Jen Piatek suggests:
First, that the carbonate minerals are another group of rocksthat the rock stomach would have happy go of. Limestone and calcite might give that happy euphoria feeling; azurite and malacite might as well, but will a nasty coppery aftertaste. Marble and some of the harder carbonates would be too difficult to digest, IHO, so you wouldn't get the same sense of euphoria. Since they'd be, well, cheap as rocks, poor trolls or slaves might have to enjoy the mild buzz of limestone rather than the tasty treaty of a salty slushy. The Uz cigarette, if you will.
Secondly, some clays dissolve and break down easily (news to me!) and the frugal troll might well use clay to "cut" pure salt down -- you might hurt the taste, though, and it'd cut down on the high compared to pure salt. A trick of devious Argar Argar traders, no doubt.
Finally, while acknowledging that Gloranthan iron is different than RW, she says hematite -- rust -- breaks down very easily in even mild acid (so a troll's stomach more than qualifies). Since iron is poisonous to trolls the effects might well be dangerous -- Jen throws it forth as the "Uz cocaine." A social stigma, because no right-thinking Uz community wants iron lying around; dangerous and debilitating to health; an overdose could kill you; etc. Since iron is magical in nature there might be magical interaction betweeen the trollish metabolism and rust as well. I'm not sure, however, if Gloranthan iron rusts -- perhaps the non-magically enchanted...?
<shrug> This all depends on whether or not such RW minerals and rock are available in Glorantha, but it is food for thought!
James Frusetta gerakkag_at_wam.umd.edu Department of History University of Maryland, College Park http://www.wam.umd.edu/~gerakkag
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