day. Bless my sleep tonight and guide my steps tomorrow. Thank you."
She was drifting off to sleep when suddenly she became acutely aware of the crystal orb. It was in the bags that were still laced across the saddle. Flindra hadn't thought of the crystal since she had left home. Without thinking, she reached into her saddlebag and found the sphere. She immediately felt an intense vibration as she clutched the crystal in her hand. It was as if the orb was suddenly pulsating with life.
The night was dark, but the sphere reflected enough starlight to glow. Flindra felt the familiar pull of the orb and found herself looking into its depths. The vortex of colors radiated through her mind until it was nearly painful. The face of Kewero appeared after a flash of blinding white light.
"Make haste and leave your camp. There is great danger! Use the crystal to guide your way through the darkness." A sense of urgency accompanied the words into her mind.