The three pouches from Sahara's drawer lay spread across the small table in her preserved room, their colors seeming to glow in the golden light of her eternal flame. Each was carefully labeled in Sahara's neat handwriting: "For Earth's Foundation," "For Water's Flow," and "For Fire's Heart."
Saguna picked up the red pouch marked for fire, feeling its weight. Inside, he could hear the soft whisper of powder shifting, the ember dust Professor Nyala had mentioned, along with other components.
"But how did these get here?" Radji asked, examining the green pouch with scientific curiosity. "The labeling appears to be in Sahara's handwriting, but the ingredients..."
Professor Nyala studied the pouches more carefully, her expression shifting to recognition. "These aren't Sahara's preparations," she realized. "The blessing technique, the specific combinations, this is perhaps Elder Reza's grandmother's work. Your sister's flame must have guided you to what was already hidden here." She looked at Saguna with newfound respect. "This room has been a sanctuary for Keepers longer than we realized."
Osa hefted the blue pouch, noting its dampness. "These aren't just random ingredients. They feel... alive."
"Because they are," Professor Nyala confirmed. "Each component has been blessed by spirits from its corresponding realm. They will respond to your elemental affinities."
The afternoon sun was beginning its descent toward the horizon, casting longer shadows across the village. From Sahara's window, Saguna could see the twisted spire at the village center pulsing more rapidly, its dark light seeming to anticipate the approaching twilight.
"We need to move," he said, securing his pouch inside his shirt. "According to the journal, the anchor points must be prepared before sunset, and we'll need time to reach each location."
Professor Nyala nodded. "Remember, you cannot simply scatter the contents and hope for the best. Each anchor requires specific preparation, and more importantly, it must resonate with your personal connection to the element."
"What exactly does that mean?" Osa asked, already knowing he wouldn't like the answer.
"It means each of you must face what your element truly represents within you," she replied. "Earth reveals truth, water exposes emotion, and fire demands sacrifice. The anchor will not activate unless you're prepared to accept what it shows you."
A chill ran through the room despite the warmth of Sahara's flame. Saguna touched the jasper stone at his throat, feeling its steady pulse.
"Where do we start?" he asked.
"The eastern shrine," Professor Nyala decided. "It's the farthest from the village center, which gives us the greatest margin for error if something goes wrong. Mr. Loma will prepare the earth anchor there."
Radji adjusted his glasses, a gesture Saguna now recognized as his way of processing nervous energy. "And if I cannot... resonate properly with the earth element?"
"Then we adapt," Saguna said firmly. "The triangle protects its points, remember? We'll find another way."
The sincerity in his voice seemed to steady Radji. "Very well. Lead the way."
They left Sahara's room reluctantly, each carrying their elemental pouch and the weight of the task ahead. The hallway remained warm and protected, but the moment they stepped into the main room, the temperature dropped noticeably. Frost covered every surface more thickly than before, and strange sounds echoed from the walls, scratching, whispering, searching.
"The shadows know we're here," Professor Nyala said quietly. "They can sense the disturbance we're creating in the Veil."
They descended through the trapdoor into the chamber beneath the house, then made their way back through the tunnel system. The frost patterns on the walls had changed, now pointing not just toward the village center but following their path, as if tracking their movement.
"We're being watched," Osa observed, noting how the patterns shifted as they passed.
"Constantly," Professor Nyala confirmed. "But they cannot enter this tunnel network while water still flows. Elder Reza's grandmother's protections hold."
The journey to the surface took longer than their earlier descent, partly due to caution and partly because Professor Nyala insisted on checking each junction for signs of shadow intrusion. When they finally emerged from a concealed exit among the rocks of the eastern coastline, the sun was noticeably lower in the sky.
The shrine stood on a point overlooking the bay, its ancient stones weathered by centuries of salt spray and storm. Unlike the rest of the village, it showed no signs of black frost, though the air around it shimmered strangely, as if reality were slightly bent in its vicinity.
"The spirits here are old," Radji said, approaching the shrine with newfound respect. "I can feel them in the stone, in the earth beneath our feet."
The shrine itself was simple: a circle of standing stones surrounding a central altar, all carved from the same dark volcanic rock. Symbols were etched into each stone. Not the shadow script they'd seen in the tunnels, but something far older, cleaner.
"Ward runes," Professor Nyala identified. "But also something more. These stones are attuned to the earth element specifically."
Saguna watched as Radji approached the center of the circle, his steps becoming increasingly hesitant. At the altar, he stopped completely, his hands hovering inches above the stone surface.
"I... I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Radji admitted, his voice tight with frustration. "There are no instructions, no methodology. How can I proceed without proper procedures?"