Point of Reference

After months of searching, Taku found the Wisest Stone lying peacefully at the bottom of the tremendous crater he had formed when he landed.

"At last, master," cried Taku. "Were you hurt in your travels?"

"Oh, did I go somewhere?" said the Wisest Stone, pretending not to have just woken up.

"We are many miles from home, beyond the borders of the most distant maps I know." Taku's reproach was unspoken.

The Wisest Stone cannot shrug. "I am as I always was. The world around me changes so frequently that it is rarely profitable to note how, when, or how quickly."