Welcome to Gaia! ::

Amora glanced at the window, then looked at Gilead and Lanaea, who seemed to be in the middle of a serious discussion, and then glanced back at Lin.

"Anything else that catches your eye?" she asked with a smile.

Amora peered over Lin's shoulder at the box in her hands, examing the box from that angle.

"You could always ask," she suggested. "I've heard rumours of such things, but I have never seen them for myself."

She glanced up at Lanaea, who was shaking her head at her brother.

Now it was Amora's turn to be curious. "Puzzle boxes?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly. "How interesting ... what are they?"

She also turned to look at Lanaea, wondering if perhaps she made those types of boxes as well.

Lanaea was indeed still in a discussion with her brother, but she seemed to disagree with him on something, for she turned her head away from him and spotted the two girls looking at her. She smiled warmly at them and stepped nearer to them. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked them cheerfully.

Lanaea smiled and moved to take the box carefully from Lin's hands. "Some," she nodded, moving towards the shelf where Lin had taken the box from, "but not this one."

She replaced it where it belonged and ran her fingers lightly along the shelf until she found one that looked almost the same as the one Lin had been holding, but with a slightly more intricate design. She turned and placed this box into Lin's hands.

"With this box, the top opens like a regular one, and in the top are a few compartments for jewelry - rings, earrings, and the like. Then, at the bottom of the front, is a little drawer, for necklaces and such ..."

She demonstrated, pulling out the little drawer.

"However, you may notice that the back of the box is thicker than the drawer are deep," she added with a sparkle in her eye. "Look at this."

She turned the box around and used the tip of her fingernail to touch a spring disguised as one of the hinges for the lid, and suddenly a large section of the back popped out.

"Large enough for a small pouch of coins if you like," Lanaea smiled proudly, "but almost impossible to tell that it's there unless you know it is."

Lanaea appeared pleased by Lin's reaction.

"It's one of the simpler ones, but also the largest," she told her, watching her eagerly. "I also make them custom to the desires of the customer, so if you're interested, I could draw up some plans to your specifications."

Clearly this was one of her passions, though in truth she was passionate about almost everything she made.

"Well, it would depend on the complexity, of course," Lanaea said thoughtfully, "but they usually don't take more than a week. Usually less. Price also depends on the complexity, generally ... twenty to thirty gold, rarely more."

She didn't need money for anythong really other than food and clothes, and she always made sure that her prices were fair. In fact, they were often so fair that people gave her more than she asked.

"Ah," Lanaea giggled, glancing briefly towards her brother. "I understand. Even when you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, and there is nothing to worry about, those who love us still worry about us, yes?"

She put one hand gently on Lin's shoulder and smiled warmly at her. "If you need it within a certain period of time, I can focus on it and get it done sooner. Normally I would work on a few projects at a time, but I do not have to do so."

Lanaea smiled warmly at Lin and nodded. "Then why don't we step back to my desk and get the plans drawn out," she suggested, "and when it's finished, I can send a messenger to where you're staying -- the inn?"

As she spoke, she gently guided Lin towards the desk in the corner of the room that had paperwork on it, and when they reached it she began to clear it off.