• PM To Join • Bird and Egg, Wolf and Bear.

[Woe]

51st of Ashan 722

While it would've been much faster to arrive on the saddle of his Dragonling, the dark winged Soz, the Kutzeldaur had a fearsome aspect to it. So Woe's reason for forgoing her ride was multi-functional. One, it simply wasn't his nature to set expectations high from the outset, as a supernatural dragonling surely would. Two, he didn't wish to appear threatening or alarming. And three, he was carrying precious and somewhat fragile cargo with him. So he'd opted for a ride on a ferry, from Egilrun to Faldrass by way of the inland rivers.

He had time to spare, anyway, and didn't wish to appear too desperate to arrive on time. Yet his intention for appearing less eager seemed dashed, as it appeared he was the first by a few bits to arrive. Darius and the Albarech and maybe other councilors would arrive shortly, he was sure of it, however. So he waited a moment, gathering the unassuming wooden box that contained his gift for the Foreign Affairs councilor.

He appreciated the construction of her office, made of good Faldrass stone, with gates encompassing it. The interior was also tastefully appointed, with a pair of attractive aides appointed to the reception area. They looked to be related, or perhaps Zana just liked to color coordinate her employees. Far be it for Woe to judge.

He nodded to Sallie Cornwe, giving her a gentle smile. "Good morning. I'm Woe Morandi, Egg of Egilrun." Not a boast, obviously, but a statement of fact. In his estimation, it served as qualification to enter into this appointment. "I'm here to meet Councillor Zana Delroth on the matter of trade. I believe we're expecting at least two others to join us, so shall I wait?"

He held the box in front of him, and would relinquish it, stating it was a gift for Zana herself. The box was totally unremarkable. In all forms of engagement, Woe preferred to set expectations to a level where the eventually impact of the revelation would serve a surprise of one sort or another. Not a big believer in first impressions.

But he hoped this gift would please the councilor.

[Zana]

51st Ashan, 722

They were meeting at the Office For Foreign Affairs, and Zana had prepared things with a great attention to detail. Or, rather, she had instructed her assistant on what she wanted done and he had gotten everything ready. Thankfully, Stefan was a much more able politician than her and so he had made sure that everything was in place.

"Councillor Delroth asked that you be shown straight in, Councilman Morandi," Sallie the receptionist said to him. "Would you like to just follow this gentleman, he'll show you the way." And indeed Stefan would. When Woe offered to relinquish the box, Sallie was happy to take it or for him to take it through himself. If he left it with her, she would put it aside, ready for Zana's attention after the meeting. Whatever he preferred. Stefan politely led Woe to Zana's office where the windows were wide open and the fresh air was warm. She called out when he tapped on the door and she stood as Stefan let Woe into the room. "Councillor Morandi, it's a pleasure to see you again." Zana said and she moved out from behind her desk to greet him. She wore a short red dress and her hair was loose.

Off to the side in her office, close to the window and with views of Faldrass, there was an area prepared for the four of them to sit. There were comfortable chairs, suitably distanced and all centred around and pointing towards a low table on which were drinks and snacks of both savoury and sweet varieties. "Can I tempt you to some refreshment?" she asked, gesturing to it.

Either way, she gestured for him to join her and she invited him to choose his seat. "I'm glad you're here first," she said, sitting opposite him and crossing her hands together in her lap."I believe that we should be marketing Egilrun glass, especially, more than we are. I was thinking that if I have to meet with visiting dignitaries and so on, maybe we could have a supply of Scalvoris-specific gifts, a sort of showcase, which included some pieces from Egilrun." She smiled and sat back. "If you're amenable, I think it could help to put Egilrun on the map in its own right." She resisted the urge to shrug, but pointed out what seemed to her to be obvious. "If we want to stand out, then it's best to show our best and most attractive features, don't you think?" and in order to do that, they had to have their best items in that box.

Zana tried to read what Woe was thinking and she paid attention to his expression, but the man was close to unreadable so she grew bored and simply waited to hear what he thought.

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura had taken a boat over to Faldrass for the trade meeting, so she was a bit behind Woe in terms of arrivals. Even more so because she had stopped to take a look at the island in general, as was her job. In the due course, however, she walked through the doors to Zana's office and, after a brief exchange of greetings with Zana's color-coordinated and very well mannered staff, was shown into Zana's...well, proper office. Kura considered the existence of a Foreign Affairs building to be a little silly, but it wasn't like Faldrass was abundant in office space, and it was about as close to the capitol in Almund as her own office had been, so she hadn't felt any particular need to say anything about it. She did suppose it could have been at the manor proper, but given that was a private residence, that was probably pushing the bounds of propriety.

Kura's own mode of dress was much the same as ever, though she was increasingly straying from the black that she had habitually worn before. The overcoat she wore today was a dark burgundy color, with a chocolate colored vest over a dark red shirt. Her trousers were the same color as the vest, while the knee-high riding boots and gloves she wore were the only parts of her clothes that were still black. She inclined her head to Woe and Zana as she entered the office, then took the seat Zana indicated, letting the Foreign Affairs Councilor set the stage for the meeting, since this was her office after all. Kura's posture, however, was as relaxed as it usually was, leaning back into the chair with her arms on the armrests and one leg crossed over the other at the knee.

"My apologies for the delay, I stopped to check in on the island as a whole while I was passin' through." she said, her tone calm. "I couldn't help but overhear the tail end of your conversation, and I believe you've the right idea, Councilor Delroth." she said, her nodding at the blonde. "It might also be worth our time to make some of those gifts of an artistic nature. We've got artisans, but they don't get the work or credit they deserve because most of Idalos seems to think we're still up here bangin' rocks together to make fire." she said, shaking her head slightly.

[Darius Baer]

Arc 722, 51st of Ashan

It was a warm trial on Faldrass. And by that, dear reader, I simply mean that it was a trial on Faldrass, for any trial there was warm eventually - even those that started out with snowfall.

Darius had set out from Hopetoun a break or so earlier, using the road that had been painstakingly built and protected by the von Smooglenuff Barony. To the casual observer, it a might have appeared that he walked alone, but this was not the case. Unseen by most were two companions who remained close during most of his journeys.

Katara, the diri he had received as his ward when he had been forged by fire circled overhead, her flaming feathers leaving a collection of tiny, smoky trails across the Faldrassian sky. Alongside him walked Ledas, the ice tiger that he had encountered on Ishallr. Fire and ice, they accompanied Darius Baer unseen, but neither leaving him unprotected.

The only slightly unusual thing that any passersby would have noticed was the tiny barrel that he carried under one arm. It was a small container, only large enough to hold few litres, and Darius had made it himself. It was filled to the brim with Baron's Brew, an ever-warm brer unique to Hopetoun. He was certain that Zana had never tasted it before, and although he didn’t know if the councillor enjoyed the taste of alcohol, but it would have been rude to visit her new office for the first time without a gift.

Even through the wood, the warmth of the beer - and its main ingredient, the Faldrass potato - could be felt. There would be no risk of the beer getting cold before he arrived, or, indeed, until long after the meeting had been concluded.

Darius eventually arrived at Zana's office, right on the heels of Kura. His gift was passed on to Sallie, lest he be seen to influence Zana with anything resembling a bribe — "An office-warming gift from the people of Hopetoun" — and he thanked the receptionist in advance for taking such good care of it.

Then, after introducing himself and being allowed to step into the office, he offered a deferential bow to the three councillors already in the room, as well as a polite nod of greeting to Stefan.

"Good trial to you all," he spoke politely, before taking his place at the last remaining empty seat.

From there, he was able to look around the room.

"This is a fine office," he offered Zana rather simply with a warm smile. "It looks like you're settling in well. Welcome to the neighbourhood."

Darius was aware that there was already a conversation underway as he had entered, and he didn't want to intrude on that unless invited to speak, so he employed the only sensible stalling tactic he knew of: leaning forward to the table, he poured himself a drink and began to eat some snacks.

[Woe]

Zana Delroth was straight to business, which Woe could certainly appreciate. She had a certain maturity to her, that couldn't be denied, as concerned about appearances and shallow as she seemed, Woe thought he spotted more to her than a shallow and vain mortalborn woman. Although he was polite enough not to inquire as to her age. Not that it would matter, given she didn't and wouldn't grow old in any of their lifetimes.

It didn't take much effort for Woe to project an attitude of interest in Zana, using his intrigue with her broad experience in life to foster such a projection. He thought someone like her would appreciate the genuine admiration and attention, and so he did what he could to put his best foot forward with regard to treating her as one to be adored and admired.

"I'm glad to be the first Councilor to welcome you to your office. Your taste is exquisite." He said honestly, although he could have easily have said it in the same tone had the place been a wooden crapshack.

"And that is one of the things I'd like to discuss with you. I feel like Egilrun can help you in your task as Foreign Affair's councilor, while also serving our own purposes in spreading the fame of our crafters."

Shortly after he said it, not long after, the Albarech and Baron Darius arrived. Woe turned briefly to nod to them, but didn't linger long with his attention to them before returning it to Zana. "I have a office warming gift for you, Councilor Delroth, made by the Glassblower's Guild and Union. I wanted you to have it."

Inside the plain, sanded but unvarnished pine box, was simply a Egilrun crystal tea set. Yet to call it a 'tea set' would've been a grave understatement. It was, perhaps, the finest glasswork available outside of Nashaki itself. Perhaps even rivaling the trade city in the Hotlands. Indeed, Scalvoris had several special resources available that put them at an advantage, beyond the capability of even Nashaki. Colored sand, more than being pretty when smelted down, also had special properties to each color. Green glass from green sand cooled, blue Egilrun sand made fine instruments, wind chimes, flutes and the like. In the blue sand, there were rare flecks of copper sand grains. One copper grain to every million blue grains, by some estimates. These copper grains, when collected and smelted into glass, made not only for a very attractive metallic shine that was shades of gold and pink, but also improved the flavor of any dish or drink served from it.

The tea set that Woe was offering as a gift to Zana Delroth was made with a great quantity of copper glass, more than was usually called for. The materials used in its construction were far from the best thing about it, however. It was a work of unique and unspeakably beautiful art as well. Inclusions of colored glass showed on the clear sections of the tea pot, showing the shape of beautiful birds, perfectly insulated within the clear glass. The teapot held a rare phoenix bird, rising from embers, emblazoned on its right side. The other side held a delicate and beautifully illustrated lattice pattern that stretched across the glass in copper and gold tones.

Each tea cup held a different bird, from another continent. Well researched by the various University-educated glassblowers in the Guild, there was a Bird of Fortune, which was meant for Zana in her role as the Scalvoris Foreign Affairs Councilor. There was a proud Dynaashian Raptor, from the Eternal Empire's territories. There were exotic birds on other cups, whether studied from places as far as Ne'haer, or Desnind, and other places. There were eight cups in total, along with a tray showing a beautifully illustrated map of the known world on it.

The teapot as well as the cups were all masterfully sculpted as well in various feather patterns.

To top it off, a sieve to catch the excess tea leaves that fell out from the tea pot. This was a more simple golden piece, with golden mesh to catch the tea leaves and let the tea fall through.

"This is for you, Councilor Delroth." Woe said, looking up at her face to try and catch her reaction. "I hope it serves you well in your role, in business or leisure."

[Zana]

51st Ashan, 722

"I'm so glad that we see eye to eye on this," Zana said with a smile. She positively beamed when Woe complimented the place and she thanked him softly. "I think there is a lot which Scalvoris has which we perhaps do not use to our fullest advantage." And if there was one thing she knew about, Zana considered, it was how to use every asset to its fullest advantage.

Quickly, their number grew from two to four and Zana made sure to greet each one of them indivdiually. "Alberach, a pleasure to see you, do come on in," she said, and then to Darius, "Baron Baer, welcome. Do make yourself comfortable," Zana smiled at each of them as they came in. When Darius was shown in, Stefan spoke quietly to Zana, letting her know that there was a gift from the Baron in reception. She nodded when he asked if it should be brought up to be shared, but did not say anything. Woe had seemed to like her idea, and Kura outright agreed with it. That caused Zana to smile and she made sure to quickly include Darius. "We were just discussing the possibility of my role including hospitality gifts for foreign visitors and ensuring that those gifts emphasise local unique talents and resources." She smiled, obviously inviting Darius to discuss it if he wanted to.

She took the box that Woe offered and she smiled at him with a look of genuine pleasure on her face. "You are most kind, Councillor Morandi, you really are." Zana savoured the opening of the box and she gasped in genuine pleasure when she saw the contents. "Oh, these are exquisite, simply wonderful!" It was rare that Zana sounded anything other than vaguely laconic or slightly amused, but there was nothing of the sort in that moment; she sounded utterly delighted. Her ice blue eyes met Woe's and she spoke very genuinely, "I am truly touched by your thoughtfulness and attention to detail," she said. "Thank you." She carefully put it on her desk and her delight was obvious.

Just then, Stefan knocked on the door and entered and Zana smiled. "And Baron Baer was gracious enough to bring a gift also. So, it seems only right to share it in the first of what I hope will be many productive meetings," small glasses of the warm beer for each of them, Stefan served them and then Zana said with obvious interest. "It's warm! However do you do that?"

Assuming Darius answered, she smiled and raised her glass. "Then a toast. To working together," she said.

Once they had toasted, Zana spoke. "I feel that we could market what we have here so much better. Baron Baer's warm beer, imagine how popular that would be in Viden? The Egilrun glass is exquisite and, for example, the most expansive and sought-after place to live in Rharne is called the Glass Quarter. I genuinely believe that we can do a lot, but we have to ask if we wish to." She glanced at them. "I had the thought of gift boxes, hampers filled with samples of unique and wonderful things for each visitor to Scalvoris. But why not make more of it than that?"

It was like, Zana thought, being a prostitute. You had to repackage the same thing in different ways. You had to emphasise every strength and mark of beauty. And most of all? You had to give people what they wanted. "Visiting dignitaries, diplomats, high powered merchants - these people want to feel like they are important and we recognise that they are. So, my suggestion is this." She smiled and launched into it. "When it is arranged that they are coming, we let them know that we have put together our 'VIP itinerary', and then, when they arrive they find out what that is." Zana had merely scaled up a trick that she and Theo had used time and again in the Lady Libertine. "We tell them that they will be having a - I don't know, lets say five day tour - where they stay in a number of designated Inns, in four different places on Scalvoris." She gestured to Darius. "Lets say they come here to Faldrass first. There's an Inn in Hopetoun, that could be the Inn for when they stay here, for visits with me." She had obviously considered it."And in this Inn, in their room there is a hamper which contains information on all the places they are going to visit, with local points of interest for them to choose. So, they are on Faldrass, they have a sample of this brew, and information about your points of interest around which we give them tours or tastings or whatever" She turned to look at Woe, her eyes gauging his reaction - or trying to. "That hamper contains information about Egilrun. I'm not aware of an Inn in Egilrun, but if there isn't one, then one should be built. Each place is named and identified, the history of it given in the information leaflet given to them. They have some pieces of glass from Egilrun. Then, they move to Scalvoris Town, and so on and so forth." Finally, she looked at Kura.

"Where the places are is most certainly not my area, but I would suggest that Faldrass and Egilrun should always be part of it. It might be that we have Inns in a number of places, and the possibility of mixing and matching. There should be an incentive for the Inn owners - and only Inns that we are happy to endorse as good enough should be included. We could involve the university and get all the historians scampering around for information, that kind of thing." Sitting back, she looked around and smile at those present. "I'm very new at this, so I'm sure that there are many things I haven't considered, but I do believe that making people feel like it's important to us that they've chosen to come here is the first step to a very lucrative and mutually satisfying relationship." She waited then, eagerly, to hear what the others thought.

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura nodded to Darius as he entered the room. "Hello, Baron Baer." she said, her tone calm. When Woe turned to give Zana her office-warming gift, though, she hid an amused smile. Gift giving was a time-honored political tradition, though doing it in such a public manner, after everyone else had arrived, was a bit obvious as a ploy. Still, she couldn't fault his logic. Zana had clearly established herself as a daughter of Delroth, plus made her connections to Drathaidir clear, and it all added up to a clear picture. Zana liked beautiful things and almost certainly liked to be doted upon, and would not be shy about public displays. In all honesty, the blonde might honestly prefer them. Kura, for her own part, had not brought a gift but her reasons for doing so were much more pragmatic. If she started bringing gifts to business meetings, the Council Meetings alone would quickly become fiscally untenable. She did appreciate the artistry of the glass, however.

Then Zana brought out a gift from Darius to share about, after bringing the baron up to speed of course, and her assistant entered with small glasses of warm beer for all of them. "Fascinating. I'm guessin' it's made from Faldrass ingredients? I use Faldrass sand for the plumbing in my house, gives me hot runnin' water as well as cold." she said, her tone calm. She joined in Zana's toast, then took a drink of the beer Darius had brought. "Quite well made, Darius." she said, smiling slightly. She knew that it was polite to respect an honest effort, and Darius had made quite a good effort. She also, however, had never cared at all for how beer tasted. She tried not to let it show, however, as it was no fault of his and she had no desire to hurt his feelings over it.

After that, it was back to business and Kura listened carefully as Zana outlined a plan of hers. She didn't quite think that Rharne called its rich district the Glass Quarter because they valued glasswork particularly highly, given their cultural quirks it was just as liable to be a reference to a drinking glass, but she felt no need to comment on the matter since it didn't affect what Zana was saying. When the blonde was done, Kura nodded to her. "A well thought out proposal, and one with considerable merit. There are a few things to address, but I'm confident we'll be be able to work them out." she said, genuine approval in her voice. While she doubted that Zana looked to her for anything resembling validation, she liked it when her Councilors were good at their jobs and so she showed it.

"The first is that diplomacy on this continent, especially in this area, is still a relatively...new concept, for lack of a better term." she said, before shaking her head. "Rharne, Viden, Rynmere, and the empire did trade, but it was individual merchants. The governments themselves mostly kept each other at arms length. Scalvoris was ruled by pirates for most of its history." she said, her tone calm. "These are not people used to formal, friendly diplomatic relations. We'll have to be clear that the tour isn't us givin' foreign visitors the run-about or worse, us wastin' their time." she said, her tone calm. "That should be easy enough, managin' expectations is part of meetin' with foreign dignitaries and such, but it's somethin' to be aware of." she said, her tone calm.

"As to includin' Egilrun and Faldrass in every tour, I'm not sure it's a good idea." she said, before turning to Woe and Darius. "No offense to either of you or your homes, but if we show a Nashaki dignitary a glass-works, they're liable to take insult. Glass is already a massive part of their economy, and military for that matter, and they consider themselves the unchallenged best at it. Much of the same if we show someone from Sirothelle around a volcanic island. They're liable to find it...quaint, given they live next to the biggest volcano in the world." she said, before raising a hand to forestall an immediate argument. "Granted, both places have more to offer than glass and volcanoes, but my point is that we'll have to be careful to show our visitors that which will interest them, and avoid that which won't, especially if they're on a time crunch of some sort." she said, her tone calm.

"In addition, we'd have to have someone accompanyin' our visitors. We can't expect them to just travel about and instantly know what we want them to see. Whether that's people local to each place they visit, or a permanent guide, is a matter to discuss." she said, before nodding at Zana. "All that aside, I believe your proposal will do quite nicely. Scalvoris is already somethin' of a diplomatic powerhouse in this part of the world, and if we maintain that moment, we could set ourselves up as the frontrunners of diplomatic meetin's in at least this part of the world. That alone could bring more people here, if only so they can learn from us." she said, her tone calm.

[Darius Baer]

The first time Darius had met Zana outside the council chambers, she had insisted they speak on a first name basis. There were, after all, occasions when formalities were not necessary.

But as he stepped into her office and she called him by his title, it was clear that the beauteous councillor intended to conduct business.

Except the business being conficted wasn't quite what he has been expecting. Rather than discussing methods of protecting the coast from piracy and making the Hollow Sea safe for locals and visitors alike, Zana started the meeting with a discussion on how to attract foreigners to Scalvoris.

Darius nodded at the initial suggestion, then waited patiently as Woe's exquisite glassware gift became the object of everyone's attention. The Scalvorian suddenly wondered if he had erred by not bringing his own gift into the room. He had preferred to not make a scene, or - even worse - cause embarrassment for any of the others if they hadn't brought something themselves.

In the end, Zana's assistant brought his gift through anyway, making his concerns moot.

He was pleased that Zana liked the uniqueness of the brew, though, and he was happy to answer their host's questions about it.

"One of the Hopetounians was a brewer in Almund, and he has brought his expertise to the settlement," Darius explained.

There didn't seem to be any need to bore the others with tales of bravado about how the two had met, or why Kerik was so eager to leave the main island.

"The key ingredient is a Faldrass potato, aye," he nodded with a glance towards Kura. "After we returned to Faldrass following the eruption, we discovered a potato that never seems to go cold. They can be found all over the island, but the brew and its recipe are exclusive to Hopetoun."

There was pride evident in his voice as he spoke. Darius wasn't one to boast, but he was proud of how the Hopetounians had adapted to life on Faldrass.

A toast seemed warranted, and so Darius joined in with the others. Beer would never be his preferred choice of drink, but he much preferred the Baron's Brew to any other beer he'd tasted. He wouldn't drink too much, though - he wanted to make sure he had a clear head for any negotiations.

Shortly after that, Zana took control - something the bearded baron was willing to wager she quite enjoyed doing - of the meeting again and shared more details about how she thought visitors could be drawn to Faldrass. Darius knew he was no politician, but he was a proud Scalvorian and he liked the idea of people from distant lands getting a taste of the area.

"Aye, the Hopeful Rest Inn would certainly be able to assist," he nodded at the mention of Hopetoun's accommodation, "and we could take them to see some of the local sights, like the Hopetoun Hole to see the Faldrass fire worms, or they could visit our lighthouse, the Beacon of Xiur."

He shrugged his shoulders at that. It wasn't exactly much of an itinerary, but it was a start.

Kura shared her thoughts on the suggestion, and noted that not every visitor would want to go to every locale, and Darius nodded at that.

"Aye, that makes sense. Hopetoun will certainly be happy to accommodate any visitors that do choose to come to the settlement."

The meeting seemed to be going well so far, he decided. Piracy hadn't yet been discussed, but at least Hopetoun might benefit from a few visitors.