Cats in the Cradle.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then
'Cats in the Cradle' -- Harry Chapin
The boys are out of the house at the moment. Lohendrin would have been polite enough to let Alinor know he was heading for Hyjal to meet with another paladin. Of course, he ended up having to take his conniving brother along, too. Meaning the house is strangely quiet except for the movements of one former cultist now freed, Lorian.
Right now the father has wandered up to the spire, which has been Lohendrin's pride and joy since he finished rebuilding it. Cradling a mug of tea, the elder Neverdusk is on the balcony, admiring the view of the sea in the distance. He's dressed in Marbas' robes, since he had none of his own clothing and was not a plate wearer as his younger son was.
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Alinor had been giving the older Neverdusk his own space since they had brought him back to their home, but now with Lohendrin and Marbas both out-- and knowing he's accepting company now, having had a bit of alone time to start adjusting-- she decided to follow him to the observatory. After all, he was going to be her father-in-law, and he was a fellow mage to boot; why /not/ try to get to know him a bit more? It'd be rude to ignore him after turning him into a cat for a while.
She'd put on one of her more 'casual' robes, a deep green mageweave garment with sleeves rolled to the elbows, that reached to mid-calf; on her feet were a pair of tall, comfortable brown leather boots. A pair of simple goggles were pushed to the top of her head. Alinor didn't bother trying to make her steps quieter as she ascended the staircase leading to the observatory; indeed, as soon as she arrived she greeted Lorian.
"Hi there."
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At the sound of her voice, he starts a bit, perhaps thinking himself alone entirely. Alinor's presence has been downplayed a bit, and at first Lorian was on strict bedrest until his own son declared him fit to move around again. For month's he's been a prisoner, and so now it is nice to indulge freedom and see the skies of Quel'thalas.
He turns, then relaxes to realize it's the fiancée he's heard about but not really had the opportunity to talk to yet. "Good afternoon. I apologize, the boys left and I had forgotten there was another here. I hope you can forgive that. You are Alinor, correct? My son gushes with affection for you.
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"It's okay, I'm used to it." She grinned a bit crookedly, almost self-deprecatingly. "Middle child with two pretty sisters and all."
She stepped into the room, one hand absently pushing a strand of coppery hair from her face as she glanced around a moment before looking back at him. "Just thought maybe it might be a good chance to meet my future father-in-law. So, allow me to introduce myself like a properly polite person." She held out one hand; if he took it, he'd find her grip stronger than her appearance might imply.
"Alinor Sunspark. Mage and engineer. Nice to meet you, Mr. Neverdusk."
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Indeed, he wasn't quite expecting her grip to be as strong as it is. "Engineer, is it? An interesting profession. And a mage. I suppose I should be taking great pride in my son finding a wife who follows my own path. " He pauses to take a sip of his tea, perhaps thinking what to say next. While he's trying to be polite, there's just a hint of... not quite disapproval, but something akin to it. But he's trying very hard not to be impolite. Thusly, he latches onto another subject. "Which school of magic do you excel at?"
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"It is! Endlessly fascinating." She smiled brightly. And Alinor did pick up on that odd little hint of almost-disapproval; it piqued her contrary side, which meant she was going to be /exceedingly/ friendly and perky and all sorts of things. Perhaps not the best reaction ever, but Alinor was Alinor.
"Arcane. I worked with mostly Fire spells for a while, but finally admitted to myself that as fun as it is to set things on fire, it really doesn't /flow/ for me quite like pure Arcane spells tend to.
Besides, one of my main angles with my engineering is combining it with arcane magic. Technomage, I've been called before. Has a nice ring to it. I was quite happy to hear that Lohen's father is a mage too. What about you, which school do you tend to prefer?"
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Her perkiness wasn't unappealing, but he was most certainly unaccustomed to it. "Fire is a rather violent school of magic, there are few who prefer it unless they like a bit of uncertainty. Arcane flows far better. Which is my own specialty. Technomagic I've seen parts of, but my own profession tends toward alchemy. It's how I met Lohendrin's mother. Both of us were in the same class."
He chuckles at that memory, sipping his cooling tea again. "I'm told the two of you met thanks to a flying machine my son acquired during one of his campaigns. I suppose that's very fitting." He pauses again, looking her over briefly. "How history repeats itself. You look to be about the same age as Cellia was when I met her."
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Alinor nodded. "Honestly, when I think about it, I just don't really /have/ the right mindset for Fire, I think. I know some excellent Fire mages, and know of some, and there's often this weird...almost nihilistic streak I see a lot. I mean, I love a good explosion-- which is good since I /am/ an engineer-- but not because it destroys something, or reduces it to ash. It's just a fascinating process, combustion. So I figure it may indeed be best to just keep it to my tinkering." Okay, so she /was/ a little nervous; she was starting to chatter a bit, gesturing often with those strong, long-fingered hands of hers.
His mention of how she and Lohendrin met, though, drew forth another brilliant smile, as well as a nod. "He'd told me in the tome that he had one that was like a copy of Mimiron's head, and oh man! I had heard of those but had never actually /seen/ such a thing outside the confines of Ulduar. The romance didn't start right away, of course, but happened eventually. Mainly from me awkwardly telling him that I'd be happy to have him as more than a friend." That self-deprecating grin again.
"And I'm just a few years older than Lohen."
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He doesn't say anything for a long time, letting her talk and talk and talk and just listening. While there's still a little tea left in his cup, he doesn't drink it, merely holding the mug for the sake of having something in his hands. Even after she falls silent, he's just studying her, the cogs in his head turning though he doesn't quite give away what he's thinking. "I've been away for, hmmm, five months. How long before he proposed to you? The two of you are quite young. And my son is rather impressionable. He is a fine healer, I'll grant him that, and he's seen plenty of combat and I realize he seems rather mature for one his age. The negative aspects of life fall off him like rain down his back. I admire that in him. But I know that someday, life will strip that away from him. It is the way of things."
He leans in a little bit, and while he isn't leering, his expression is grave. "I would not have that happen sooner than necessary. If there is any part of you that doubts, young lady, I ask you to reconsider this haste to wed. Any part at all."
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Alinor didn't move as he leaned in, instead looking back at him quietly, with that peculiarly piercing gaze, one Lohendrin knew quite well when he was saying something that she might not /quite/ agree with, or perhaps took some slight issue to...
"I'm sure life will strip that away from him, but would you not rather he have someone with him to face what life throws at him?" she asked, plainly. "I realize he is young, and I am young. I know he might even be a little naive at times. I know I am too, even if I try to approach things rationally. But I love him very much, and quite frankly, I find the notion of a future without him in it to be quite bleak and unappealing."
She lifted her chin slightly. "I might doubt myself sometimes, but I don't doubt what's between us, sir. I'm more than happy to stand by him no matter what happens."
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She is stalwart and he withdraws, sighing in resignation. "I see now why he's so determined to marry you. Would that his mother had such a backbone." He shakes his head, turning away to look back at the sea, twisting the mug in his hands absently. "You're both of age to make your own decisions. It is difficult for me, sometimes, to accept this. So you'll have to forgive an old elf who had no chance to see his sons grow up." Or even knew about both of them.
Turning back to her, there's a touch of a rueful smile on his face. She'd see that exact same expression on Lohendrin occasionally, whenever he was chagrinned by something. "Well, if you're both so bound and determined to do this, I at /least/ hope you won't wait /too/ long to make me a grandfather. I'd like to at least see one generation grow up before I pass, Sunwell willing."
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She did soften slightly; after all, /she/ had a family, and one that survived the Scourge attack at that. For all that she couldn't stand her older sister, and for all that her mother was not precisely the most encouraging sort, Alinor did have her family. Her parents saw her grow up, whereas Lorian was denied that-- even ignorant of the fact that he had /two/ sons and not simply one.
"You know, you're not /that/ old." She grinned a little, moving to stand close by. "And not to sound forward, but it's pretty plain where Lohen and Marbas get their good looks. Maybe you should think about putting your own life back together for yourself-- share it with your sons, but not look back as much. Make a new one.
"As for being a grandfather, right now we're intending on waiting a few decades, but I'm sure you'll still be around then. Consider it motivation to stick around." Bright smile.
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Clearly Alinor has managed to charm her future father-in-law by now. He mock gasps dramatically with a hand going to his heart, which leads one to see where Marbas gets his fake drama fits. "I am over one hundred and ninety years old, young lady. Practically in the grave already, according to you young ones." He just feels a lot older than that, thanks to Nhalim making sure he was sent to the armpit of Azeroth for a very long time.
The rest makes him lift an eyebrow at her. "Wise words, though I think you are perhaps a bit biased about Neverdusk looks, being so obviously smitten with my son. And decades? Hmph. I'll have to talk to him about that one. I hope to have a babe to bounce on my knee sooner than that." Apparently he isn't going to give up on that one particular hope. "Might make him settle down sooner and stop rushing off to battle."
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"Pfft." She slipped her arm through the older elf's and grinned. "If I weren't hopelessly smitten with your son I would /totally/...feel incredibly awkward and gaze at a distance trying my best to not be a creeper because I'd be too intimidated and shy to express any manner of interest. But the thought would be there!"
She then snorted at his speaking of grandbabies-- that same snort that Lohen and Marbas both heard a lot when they said something particularly silly (to her). "You will be able to be the indulgent grandfather someday! But maybe I want to rush off to battle a bit more, myself." Alinor then smiled again. "I do go to battle with Lohen, you know-- we're in the same unit. There's always more to be done, and I /do/ know I have a smaller time window than he does for having children, but I'm not /quite/ ready to give up part of my life. Parenthood would ask more of me than of him, you know."
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The tea is cold and he has his lovely daughter-in-law to be on his arm, but he isn't quite ready to leave the spire just yet, still content to look out at the sea. He sets the mug on the balcony and pats her hand. "Any son of mine who isn't willing to give up his way of life to raise his children isn't worthy of the name Neverdusk. I regret very much that I could not be there for them. But if I could have, I would have been. And, be it a decade or two, I suppose I can wait to be a grandfather." Not that he won't pester Lohendrin after this.
"Do you go to battle with him? I had no idea. I suppose there simply hasn't been time to discover these things." He pauses again, then looks right at her. "I won't be here for very long. As much as I enjoy spending time with both of my children, and a future daughter in law, I know you kids need your space. But, while I'm here, perhaps you could show me some of those techno arcane projects of yours.
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"Oh, make no mistake, he's willing to do that-- eventually. Same with me. We /do/ want a family someday, a couple of children." Which will probably end up being 'several' instead of 'a couple of', but no need to tell Alinor that yet. "And we'd love to have their paternal grandfather there to see them, if you're willing to wait a little while longer."
She smiled at him charmingly. "You can stay as long as you like. It's a decently-sized place for just three people, so one more isn't going to be intruding. Not to mention you have a second son to get to know, and as you've probably figured out, he's a little bit different from Lohen." Alinor snickered, then continued. "Anyway. We have a couple of guest rooms for a reason, after all, and besides, there's a lot to show you! Lots of interesting old tomes and scrolls and whatnot, that will take you a while to go through. And I'd be more than happy to show you some of my work."
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Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then
'Cats in the Cradle' -- Harry Chapin
The boys are out of the house at the moment. Lohendrin would have been polite enough to let Alinor know he was heading for Hyjal to meet with another paladin. Of course, he ended up having to take his conniving brother along, too. Meaning the house is strangely quiet except for the movements of one former cultist now freed, Lorian.
Right now the father has wandered up to the spire, which has been Lohendrin's pride and joy since he finished rebuilding it. Cradling a mug of tea, the elder Neverdusk is on the balcony, admiring the view of the sea in the distance. He's dressed in Marbas' robes, since he had none of his own clothing and was not a plate wearer as his younger son was.
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Alinor had been giving the older Neverdusk his own space since they had brought him back to their home, but now with Lohendrin and Marbas both out-- and knowing he's accepting company now, having had a bit of alone time to start adjusting-- she decided to follow him to the observatory. After all, he was going to be her father-in-law, and he was a fellow mage to boot; why /not/ try to get to know him a bit more? It'd be rude to ignore him after turning him into a cat for a while.
She'd put on one of her more 'casual' robes, a deep green mageweave garment with sleeves rolled to the elbows, that reached to mid-calf; on her feet were a pair of tall, comfortable brown leather boots. A pair of simple goggles were pushed to the top of her head. Alinor didn't bother trying to make her steps quieter as she ascended the staircase leading to the observatory; indeed, as soon as she arrived she greeted Lorian.
"Hi there."
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At the sound of her voice, he starts a bit, perhaps thinking himself alone entirely. Alinor's presence has been downplayed a bit, and at first Lorian was on strict bedrest until his own son declared him fit to move around again. For month's he's been a prisoner, and so now it is nice to indulge freedom and see the skies of Quel'thalas.
He turns, then relaxes to realize it's the fiancée he's heard about but not really had the opportunity to talk to yet. "Good afternoon. I apologize, the boys left and I had forgotten there was another here. I hope you can forgive that. You are Alinor, correct? My son gushes with affection for you.
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"It's okay, I'm used to it." She grinned a bit crookedly, almost self-deprecatingly. "Middle child with two pretty sisters and all."
She stepped into the room, one hand absently pushing a strand of coppery hair from her face as she glanced around a moment before looking back at him. "Just thought maybe it might be a good chance to meet my future father-in-law. So, allow me to introduce myself like a properly polite person." She held out one hand; if he took it, he'd find her grip stronger than her appearance might imply.
"Alinor Sunspark. Mage and engineer. Nice to meet you, Mr. Neverdusk."
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Indeed, he wasn't quite expecting her grip to be as strong as it is. "Engineer, is it? An interesting profession. And a mage. I suppose I should be taking great pride in my son finding a wife who follows my own path. " He pauses to take a sip of his tea, perhaps thinking what to say next. While he's trying to be polite, there's just a hint of... not quite disapproval, but something akin to it. But he's trying very hard not to be impolite. Thusly, he latches onto another subject. "Which school of magic do you excel at?"
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"It is! Endlessly fascinating." She smiled brightly. And Alinor did pick up on that odd little hint of almost-disapproval; it piqued her contrary side, which meant she was going to be /exceedingly/ friendly and perky and all sorts of things. Perhaps not the best reaction ever, but Alinor was Alinor.
"Arcane. I worked with mostly Fire spells for a while, but finally admitted to myself that as fun as it is to set things on fire, it really doesn't /flow/ for me quite like pure Arcane spells tend to.
Besides, one of my main angles with my engineering is combining it with arcane magic. Technomage, I've been called before. Has a nice ring to it. I was quite happy to hear that Lohen's father is a mage too. What about you, which school do you tend to prefer?"
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Her perkiness wasn't unappealing, but he was most certainly unaccustomed to it. "Fire is a rather violent school of magic, there are few who prefer it unless they like a bit of uncertainty. Arcane flows far better. Which is my own specialty. Technomagic I've seen parts of, but my own profession tends toward alchemy. It's how I met Lohendrin's mother. Both of us were in the same class."
He chuckles at that memory, sipping his cooling tea again. "I'm told the two of you met thanks to a flying machine my son acquired during one of his campaigns. I suppose that's very fitting." He pauses again, looking her over briefly. "How history repeats itself. You look to be about the same age as Cellia was when I met her."
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Alinor nodded. "Honestly, when I think about it, I just don't really /have/ the right mindset for Fire, I think. I know some excellent Fire mages, and know of some, and there's often this weird...almost nihilistic streak I see a lot. I mean, I love a good explosion-- which is good since I /am/ an engineer-- but not because it destroys something, or reduces it to ash. It's just a fascinating process, combustion. So I figure it may indeed be best to just keep it to my tinkering." Okay, so she /was/ a little nervous; she was starting to chatter a bit, gesturing often with those strong, long-fingered hands of hers.
His mention of how she and Lohendrin met, though, drew forth another brilliant smile, as well as a nod. "He'd told me in the tome that he had one that was like a copy of Mimiron's head, and oh man! I had heard of those but had never actually /seen/ such a thing outside the confines of Ulduar. The romance didn't start right away, of course, but happened eventually. Mainly from me awkwardly telling him that I'd be happy to have him as more than a friend." That self-deprecating grin again.
"And I'm just a few years older than Lohen."
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He doesn't say anything for a long time, letting her talk and talk and talk and just listening. While there's still a little tea left in his cup, he doesn't drink it, merely holding the mug for the sake of having something in his hands. Even after she falls silent, he's just studying her, the cogs in his head turning though he doesn't quite give away what he's thinking. "I've been away for, hmmm, five months. How long before he proposed to you? The two of you are quite young. And my son is rather impressionable. He is a fine healer, I'll grant him that, and he's seen plenty of combat and I realize he seems rather mature for one his age. The negative aspects of life fall off him like rain down his back. I admire that in him. But I know that someday, life will strip that away from him. It is the way of things."
He leans in a little bit, and while he isn't leering, his expression is grave. "I would not have that happen sooner than necessary. If there is any part of you that doubts, young lady, I ask you to reconsider this haste to wed. Any part at all."
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Alinor didn't move as he leaned in, instead looking back at him quietly, with that peculiarly piercing gaze, one Lohendrin knew quite well when he was saying something that she might not /quite/ agree with, or perhaps took some slight issue to...
"I'm sure life will strip that away from him, but would you not rather he have someone with him to face what life throws at him?" she asked, plainly. "I realize he is young, and I am young. I know he might even be a little naive at times. I know I am too, even if I try to approach things rationally. But I love him very much, and quite frankly, I find the notion of a future without him in it to be quite bleak and unappealing."
She lifted her chin slightly. "I might doubt myself sometimes, but I don't doubt what's between us, sir. I'm more than happy to stand by him no matter what happens."
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She is stalwart and he withdraws, sighing in resignation. "I see now why he's so determined to marry you. Would that his mother had such a backbone." He shakes his head, turning away to look back at the sea, twisting the mug in his hands absently. "You're both of age to make your own decisions. It is difficult for me, sometimes, to accept this. So you'll have to forgive an old elf who had no chance to see his sons grow up." Or even knew about both of them.
Turning back to her, there's a touch of a rueful smile on his face. She'd see that exact same expression on Lohendrin occasionally, whenever he was chagrinned by something. "Well, if you're both so bound and determined to do this, I at /least/ hope you won't wait /too/ long to make me a grandfather. I'd like to at least see one generation grow up before I pass, Sunwell willing."
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She did soften slightly; after all, /she/ had a family, and one that survived the Scourge attack at that. For all that she couldn't stand her older sister, and for all that her mother was not precisely the most encouraging sort, Alinor did have her family. Her parents saw her grow up, whereas Lorian was denied that-- even ignorant of the fact that he had /two/ sons and not simply one.
"You know, you're not /that/ old." She grinned a little, moving to stand close by. "And not to sound forward, but it's pretty plain where Lohen and Marbas get their good looks. Maybe you should think about putting your own life back together for yourself-- share it with your sons, but not look back as much. Make a new one.
"As for being a grandfather, right now we're intending on waiting a few decades, but I'm sure you'll still be around then. Consider it motivation to stick around." Bright smile.
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Clearly Alinor has managed to charm her future father-in-law by now. He mock gasps dramatically with a hand going to his heart, which leads one to see where Marbas gets his fake drama fits. "I am over one hundred and ninety years old, young lady. Practically in the grave already, according to you young ones." He just feels a lot older than that, thanks to Nhalim making sure he was sent to the armpit of Azeroth for a very long time.
The rest makes him lift an eyebrow at her. "Wise words, though I think you are perhaps a bit biased about Neverdusk looks, being so obviously smitten with my son. And decades? Hmph. I'll have to talk to him about that one. I hope to have a babe to bounce on my knee sooner than that." Apparently he isn't going to give up on that one particular hope. "Might make him settle down sooner and stop rushing off to battle."
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"Pfft." She slipped her arm through the older elf's and grinned. "If I weren't hopelessly smitten with your son I would /totally/...feel incredibly awkward and gaze at a distance trying my best to not be a creeper because I'd be too intimidated and shy to express any manner of interest. But the thought would be there!"
She then snorted at his speaking of grandbabies-- that same snort that Lohen and Marbas both heard a lot when they said something particularly silly (to her). "You will be able to be the indulgent grandfather someday! But maybe I want to rush off to battle a bit more, myself." Alinor then smiled again. "I do go to battle with Lohen, you know-- we're in the same unit. There's always more to be done, and I /do/ know I have a smaller time window than he does for having children, but I'm not /quite/ ready to give up part of my life. Parenthood would ask more of me than of him, you know."
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The tea is cold and he has his lovely daughter-in-law to be on his arm, but he isn't quite ready to leave the spire just yet, still content to look out at the sea. He sets the mug on the balcony and pats her hand. "Any son of mine who isn't willing to give up his way of life to raise his children isn't worthy of the name Neverdusk. I regret very much that I could not be there for them. But if I could have, I would have been. And, be it a decade or two, I suppose I can wait to be a grandfather." Not that he won't pester Lohendrin after this.
"Do you go to battle with him? I had no idea. I suppose there simply hasn't been time to discover these things." He pauses again, then looks right at her. "I won't be here for very long. As much as I enjoy spending time with both of my children, and a future daughter in law, I know you kids need your space. But, while I'm here, perhaps you could show me some of those techno arcane projects of yours.
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"Oh, make no mistake, he's willing to do that-- eventually. Same with me. We /do/ want a family someday, a couple of children." Which will probably end up being 'several' instead of 'a couple of', but no need to tell Alinor that yet. "And we'd love to have their paternal grandfather there to see them, if you're willing to wait a little while longer."
She smiled at him charmingly. "You can stay as long as you like. It's a decently-sized place for just three people, so one more isn't going to be intruding. Not to mention you have a second son to get to know, and as you've probably figured out, he's a little bit different from Lohen." Alinor snickered, then continued. "Anyway. We have a couple of guest rooms for a reason, after all, and besides, there's a lot to show you! Lots of interesting old tomes and scrolls and whatnot, that will take you a while to go through. And I'd be more than happy to show you some of my work."
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