Grace winced as the phantom pain shot through her, but she quickly schooled her features before her discomfort could show. Taking a seat on the stone bench, she carefully reached out her will to repair the stone above before it could collapse. Growing weary of the bird's fluttering, she also extended a perch from the stone wall.

"I am nobody special. The only thing that ever set me apart from other people was my ability to create living stone. With that, I could shape statues with my bare hands. Later I learned that carving certain runes into the stone would let me control those statues with my own body, though they would only move the way I moved." She stripped off her gloves and removed her outer coat. With only a thin short sleeved shirt on underneath, the line across her bicep where the flesh met grey stone was clear, even in the ghostly light of the crystals. "I lost my arm when I was twelve, and for a while I lived with only one arm. Back then, I was still scared of people finding out what I could do. I had heard what people said about witches and gods, and how much they were hated. It took me many more years, and the death of my mother, to realize I didn't really need other people, and to realize what I could really do with my abilities."

Grace rolled her shoulder and sighed, fatigued from the events of the day. "Anyway, that's enough rambling from me for now. Get some sleep, I have a feeling we're not done being hunted yet. I'll raise a guard and seal the tunnels for now." Standing up again, Grace called up a pillar of stone from the floor, shaping it with her mind into a form she remembered well. The features of a middle aged man formed from the stone as if the outer layer of rock had just melted away, and in just a few minutes the inert golem stood, back straight and staff in hand. At his side, the remaining stone formed itself into a second statue, this one a replica of a tall dog with long hair. Into each of the figure's foreheads, Grace traced a strange rune with her finger, carving the symbol deep into the stone, and stood back for a second to admire her work. 

"This kind of detail would have taken me a day before." She muttered under her breath, reaching toward the softly glowing rune on her inner wrist. Pinching the air above it with her thumb and forefinger, she drew it away as a thin stream of ethereal blue light flowed out with it, then she directed it to the rune in the man's forehead. She did the same with the dog statue, pulling light from another rune further up her arm. With a soft shower of dust, the man and the dog shuddered, then opened their eyes in unison. The dog immediately bounded forward exuberantly, licking at Grace's hand with a stone tongue briefly before turning his eyes on Nor. Before he could tackle the girl, however, the man finished adjusting to his surroundings.

"Hoi!" He called, his voice carrying a strange metallic sound. He seemed perplexed for a second after that, but shrugged and placed his hand on the dog's head as it came to heel.

"Is the danger passed then, milady?" He asked Grace, "And who is this girl? She seems... not quite human?"

"I will tell you the story later, Vald. For now, I need you to keep guard while we sleep. Wake me at any disturbance, even natural ones."