Lesson 1: The Lonely Chanterelle

Lydia looked pretty well put together, all considered, but that was the point. If she dressed nice and looked nice and forced a smile, then no one would suspect anything was off, right? Her dress, while nice, was still a relatively simple piece. Off the shoulder and accented by a small broach. Appearance was somewhat offset, however, as she waddled down the market - lute case in one hand, corn dog in the other. After a little walking and back and forth, she located (what she hoped) was Soerl's home. Looking over it and around, she hesitantly wandered her way towards the front, and with a sigh, lifted a leg to knock at the door with the end of her boot.

Soerl had made sure to put an extra chair into his music room. Normally, there was only one in there. It was rare that he was ever disturbed while working. With Poppy already gone, he had made sure to keep the Manor mostly presentable towards a guest. He opened the front door and gave Lydia a smile. "Afternoon, Lydia. Do come in." He stepped aside and held onto the door.

When the door opened Lydia made sure to shoot a smile right back. "Afternoon!" Stepping in after his invitation, the corn dog was offered over. "I brought this for you." She felt bad she didn't get to pay him, so she wanted to bring something, at least. And given the vendors she perchanced upon? Corn dogs seemed vastly more appropriate than dollies, jewelry, makeup, or puppies.

"Oh, well thank you." He reached out to take the corn dog, glancing at it before smiling. "Heh." Memories. He was reminded of the first time he had one, with a very specific young lady. The thought was shaken away. "Thank you." He gestured up the stairs. "The room is up there. Turn left and it's the first door you'll come to."

Now that she had both hands free, her bag was holstered up a little higher on her shoulder, and the handle of her lute case gripped with both hands. Glancing to the stairs and back, she nodded before setting off in that direction. "You have a really nice place." To the elf, even having an upstairs? That's all sorts of luxury, right there.

"A little big for just myself. I'm glad my sister is staying here as well." The statement brought no melancholy feelings to the surface. This day was not a day for distractions. He gently pushed the door closed and started for the stairs as well.

"I can imagine you would be. If I had a place like this I'd likely get lost all the time and have to have someone around to make sure that didn't happen." A weak attempt at a joke, that. Lute case was wielded carefully as she ascended the stairs, careful not to knock out any posts, poles, banisters, steps, or walls she may encounter. It wouldn't do well to demolish the place. Pausing at the top, she peered down the hall of doors. "First door on left.." She murmured quietly under her breath, mostly as a means to remember the instructions before meandering towards the proper door.

The minstrel ran his hand along the wooden handrail of the stairs as he followed. "It is of nice size." He chuckled a bit at the joke. "Luckily, I have little use for all of the rooms." The interior is almost all wooden. A few fine doors lined the hall the stairs would lead to. Likely hand-carved by the look of them. The first door on the left was no exception to that.

"It's hard to imagine anyone who would need so many rooms." Idly commented, before pausing at the door. Her gaze wandered over it, taking in the detail for a moment before she reached up to pull the door open.

The interior of the music room was surprisingly well-organized. On a large desk there were quills in a small cup, with ink and a stack of parchment nearby. A few specialized quills received from Ayly glowed faintly on a shelf hanging from the wall. Soerl's guitar and lute were placed on identical stands near each other. The special paneling in the walls likely was the only thing not immediately visible. "That much is true. I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with the place, yet."

She ventured into the room, pausing a few steps in. Details were glanced over, her brows lifted in faint surprise. She hadn't expected it so well kept, honestly. Her own work areas? Not even close to being this clean. "You wanted to actually do something with it?" Glancing over her shoulder towards Soerl, curiously. "Do you mean like... selling it?"

"I was considering that, yes." He nodded. Running from unpleasant memories was something he excelled at, after all. He gestured over toward the extra chair he'd brought inside. It was cushioned and likely a little heavy, though that really hadn't meant anything for him, considering. He went over to retrieve his old lute, which was aged, but still in good condition.

"Hm, well I'm sure you wouldn't have trouble selling it." Lydia nodded and smiled faintly when he gestured to the chair before wandering over to take a seat. Getting down to business, lute case was opened and lute was retrieved. Case set aside, neck of the lute was held in her left hand, as her right rested over the belly. She sorta knew how to hold the thing at least, which was likely a good thing.

"Did you have some time to get familiar with your lute?" His emerald eyes were examining how Lydia was holding the instrument. He smiled a little, but said nothing in regard to it. He settled his own lute in a very similar way.

"Yeah, I definitely tried at least... though I suspect it may need tuning?" She ran her fingers along the strings to produce a very unattractive twang. She also refrained from mentioning that she had already tried to do it herself...

His sensitive hearing caused a bit of a wince after that. Soerl chuckled afterward, though. "Yes, I think it does." He set his lute down on the spacious desk. "May I see it? It'll be easier if I do it, this time. There's no real way to tell if it's in tune than by ear. That comes in time."

"Probably would be best, yeah..." She smiled faintly, in an almost self-effacing manner as she offered the lute over. It was a little old and used, and a little scuffed up around the edges, but perfectly functional.

The lute's condition got a smile out of him, perhaps surprisingly. Memories again. He reached out to take it. After settling it, he tested each string and went about turning the tuning pegs. "Do you know what sort of wood the pegs are made from?" He tapped one of the pegs and looked up to Lydia, briefly. Then, back to tuning.

"Ah... I'm afraid I don't." She shook her head, glancing over the lute as he tuned. "I don't really know anything about it. Or lutes in general.. they're not all made of the same type of wood?"

"No, they aren't. Different types of wood hold up longer and sound better. Plus, the pegs here? The wood changes shape through age and the vapor in the air. Since friction keeps them in place, it's best to use something that won't change much over time. Like pearwood or such." He strummed the strings again and got the desired results with each one. Another smile and he offered the instrument back to Lydia.


(Edited and adapted from Live RP)

Soerl was certainly a lot more patient with her than she was with herself. He made it look so simple, yet she struggled with it. "Is that what you want me to do this next week then?" She plucked at two strings, oh so very quietly and idly, but still, not quite right.

"It is. Make sure you practice for a few minutes every night. Nothing too extensive. And try not to get very frustrated, even if you do something wrong." He then pointed out a string on his lute, in the middle. "When my mentor first started teaching me, I broke this very string. The first day." He thought an example might help her frustration.

Nothing too extensive eh? She'd need something to keep herself occupied this upcoming week. Or two. Or three. So it was very likely she'd practice more than she ought to. She's rather stubborn, like that. Lydia looked a little amused when Soerl pointed out the string. "You did? I don't think I've done that before.. I'm always scared I'm going to break the strings though."

"It happens sometimes. I was being too forceful, though, which is why it happened to me." He chuckled. "Overeagerness at the time. As long as you're firm, but not rough, you'll be all right. That lute seems fairly good."

She nodded in understanding, tapping a finger against the lute. "I hope so... okay. I'll practice the courses. Is there anything else I should be doing?"

"Yes, actually. While you're playing the courses, get used to hearing how the notes sound. That way, you'll be able to tune the lute next time without much assistance from me. We likely won't try that for a few weeks yet, though."

"So I'll be able to tune it eventually?" She seemed a little surprised at that. And a few weeks? That still seemed soon to her. "Okay.. I'll pay attention to the notes too." She paused, briefly, before tilting her head curiously. "How long before I'm able to play a song?"

"We'll see. It depends on how quickly you can learn the courses. Won't do you much good to learn a song if you don't know the strings to pluck." Soerl smiled a bit.

"I guess not..." She smiled faintly, letting the lute rest across her lap. "How long did it take you to learn them?"

"My first complete song?" He had to think about that one. "Three weeks or so. I lived with my mentor, however. We played every day and I picked up on it quickly. It's usually a bit longer for most people."

"Oh." She frowned faintly, but it was quick to fade. "I guess that's to be expected. If instruments were easy to learn more people would know how to play, I imagine."

"That much is true. If you need a little extra help..." And he turned around, searching through parchments on his desk. He produced one that had the courses and strings diagrammed, albeit a bit roughly. The minstrel wasn't much of an artist. He offered it over to Lydia.

Taking the paper, she looked it over. At first? She seemed very confused, but when she turned the paper over, then it made sense. "This should help... thank you Soerl." Nodding appreciatively, she twisted a little to access her bag. A book was pulled out, and the diagram was slipped in it, before it was placed back in the bag. It was something she'd definitely be studying a lot.

"You're welcome, Lydia. Just make sure to get a little practice in every night and you should be moving along in no time." A grin. An expression freely given, this day. The attitude likely wouldn't last.

Her own smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll be sure to do just that, Mr. Lute." A slight tease, since he was acting the part of teacher now. "So is this all for today, then?"

A chuckle at the title, before nodding afterwards. "I think that ought to be enough for today, yes. I don't want to overwork you or anything." He reached for his hat and settled it back on his head.

Lydia shook her head. "You don't have to worry about that." Leaning over, she grabbed her lute case and carefully settled the lute back inside before closing it and making sure clasps were firmly in place.

He let a moment pass before nodding to that. Curiosity again. He stood up and turned his chair to face the desk. He moved over to open the door for her, considering she had her lute to carry.

Bag was reshouldered, before she hefted up her lute case and moved to her feet. Wandering to the door, she nodded to Soerl before stepping through. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Another nod. He gently shut the door as Lydia went, glancing down the hall a moment. None of the usual laughing and giggling of a little girl that'd he'd gotten accustomed to. He frowned briefly and then moved to follow after Lydia.

Turning to her right, she started to descend the staircase she had come from. Towards the bottom, case bumped against the railing, causing her to wince and draw it closer. "Sorry..." Down the final steps she goes. "It'd be easier if I could just make things appear and disappear the way you do." Though she could handle the disappearing part. To a degree, at least.

"Don't worry about it." Which was in reference to the railing bump. "I have something called personal runes on some of my possessions. They're far too time consuming and expensive to make many of, but they are convenient."

Runes? Curiosity seemed a little more piqued. "And that's how you can make things appear and disappear like that? With runes?" She didn't have much knowledge of runes, no, but more than other things at least. Then again, all runes were different.

"Yes. If you affix one to an object, it's quite easy to summon and dismiss it at will. Like I said though, many of the materials for the one I use are a little expensive. It's nice for my instruments and knapsack, though."

"I know they can be expensive.. I've bought a couple before, but I'm pretty sure I was swindled." She sighed faintly. "Their power faded a lot quicker than they were supposed to." Lydia shrugged faintly, before meandering towards the door.

"Hard not to get swindled in these parts, unfortunately. I've a book on runes someplace, if you'd like to borrow it sometime." He stepped over toward the door as well and reached out to open it.

She smiled faintly when he opened the door for her. "I might have to take you up on that. I have a book of my own, but there's so many different runes and no two kinds seem to be.. too similar. At least from what I've seen." Granted, she hadn't seen much... Stepping out, she turned to regard the minstrel again. "Thanks again for the lessons, Soerl."

"You're welcome, Lydia." A smile in place, as he continued to hold the door open. "Just remember, practice those courses before next week. And be careful on your way. Though I've never really had any problems around here."

She nodded. "I will." Likely a response to both the statements on courses and being careful. Case was adjusted briefly so that she could wave before the elf turned to depart from the manor and back towards the market.

He lifted his hand in response to the wave and quietly shut the door. Emerald eyes looked over what could be seen of his home. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Back to working it was.