[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia studied the browine with interest. Though she said nothing, she knew first on the agenda would be to figure out the little guy’s soft spots and work on them. He was sure tenatious. She’d watch. Perhaps he had a sweet tooth, loved strong spirits, collected something or rather, or maybe perhaps he just warmed up over time. She’d make sure she was extra nice to him. If nothing else, she’d learned long ago that kindness and courtesy had its place. It definitely merited a trip to the library. She knew almost nothing about his kind, and her ignorance could cost her even more animosity if she made the wrong move.

Her train of thought was abruptly cut off as The Master stepped from his workroom. She handed over her papers and watched as the man countered the brownie’s arguments in a gentle yet firm manner. She wondered how long the two of them had been working together, and how that relationship happened to come about. Perhaps an evening tale sometime would reveal it. She looked forward to hearing it.

She suddenly realized he called her a new member of their family. She froze and momentarily forgot what he asked of her. She forced a smile on her face, reviewed, and took a deep breath.

“Master, first I was required to learn basic stone identification starting with the most common of gravels and working my way up through semi-precious to precious. I can identify almost all of them either by skid, in the rough, or already cut.” She took a deep breath. Her tone was factual, without a hint of pride. Viskyia had been taught that nothing was learned before its time, and that without proper foundations, any and all advanced knowledge would topple to worthlessness eventually if the cornerstones of a craft were ignored.

She truly wanted him to want her help and to want to teach her. She took a long slow steadying breath, shifting from one foot to the other, and straightened her spine. She continued. “From there, I was allowed to learn the basics of tumbling stones and gems. After I learned the proper way to handle these things, from rough all the way to polish, I was allowed to move on to cabbing. That included making slices from all sorts of materials, including insetting different substances to form patterns inside the cabs. I’ve also done a great deal of decorative Intarsia. You know, cobbling colorful pieces of gem material together, and then finishing them like a cabochon.” The Master of the time before was a stickler for decoration. Please, by all the stars, don’t let him think she was bragging. She lowered her voice slightly and kept her eyes down. She continued.

“From there, several years ago I was allowed to start actually faceting stones, Master Titus. I was only allowed to start doing that when my mathematical ability reached the level it could support the art. I started small, doing emerald ovals and rounds in both brilliant and step cuts. I have never cut marquis or other odd combinations like hearts. Mostly this was because my Master kept me on spellstone production for amulets so I was allowed mainly rounds and this work ate up a great deal of my time.” She wondered if she was volunteering too much. Spellstones were common enough, and usually made of precious gemstone. She wondered all over again how valuable she had actually been to her Master. She shivered under her cloak, taking a breath and pretending to think on what she would say next.

“I’ve worked with most of the major tools” she went on to list a few. Then she continued with “and even completed my own set of tools though I no longer have them.” Her heart tightened. The last minute flight was too rushed to go back to the workshop for her tools. She spent years fashioning those tools. Even now her hands itched for them. They were the only things in her world she could call her own for a long time. And they were fine. She squashed the thought down like butcher would a maggot on bad meat and glanced up at him. What else should she say?

“I.. I never had the opportunity to learn carving. I would really enjoy helping you out with your backlog, and many of those requests are simple enough to demonstrate my skill level to you. But I need to finish my faceting training, and move on to carving. I know you need special tools for that, and most lapidaries make them their selves. And also, your jewelry settings are some of the finest I’ve ever seen. I’ve only worked with gold, or silver in simple settings and gem wraps, and never made pieces as delicate as you do. I’d enjoy learning something of that skill as well.” Alright, she pulled herself in check. She’d said enough. She looked back up at him, this time lifting her head, and studied his face through her lashes to judge his reaction. Was he pleased? Perhaps he’d be angry that she was so painfully ignorant of all the aspects of faceting, combined with the total lack of training in carving and fancy settings. She knew those particular arts where a jewelers mainstay.

She swallowed, shifted again, and realized she was sweating. She glanced at the brownie and saw that he saw her discomfort. She inhaled deeply and thought to herself, “Okay, what else would sweeten the pie? What else could she say that would make them glad to have her here?” She glanced around. “Master Titus, I’m a fair hand at cooking and cleaning as well. Much of your woodwork in here, if I might be so bold, needs a good polishing and some of the embroidery on the chairs is starting to wear badly. I can help a great deal with that, and stay out of both of your way.” She stammered that last part out badly. She glanced at the door and back at the Master. Her eyes danced between Titus and Furloin. It was definitely getting harder for her to breathe. So she paused to take a deep breath and give them a chance to respond.