"I prefer plucking strings to using a bow, normally," Balthazar seems to be politely sizing up the stranger. It's rare for anyone to call him 'lad'. Not that he minds. "I still play the lyra and the psaltery. There's little music I dislike, but the older forms and simple songs suit me best."

He leans back, hands in his pockets, and smiles wryly. "Words are so easy to lose track of, though. And a stray one can be such trouble to get reined back in."