He watched the boy slip into the hole with surprising easiness, but as he looked at the hole he knew he would never fit. Telling Lonis as much he still crouched down to peer into the hole as best he could. "What do you see down there?"

the reply of 'earth and stone' got him silence and when he was asked again he had to get his master to move from the light to see, "little clusters buried in the earth, mostly white some purple but all small...should we dig some out?"

He thought it over, and as he leaned in a little closer, just enough to get his head in, he was unable to really see much. "Hold on," leaning back out he dug around in his bag for a moment before he produced a small pouch of powder, and taking a small pinch he put the rest away before ducking back in and snapping his fingers to produce a light. He could see the clusters the boy spoke of, and with the addition of light one could see sparkles every so often jutting out of the wall from colors varying from whites to purple. "Do not take too many, but you are free to fish out a handful from the walls."

he was not sure which were the best ones and asking was told to take ones with no blemishes that were mostly purple or mostly clear and none that were white. doing his best to follow those directions he took the metal pick that was handed down and went to dig out gems for his master

As the boy handed the pick and the gems back up, he looked them over before giving the boy a hand out of the hole. They were beautiful gems, and it had been a long time since he'd seen ones like it before. Leading the boy a little distance from the hole so he would not fall back inside he took a seat on the ground and suggested the boy to do the same. "What do you know about gems, Lonis?"

he felt confident in answering this time and did so without pause, "i know they are used in magic and they are money and that the more consistent it is the better it is though most people just like the way the shine and shimmer on rings and amulets"

"Yes," he said with a nod, his mouth turned up in a smile. "Different gems can hold different types of mana and magic respectively, and Amethysts are somewhere in the middle. of it all. Like you said, however, most people only care for the color, shine, and beauty of the stone." He gave their small haul a little jingle, "Pick a stone any stone," offering the handful to the boy he spread out the gems, "And try to feel the properties they hold."

staring down at the pile he chose a larger one with a dark tip and picking it up from the rest held it in his hands. he could not feel anything strange or living about it though he knew enough to try and guess at it, "it feels...um, well it has no flaws anyway and feels consistent and heady"

His nod was slow, and reaching out he made sure not to touch the boy while touching the stone for himself. "Well, everything has flaws, but yes it is a heavy stone. It has a lot of potential to become a great charm. Tell me, Lonis, what is your favorite creature?"

he had no favorite and he was certain his master knew after all these years but, as he always did he chose one at random, "i think a hare"

His smile was soft a wistful. He thought that maybe my now the boy would have found a favorite animal, but he could no particularly say he had one himself. Giving a kiss to the boy's hand he widened his smile. "Very good, I will make you a charm."

the promise of a charm pleased him and digging down under his robe he fished out the small carnelian he already had from the second year he had been with his master, "a hare to go with my fox?"

His smile grew as he noticed the fox he'd made years ago, and reaching to he offered his hand to see. "I didn't know you still had that, Lonis. I made that, when? Two years after we met?" He watched as the boy handed him the fox, and looking at it closely he could see the same glimmer of the stone that first made him decide to make it for the boy. Gently he tucked it back into the boy's hand. "They will make a great pair."

he nodded though as he did he realized his master's tools were back at their home. he did not however say anything and kept his thoughts to himself

He put away all of their stones safely away in their pack to later be sold or shaped, and as he rose from the ground he offered the boy a hand up. "Well Lonis, I believe we should try to make some headway today, but if this place is like I remember there is someplace we will reach by nightfall that I think you will enjoy."