-----As Sol reaches in with his dagger, the blade of the weapon comes within a few inches of the smoking object. Suddenly the object moves toward the blade and it comes in contact with the weapon with a tinny clank sound. Sol notices that his dagger has not impaled the object but something seems to be holding the blade to the object.
-----"Hey!" Sol exclaims in surprise as he tries to lift the dagger, shaking it as he does so as if to throw the object back off.
-----Raven immediately gets ready on one knee to reach down to help the young warrior. "Grab my hand!" the hunter says.
-----Sol finds that he is able to pull the dagger away from the object. At first it behaves as if something unseen is tugging at the small weapon and then it is let go. The object lies still and continues to smoke.
-----Sol frowns at the object, then turns to look at Raven and nods. Before he takes up the hunter’s offer, his other hand shoots down as he tries to grab and toss the oddity out of the hole away from Raven. Only then does Sol reach up with his other hand to be hauled out.
-----As Sol reaches down with his gauntlet, he finds that he can easily grab the object in his palm. In fact, it almost seems as though the object leaps toward his hand. Even though it continues to smoke, Sol feels no discomfort as he lifts it and tosses it in the opposite direction from Raven. It thuds as it hits the ground.
-----Very quickly, Raven helps heave the Gorian from the pit and they stand looking at the object. It now appears to have less smoke coming from it.
-----“What is that thing?” Raven asks as he stares at the object on the other side of the hole.
-----"No idea, but it's definitely interesting! Let's take it along with us, tell Garrison that there doesn't seem to be anything of real concern here, and continue our sweep ride. When we make it back into Ku, maybe someone there will have an idea." Sol makes sure it's safe to pick up, and then waits till it's cool enough to put in his pack without it bursting into flames. Once done, he remounts Thunder and waits for Raven to also be ready to ride back to the northern watch.
-----The object seems cool enough to touch and Sol notices how easy the thing is to pick up. As he places it in the pack, Sol can tell there is something there, almost like an invisible glue that makes the object want to cling to his gauntlets.
-----Sol and Raven then ride back toward where Garrison and his watch are stationed. A thin trail of smoke does issue from the pack as they go and Garrison holds an expression of astonishment as they ride in.
-----“What did you find?” he asks them anxiously.
-----Sol fishes around his backpack for a moment before giving a small pleased exclamation as he finds what he was looking for. He tosses the unidentified lump down in front of Garrison, only giving the explanation, "That was in that smoking hole in the ground. We've no idea what it is."
-----The object thuds solidly as it strikes the ground and more smoke begins rising from it.
-----“Well, I’ll be . . ,” Garrison begins as he moves closer to inspect it. “What is that? A rock?” he wonders aloud.
-----In his right hand he carries a new battleaxe that Whisper had retrieved for him somewhere. As he moves in, his hand jerks forward and his battleaxe touches the object.
-----“Hey!” Garrison shouts, totally taken by surprise. He seems to yank his weapon away from the lump standing as he does. Some of the men on watch laugh.
-----The woodman then looks at his weapon in concern and then back to the smoking object. “There’s got to be some kind of . . . magic on that thing.”
-----"Agreed, but as usual, it's beyond my ken. Here, pass it back up. We'll ask about it back in town when we've finished our sweep."
-----“Pass it back?” Garrison silently mouths these words as he glares at the smoking object with suspicion. He sets down his battleaxe and gingerly picks up the object and brings it to Sol. Garrison now wears his chain mail and as he holds it away from him so that the wisps of smoke do not hinder him, his chain mail shirt noticeably bulges toward the thing he carries.
-----As he gives the rocky object to the Gorian, it almost throws the woodsman off balance as the mysterious effect passes. Garrison brushes at his chain shirt as he steadies himself. “Get that damned thing out of here,” Garrison says with a nervous smile.
-----After the rock is back in Sol's backpack, he begins nudging Thunder eastwards, to check with the next group on watch. Over his shoulder, he calls to Garrison, "Nice axe!"
-----Slightly bewildered, Garrison waves back and then turns back to the watch.
-----“It’s good that these people hopefully won’t see any fighting this day,” Raven says as they ride. “This heat would be too much for some of them.”
-----Thunder snorts as they go as if the magnificent stallion were in agreement. A few times the stallion tosses his head and Sol suspects it may be because Thunder catches sight of the plume of smoke that trails them from the pack.