A momentary flash of recognition passed Keystone's thoughts as Kaylee was first happy, then sad. "I saw...fragments of your...plan? Stone bodies? You plan to bind me to a stone body, a lifeless construct?" A wave of uncertainty followed, mixed emotions, some good and some not so, rushing in and out of Keystone's mind faster than he could make sense of them. Eventually the rush of thoughts stopped and only the faint feeling of sadness remained.
"You...you cannot. I can't life in a body of stone. I can't control it. If I want to live, I...I would have to inhabit a living body," she spoke with the voice of a child, "or I would perish." She went silent for a long time, as if pondering something. 
"I'm dying, Keystone. My prison leeches off me, drains my very soul. I cannot exist in here much longer. I want to live...Keystone...to live like everyone else does," the spirit pleaded, a note of genuine sadness as it faded out of his mind.

Saran offered her help as she came in and spent the next few hours working together with Keystone. For all her feminine wiles, hard manual labour seemed to flow in her delicate hands with almost the same ease as it did in the monk's powerful arms. The only change in her behaviour seemed to be the absence of a warm smile. It reappeared any time they talked.
When Keystone mentioned the previous night, he could swear he heard a snicker. The woman pretended to be focused on cutting vegetables for a few seconds, then looked at the monk with a mischievous smile:
"And what if I told you that the night before was so impressive that I feared what may come when you're back to full strength? Perhaps I like casual flings, but am not fond of dragging male suitors to bed if I see them as something more than a one time partner?" she snickered again, openly showing her amusement. "As far as your 'tenant' goes, I didn't cast a spell on you or it, so I don't know what you are talking about. I do like to keep my head clear of all kinds of mental intrusions, don't you?" she said with a familiar, mischievous smile, glanced at him with appreciation and went back to work.

Come dinner time, Avar emptied the mug of new ale provided by their cook and belched, "What is this water ye're servin' me boy?" as he poured another mug from the big cask and listened to the monk's story. He and Saran exchanged a few curious looks about the fate of Two Stars and the subsequent mage war. Saran was the first to talk after Keystone finished his story:
"Keystone, you said that Two Stars was destroyed after this undead menace went through it. But riders arrived from that direction this morning, bringing news that the town wasn't destroyed after all. It seems that the inhabitants of all towns between us and Two Stars had some kind of disease spread among them that created false images in their heads. None of those towns were destroyed or seriously harmed by the sounds of the couriers." Avar and Tim nodded along with her speech.

"And how do ye know this magefolk o' yers was evil? I mean, me and me kin know that all mages be iffy, crazy even," the dwarf winked at Saran, "but I'll be damned if all of em are evil. Ye make it sounds like the boy was arrogant, aye, but that could be said fer all the spellfolk I know, including this one here!" he laughed. "And of course, I ain't against ye donating yer savings to me. Would be crazy if I did!" The dwarf lit up at the prospect of gold in his pockets.

Tim piped up for the first time since he met Keystone: "Does that mean you'll go back to that town?" Saran, busy inspecting the ring, jerked her head up and gave the boy a dirty look, then turned to Keystone:
"This ring looks like it was attuned to someone, someone capable with magic. It doesn't look like it's something you can wear."

"Boy, boy!" the dwarf yelled, easily suppressing the rest of the room. "I ain't gonna say that ye're not welcome 'ere, course ye are. but the sooner ye find a place to live, the sooner ye can stop corrupting me girl an luring workin' girls to me smithy in broad daylight with yer...practicing."