As he waited for a reply from his patron, Connor heard a few voices deeper in the woods. He assumed it was some teens messing around, but moved to the edge of the clearing to be safe. Vindsval had been specific that Connor was not to involve other mortals in his work, but he had shown his best friend some of his magic regardless. Who could keep something that cool completely secret?

[i]You must uncover the stone from its resting place beneath the earth at the center of the clearing. Charge it with moonlight, then bring it home with you.[/i]

The instructions appeared in Connor's journal, beneath the question he had previously written. He nodded to himself and put the journal into his backpack, then retrieved a small gardening shovel. Leaving his belongings behind by the trees, Connor walked to the approximate center of the clearing and began digging. 

The stone was not too far beneath the soil. He unearthed the object and brushed it off to get a better look at it. The stone fit in the palm of his hand, and swirls of turquoise and gold shone out from its inky blackness. Connor recognized it as labradorite, a stone known to carry magical properties. He wondered briefly why Vindsval had him come out here to dig up a fairly common crystal, but pushed the irritation aside and focused instead on the task at hand.

Now all he had to do was ... charge it ... with moonlight? Connor wasn't sure at all how to do that, but he didn't want Vindsval to think he was incapable of completing his tasks by himself. So, the boy took a deep, steadying breath and held the stone out before him, letting the moonlight hit it.

Nothing happened. Was something supposed to happen? How would he know it was charged? This isn't a phone.

While he was distracted by his thoughts, the colors in the stone began to intensify and come to life. Blue, green, and gold light shone brightly from the stone, collecting in tendrils and moving around his body. He startled, nearly dropping the crystal, but balanced himself and watched in awe as the colors swirled through the air before his eyes.

A bright white beam of light from the moon hit the stone, and sent a wave of light rippling through the trees, then everything was still. [i]Guess it's charged now[/i], Connor thought, amused. He slipped the crystal into his jacket pocket and went to retrieve his backpack. As he slung it over his shoulder, Connor heard the voices deep in the woods again.

Had they been able to see the light rippling through the trees? What were they doing in the forest at midnight anyway? Connor's curiosity pulled him toward the voices, and he was unable to resist.