"Yes, like…" Lavayla paused, trying to simplify it. "Metals, crystals, limestones, clay, ores buried underground. Things that can be refined into building materials or tools."
"Could you describe what minerals are?" Shalika asked curiously.
Lavayla blinked once before letting out a small sound of realization.
"Right, of course you wouldn't know what minerals are," she said. She thought for a moment, trying to simplify it in a way Shalika would understand. "Minerals are naturally formed materials found inside the earth, mountains, caves, rivers, and things like that. Some are hard like stone, some are shiny like crystals, and some contain useful substances like metal."
She picked up a small rock nearby and held it up.
"For example," she turned to Mirek, "the stone salt you use! That is a type of mineral. There are even stones called gemstones that aren't dull like this rock. People usually mine them from the ground and use them for a lot of things."
