The Scholar (3)

Nti Anem walked out of his room at dawn to meet Ed standing in the sitting room. Ku Jian glanced at them both walk out from the door to her room with reluctance.

“You two are leaving early, you best not take too long.” she said begrudgingly as a graceful Ed sniffed the air with eyes closed.

“What does it smell like?” Nti Anem asked.

“Burnt wood. The walls have taken a beating, it restricts west winds.” Ed said as he made a motion of caressing a surface that was not there.

“The stone is till.” he said and Nti Anem raised a brow, “How is this considered stone? This is tile made from no stone at all.” he said as they both found themselves standing in a bright hallway; Ed caressing the wall and Nti Anem staring at the tile.