Welcome to Gaia! ::

As Andarien had predicted, the kitchen was in the far wing of the castle, and it was not difficult to find: as they approached, they could hear the c***k of dishes being stacked, the crackling of a fire, and the hiss of grilling food. There were also loud voices, people calling to each other, carrying on conversations, and laughing together.

"They sound happy," Andarien observed as they approached the door. He looked at Miyuki uncertainly. "Should we just go in? Or should we knock?"

Andarien nodded and knocked on the door. There was a lot of noise coming from the other side of the door, so he made sure to knock good and hard to be heard over it all.

After a moment, the door opened, and they were met by a man wearing an apron with greasy handprints and fingerprints on it, as well as smears of various ingredients. There was a sheen of sweat on his face, and heat was pouring out of the kitchen. Even Andarien, who had been somewhat chilled from their brief time out on the balcony in the cool spring air, was very quickly very warm.

"You must be the young prince and princess," the cook said after a moment; and he smiled. "Welcome. What can I do for you?"

The cook didn't seem to think it an odd question, and he didn't hestitate before turning back towards the kitchen and calling out, "Hey, Holt! The young Prince and Princess need your expertise!"

He smiled and turned back to Andarien and Miyuki. "Holt here takes care of the herbs and spices, if anyone can help you, he will be able to."

Another man approached them, also wearing an apron. This man's apron was clean, though, and though he was also visibly sweating, he was rather more kempt than the man who had entered the door.

He bowed to Andarien and Miyuki. "Your Highnesses. How may I serve you?"

The man nodded and smiled broadly. "So the conservatory will be restored to life," he murmured happily. "That is wonderful. When Her Highness returns this evening, I can ask if might help you, but until then there is already much you can do. In the courtyard there is an area of soil that I usually use for herbs and spices, but I've not had much opportunity to use it yet this spring. I would suggest that you take the pots from the conservatory, dump them out in the herb bed, mix it up, and refill the pot again with the same soil. After two centuries, the old stuff is bound to be naught but fertilizer, which on its own will be bad, but mixed with new soil will make for fantastic growth."

He rubbed the tip of his nose, then wiped his hand on his apron. "Once you've got that done, you'll be all set for growing almost anything you like."

Andarien was happy to hear that, though he was a bit iffy about carrying the pots so far. They were pretty big, some of them, and he was sure they would be quite heavy, especially when they were full of soil. Besides, the conservatory needed more than just the pots of soil replaced: it was so musty and dusty it was difficult to breathe in there.

Holt nodded thoughtfully. "Unfortunately," he said apologetically, "there isn't much I can say about that. I'm sure it would be helpful to clean the place out - after two centuries I can only imagine how dirty it must be; but I'm naught but a cook. My place is here."

Andarien half-frowned. "So ... no ideas on what we might do?"

Holt bowed his head respectfully. "Sadly, aside from speaking with her Highness, or with Maravel, no," he admitted. "I wish I could do more to help you."

Holt pursed his lips hesitantly.

"Well ... just remember, even Maravel was not here at the beginning of the General's rule," he cautioned the two. "Yes, there is much that he knows ... but there is also much that he does not know. Her Highness Princess Mari would know best what the conservatory was like before her family was killed, as she spent quite a bit of time in there."

The man smiled ruefully and bowed his head again. "I only wish I could offer more help," he said regretfully.

"You have been very helpful," Andarien assured the man with a warm smile. "Thank you."

Holt seemed very glad to hear it, and his smile widened as he looked between the two of them. "Is there anything else that I might to do help you?" he asked them.