Runculus knocked on the door. He hardly waited for the reply before throwing the portal open and saying, "It's time." He glanced, nervously, at the glowing sphere in the old woman's hands. She nodded, and Runculus closed the door as quickly as he had opened it.
Kizza carefully placed the heavy sphere into a black square of cloth and folded the corners to cover it. She placed it into a leather bag with long stips of sinew attached to it and slung it cross-body around her. Her clothing was black, her hair was black, and only her face and hands were visible as she went through the door and melded with the night.
The old woman easily slipped down the road, unnoticed, because very few people had the nerve to live in this portion of the countryside outside the city. Even once she arrived in the city, no one noticed her because she was skilled, that way, and in plenty of other ways, too.
She arrived at the river just as the moon was clearing the eastern horizon. She nodded towards the orb and mumbled a few words as she walked across the stone bridge. As she reached the other side and thought about the Wall that would occupy this space someday, she heard a wolf howl in the distance behind her.
After a good bit of walking, she finally reached her destination and ducked down a narrow alleyway that ran between two tall buildings. Two-thirds of the way down the alley, she slowed and carefully began to examine the stones in the building on her left. She finally spied what she was looking for and squatted down.
Only a careful eye could notice that one stone was different from the others, just slightly, and easily pulled out from the wall with relatively little trouble. Kizza reached into her leather bag and retrieved the glowing sphere, still wrapped in black cloth. She carefully placed it into the hollow behind, the slid the stone back into place. She patted the stone with her hand, then quietly affirmed, "Yes, they will need this some day."
As clandestinely as she came, Kizza melded into the darkness again. A bat shrieked, overhead.
~photo by me, of one of my **calcite** crystal balls~
~This story is part of my contribution to "The Tales of Azza-Jono," a collaborative effort of a dozen people. Story written and © by me.~
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