Yeah," [eek] nodded. "He hasn't visited in over twenty years, and it's not like I can just walk to the nearest town and take up pottery is it? So I guess I am kind of still the Keeper, in a way. But I refuse to do the work. Too damned boring," he said vehemently. Laurena lapsed into silence, mulling over his words. During their talk the pot started to boil, and [eek] pulled it off the fire and hung it on a hook mounted beside the fireplace. He pulled three chipped mugs and a pouch from the nearby shelf, added a ladle of water to each mug, and then opened the pouch and added a pinch of something to each cup. Using a spoon he stirred each one and handed them off to his guests. Pulling down a fourth mug he made himself 'tea' as well, with two pinches in his cup. Sapphire and Laurena sniffed

