"I don't know how difficult they are to replace. Most rooms have one, and there are a few for the guards, but they have been in use long since before I took up service here. I've been told m'lady made them herself, but if so, she hasn't seen any need to create new ones in the last year and a half or so. Perhaps they are difficult to make, and perhaps she just never thought we needed more." Giles shrugged a little helplessly. He had become used to the magic in place to make life at the keep a little more convenient to the point where he didn't give it a thought any longer. "But if they were cheap, or easy, to make m'lady would probably sell them and we don't have a trade in magic torches running."<br/><br/>He waited till Mialla had unpacked and made her bed, before he nodded to himself. "Looks like you are all set, so I'll bid you a good night. Should you need any assistance during the night, there will be a guard either at the gate or on the guard post you can see when you step out the door. They'll be carrying torches too, so they should be easy enough to spot during the night." He reached for the door and offered a smile by way of a goodbye.<br/><br/>"Sleep well."<br/><br/><div align="center">* * * * *</div><br/>Over the next few days Mialla had a chance to develop something of a routine – and get to know the routine of the people calling the keep home. During the mornings she helped in the household, but what she was asked to do was light work and easy enough; in the evenings she performed at the baroness's table. There was time enough to explore and get to know her temporary home and soon Mialla knew most of the important people at least by name, and Giles took the time to play guide for the half-elven bard when he could.<br/><br/>Of her hostess Mialla saw little during her first week at the keep, outside the usual supper performances, until she was called to the baroness one afternoon. Baroness Waldgreen was waiting for her in a living room next door to the study where Mialla had first met her, sharing the room with the cherubic brunette who usually sat at the high table during supper. That, Mialla had learned, was Alva, a priestess of Sif who carried the official title of 'sacristan'. Of the five priests associated with the temple, Alva was the highest-ranking, and the only one who could be considered a full-time priest, the other four working around the craftshops and gardens of the keep when not involved with any ceremonies or attending to temple business.<br/><br/>The room was easy enough to find, having its own entrance from a flight of stairs on the eastern side of the main building, and in style it was somewhat similar to the study next door, as there was good craftsmanship on display, but not ostentatious wealth. But here the walls were paneled with pine wood that had darkened to a warm, almost amber, tone over the years and some of the furniture was upholstered.<br/><br/>"Come in, have a seat." The baroness gestured the bard towards a chair at the fireplace, next to where she and Alva where sitting. "We were wondering if you had any objections against performing at a religious ceremony. No harm if you would rather not participate in our solstice celebrations, but we could use another voice in the chanting."