Re: In the Land of Zu
Danyka tried to keep busy while the Resolute was en route to the coastal town of Manarwen. She made sure that Tealon was busy tinkering and asked Ioelenna to take inventory of what might pass as trading goods or a potential gift to the Manarwenites. Pacing the deck of the ship, the Llaelese gun mage had always considered herself to be reasonably even-keeled, but she definitely felt out of her depth here. And people were looking to her for leadership and answers.
That thought brought a tight, forced smiled to her lips. The vagaries of Fate were indeed fickle. When the Cygnarian authorities had caught her at border while trying to make her way to Corvis, the Rynnish brunette was in danger of being hanged for treason. And before that, all she'd really ever aspired to was being a simple handmaiden to one of the many minor aristocratic houses in Llael. You know, marry your childhood sweetheart, and settle down. That had been a lifetime ago. she thought ruefully, even if only less than a calendar year had actually passed. The knuckles on her hands whitened as they tightly gripped the deck railing, as she stared out across the vast ocean. Her jaw quivered with frustrated anger and deep, abiding regret for a moment.
Then the moment passed as quickly as it had come. Dany shook her head sharply, as if to dispel the cobwebs that threatened to mire her thoughts and dull her senses.
She needed to find the local priestess; Danyka had to find out everything that she could about the people that they were about to make contact. And their only source of knowledge on that topic would be Khuno Manco. Ideally, they would have an extensive dossier onthe geographic, cultural, social, economic, and political layouts of the society they were going to engage with. But, they didn't have that. And time was against them. Still, any information was better than nothing (which was the point that she was starting at). The young Llaelese gentlewoman wanted to make sure that she got a basic primer from Khuno on the cultural and social mores in village (a traditional greeting would be even better) and the surrouding area, as best she could. It wouldn't due to inadvertently insult, anger, terrorize, or frustrate the other side, if it could be avoided.
As the ship approached the harbor, Dany made sure that she was on deck and easily visible to the approaching village. There was no hiding the Resolute, and it made no sense to hide their presence either. And for better or worse, the Rynnish brunette had been elected as the 'face' of the group. Standing regally at the prow, until the ship pulled into the dock, Danyka made sure that she didn't disembark until the village had been given enough time to organize whatever greeting they intended. For her part, she intended to 'formally' ask for permission to treat with them.
Which, of course, required someone to actually ask permission of ...
[OOC: Dany has Gather Information at +5 and Diplomacy at +10, her Spot/Listen are at +7/+8. Not sure if a rolls are necessary (or if 'Take 10', is possible), but I will do so if they are in order at this point; to find out all she can about Manarwen and its people before disembarking from the Resolute.]