The accomodations the dwarves had built for visitors some time in the past were similar to the rest of their architecture. A square, rather solid-looking, block that held the entrance into an underground living-space. There was no difference on the outside, even the door was so small that everyone but me had to duck to get in but at least the underground space was high enough for Sigmir, allowing her to stand tall.

Once again, I was quite impressed with the dwarven architecture, what should, by all rights, be equivalent to a bunker, a depressing dungeon made from stone and earth, damp and musty from seepage and mold, was much more comfortable than I could have imagined. Sure, the architecture and art in the High Seat of the Thane had been impressive but more in the way that a museum or an old cathedral would be impressive and awe-inspiring. The guest-quarters were a homely building, the walls smooth, coloured in warm earth-tones with only few decorative carvings, the enchanted crystal-lamps giving off a comfortable glow, similar in colour to the orange of a new dawn.

The first room, after moving underground, was a simple common-room, with two armchairs, a couch and a low table, all in front of a hearth that made me wonder where the chimney had been. I hadn’t seen anything like that atop the houses and, unless I was quite wrong, we were right below the pathway between houses. It wasn’t lit so I didn’t have to worry, even if I were foolish enough to believe the dwarves hadn’t solved that problem, a long time ago.

Three doors, other than the one we had entered through, led away from the common-room, one staying level, leading to a pair of small bedrooms deeper in the mountain, one downwards, almost perpendicular to the slope above us with more sleeping-quarters and the final one to a dining-room and kitchen-combination. Again, a hearth was there to provide heat for cooking but what truly surprised me was that the sink could have been in any modern household on Earth, with a spigot and two levers. Curious, I tested what they did and indeed, the dwarves had warm, running water.

With that in mind, I went back to the bedrooms and realised that there was a small door in both of them, leading to a shared bathroom, accessible through those rooms only. Again, it could have been in any modern house, with a large bathtub made from dark stone and everything a bathroom should have, but a shower. There was even a mirror, allowing me to get a better look at the changes Lenore’s crossing of the second divide had caused within me. It was interesting just how well the avian features matched with my normal appearance, making me wonder if I should get some accessories for my earthen Wardrobe, maybe I’d be able to find something with dark feathers. I felt Lenore’s amusement at my thoughts, especially when she shared that yes, I definitely looked better with feathers, everyone did. There was an undercurrent of amusement at those silly little hairs we mammals had, alongside an image of her, preening with her gleaming, black feathers. Somehow, she did not appreciate my response, the mental image of a plucked chicken, ready to be cooked, sending back a feeling of sheer, unadulterated outrage.

Having a friend that truly understood me was such a novel experience, bringing a few tears to my eyes. Lenore must have felt the emotions welling up inside me, emotions I shouldn’t be able to feel, shouldn’t be able to have and never had felt outside the capsule and I felt a comforting feeling, as if she was spreading her wings to shelter me. I only sent back a feeling of wordless gratitude, letting myself relax into the feeling, if only for a moment.

Far too soon, the moment ended with a call from Adra that the craftspeople were here, ready to talk to us about our preferences and needs. Shaking off the melancholy that had gripped me, I left the bathroom and joined the others in the common-room.

There were a few unknown dwarves in there, alongside Helmaic who seemed to have become our main contact with the Ashenforge-Dwarves.

“Good Afternoon, Morgana. These are some of our best crafters who are able to pause their current projects to craft something for you. They represent different disciplines, from tailoring,” he nodded to one of the dwarves, a surprisingly bulky male with a bushy beard, “to blacksmithing,” he nodded to a serious looking female, wearing her hair cut short, ”and even runecrafting.” he nodded to one of the other dwarves, one that was studying me intently.

“Master Gelorin won’t directly work on your items, instead he is the Master Runecrafter the Thane asked to guide you in our library. He wanted to meet you today, to take a look at you.” Helmaic added, causing me to nod in understanding.

Before any of the dwarves could speak, Master Gelorin spoke up. “Traveller Morgana, I would like to use divination-magic on you, would you allow it?” he asked, his voice controlled and not betraying any emotion.

I considered it for a moment before giving him a nod in response. He raised his hands and drew runes into the air, looking quite different from the runes I used myself. At the same time, I heard him mutter under his breath but as always with spell-casting, I was unable to make sense of the noise. Finally, his formation flashed with clinically white light and the spell was complete.

The sensation was quite similar to being Observed, only more intense. There was a moment I could have intervened but I controlled myself, letting it happen. His reaction was a slight frown, as he was obviously studying what his spell had detected. It took him maybe a minute before he nodded to himself and looked back at me.

“I will help you, to the best of my ability. In addition, the excitable young dwarven Traveller in our hold claimed you have a connection to the Stonemother, is that true?” he asked, his voice now a tiny bit more friendly, making me wonder what he had read with his magic.

“I assume that I know the being you are referring to under a different name. Tell me, if you look at this book, does it answer your question?” I asked in return, pulling out the grimoire I had been given.

He looked at it closely before nodding, this nod a little deeper and with obvious respect.

“Would you tell me why you call her the Stonemother?” I asked, curious about the different title.

“Certainly, what better name to give one who witnessed the birth of the stones, of the mountains and hills? One who is older than the continents, who wandered the world when it was whole, so very different from today?” he asked in return, the answer once again driving home just why the Grandmother was so well known. I had heard her speak and there had been a feeling of timelessness, as if the passing of time had simply no hold on her. No wonder there were myths and legends aplenty about her. If she only went out once a century, leaving one tale behind, there would be many, but I doubted that she stayed in Neyto all the time, she’d get bored out of her skull. Maybe once a decade or even once a year might be closer to the truth, who knew?

“Now, I’m certain you can exchange your knowledge in the coming days. The honoured crafters need to know what to make. It would be easiest if each of you would request something different, to spread out the work but we will gladly host you as long as needed. The Thane named you Friends of the Hold and we will have equipped you with a well-suited item when you leave.” Helmaic interrupted the Runesmith and me, before we could continue our talk.

“Certainly, officer. I’m looking forward to work with you in the library, Mystic Morgana.” the Runesmith nodded to me, before pulling back a little. In turn, the crafters moved forward a little and started to closely look at the equipment on each of us, softly talking as they did. The close scrutiny was a little uncomfortable making me look over to Sigmir, who was beset by her own dwarves.

“Could you tell us how you normally fight? What equipment you use, what tactics and what magic, if any.” one of the dwarves in front of me asked and I noticed that the dwarves had slowly separated the four of us, forming four clusters and I had a feeling they all asked similar questions.

Letting out a soft sigh, I bowed to necessity, if we wanted truly suited gear, we needed to give them information to work with. With that in mind, I began to explain in very broad strokes how I worked in combat, while the dwarves were jotting down notes, a process that was mirrored in the other three corners of the room.