and scented , ooh , couple o ' toothpicksi had climbed up to help a knight once , when the old general died , back in l.a.a key ring , a makeup kit , with mirror , the color of dried bloodand found a stone like a ruby , but like nothin from this lady 's world bunch of crystals , what they were , scraped up in a handful with a pen knife , in a soft sweet calf-leather pocketbook that could snap you shut with a clasp of gold .