Interested noise! "What was it called?"

"Manetheren was the name."

"I haven't heard of it..."

"It was destroyed during the Trolloc Wars."

She begins to weave the tale of Manetheren's fall, the heroics that marked its fate, the stratagems of the dreadlords to draw off the army, the frenzied march and last-minute stand on the banks of the river, the impossible hold against far superior numbers, stretching one hour into one day, one day into two, three, four, until the realization that no reinforcements were coming. The continued hold, the bravery of those with nothing left to lose, spitting defiance at the Shadow with their final breaths. The common folk of the nation who arrived during the fighting retreat, there to defend their land, their home, with their own efforts, returning the selfsame gift of the king. The final death of King Aemon, and Queen Eldrene's last sacrifice which purged the forces of darkness from the field- but too late, for Manetheren had died that day, and what was left could not resist the following attacks.

She's enthralled. 

It is quite a compelling story.

And a lovely narrator. 

That is somewhat beside the point.

The skill of narration is a major part of what keeps the audience interested, though - of course, Kat would want to hear all this anyways, but Lady Alys makes it fun. 

"You flatter me, child."

"I tell the truth! Luckily, it's flattering right now."

"A fortunate coincidence, then."

"Very much so - hearing good stories and flattering pretty women are some of my favorite things."

"What of telling stories?"

"Another item on the list."

"Do you wanna hear some, now?"

"I would."

None of her stories are quite so epic - but Katwyn knows a lot, recent and otherwise. Some of it's more local gossip, but, well. That's another kind of history. 

Lady Alys isn't one to turn down gossip. She follows along with Katwyn's tales, gently probing to focus her inquiries. (It's subtle, but she's most interested in the activities of Katwyn's age-cohort. Odd coincidences, too much luck, unexplainable happenings, that sort of thing.)

Well...

Not much is odder than her - Katwyn's parents were killed and eaten by cats (housecats and lynxes both) when she was small. She doesn't seem at all bothered by this - in fact, she talks about it like an interesting scandal - and apparently that's about when Edmund's Field and the Two Rivers as a whole started having the rather noteworthy concentration of cats it does.

(Otherwise - Mat's a prankster; Liland's mom is foreign and no one really talks openly about it but his dad probably wasn't the one who got his mom pregnant, and a lot of people think she was a camp follower, though Liland will deck you if you insult her over that; such and such boys are very gullible, such and such widow keeps trying to seduce the peddler...)

She takes down notes in a small diary as Katwyn talks.

"I would be interested in speaking with your friends as well. If you could let them know that, I would appreciate it."

"Mat and Liland? What for?"

"A broader perspective. History, real history, is built from the ground up. I would like to capture as much of that as I can."

Hum. "They both pay a lot of attention to the world, too."

"So much the better, then."

"I'll introduce you."