Mira’s hand was calloused from the life of one raised in a small town, and her grip was firm.  She noticed the slight glow of Scarlett’s sword, but not that it changed colors.  Trill returned the demon’s gaze with a smile and a wink, partially because she’s pretty, though far too young for his tastes, and partially because she seemed a bit uneasy.  Healer and minstrel both figured that the words she spoke to her mother were not meant for their ears, and pretended not to hear them.

The woman considered the question of Lucerna.  “What’s it like?  Well...I’ve done little travelling myself.  Just from my hometown to the capital, really.  It’s a lot like the area around the university, I suppose -- open fields and so on, though there’s parts that are forested.  And I’m sure one city is much like another.”

“That’s not true at all.”  Here Trill, far better travelled, stepped in.  “I find that every city has its own personality.  Lucerna in general has a lot of prairie, marsh, and moor, where humans haven’t built.  There’s some forests, but nothing like on Tellus, and there’s a large number of towns and cities.  The City of Light is the largest of those, and I’d say it has a very intent and busy feel, though sometimes a carelessly impersonal one.”

When Scarlett went into the tower, Mira turned her attention to Kailu.  “Sir?” she asked, sounding a little uncertain.  “Are there class schedules, or anything?  Mrs. Roran left rather suddenly, and didn’t mention anything about where we should go, nor when.  ...Nor did she actually give Trillian a place to stay.”