Three days after Sage Elvan was transported to the hospital, it finally awakened. Jal was at its side and had been talking for nearly an hour.

“Will you stop your incessant yapping?” Sage Elvan sputtered. “You’ve been going on and on.”

“I’m so glad you’re awake,” Jal breathed a sigh of relief.

“Where am I? What’s going on, Jal?”

“What’s the last thing you remember, Jan?”

“Something about you and some bees.”

“Do you remember that we cooked a pig over an open fire?”

“No. Why am I here?”

“We had some berries that we shouldn’t have. You had a very serious reaction to them.”

“I’m fine now. I need to get up and get back to the group.” Jan lifted itself up and tried to swing its feet over the side of the bed.

“No, Jan. You need to rest some more.” Jal pushed it down. “We want to get all the toxins out of your body.”

“I feel fine.”

“Maybe you do. But the doctors will want to test your blood before they release you.”

“Why are you here? Why aren’t you with the rest of the group?”

“You needed me to be with you. The others are sick too, just not as badly as you. They’re staying in one place for several days. I’ll go back when you’re on your feet again.”

This seemed to placate Jan, and it settled down to rest. A technician came in and took a blood sample. An hour later, a doctor came in. “Good, you’re awake. I’ll keep you here another day or two, then you’ll be able to go home.”

Two days passed very slowly. Jal contacted Dr. Gyasi and he gave Jal a report on each person’s condition. Most people had recovered but were very tired. A few still needed help to sit up, drink tea, and take care of their personal needs.

Jal contacted Victor ben Nacri. “I know you and Jan are good friends, and I wondered if I might ask a favor?”

“Of course. Have you all returned?”

Jal told him that they had not, filled him in on what had happened with the berries, and asked whether Victor would consider staying with Jan for a few days. “I know Jan’s going to complain about being treated like a child, but I’m not comfortable returning to the group unless someone’s with it.”

“I would be willing to do that,” Victor told Jal. “Is Jan in the hospital here in Nik?”

“We’re in Pejaru.”

“I see.”

“I’ll make sure it gets back to Ridali Tower,” Jal said.

There was a long pause. “No, don’t do that. I think it should come home with me for a few days. Better yet, the hotel in Nik. That way, it could return to work for half days, as it feels able.”

Jal agreed with this plan, and said it would discuss things with Jan. That afternoon, Jal went to Ridali Tower, had Niki wash its clothes, and packed a fresh bag of clothing for Jan. “Could you give us all the fresh vegetables that are available?” Jal asked her. She went off to the garden and began to pick everything that was ripe.

Jal dumped out the contents of its backpack on the floor and repacked. It wasn’t sure why, but it filled a pocket of its pack with two handfuls of various charms and the Necklace of Triddata that Dignitary Tripathee had given it. It folded the Invisible cloak and put it in the secret pocket at the bottom of the bag, filled some pockets with health potions, and slipped some bags of dried herbs into another pocket.

Just as it was ready to leave, Jal thought about the bag of petals that it had collected at Luk’s house. “I wonder if they’ll work in a tea? Would they have the same effect?” Jal added the bag of dried petals. With its backpack on and arms loaded with two crates of fresh food, Jal returned to the hospital in Pejaru.

“What is all that?” Jan was clearly irritated by Jal’s sudden appearance. Jal carefully put down the stack of stuff and slid its backpack off.

“Fresh food and clean clothes for you.”

“Where’s my pack? Did you have Niki wash my clothes too?”

“I did. Some of them are in here. I added your dress uniform and boots and your electronic tablets and chargers.”

“The doctor said I could go home tomorrow and return to work when I felt ready. I expect that you’ll be at the southern enclave by then. I’ll join you there.”

“I thought you might appreciate staying at the hotel in Nik. You can see Victor and your other friends while you recover. If you don’t want to return to the expedition, I understand. You came a long way with us.”

“You would go on without me?” Sage Elvan’s anxiety about losing Jal kicked in. “I think we should be together.”

“I’d like to be with you,” Jal admitted. “But I’m concerned about your recovery. I’d feel better if you waited until we were headed north from the southern enclave. That should give you plenty of time to get through this completely.”

“You have a point,” Jan conceded. “Let’s see how I feel.”

Two days later, Jal returned to the expedition team. It had left Jan under Victor’s watchful eye and made sure Jan was settled in the apartment they usually used at the hotel.

***

Jal put its backpack in the tent, closed it tightly, and said, “Veelig Beezit.” Now no one could access its belongings and no snakes could enter the tent.

It carried the crates of food out toward the fire and food preparation areas. “I brought fresh food.”

“Hurrah!” Chetan Loe cheered. He was often excused from cooking and clean-up duties because he helped with guard duty and hunting, and today had been pressed to take a turn at the fire.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Verle Dilas began to take vegetables out of the crates. He was grumpy and wished he were out hunting. “Fresh tomatoes and root vegetables. Will we eat them tonight? Where are you going, Jal?”

“Right over here. I’m going to work on my experiment.” It knelt by the cold coals from the fire and began to dig. It took a while to get to the bottom of the pit where the bowls were. Jal picked one up and brushed the soil and sand off it. It examined the bowl and noted that it had turned out nice and smooth. One by one Jal unearthed the bowls and lined them up by the hole. It left the hole uncovered in case it might want to do another experiment.

“We could use some help here!” Elodi called to those by the fire. Elodi carried three large birds in each hand. Verle had six birds, and Badas had his hands full of some sort of small ground animals that looked similar to rabbits. Sidi and Luk brought up the rear, and had a decent-sized, hoofed animal hanging upside down from a long branch.

“That was fun,” Sidi said to Luk as they took their trophy to a flat spot away from the fire. “Check this out, Jal.”

“That’s got a very nice fur!” Jal exclaimed. “Very soft. What will you do with the fur?”

“It’s Luk’s. He made the kill. He gets the skin.” Jal ran to get its knife and returned to help with the skinning. They hung it up from a tree and opened it up to bleed out.

While a group of people worked to pull feathers off the birds and skin the smaller animals, Jal washed the eight bowls in clean water. It counted out an equal amount of meat pieces and put the same amount of water in each bowl. Jal dug a small hole in the coals for each bowl, and carefully built up the fire around them.

As they waited for the food to cook, Badas, Maya, and Chetan cut up the vegetables and fresh fruit. “I wish we knew what foods were safe to pick and eat,” Badas complained to Maya. “I miss eating greens.”

“Thanks for the reminder, Badas,” Jal said excitedly. “I’ll be right back.” Jal went off to its tent and was back shortly. “A scientist from the University in Pejaru came to me when she found out that Sage Elvan and I were back. Apparently, someone told her that it had eaten berries that were toxic. She brought these to me.”

Jal showed him two small vials and a tiny microscope. “You can put a tiny slice of fruit on a slide, put a drop of this mixture on it, and it will turn orange if it is toxic. If you have a vegetable or plant, and you put a thin slice on a slide, and put it under the lens, you’ll be able to look inside the cells. If they look like this,” Jal pulled a sheet of paper out of a pocket, “We don’t eat them.”

Maya’s mouth fell open. “I knew they were working on this formula. It’s been a subject of study for a long time. There are several scientists who are trying to find ways to help people around the world identify and grow sustainable, natural gardens. Hungry people are an issue that all the protectorates struggle with.”

“Don’t you think that’s because people are lazy? If they worked harder, they would be able to have enough food.”

“Do you grow your own food, Chetan?”

“Well, no, but –“

“What do you do when you don’t have anything to eat? And no currency in your pocket?”

“I ask my friends to give me some.”

“Tell me what you do for your friends in exchange for a meal,” she asked quietly.

The Tresdon was silent. He knew she was right; he was taking advantage of his friends. Some of them didn’t have much to start with, but they always shared when he came around. “How can I help myself and my friends?” he finally asked.

“I can teach you a few things. And I’ll share some seeds when we get home, so that you’ll have some and be able to share some.”

“I don’t have a single place that I live at.”

“A person can learn to plant seed or forage anywhere.”

“And get sick.”

“You won’t get sick if you learn what to look for.”

That night the group ate the fresh vegetables greedily. There was discussion about how much they could carry in their packs.

Finally, Jal stood. “We’ve decided to stay one more day here. Everyone seems to have recovered from the berries. The people who found them believed they were safe and are sincerely sorry for the trouble that resulted. I think we should turn the animal that was killed today into dried strips to carry with us and save some of the fruit. We could send another hunting party out tomorrow to bring down a smaller animal to cook for the evening meal and breakfast before we leave on Vrijdag.”

The people around the fire nodded in agreement.

“Several of us are sleeping alone in a tent. I believe that those people should partner up with someone. We can have the Protectorate move the extra tents to the holding area where our supplies are kept. If we need them, we can ask for them back. This may lighten our loads and give us more space to carry the samples we’re collecting. It will also provide a bit more security for those singles; we need to watch out for one another. Remember, if you have a yellow charm, you are welcome to use it. If you can’t remember the words to activate one, please see m or one of the wizards.”

“What if our packs are full, but we want to continue collecting?” Morti asked. “I have a small bag of stones that I’ve collected, but I think they’re beginning to add too much weight.”

“Do you have them in a container or bag?” Morti nodded yes.

“Mark your bag and we’ll put it with our supplies. You can collect it when we return.”

When the food was ready, Jal asked for seven volunteers to participate in an experiment. It took out a tablet to record the results. “I want you to count the pieces of meat you eat. When you’re finished, please bring me the bowl and tell me how many chunks of meat you had. If you decide you’re finished, and you’d like to eat something else, bring me your bowl.”

Pira was the first to return. “Thanks, Jal. My bowl is empty. It was delicious.”

Kir returned with a full bowl a minutes later. “I ate fourteen. I’d like some fowl. Thanks, Jal. It was tasty.”

“Twenty-two and I’d like some of those root vegetables.” Sidi told Jal. “There’s nine or ten pieces left.”

It took a bit before Pari brought her bowl. “Twenty-eight, and I’m ready to eat something else.”

“How many pieces are left?”

She counted. “About ten.” Jal held the bowl up, looked at the bottom and recorded the number.

Luk brought Jal his bowl. “I had forty-two chunks and I’m full. He tried to count how many were left. “Ten, I think.”

The remaining three people brought their bowls to Jal complaining that they were too full to eat any vegetables. Their bowls were still full, too.

Jal recorded the number of pieces of meat left in each bowl, and the letter on each. After Jal had eaten over fifty pieces of meat, its bowl was still full and hot.

When everyone was finished, Jal carried the bowls to the fire pit and poured them into the side, then dunked each one into a bigger bowl that was filled with water. The bowls sizzled and were easily cleaned. It carried them into its tent and tucked them into its pack. It had about two kilos of the ground rocks still in the bag. It pulled the bag tightly closed, tied a knot and tucked it into a pocket. Then it returned to the fire where other people sat talking. It sat down to read.

“How did your experiment turn out, Jal?” Jal jumped. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“Not a problem, Dr. Gyasi.” It marked the page it was on. “I can’t believe it,” Jal responded. Jal explained the process it had gone through, and the results.

The scientist’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s amazing! Do you have any more experiments in mind?”

“I thought that tomorrow I might use some fruits or vegetables, depending on what we find.”

“You have a dish that has none of the rock in the clay?”

“Yes.”

“I’m interested to see how the next experiment goes.”

“You could monitor the results if you like. You’re a neutral party.”

“Good idea. I’d be happy to do that.”

“Has anyone indicated that they’re shipping things back?” Jal asked.

“Yes, several people.”

“Would you ask our supply person to send about a dozen medium sized bags about an hour before we ship things back?”

“What are you planning, Jal?”

“I’d like to take more of these rocks home and do some more experiments with it.”

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Does it only duplicate hot food? Or will it work for plants? If a container is formed, can things like clothing and shoes be duplicated?”

“Very good, Jal. I like the way you’re thinking outside of the box. I’ll ask for the bags. You’re not going to fill all of them tomorrow, are you?”

“No, just four. This way if we come upon a similar situation, I can collect more samples to send home.”

As Jal lay in bed that night, thinking about the magic rocks, it thought it heard an unusual sound in the nearby trees. “What is that?” Jal slowed its breathing and focused on the sound.

“It sounds like a large animal,” Jal decided. “Zalim,” Jal said into the communicator, “Do you see a large animal moving between the tents on the north side of the camp?”

“I’m seeing several sets of green eyes in the trees. I don’t think they’re any different from the ones I’ve seen before.”

“All right,” Jal responded. “Let me know if you need help.” It rolled over and went to sleep.

Less than two hours later, Jal was awakened by a yell.