#anywhere

"Uhm.. Hearth Kerri?" Gerd calls out from the kitchen

Kerri has been arranging some of the late-summer flowers from the garden on the tables in the main hall. "Yes, Gerd?"

"This top drawer is locked? You wanted me to do inventory but I can't get to it. Well, I COULD get into it... portal passage... but I need the key?" She's talking about where the copper pan is. "Also..there's some glamour in there? Is that the excess dross?"

A pause, and Kerri joins her in the kitchen. "No, Gerd, but thank you for asking me rather than just exploring past a locked space. That drawer contains items for my discretion only, and I'll expect you to respect that." She looks serious and perhaps a bit tense.

"oh sure... " Confused "I ... guess. Just seemed odd. I thought dross and treasure sand things were Mountain Charges but.. if it's related to resources for the hold I suppose it's also Hearth isn't it?" She is not giving lip, honestly trying to find the rationale and learn more about this Hearthing

"It can be, yes. This is more personal, I'll admit...and private." Dammit, will I have to find someplace else to keep it?

"Well, now I'm all sorts of curious, but okay. In that case can I just leave it off the inventory list? I don't want to get this list WRONG but if you have that as excluded I guess I'm done?"

"Oh, it absolutely does not count as inventory, no. May I see?" Indicating the list.

She hands it over "Okay. You said to list it to maximize effienciy, which.. is kind of vague, so I went with perishables and non perishables and then sub divided from there"

An expression of approval. "Good thinking. Another way would have been most-used to least-used, but that takes a level of familiarity and experience that you don't yet have, and this works just fine."

"Oh yeah I wouldn't know where to place things there" She ponders

"Mm." Kerri agrees as she scans the list. It seems well-organized....anything missing?

Actually, no. Gerd's list is..concise.

As if guessing what this is about, Gerd says "Uncle Vali and I got uprooted more than once. We always had to keep track of everything we were taking with us and what we were leaving behind."

Kerri looks at her. "So this sort of list has been a survival skill for you."

"Yeah... what you leave behind can be traced if the wrong person gets it. What you carry with you can slow you down even if you're a troll. SO you have to make choices on what matters, what doesn't, what will endanger you..and what keeps you alive. " A sigh "I lost a lot of toys when I was a kid"

A thoughtful nod. "Gerd, you haven't gone on one of the Chieftain's orienteering or survival skills trips with the Y, have you?"

"Well, I've gone camping with her but never for a full week like the courses and such."

Another nod, more thinking...and she passes the notebook back to Gerd. "I'd like you to develop another set of lists. Imagine that you, Sylvi, Siv, and Connor all had to survive for a week together in the wilderness. Without doing research or asking any further questions, what would you prepare for each to carry, and why? Again, no research...I want to see what your intuition and experience tell you."

"Wow...Sylvi would be so pissed with my list because we're NOT taking a whole trunk full of make up" Troll deadpan "Am I being banished or does that count as a question?"

A bit of a grin. "Sylvi has a practical side I think you've seldom seen. And no, not banished...yet." A wink.

"I'm teasing. Sylvi would be the first one to lead us out of a real survival situation. She might feel put upon at times, but it's only because she can't help herself when folks need someone to rally around." Gerd says "I'll..try to get a good list, but this isn't a strong point" A bit worried "The wilderness part that is."

"Gerd, you won't get it all correct on the first try. I'm not expecting you to. I want to see what you already know, or think you know, and then we can go from there. And...I think I'll have another exercise like this for you after, but with different conditions."

A bit of a smile at the reassurance, "Well... I'm still going to TRY To get it right first time just to show off, but thanks. " She ponders "I need to get started. May I go?"

"Absolutely. Take a drink and a snack with you."

The girl smiles, and does just that. Looks like a pomegranate (The Fruit of the Goths) and tea and she's off to think this over

(end scene)