The gryphon leads you to the center of the room, where a slight hollow in the floor has been transformed into a sparkling pool of water with a fountain in the center. The pool is surrounded by a ring of moss-covered rocks, and he gestures with a paw for you to have a seat on one of them. Sitting down, you notice that the gryphon's head is on the same level as yours.

"I am Kaliesin," the gryphon tells you, and bows with a flourish. "But please call me Kal. All my friends do."

You introduce yourself, and return the bow as well as you can from a sitting position. "Thank you for being so nice to me, Kal. I'm honored that you consider me a friend."

Kal smiles. "My pleasure. Any friend of Juleidah's is a friend of mine." You start to protest, remembering how sharp her knife was and how eager she seemed to use it, but Kal interrupts you. "It's true. Juleidah may not seem like a very friendly person, but I've known her for a long time. She usually leaves travelers completely alone unless they pose an immediate danger to the castle. She must really like you, or else she wouldn't have helped you as much as she has."

You fall silent, considering this. Kal lets you ponder for a few moments with an amused look in his eyes, then changes the subject. "So how do you like my eyrie?"

"I love it!" you reply enthusiastically.

"I'm glad you approve," Kal says, pleased. "I worked on it for a long time, and I've only just gotten it exactly the way I want it. You're the first person besides Juleidah to see the finished product."

"How did you get all these plants to grow inside a stone room?" you ask. "It looks almost like magic!"

"It is, at least partially," Kal tells you, and smiles as your jaw drops. "I did learn a little magic before I came here, and magic is one of those things you never really forget."

You whistle. "You furnished this entire room with "a little" magic?"

Kal shuffles his paws and stares at the ground. "Well...no...the Lady Evenstar helped me. A lot."

You pounce on this opportunity to learn more about the mysterious Lady Evenstar. "So this Lady Evenstar is a magician?"

"Yes and no," Kal answers. "It's a little hard to explain, even for a storyteller like myself." You beg him to tell you more, but all he does is smile mysteriously. Finally, exasperated, you change the subject.

"I didn't know you were a storyteller."

"Oh, yes," he tells you. "It's one of the highest forms of art my people possess. Even the smallest gryphlets know at least one tale by heart." He sighs and hunches his shoulders. "Although I am thought to be an excellent teller of tales here at the castle, among my people I was never considered more than average. Now that I'm no longer exposed to the gryphonic way of storytelling, I'm afraid of losing what little ability I have, so I try to keep in constant practice." He glances at you shyly. "As a matter of fact, I'm working on a story right now. Would you like to hear it?"

You smile at him and say,

"I'd love to!"

"I'm sorry, but I really don't have the time."