House Metulli was a Great House during the time of Alia's Regency. Gurney Halleck had heard that three hundred and twenty one litres of the spice melange had been used to buy half of planet Novebruns from House Metulli. Gurney's musings served to illustrate the ever-increasing value of melange during this time. It was not revealed to whom half of Novebruns had been sold.