#brightwindsbarony

"Eeesh. It's bad enough when Stu does that." A little impressed, though.

"Stu is a sluagh?" The girl whispers

"Nah. Stu is an Owl." She nods. "He can move almost quiet as a sluagh, except if he trips on something, and he turns his head all the way around like that."

"He'll want to see your books. He's ALWAYS got his beak in one."

"What an excellent approach to life" Lily approves, "Books are most engaging"

"Mmph." It's impolite to argue with guests. She offers as they walk, "I have some magazines. Glossy full-color ones, from 'Rock n Gem' monthly. August's was about Pseudomorphs."

"What's a Pseudomorph?" Lily asks. HER turn not to know

"It means False Form, it's when a rock, mineral, or crystal takes the shame of another mineral. Y'know, like Petrified wood, or some fossils, like ammonites. Do you like fossils? They're almost like dead things."

Sluaghs like dead things, right?

"I do like fossils" She admits with a blush "I like to thinnk I could have a seance with the ghost of a dinosaur"

"Want to see my collection?"

She ponders "I doubt any are haunted" Wistful, but then "But surely, old things have value"

"You'll like my agates then. They are all at least 50 million years old!"

NOW Lily looks intrigued "They are crone stones"

"Zircon is the oldest... they found some in Australia that's BILLIONS of years old." A frustrated HUFF. "I don't see why they gotta be an ISLAND though."

"Turquiose is really old too, and we have that here." Guiding Lily through the hold and pointing out places of interest. Kitchen there, common room there, here's where the murals are being painted...

Lily cranes her little neck about

Rattle rattle thump thump. The bathtub on wheels, filled with fine sand, has GOT to be very heavy. But Grete lugs it without complaint.

"You'er strong" Lily observes

Grete switches her arms. "Gotta be. If I leave her behind, that Chancellor might try to sneak her out and..." A finger across her throat. "He doesn't like my sharks. She's the only one I got left, and I have to keep her safe. 'Least until Spa- Baroness Derynwydd decides she can stay for good."

A look back at the shark "she has a head shaped a bitt like a tea spoon. "

"Or a shovel. You wanna pet her? She's like sandpaper, and she doesn't bite." A pause, "She doesn't bite friends." Clarified.

Lily reaches out... and strokes "Oh.... yes. I feel what you mean. What's her name again?"

"Rockhammer." Fondly.

"Lily, you're from Earthrunes? That's a pretty big Barony, ain't it?"

"Large yes" Lily says "THough I'm not from there orginnally. I'm afraid it's terribly complicated" She pets the shark "Hello, Rockhammer."

"Do you know anything about Squires?"

"Like.. what do they do?"

"Mostly they assist knights and Barons with duties that require a lot of trust. They also are under that noble's pesonnal protection and direction. " Lily answers after thinking about it "I do not think it's for me, but Squire Velvet seems to like it"

"How many squires do folk gotta get? If they are important, do they need more?"

Heading towards Grete's room. This one has shelves lining all the walls. Some books on them, some magazines, but mostly stones. Craggy rocks, uncut chunks, raw and plain, mostly not anything noteworthy to the casual observer.

"Well, Baron August has two. " She observes the books first, but she does admire some of the pale stones that look more moonlike "But I think he'd fine more than that a bit much."

Grete watches which ones she takes interest in, and then starts rummaging through a drawer. "Here, you can have this, if you want it."

Lily blushes "Oh miss Grete, that's not needful. you've been more than kind after you let Little Joe release us from unfair confinement anyway, but who can blame you for that?"

"I want you to have it. It.. fits with you. Here, just take a look."

Lily.. peeks

"What sort of stone is it?" She reuly does not know but holds it as if precious

"Orthoclase fedspar. It's a silicate." A little grin, and she says, "Turn it over?"

And she does

"I'm working on polishing up a bunch. Miss Hope says that they could be good for Cantrips. I don't do a lot of magic, just rock stuff, primal stuff, but I like -making- them."

Lily gazes "It's so pretty, it's like a corpse changing hues"

Grete grins, praise of the stone is as good as praise of herself.

"Thank you" Lily says, but also stresses. She has nothing to ggive back . Oh why did she choose to be an attic sluagh? Symon TOLD her the basemen was more comfortable

"Maybe if you find any cool rocks in Missouri, you can let me know? They have neat calcites there." Grete offers, but seems to be happy just to have seen someone else so happy with one of her stones.

"Calcites" She makes a verbal note to make a mental one

"You wanna meet the other kids? I can beat Kushenah and Catir in arm wrestling, but maybe you and Stu can see whose head can twist the furthest without falling off."

"Yes, please"

She grabs a handful of shiny gravel and sprinkles this over the tub. "Snackies, Rockie." To Lily, "I'll leave her here for now. She's safe in my room."

And the Landshark bobs up like a really awesome gold fish!