We're back!!! 😁

Sorry for the delay, guys. Trust me, I'm working hard to keep that from happening again!

Anyway... just a reminder for those following along in real-time. 

In our last episode, Patrick volunteered to represent the delegation at the tribe's big community meeting and planned to make an excuse for Aidan and Farid so they could go looking for the artifact.

Meanwhile, on their hunt for the tablet fragment, Aidan and Farid run into, and manage to survive, a very tense encounter with some obnoxiously racist Shifter teenagers. Surprisingly, they're saved by Minuk's younger brother, Ahmik, who invites them to a Shifter celebration later that evening.

But you've got to wonder why Ahmik's being so nice to them and what he might be up to. 😱

Oh, and it looks like some of our gang's training will come in very handy during this particular scene, but I doubt you'll be able to guess precisely which training. 🧩😏

***

Aidan and Farid approach the massive Spirit House, constructed of aged timber and featuring an impressive door frame with delicately carved etchings illustrating Shifter lore.

Farid looks around to make sure the coast is clear, then jiggles the door handle. "It's locked," he says.

He takes a few steps back and assesses both sides of the building. Then, he turns to Aidan. "Did you notice any windows anywhere?" he asks.

Aidan runs around to both sides of the structure, just to make sure. "Nope! It seems airtight," he reports when he returns.

"Damn!" Farid plants his fists on his hips.

Aidan suddenly cracks a wide grin and gently pushes Farid aside. "Let me have a go at it."

Farid steps back and watches as Aidan pulls out what looks like a long, slim, leather wallet from his back pocket. He gets down on his knees and peaks through the keyhole. Then, leaning back on his heels, he opens up his leather case and pulls out a tool that looks like a dentist's pick. He waggles his brows at Farid and proceeds to slip the pick into the lock.

Farid leans against the building as he peers out over Aidan's head to look for passers-by. After confirming the coast is clear, he looks down and observes--with utter fascination--as Aidan goes to work. "Well, this is quite the development," he says with a smirk. "Who would have guessed that you're not only a Spirit Guardian, but also a thief? Good to know."

Although his head is slightly bent, Farid can still see Aidan crack a slow, sly smile. "Nah..." Aidan says. "I just pick locks for fun. It's sort of a hobby of mine."

"Why on earth would you do that for a hobby?" Farid asks.

Aidan shrugs. "Because I don't know any of the magic used to manipulate them, so I had to learn the old-fashioned way."

Farid laughs. "Okay, Aidan, one of these days, you and I have to sit down so we can have a long conversation about your extracurricular activities. I get the sense there's much more to you than meets the eye."

"Oh, you have no idea," Aidan coos, his face alight with pure glee. Suddenly, there's a click and the door swings open.

"Sweet!" he says as he stands, surveying his handiwork. He slips his lockpicking toolkit back into the pocket of his jeans as his lips curl up into a satisfied smile.

Farid gives him a nod and, slowly, the two of them sneak into the Spirit House, closing the door softly behind them.

Farid holds his cellphone up and uses its flashlight to cast a wave of illumination into the cavernous space.

At the moment, he's just searching for an overhead light to switch on to make their search easier.

When he finds it and flips it, the lights on the ceiling turn on, all at once, revealing a large open room with warm wooden walls, a dirt floor, raised wooden benches lining either side of the space, and four enormous Totem poles perched in each corner of the room, as if holding up the entire building.

On one end, there's a large painting of an eagle and on the other end, farthest from them, is a wall full of woven blankets--lined end-to-end, top to bottom, like tiles.

The room is designed like a mini-arena, made for both celebration and for show.

Aidan walks to the center of the room, looks at each of the walls, and then up at the ceiling, then back to Farid. "There's really not much here." He shrugs. "I mean, there aren't too many spots to hide a giant tablet fragment in this place."

"No, not really..." Farid agrees, his lips pursed tightly in frustration. He walks over to the raised benches and checks to see if they lift up, or perhaps if there are any trap doors hidden in the floors.

In the meantime, Aidan checks behind any of the blankets he can reach, looking for a cutout in the wall, thinking there might be some sort of setup, like in the movies, where the uber rich family hides their jewels in a safe tucked neatly behind a Monet or Van Gogh.

Then, he goes over and knocks on each of the totem poles, to see if perhaps they're hollow.

Farid heads back to the middle of the room and turns in a slow circle, taking in every inch of the space. "I thought there'd be an altar or something where they'd hidden the artifact, but I guess not," he concedes.

"Yeah, me too," Aidan admits as he joins Farid in the center of the room.

Suddenly, Farid's phone buzzes, and he reads the text that's just come in.

"It's Patrick." Farid leans in closer to Aidan. "He says the community meeting has been postponed and the Chief said they can still meet, but not for another hour. Shit! That means our stalling tactics are a bust," he says as he puts away his phone. "Patrick's headed over here now."

A few minutes later, Patrick bursts through the door of the Spirit House, flushed and winded. He quickly shuts the door behind him. "Okay." He holds up his hands as he catches his breath. "Everyone's making their way out of the Longhouse and sort of milling about. But they'll be moving on from there soon, so we've probably got about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. What have you guys found?" He gives Aidan and Farid a hopeful look.

Farid grimaces, then says, "To be honest, nothing. I swear, we've checked every inch of this place. And unless there's a hidden door we missed, I don't think the tablet's here."

"Damn it!" Patrick grimaces as he begins to pace the room, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Okay, so now what?" he asks.

"Well..." Farid says calmly. "If it's not here, then it's not here. But that doesn't mean it's not in the next most likely place, which I'd guess would be the second most important building on the compound... maybe the sweat lodge?"

"There's no way they could have stored a big 'ol hunk of stone with giant inscriptions on it in that sweat lodge," Aidan interjects. "There was barely enough room in there for all of us!" He shakes his head adamantly. "Nope. Unless our asses were parked on the damn thing the whole time, I don't see it as a possibility."

"Well, what do you guys think?" Patrick asks. "You think it was in the Community Longhouse the whole time and I missed it?"

Farid shakes his head. "With so many people in and out all the time? I doubt it. I'm guessing it might be hidden in the Chief's tent."

"Ah, bloody hell!" Aidan cries out. "You're telling me now we've got to break into the Chief's residence? Are you guys nuts?! Did you see the size of those two Shifters standing guard?"

Patrick holds his hands up like a traffic cop. "Dude," he says to Aidan. "Don't get your panties in a wad. There's gotta be a way in." He taps his chin as he thinks, while Aidan gives him the stink-eye for the panties comment. He's tempted to let Patrick know he only wears Hanes Premium boxer briefs, thank you very much! Like clockwork, his mum always buys him a twelve-pack during Brown Thomas' big after-Christmas sale.

Suddenly, Patrick snaps, pointing a finger at Aidan. "Do you still have that rock you used during our field exercise? You know, the one that can locate things or tell you when something's missing?"

After a beat, Aidan replies, "Oh! You mean my Hawk's Eye Quartz?"

"Yeah, that one!" Patrick confirms.

Aidan reaches into his jeans pocket, pulls out the stone, and holds it up. "I've never had the need to use it before, but I usually carry it around with me, kind of like a lucky charm."

"Perfect!" Patrick smiles with relief. "Do you think you can use it to give us a clue or some kind of indicator whether or not the tablet has ever been here, and if so, where it went?"

"Perhaps..." Aidan ventures. He takes a few steps backwards to give himself some room, and then he holds the Hawk's Eye Quartz up, letting the light stream through it. He closes his eyes and begins murmuring the Seer's Spell.

After a moment, he tilts his head to the side. "Hmm... interesting..." he hums. "The stone seems to be telling me that the tablet was indeed here and for quite some time, but..." He closes his eyes tighter to really  concentrate, and then after another few seconds says, "...it's not here anymore."

Patrick's shoulders slump. He's getting increasingly frustrated. "Okay," he snips, "does the damn rock tell you where it went?"

"Chill out, pal. And it's not a rock," Aidan responds. "In fact, it's an ancient and valuable crystal."

Patrick rolls his eyes. "Whatever! Did it tell us what we need to know?"

"It doesn't work like that," Aidan says as he slips the quartz back into his pocket.

"Well, that's just great!" Patrick's hands fly up into the air again. "Now, we're back to square one!"

"Not exactly," Aidan eagerly offers a little hope. "The stone did tell me that the 'essence' of the tablet is still here," he says cryptically, "and its essence is very strong."

Patrick leans forward and gestures. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning that the spell is here," Aidan says, "it's just in a different form."

"What? Like it's cloaked or something?" Farid asks.

Aidan shrugs. "That's the extent of my experience with the Seer's Spell. As far as spells go, it's pretty accurate, but often difficult to interpret."

Farid flings his arms out in exasperation. "We're never gonna find this thing," he declares. "It could be anywhere!"

He scrubs his hands over his face in frustration, then rakes his fingers up through his hair. Blowing out a breath, he glances up and suddenly notices the blankets adorning the back wall. He goes over to take a better look. Then, he calls back to Patrick.

"Patrick? These blankets. What's their significance?"

Patrick joins him. He shrugs and says, "They're largely ceremonial. When put together, the shapes and symbols tell a story—you know, tribal history, myths, legends--"

Farid interrupts, "Legends like the one of a great wizard who visits a tribe bearing a gift they must guard with their lives?" He lifts a brow.

Patrick catches on. He nods. "Possibly..."

Patrick carefully studies the patterns on each and every blanket. Then, he steps back.

"Well, I'll be damned..."

"What?" Aidan inquires. "What does it say?"

Patrick squints in concentration and slowly deciphers the symbols before him.

"It tells the story of a mysterious visitor who brought with him ice, snow, and tales of woe. He warned the tribe of a terrible danger and asked that they be guardians of their own fate. It says, 'This is what he bestowed upon us and trusted into our care.' He shakes his head, "I can't read the rest of it. It's in a language I don't recognize."

"Well," Farid says, "it's worth sending to Master Achebe, don't you think?"

"Definitely," Patrick confirms. He pulls out his phone and makes a careful video record of each blanket. Then, he sends it off in a text to Master Achebe. He slips his phone back into his pocket.

"While we wait, we can either hang here or make our way back to the tent."

Farid looks at his watch.

"We might have to send him more information, I say we stay here," he suggests.

Patrick nods.

Farid steps closer to the blankets, admiring each one of them as if they were paintings in a museum. Aidan sits on a bench, takes out his phone, and starts playing a video game. Patrick sits on a bench opposite him and holds his head in his hands, impatiently waiting for Master Achebe's response.

After a few minutes, Patrick's phone vibrates. He stands up, takes it out and reads the message out loud.

"Okay, Master Achebe says, 'We found it.' Apparently, there was a rumor that the tablet had actually been stolen from the tribe decades ago. They must have transcribed their part of the spell to the blankets. "Yes!" Patrick pumps his fist in the air. Good job, guys!"

Still looking at his phone, he raises a hand to give Farid a high five. "Great call on the blankets, man. Mission accomplished!"

Farid laughs as his palm meets Patrick's. "Famous last words," he cautions. "But hell, I'll take it."

Aidan joins them, nodding gleefully. "Yeah, man, we rock!"

Impulsively, he shoots both of his arms up into the air, as if he were standing in the front row of a heavy metal concert. His head begins to bob as he flips open his palms and waits patiently for a double high-five from Patrick and Farid.

But they simultaneously look at each other, both feeling awkward. One high five is fine. A double high five with Aidan rocking out to a song only he can hear just feels... weird.

So, instead, they each slide Aidan a sidelong glance as if to say, "Yo, dude, overkill," and wait patiently for him to finish out the rock concert playing in his head.

After a moment, Aidan peeks an eye open and looks back and forth between the two. Seeing the befuddled looks on their faces, he straightens. Okay, okay, he gets it... he gets the hint. Sheepishly, he tucks his hands into his pockets, and under his breath mutters, "Well, I think we aced it."

Patrick stares at him, and then chuckles. He sighs while he reaches out to give Aidan a hearty pat on the back. "You did good with your rock, kid," he says with a tiny hint of admiration.

Ignoring the erroneous rock comment, Aidan returns his smile, even bigger and brighter than before. He's so darn happy, he's like a Golden Retriever basking in his owner's praise, rewarding him for bringing his chew toy back from the other side of the field. "Yeah, it's pretty cool," he concludes.

Patrick lifts his chin and tilts his head towards the door, and Aidan and Farid silently agree that it's time to go.

After making sure there's still no one around the see them, they sneak onto the path that leads back to their yurt. No one says a word until Aidan pipes up. "So, I guess this means we can take a night off and go to that Eman'yatta party."

Patrick stops dead in his tracks. "Wait. What?"

Aidan looks at him curiously. "The Eman'yatta," he repeats. "We ran into Minuk's brother." He turns to Farid. "What was the guy's name again?"

"Ahmik, I think," Farid replies.

Aidan snaps his fingers. "Yeah, that's it! Ahmik. He invited us to participate in some super-secret ceremony that I guess only the younger kids attend?"

Patrick stands perfectly still, then closes his eyes. After a beat, he shakes his head and says, "No, no, no... This is not good!"

"What?" Aidan lifts his hands up to his shoulders, bewildered.

Patrick lets out a beleaguered sigh. "Guys, we've gotta get out of here," he says, his voice laced with urgency. "Nuh, uh. There's no way I'm letting you guys take part in the Eman'yatta."

"Why not?" Aidan asks.

"Because..." Patrick tilts his head. "Do you even know what The Eman'yatta is all about?"

"I have no clue," Aidan announces, without a hint of embarrassment. Unfortunately, back at the Academy, he'd slept right through Shifter 101.

"It means Night of Blood and Bone," Patrick says with an unsettling gravity.

"Oh, now, that sounds ominous," Farid murmurs.

Patrick turns to him. "Did you ever see the movie Fight Club?"

Farid shakes his head.

But Aidan responds enthusiastically. "I love that movie!" He turns to Farid to explain. "You see Brad Pitt and Ed Norton meet. Ed Norton's this really dorky, disaffected bloke and Brad Pitt plays this very mysterious guy who invites him to this underground club where they..." Aidan stops. His eyes go wide. "Oh, wait!" he exclaims. Then, his eyes practically pop out of his head as the light bulb switches on. "Ohhh..." His mouth drops open into a perfect "o."

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no!" Aidan shakes his head wildly. "You've got to be kidding!" His voice rises an octave. "They want us to do that?! That's just bonkers!" he screeches.

"Yeah, exactly." Patrick confirms.

"But, wait," Farid says, shaking his head. "We're supposed to stay here for another day. If we leave now, won't we be insulting Chief Qa'watil? I mean, we could endanger the whole Ambassador program and that'll blow our cover for good."

"Okay, I admit," Patrick concedes, "it's not the best thing for our diplomatic mission, but I'll find a way to handle it. I'll tell the Chief we've gotta bounce... some emergency business at the Academy. It doesn't matter. I'll figure it out. You guys just go straight to the tent. Don't stop, don't talk to anyone, don't even look anyone in the eyes! Just get back to the tent and pack!"

**********

A/N - Thanks for your patience guys! It helps to know that you'll stick around for the story, despite delays.

And I don't know if I'll always have time to do it, but do those brief "Previously on"-type summaries help or do you just skip them?

I'd love to know!

~ Paula ❤️