Rocks, Poop, Hips, and Stew!!

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* W01: Wayfarer's Inn *>-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

         The inn's main room is large yet cosy, with plaster walls and a low ceiling supported by sturdy oaken beams. The decor is sparse: there's little other furniture save for a few rough-hewn wooden tables and chairs, and the only real object of 'ornamentation' is the large, moth-eaten moose head that's set above the kitchen door at the far end of the room. Still, the inn is pleasant in a simple, rustic way, and the delicious smell of food cooking makes it all the more inviting; the place seems to be more of a restaurant than a tavern, and a bar is nowhere in sight. 
         The innkeeper's counter sits in the east corner, within a few paces of the main entrance. Behind the counter is a small storeroom where one can purchase traveling supplies. The west corner of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase that leads to the second story.

Storming through the door to the Wayfarer's inn is one icy, wet Sandy. She flops into a chair almost immediately, shaking.

"Bloody COLD," she exhales, sharply.

Liessa, meanwhile, is doing her best 'drowned brunette rat' impression. She runs underneath the awning. "Tarien's teeth but it's wet tonight."

Leisel comes into the Inn backwards dragging a burlap drape with various bricks and rocks on it. She shoves through the door, and for once has the right kind of clothing on, with a warm wrap beaded with moisture. "I know, but you still need the weekly routine.." she speaks.. to.. um.. the rocks. "I know you aren't used to the cold, but you used to be, and its not bad to remember it. No its not going to keep you from heating anything. Now Link.. don't go teasing.. you are part of a underground cool room, he is part of an oven. I understand his liking to being warm." She stop near the bartender and looks up. "He's back.. and wanting to go back to the ovens. A bit cold for his .. taste." she grins.

Svarshan has arrived.

Azog comes in out of the cold, damp beading on his armor, soaking his cloak, and finds himself arriving just as Leisel is talking to her rocks. He pauses at this, and reconsiders the door. It's not -that- cold outside. Heading to the bar, he asks, "Can you cook me something I can take with me?"

Svarshan shakes off his feet as he steps inside. Outside, the sky shows gray and colorless. Ice covers the roads, and Srassha makes a sound of complaint from outside. He pauses and leans against the door, hissing quietly to the swiftclaw in his people's dialect.

"Svarshan," says Sandy, a hand lifted in his direction. A nod to Oates, too, and Azog. She recognizes both of them well enough. "Well. Fancy meeting all of *you* here," she adds, dryly. It's the only thing on her that's dry. "Bloody rain."

Fiona has arrived. <Meet> Fiona joins CradleHipsOfEaSandy.

"It's the type of rain that makes farmers glad that the crops have long been harvested," agrees Oates. "Also the type that makes you glad to be out of it when you can, right?"

Azog looks over, nods to Sandy. "Hello," he says in accented Tradespeak. "It is a place, it has food. There are many, but this is good enough." He shrugs about the rain, and about being in or out of it. "If you dress warmly enough, it matters less down here. Up in the high Tablelands, you will feel real cold."

Liessa drips. "I'd just as soon have not been in it in the first place.

Leisel watches as the barkeep moves to lift one of the rocks, and takes it into the back kitchen. "Bye Link.. see you next week." Hearing that very familiar voice, she turns "Lady Sandiel.. how very nice to see you." She turns at the sound of hissing.. then quickly reaches into her pocket. "Yes yes.. he is here!" She pulls out a beetle. "I know its been a long time since you've seen him, yes he will remember you. No I'm not going to forget you in here too.. will you never let that go?" She smiles a greeting.. "Svarshan.. "

Svarshan leans back from the door and then nods to the sildanyari and others present. He pauses a moment after that, and when Leisel speaks up, pauses again. "Sa," he says, clearly not knowing what to add after. Outside, the skies are gray and the roads icy. The conditions have the Inn filling up fairly quickly, and a number of people have recently arrived.

Fiona makes her way into the inn. She has pulled her cloak around her tightly and doesn't bother with taking it off until after she is near an empty chair. Plopping down into the seat she waits until a waitress draws close, “Stew.” She says through chattering teeth. “Very. Very warm stew...and bread.” She adds as an after thought. “Please hurry.”

Sandy casually kicks a chair out across from the one she's slumped into for the lizard, sitting on the edge of her chair herself. She lets out a sigh, then rolls her shoulders and adds to Liessa. "I know the feeling. Seriously. 'Course, that's what I get for agreeing to help an idiot."

Liessa says, "I feel like that's most of what I've done since coming back to this bloody town." Liessa sneezes.

Azog has managed a bowl of stew for himself. He's standing at the bar eating it, though he looks over to Sandy as she comments on helping an idiot. "That is the normal definition of a hero in this city, is it not? Performing some dangerous task for someone who is afraid to take the risk, himself?"

Oates chuckles around a few bites of stew. "Sounds about right," he admits. "Sometimes there's jobs where the most important thing is to have the audacity to show up, and that's where adventurers will be."

"Dragon's Wings, Tree Ssspeaker," Svarshan replies warmly. And he clasps her briefly on the shoulder before indicating the sildanyari's table, and the moved chair, with a move of his head. "Come join us?" He pauses and adds in quieter tones, "The ssstew was made fresh yesterday."

Leisel considers Svarshan's invitation. She then pulls the rocks off to the side. "I can take a few moments.." she smiles, "Bailey says you look very good, and.. to tell his other friend, he likes her poop better than the camel he hitched a ride on after our last adventure. Which I am never going to live down.." She puts the beetle on her head, and moves to sit down at the table with Sandy and Svarshan. "Warm spiced cider please.." she smiles at the barkeep, who seems a bit surprised to see Leisel staying.

Fiona blinks at all the conversations that are going on and tilts her head about idiots, poop and camels. Her stew arrives and she starts to eat it slowly, quietly, and most of all, savoring the warmth that emanates from it.

"Gonna have a word with the weather gods one of these days," answers Sandy. "Tell them to stop making it so bloody cold. Isn't that right?" says Sandy, putting a hand over he face at Leisel's talking. "Drinks are on me," she adds, dryly. Leisel makes her want to drink, it is clear.

"So, what brings each of you out here this rainy evening?" inquires Oates, taking a drink from his mulled cider.

Liessa says, "Madness, apparently. I had things as needed doing and then" she points skyward, "THAT happened.""

"Sssider...does that..." Svarshan asks, the words slow. And then he gets that look on his face, that sort of grimace when he just can't put the words together. And he grunts, and leans over to rummage in the sack by his feet, instead. He'd sat down when Leisel had, in the chair Sandy had shoved outwards. Now, clink-clonk sounds come from inside the pack, and shhh-shhuh, as he moves things around. "I...will have the. Sssider." And he grunts at Oates' question, apparently poor at responding to more than one task at a time.

Azog is here, is eating stew at the bar. There are many strange and amazing things being said this evening, but Azog does not have any comment of his own to make in response. Oates's question is at least comprehensible, so he response by pointing to his bowl of stew with a puzzled look.

Fiona looks up from her stew and wipes the back of her mouth with her hand, “COLD..” she says forcibly, “how the hell do you all survive this damnedable cold.” she grumbles and goes back to her stew.

Svarshan grunts a final time, one of those gods-I-just-found-it grunts, or maybe it's a gods-now-I-need-to-straighten-up grunts before straightening. He clomps a jar onto the table. "Molasses," he says. And, "What do I...use this. For?" And he glances over at Fiona, then and starts to laugh. It's an odd laugh, mostly hissing, like a tea pot that had heated too hot.

Leisel's beetle crawls about on her head, mostly looking towards Svarshan, which he has to move again to do so as Leisel turns her head towards Oates. "Walking rocks..." as if that would be the most normal of things to do on a freezing cold night. She smiles at Sandy's offer to pay for the drinks, as the warm mug is set down in front of her. She mutters something quietly before she drinks.

"Idiot asked for my help. I gave it to him. He was still an idiot," says Sandy, "Bastard's lucky I didn't arrange for something blow up, or put something in his water supply." She sniffs. She is being , at least, somewhat discrete about the nature of the work, but that is that. She kicks Svarshan under the table once for hr own amusement and then says Leisel, "Why am I not surprised?" and then to Liessa, "Yes. That happened. Exactly."

“Rocks...walking..Wait what?” Fiona moans gently as if she anticipates a story that will cause some brain hemorrhaging. Idiots she can deal with, but rocks? Unknown at the current moment. “You are going to have to start at the beginning with that story.” The woman turns to the tea kettle dragon and his laugh. Her eyebrows perk up as if she isn't used to that sound but no comment is made in regards to it. “Idiot asked for your help doing what?'

Svarshan stops laughing as he's kicked, and grimaces, instead. And then grips the molasses, and slides it across the table to the Tree Speaker. "Essence gave. That. ...what do I...what do I use it for, Tree-Speaker?" he asks, each word twisting awkwardly over his tongue. And he gives Sandy a look. One of those: I'm going to throw a pie in your face when you're not looking, looks.

Oates gives a slight grin and takes another drink of the mulled cider. Sounds like he's not the only one curious as to the nature of the idiot Sandy helped, but at least this way he doesn't have to be the one to ask.

Liessa has apparently either ordered a tall mug of mulled cider for herself or stolen someone else's and is nursing it to warm up. "At least there's this."

Leisel blinks surprised at Sandy.. "Well.. I do it every week.. you shouldn't be... surprised. Oh, I should stop by.. to see your tree. I've been laxed lately." She turns towards Fiona, "I take the rocks for a walk." She replies, "You see the rocks get lonely. They need some interaction, you know.. get out once in a while. So I take them on walks. Socialization.. they do their jobs better when they are happy. I even had a budding romance once. It was hard to get them swapped out so they could be with each other, but I managed." One can only imagine.. She glances over at the molasses, and grips the top opening it. She dips in a finger.. "Very good. Its sweet. Add it to Princess’s food, it will be good for her." She looks up to the beetle on her head, "No I'm not purposefully leaving you out of the conversation. Yes he knows you are here.. yes he likes you. He thinks you have the best poop collection..." she smiles at Svarshan, in askance of forgiveness of Bailey's manners.

"Yes, you should stop by to see the tree. I am sure he's missed you. Or she. Whatever," says Sandy, waving a hand dismissively in Leisel's direction while she continues, "There *is* that," she agrees with Leisel, raising her warmed drink and mug. Scowl. SCOWL!

Svarshan looks up from where he's tapping the lid of the jar of molasses and then blinks once, slowly. "Sa," he agrees blandly, "Brown rocks." And then he leans back, jar in hand, and starts to unscrew the thing. Glances up at Sandy. "Blood pressssure," he reminds her. Solemn. And. Adds no comment to the scene between Fiona and Leisel. He's lived this long for a reason. And that is generally being smart enough to not get between two females. In fact, if he subtle shifts his chair closer towards Oates and away from the others, it might be considered pure coincidence or raw survival.

Fiona blinks even slower now. “They..get lonely.” she repeats and then looks at her stew. She seems to be really really thinking about this concept before lifting her head, “I am going to regret this, but budding romance? Between you and a rock?” Fiona wonders.

Oates gives Svarshan a nod as the sith-makar shifts out of the direct line of fire. Leisel's descriptions are certainly interesting, and definitely has the farmboy's attention. Never know what one might learn, after all.

Leisel starts to laugh, and shaking her head. "No no.. between two of the rocks that I took on a walk. Ruby and Jones.. they liked one another. Wanted to do the same job. I just had to talk to the merchants to trade out the rocks. Barnaby agreed to take Ruby's place, so Ruby and Jones could be together. It was a lovely ceremony. The High Druid allowed it to take place out at the Grove." Yeah.. you did ask.

Svarshan gets the lid off, and soon thereafter, the scent of rich, home-made molasses fills the area around the table. The sith blinks once, slowly, and then dips a claw in. The black-brown goo coalesces around the claw, not unlike ooblek in those famous wizarding stories. "I am not ssssure Srassha would like. This. ...have you ever tried it, Oates?" he asks the farm lad. And then he looks back at Leisel, and slowly, slowly closes his muzzle.

""Srassha likes everything since you never feed her. /Ever/," says Sandy to Svarshan, dryly. Then she eyes Oates and says, "Bet you thougth you'd never see a Sith-Makar, eh?"

Fiona blinks slowly, “Did they have any pebbles?: she asks now and tilts her head. A few bites of her stew are taken and then her head rests on her hand.

Azog finishes his meal, offers a nod toward Sandy's table, taking in Svarshan, Oates, and the others. "Good evening," he says, and exits.

Oates takes a good look at the molasses. "At that color... might make decent gingerbread, or possibly rum," he muses, then looks over at Sandy. "Can't say they were common around Elmsley-on-Danra," admits Oates. "Modest amount of mercenary traffic, so you do tend to see all kinds eventually, but Sith-Makar weren't common, no."

"Sa," Svarshan says, to the comment about Srassha. He leans back and eyes the claw he'd lifted out from the molasses and listens as Oates describes it. And then he pops it into his muzzle and just...

Looks down at the rest of the jar. "I think. ...thiss would taste very good. On demon."

Leisel smiles brightly at Fiona, enjoying the questions. "Not yet, but they are considering moving out of town before starting a family. That is going to be the hard part. They are currently at the bakery, and are very good heating rocks for his oven. It will be very hard to find good replacement rocks for him, but I'm searching. Natural rock holds heat better than the clay bricks." She looks over at the burlap drape with rocks and some bricks. "I'm sorry.. its true.. but you guys are excellent foundation." She looks over at Oates, "Svarshan was my first. He has the most beautiful swiftclaw!"

Fiona nods slowly at this, “Well why not teach the pebbles how to be baking stones also, Many family traditions are..” she stops and realizes what exactly she is saying, “Well. More fire to them on their choices.” She offers and then looks at the bricks and frowns, “She didn't mean any insult.” she states simply to them, as if that is supposed to placate the bricks. “swift claw?” Fiona wonders now.

Achala has arrived.

"Elmsley, huh?' says Sandy, "Never heard of it. This is probably not surprising." She shakes her head, then rolls her shoulders and goes to nurse her drink somewhat. A lot somewhat, actually.

Svarshan dips his fingers into the jar again. Mrmmm. Molasses. "Sa. A kind of...Ssshe is a princess," he says after a time, evidently lacking words to describe it. And he leans back, licking the goo-sugar-ooblek from his claws, looking all the while like a cat who'd just found the cream. Except nowhere near as fuzzy and adorable. He points with the other hand towards Leisel. And Sandy. "Ssshe. She has. Words."

Leisel smiles "Indeed.. " she tries to help out Svarshan, "Swiftclaw.. his friend and mount. She is beautiful, and loves to be told such." she glances from Oates to Sandy and back again. "Nor have I. Where is this place? " She spares Svarshan a glance as he seems to like his molasses.

Achala ducks in through the door, wiping his palms on his thighs. He slows as he scans the room -- people!

Fiona blinks at this and nods slowly. “OH.” She starts in on her stew again. “You talk to a lot of different types of things.” Fiona nods slowly. “You must learn a lot about what is going on in the city. I mean who really pay attention to the bricks when they do bad things.”

"Not surprising at all," agrees Oates. "It's a decently prosperous small town in northern Alexandros, but not one that's really noteworthy. Mostly it's just the market town for a hard-working farming community, and trade is good, but it's no major crossroads."

"I may have. Passed there, once or twice," Svarshan replies thoughtfully. He pauses after a while, and continues, "I never went in. ...but. Ssst. One worked with Essences. In the area. Sa. Dragon's Wings...Achala," he says, as the other enters. Svarshan sits at a table with Sandy and Leisel, with a jar of molasses in front of him. That seems to cover a number of the digits of his fingers. Nearby, Fiona sits, chatting with Leisel, and Oates rests at the bar.

Leisel's attention turns to Fiona again. "Very much so, and most of the time they don't do bad things. They don't always do good things. They get mad at us a lot, cause we take them for granted. But I do try and explain.. the walks help a lot. Helps them stay.. " she glances up and sees Achala, "connected. They don't like being alone.." she looks back to Fiona, "Like when the mists were here. They were very very upset." Even her voice sounds sad as she mentions the mists.

"Ah, yeah. Okay. Another town," says Sandy, waving a hand at Oates. "Lots of towns. I should probably pay more attention to them. Was it on the other side of the mists, then?" she asks Oates.

Achala lifts a hand towards Svarshan. "Greetings, demonchomper." There's a smile, then he deviates towards the bar to order an ale. He asks Leisel: "Rocks?"

Fiona listens to Leisel's words. “How did you learn to talk to them?” she asks. Turning towards Oates another head tilt is given, and a study of him slowly. “normally when there is mists around it was in a bath house. We never really asked what was on the other side of those Mists though..” she points out to Sandy, “You never know, it could have been a naked orc.”

"Brown rocks," Svarshan fills in as his food arrives. And there is is: the Inn's classic stew. Meat in a meat-sauce with root vegetables and potatoes. And he looks between one and the other and scoops some of the molasses into it.

Leisel points towards the rocks in response to Achala, on the burlap drap in which an assortment of rocks lay. "My usual.. " she turns her attention back to Fiona. "It was the mists.. when they surrounded Alexandria." Her voice is deadpan, "Cut us off from the world. The earth cried out.. didn't know what was happening. I heard it speak, I heard its cry of loneliness..." She stares off into the distance. "We were so alone.. so cut off. We became friends.. even the Grove trembled, the tress were confused." She seems to have withdrawn into herself. Then the beetle who had fallen asleep on her head moves and almost falls, clamping onto a strand of hair to hang in front of her face. She comes to, catching him as he falls. "Yes.. I know you are here." She smiles gently at the beetle.

"Certainly was," agrees Oates. "It's several days from here to Elmsley-on-Danra, so while we knew about the mists, it wasn't like it was a pressing thing. Well, other than adjusting for a missing market to sell grain and produce to, that is."

Fiona looks at the beetle and narrows her eyes. She leans in a bit to study it closer. “What its name? It seems to really like your hair.” She looks at the man that spoke. “Yes. She got a set of rocks married, they are waiting on having pebbles until after they can find replacements for themselves because they are baking stones.” She states simply. “Its a very interesting story but I THINK I just told it all.”

Achala looks over at Fiona. "Do you have a problem with the savage, unclothed beauty of half of my people?" He 'hngs' affably at Leisel, and buries his face in his ale.

"A. Sunguard once. ..." Svarshan falls quiet, the words tumbling, falling from sense. He closes his eyes briefly as he leans over the stew...and takes a breath. Starts again. "That a farmer will alwaysss move on. They are like the. Like the weather. I will fight an oruch. He will fight me. But the farmer will always be there, waiting for uss to leave and move so he can grow his...his crops." He lets go a sigh with that, and leans back in the chair. The stew in front of him steams, with a small bubble or two along the edge due to how it had been heated.

Leisel puts the beetle back onto her head, "His name is Bailey.. my longest friend. He has a poop collection, which Svarshan's swiftclaw has generously given to. We even have dragon poop!" She mentions this excitedly, as if her earlier depression about the mists and the lonely earth had not just happened. She starts to reach for her carisack, then realizes she doesn't have it with her. "Well, you'll have to come to the Grove to see it. And you won't need your heavy clothes, its warm there." She looks to Svarshan a moment, absorbing his words and nods, as if she at all understood what he said. "Farmers are good, if I can just get them past killing all the other plants besides the ones they want.."

Fiona shakes her head at Achala, “In the mists of the bath house...some times. When is the last time you saw a naked orc in a woman's bath house?” She points out simply. “A poop collection?” she asks and looks at the beetle. “why do you collect poop?” Fiona perks up at this, “Warm? I can deal with warm.”

Svarshan's muzzle curves up at the side. There's a sort of gratitude there. He leans forward at the table then, and digs into the stew, falling quiet after that. Too much.

Achala considers, frowning. "Well. I think I was last..." There's a pause. "Woman's bath house? How wasteful and decadent!"

Oates sagely nods in agreement with Svarshan. "And knowing my family, we'd sell grain to both of you," he adds. "Especially if the fight wasn't in the middle of a growing crop. As long as someone isn't causing trouble, their coin is as good as any other."

Fiona shrugs, “How did you get dragon poop.” she stops as she gives a glance to Svarshan, “never mind don't answer that. I don't think I want to know.”

Leisel grins at Fiona, "We had bath houses in Rune for women.. though I've never seen an oruch in one." She gives Bailey a gentle pat, "We have a poop collection, because Bailey is a dung beetle. And we get all kinds of poop when we go out with the adventurers. I'm a healer from the Druid's Grove. We often go along on the trips, to make sure everyone comes back in one piece. I even got some poop from those flying.. um.. "She looks up at her head, as if to ask Bailey, "What were they again? Oh yes.. manticores.."

Achala deadpans at Leisel. "You follow adventurers around with a big shovel, don't you."

"No," Svarshan supplies Fiona. And he concentrates on his stew, one elbow on the table as he does. He looks tired, and quietly frustrated.

Sandy has been swilling her drink. She's been spending all her time focused on that. Of course she is. She just... ignores everyone else and seems to be in her own little world for the time being. Fiona looks at Leisel, “Well that might make it easier. Also a good set of gloves.” Rubbing her forehead slowly she sighs. She gives a glance to Svarshan, “You look tired. Maybe a nice nap will help.”

"He always looks tired. It's the effort that goes with 'being Svarsham," explains Sandy, dryly, to Fiona. Svarshan pauses, then shakes his head slowly before jabbing a piece of the stew with his fork. And then he puts the fork down with a sigh. And starts to say a thing. And ends up shaking his head again. "I ssshould go sssee to Srassha. Excuse. Me." He says, and stands, pushes his chair away from the table.

Achala nods to Leisel. "Yes, a good, thick, and washable set of gloves."

Fiona frowns as Svarshan stands and leaves. “What?” she asks and then frowns before going back to her own stew. She stabs at the meat and starts to eat it. “Maybe I should talk to some rocks...” She says quietly.

Leisel blinks her eyes for a moment, after taking a sip of her spiced cider. "Gloves?" Then looks at Achala, and sticks her tongue out at him. "No.. we have special leaves we use, we get them from the Grove. The trees like it when Bailey shares his lunch with them. So they donate leaves to bring home specimens in. Big ones.." she holds her hands up to show the size. "And the leaves don't absorb moisture to dry out the poop. Bailey hates re-constituted poop." She looks back towards the rocks.. "Well, I can probably find you a few that are looking for company. Some are even non-working rocks. I mix them up a bit. Its good for their socialization skills." She whispers quietly, "The non-working ones sometimes get a bit uppity.. if you know what I mean. Gotta keep them humble.."

Oates simply listens in and keeps eating his meal.

Fiona finishes her meal and stands up. “I am going to head back home.” She says and drops a few coins for her meal down. “I have some errands to work on.”

Svarshan looks at Fiona a while, and then to Leisel. He leans down, muttering something into the Tree Speaker's ear before shouldering his pack and heading outside into the cold.

As Fiona leaves, Sandy turns towards Oates and says, "So you're a local boy, then. Lucky you didn't get zapped *into* the mists. My house was in it. Sadly, I wasn't in my damn house when it happened. Five years without my home. Trying to come back from that was a bit... odd."

Achala lifts his chin, and shakes his head. "You're just setting up the neophytes, Leisel."

Leisel sits up and takes note of Oates.. "Farmer... what did you like growing?" She asks on the end of Sandy's question. She looks over at Achala and smiles. "Maybe.."

"I come from a family of grain farmers," Oates replies to Leisel. "Left home when it became obvious that between my elder siblings and their families, there wasn't going to be enough acreage for a decent sized farm of my own. So I left, headed out to make a living on my wits."

Leisel adjusts her sitting posture, "Yes, but what plants did you /like/ to grow? I have some vines that would really like a place to be.. I could even talk to some of the trees north of town, if you'd like to have a spot. They might move over a bit, though it might take them a bit of time to make a clearing large enough.." she stops and considers this. "Maybe that would take to long.. they are slow movers, and very lazy."

"Hence the name," says Sandy to Leisel, as if it wasn't obvious. Then she adds, "You know. I bet you two will be fast friends." She nods her head up and down. Eying the pair of them.

Achala sips his ale, and asides to Leisel: "Should I look for space at the Grove?"

"Which plants did I /like/ growing? Hmmm, can't say I've really given it much thought," Oates admits. "The different grains had their ups and downs, but I'd have to say that the one I liked using the most as a grain was feed corn. Take some of that, a spring-loaded bucket, and a cage of chickens and you have yourself a nice prank to pull on your sibs," he chuckles.

Leisel looks at Achala rather seriously, "The trees would take your absence as a personal security risk, and they would never move around so you could have a spot outside the grove.." Looks at Sandy now, "They work... just not very hard." She turns her attention to Oates and his mention of siblings. "Oh, you had sisters and brothers?! How many? Did they all like growing things? I've never met a whole family of people that liked plants! My father was a mage, he wasn't into plants at all, but he knew the how much I loved the gardens. It broke his heart when I didn't... well, become a mage too."

Achala grins at Leisel. "An extra berth, not one less. Please. The trees and I like each other too much."

"Four older brothers and an older sister, plus two younger brothers and a younger sister," Oates mentioned. "And all of them farmers. It's a long family tradition, and while I'm not bad at it, I'm more interested in dabbling and learning new things."