Stone Dragons have a tough outer covering made of a stone-like material. They eat rocks, using the minerals they contain for nourishment and to keep up their stone outer shell. They rarely move, and are the heaviest of all types of dragons. Although they have wings, indicating flight ability, no one has ever seen a stone dragon flying.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

Castries is a bell-ringer for this church (she doesn't remember its name, but it probably mentions one of the Great Avatars). All she has to do is pull a rope once in a while, and she gets food, a town to live in, and freedom to do anything she wants, as long as it doesn't involve hurting anybody. The visitors can go to the belfry to find her head and hands in there, and chat with her. Or they might check out her collection of cups and trinkets she keeps in there. On days Castries doesn't have any ringing to do, she goes to the marketplace to meet up with Mary, owner of an exotic meats stall, where they play card games when there is a lull in customers. Whilst playing, the two discuss many things, particularly the strange bureaucrat whose job is to keep records of the townsfolk and likes to insert puns in his writing. It seems that after reading a fairly long and random-sounding description, a reader might expect to find a piece of wordplay at the end, except sometimes there is none.