spiritstuff
Precious mineral or long-dead beetle chitin, I couldn't tell. Onward, always onward, until the circle be complete. We had to tread very close to the red stone and it felt like nearing sacrelige. But that was the path, such as it was.
Afterward, we rested. I washed hands and face and poured some of my little remaining water into the rocks outside the red stone, in offering. We waited, we rested. The world turned here, but time did not pass.