The air in the root hollow suddenly grew thick with tension and anticipation. Kael took his spear, but this time, he used the pointed tip. He knelt before the crevice I had indicated, an opening almost completely obscured by a thick layer of moss and time-compacted earth. Elara stood right behind him, her hand clutching the small herbal pouch at her waist, her eyes fixed on Kael's every move. I held my breath, partly from excitement, partly from the fear that the vision I'd seen was just a trick of my mind.
Kael worked with extreme care. He didn't thrust the spearhead in forcefully but used it as a tool to pick and pry, bit by bit. Dried soil and tiny roots crumbled away. He brushed them aside with his hand. The task required the patience of an archaeologist excavating a fragile relic. Every one of his movements was slow and deliberate. The silence was broken only by the soft scraping of dirt and stone and the steady sound of our three breaths.
After about ten minutes, Kael had cleared the entrance to the crevice. It was deeper than I thought, and pitch black inside. He paused, peered into the darkness, then looked back at me, as if for one final confirmation. I nodded and pointed deep into the fissure.
He took a breath and carefully slid his hand into the opening. His arm disappeared into the shadow nearly to his elbow. He moved his fingers slowly, searching the space within. His face was creased in concentration. Suddenly, he froze.
"There's something," he whispered. I didn't understand the words, but I understood the meaning in his tone.
He carefully withdrew his hand, his fist clenched around an object. When he opened his palm in the firelight, all three of us inhaled sharply.
Resting in Kael's rough, calloused hand was a stone. But it was unlike any stone I had ever seen. It was shaped perfectly like a seed on the verge of sprouting, with one slightly pointed end and a swelling body. The entire stone was as clear as crystal, but from within, it radiated a soft, living, and warm green light. The light wasn't glaring but gentle, as if a tiny heart were beating inside, pumping the glow throughout its form. It illuminated Kael's face, casting an ethereal green hue upon his skin.
Elara let out a gasp of wonder, a sound filled with reverence. She took a step forward but didn't dare to touch it. She spoke at length in her language, her tone both joyous and sacred, as if reciting a prayer.
Kael placed the stone in my palm. The moment my fingers touched its smooth, cool surface, a gentle but powerful jolt of energy shot up my arm and spread throughout my entire body. It wasn't an unpleasant shock, but a current of pure vitality. All the accumulated fatigue in my body seemed to vanish instantly. The small scratches on the backs of my hands and my arms, a result of fleeing through thorny bushes, began to tingle. I looked down in astonishment to see them fading, the skin regenerating at an unbelievable rate. In less than a minute, they were gone completely, without leaving a single scar.
I looked up at the two of them, my mouth agape in amazement. I didn't know what to say, I could only hold out my healed arm for them to see.
Kael looked at my arm, then at the stone. He understood immediately. A slight smile, the first true smile I had seen from him, briefly touched his lips. But it was quickly replaced by a serious expression as he glanced at the wound on his own shoulder.
Elara moved closer. She looked directly into my eyes, then pointed to the stone in my hand, and then to the still-swollen and bruised snakebite on Kael's shoulder. Her message was perfectly clear.
Without hesitation, I nodded and handed her the stone. Her hand trembled slightly as she took it. She held the stone in both hands, raised it to her face, and closed her eyes. Her lips moved, uttering low, melodic words. I didn't understand them, but I could feel the power within them. The light from the stone began to grow brighter, stronger, as if responding to her call. The entire hollow was bathed in a mystical green glow.
After a moment, Elara opened her eyes. She signaled for Kael to sit down and turn his back to her. He did so without a moment's hesitation. Elara took a deep breath, then carefully placed the glowing stone directly onto the worst part of the wound.
The instant the stone touched Kael's flesh, a low hiss sounded. A plume of black, foul-smelling smoke, like burnt meat, rose from the wound. Kael tensed, the muscles in his back and arms standing out in stark relief. He clenched his jaw, a low growl escaping his throat as he tried to endure the pain. I could see sweat beading on his forehead and temples. This purification process was clearly excruciating.
Elara held the stone in place, her own face slick with sweat from concentration. The green light from the stone seemed to be "drawing" something out of the wound. The black smoke continued to rise, but it gradually became lighter in color. Kael's pain also seemed to subside, his body relaxing slightly.
The process lasted for nearly five minutes, a seemingly endless stretch of time. Finally, the black smoke stopped rising. The stone's light returned to its original soft glow. Elara carefully lifted it away.
We all stared at the wound. It was unbelievable. The swelling had almost completely subsided. The widespread bruising was now just a faint purplish ring around the two fang marks. The wound was still there, but it looked clean, with no signs of infection or necrosis. It looked like a normal wound in the process of healing, not a fatal bite from a venomous creature.
Kael slowly moved his injured arm. He lifted it, rotated his shoulder. His expression was one of utter surprise and relief. He turned to look at us, saying something to Elara. She replied, and they both looked at me.
Elara stepped in front of me. She placed one hand over her heart, then extended her other hand, which held the stone, to me. Her eyes were filled with profound gratitude. Then she said a single word, repeating it twice. "Tes'ara."
I didn't know what the word meant, but from her warm and sincere tone, I felt its meaning. Thank you. It was a thanks that transcended all language barriers.
I took back the stone, feeling its warmth in my palm. I no longer thought of it as "the stone" in my mind. Based on its shape and its power, I had a name for it: The Heart of the Forest.
We had found a miracle. It had healed Kael, saved his life. But as I looked at its shimmering green light, a sense of unease crept over me. An artifact this powerful didn't just bring hope. It also brought danger. It would attract attention. And in this wild world, attention often came with violence. We may have escaped one peril, but perhaps we had just made ourselves a target for much greater ones.