Elion, Keyla, and Kasm rolled up to the Altar clearing on Artefin powered bikes. As they entered the clearing, Elion noticed a faint golden shimmer of light, a protective bubble they had to pass through to reach the statue.


    A calming, peaceful sensation pressed on his mind as he stepped through it, tension melting from his shoulders. Last time he was here he hadn’t really been in the right state of mind to appreciate it.


    Birds chirped in the trees and insects hummed, a peaceful music set against the serene location. Clumps of wildflowers, yellow, red, violet, and orange decorated tufts of grass, reflecting the colors of the sunset shards hanging in the sky. Trees cast shifting shadows over the glade, standing tall and sturdy, like guardians swaying gently in the breeze. The air was heavy with rich smells; decomposing leaves, damp earth, and pine needles.


    The statue in the center of the clearing looked dilapidated. Its once sharp edges had crumbled away. The statue’s hands were missing fingers, and a chunk of her flowing locks had disappeared. What had once been smooth, white, polished marble now appeared grey and pitted, covered with lichens and weather stains.


    The three of them approached. The basin had drained, a crack in the bowl letting all the water spill out. Dark streaks left black stains on the stone, a reminder of Kasm’s injury.


    No gemstone twinkled in the basin, though that was where Elion remembered leaving it.


    “Maybe it fell on the ground somewhere,” Elion said. Keyla and Kasm began sifting through the dirt around the base of the statue. Elion pulled the Tear from his pocket and held it up to the statue.


    He examined the teardrop shape, the facets catching the light and shimmering. Trying to call up Praxis, he closed his eyes and asked, “I just put this on the Altar?”


    << Place your Ascendency Stone on the Altar >>


    Elion obeyed.


    << Offer Ascendency Stone to the Path of Dawn? >>


    Elion nearly said ‘yes.’ He wanted to know what would happen. How much the stone would help him improve, what leveling up meant. He could just say it was an accident. Kasm could use the other stone when they found it.


    “No,” Elion said with a sigh. “Not yet.” He picked the Cend up from the altar, mentally cursing himself for not keeping the first one. He wished Praxis was more helpful.  Why didn’t you tell me how important these things were earlier? I wouldn’t have lost the other one.


    The text disappeared. Elion gazed at the crumbling statue. He noticed flecks of color in the hair and around the eyes. The statue had once been painted. When brand new it might have looked like a living, breathing person. He wondered if the crumbling state of the statue affected its power.


    Kasm and Keyla had stopped combing through the dirt and watched him intently. Neither had found the missing gemstone.


    “Maybe someone in town found it,” Keyla said. “We could ask around—”


    “You mean stole it?” Elion said. “They must know it isn’t theirs. If they’re as valuable as you say.”


    Keyla shrugged and Kasm frowned.


    “Nobody would steal something like that,” Kasm said. “That would be wrong.”


    “Well it was here before,” Elion said, his face warming. “I know it was.” He had been partially delirious at the time, but he felt certain the gemstone had been here.


    He needed to find that Cend, to help him level more quickly. Who knew what Dorian was doing to Liora? How much time did he really have?


    “So what do you think,” Keyla said, changing the subject. “How do you use it, Elion?”


    “I just put it on the Altar and tell Praxis I want to use it,” Elion said. He still held the gemstone in his hand, fingers curled around it.


    “Give it to Kasm,” Keyla said.


    Elion extended his arm and Kasm reached out to receive it. But Elion did not release the Tear.


    “Don’t use it yet,” Elion said. “We just want to know if it’s possible. What you have to do to make it work.”


    “Okay,” Kasm said, nodding impatiently.


    “Don’t use it,” Elion repeated. “We need to be sure that’s what we want to do first.” He dropped the gemstone into Kasm’s outstretched hand. Kasm cupped the stone in the palm of his hand, cradling it.


    “What do I do?” he asked, looking between Elion and Kasm.


    “How does it work for you, Keyla,” Elion asked. “Haven’t you done this before?”


    Keyla shook her head, blushing. “I’ve received three Skillstones, but Gorman took them to keep them safe. He says it’s better to take things slow when you’re first starting out, and improve your abilities the slow way.”


    “Why?” Elion asked. “I thought you said that people use them to skip early levels.”


    “Rich people do that,” Keyla said. “There’s an equation for how much experience you get from an Ascendency Stone, and it goes up the higher your level is. So if you wait longer, you get more out of it.”


    “Geeze,” Elion said. “How much do these gemstones cost?”


    “One stone could feed a family for several months,” Keyla said. “They’re worth a lot. Or they were, back when we could trade on the river.”


    “If Kasm can use other Ascendency Stones,” Elion said, “maybe we can get yours from Gorman, and he can use those. How many other of these gemstones can we find in Aterfel?”


    Keyla didn’t look hopeful, but she also didn’t object to the idea. “I don’t think we’re likely to find any other Cends here,” she said.


    “Does Gorman have any?” Elion asked. “You said he saved them up to trade, right?”


    “I don’t know,” Keyla said. “He might have used them, if he had any. They’re not super common.”


    “How many do you think we’ll need?” Elion asked. “To level Kasm so that he can heal infected?”


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    “I’ve got a book back at the tower that might be able to help us figure that out,” Keyla said. “But the whole thing is moot if Kasm can’t do it.”


    “Kasm,” Elion said. “Close your eyes and ask Praxis what you need to do to use the stone. But don’t do it, don’t confirm even if it says you can. Be careful.”


    “Okay. Here goes nothing.” Kasm closed his eyes and took a deep breath.


    Elion and Keyla watched attentively.


    “Hmm…” Kasm said, eyes flickering beneath his eyelids. “I don’t think the Altar matters for me,” he said.


    Elion pursed his lips. “I guess we didn’t have to come here,” he said. “If he doesn’t have to put it on the Altar.”


    Keyla shrugged, watching Kasm’s face. He sat on the ground, his legs crossed, eyes closed. He looked peaceful, healthy and strong; a stark contrast to his appearance when suffering from the infection, tied down to the table in Gorman’s garage.


    “He might still have to,” Keyla said. “Besides, we were looking for the other one.”


    “Who stole it?” Elion wondered. “There aren’t many people around here.”


    "Shh…” Keyla chided, holding a finger to her lips. “Give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they are just keeping it safe for you.”


    Elion didn’t buy it, but didn’t want to argue with Keyla. Now that he was getting to know her better, he found her to be annoyingly optimistic at times. She turned her attention back to Kasm, watching him intently though wide eyes.


    “I wonder if there’s something wrong with this Altar,” Elion said. “Sometimes I feel like its slow to respond to me, or like the woman isn’t able to hear what I’m saying. I know it’s not supposed to be cracked like that.”


    “A lot of Aurelian Altars have been destroyed,” Keyla said. “Not many Knights remain to maintain them. This one is probably the only one for hundreds of miles. When I was little Knights came through Aterfel to visit it, but… Not so much anymore.”


    “Would that affect Praxis?” Elion asked. “Sometimes it seems less than helpful.”


    “Maybe you just need to learn how to use it better,” Keyla said.


    “Guys,” Kasm said, opening his eyes and standing up. “I think I know what I need to do with this.” He held up his fist, the cend gripped tightly inside. “I think I figured out how to use it.”


    Elion wiped his brow, releasing a sigh of relief. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath. “Give it back,” he said.


    Elion extended his hand and Kasm placed the stone into it. Elion marveled at the small gem. “We should find the other one,” Elion said. “We should figure out how many we would need before we do anything.” He shot a look at Keyla.


    “What do you have to do with it, Kasm?” Keyla asked, ignoring Elion.


    “I have to bury it in the ground,” he said. “But not here.”


    “Let’s make a plan,” Elion said.


    “We should go back to the tower and get the reference book,” Keyla agreed.


    Back at the tower, Elion stalked back and forth across the room, behind Keyla’s couch. Keyla and Kasm sat at Keyla’s work table.


    Keyla had cleared away the laserarm she was working on, making space for a large book that now lay open on the table. Flipping through the pages, Kasm read various figures off as Keyla noted them on a sheet of paper.


    Elion checked his pocket for the gemstone. The little rock was so small he worried he was going to lose it like he did the other one. For something so valuable, his pocket didn’t seem sufficient. He needed a better way to store it.


    Someone in town must have found the other Ascendency stone when they rescued Kasm and Elion at the Altar. Maybe Kasm and Keyla were right, and whoever found it didn’t know what it was and they’d return it if asked.


    But the stupid little rock was so valuable, that if the thief realized what they had in their possession, they’d be foolish to just hand it back over.


    “Is it even going to work?” Elion asked.


    “Shh,” Keyla said, “We’re working on that.”


    She continued working out math equations on a piece of paper by hand.


    “Haven’t you guys invented spreadsheets yet?” Elion asked, but received no answer.


    Elion paced back and forth a few more times as Kasm and Keyla continued whispering to each other. Curiosity overcame his frustration, and he pulled a stool over and sat down.


    “Okay so then at level 3 you’d get 16, so that would put your total to 31, which is almost level 5…” Keyla jotted down notes while she spoke.


    “But not quite?” Kasm said.


    “You’d be one point off,” Keyla said.


    "What a scrap heap,” Kasm groaned. “One point?”


    "We’re not even sure that level 5 is enough,” Elion reminded them. “Just because your book is referencing minor illness healing at that stage doesn’t mean it’ll work.”


    Keyla flipped the book closed and pointed at the cover.


    “Saint Hendreston’s Complete Compendium of Ascendency Paths and Guide to Praxian Systems,” she read aloud. “Complete, Elion,” she said. “Saint Hendreston is the best, and his book is accurate.”


    “But the infection isn’t minor,” Elion protested.


    “Then it might take a long time. A lot of minor healings can add up to a major one,” Keyla said, with such confidence that Elion wanted to believe her.


    “But what if the infection isn’t even an illness?” Elion said. “Just because we call it an infection—”


    “It has to be,” Keyla said, “It has to be.” Her eyes watered, and she wiped them with her arm, turning away angrily. “It must be an illness, because Kasm got cured and there’s no way we’re going to get him to level ten and unlock his toxin purification skill.”


    “Yeah,” Kasm said, nodding his head in agreement. “It wouldn’t make sense. It lines up too well. We have just enough cends here to get me to level five, and unlock Treatment of Sicknesses.”


    “No we don’t,” Elion said. “We only have one Ascendency stone. We think there’s another one around here, but we don’t know who has it, and we need Gorman to agree for us to use the other three. Besides, even with five stones that still leaves you one point short.”


    “I can earn an experience point,” Kasm said, folding his arms and pouting. “I’ll grind.”


    “I just don’t think this is really a good plan at all,” Elion said. “Earning an experience point takes like a month!”


    Is it worth wasting Ascendency Stones on a plan that probably won’t even work? I’d be better off using them myself. I’m going to need all the help I can get to save Liora.


    “Why don’t you help us make it better then?” Keyla said. “Please. It’s for my mother. Help us save her.”


    Elion looked out the window and sighed.


    “We need to find the other Tear,” he said. “None of this works if we can’t find it.”


    “None of what works?” Gorman asked, walking into the room. “What are you doing? Keyla, you’re supposed to be—”


    “Gorman, we have a plan,” Keyla said. “We have a plan that we think might help my mother and maybe all the other infected.”