Meeting the Adventurers: Shibuya

Traveling up along the road heading north, a small procession of people approach. Having landed with the large red foursome of absolutely /massive/ battleships, the Palace Lands have made quite the entrance. They've been meeting with a few nations already within Yamato, but it seems they recognize the Adventurers' role in all of this as well, and have come to check out Shibuya specifically.

Some might consider it odd that they seem to have no plans to see Alne or Tolbana, but it's not like they've been publishing their plans and visits so far. This is more of an unannounced visit.

An old man with a white beard, white furry brows that cover most of his eye area, and a somewhat shaggy white tail seems to lead, flanked by a slender Imp gentleman, and a foursome of powerful Red level warriors the largest of which seems to be a muscular human with rediculously large muscles, towering over almost everyone, carrying a strange sword over his shoulder.

Stepping into the village, the group takes their time looking around. The Imp tapping the Cait Sith on the shoulder, followed by laughter from the old cat, who then looks for the nearest inn or restaurant willing to take them in for some food.

    Merek walks along about Shibuya taking the time to see what people are doing, and lighting all the lamps along the way. He does notice the group, and will inspect them while he walks that way with a little wave, "Nice to meet ya. Anyway that we can assist?" he asks.

Allynna was having a nice time looking up at the sky, and the trees, and listening to the fauna chirp... yeah she's bored. So this new comotion has her bun ears perk up as she stands and dusts herself off, tossing her long black coat over her leather pants and silk blouse as she walks towards the comotion. "Greetings, Travelers! My name is Allynna Foregrove, welcome to Shibuya." She says as she standsnext to Merek and offers a winning smile.

Yeowang is dressed in what might pass for formal, locally, as she was advised by some local Landers, and she looks impressed by the four battleships. That's the bee's knees as far as projection of power. She bows as we greet the delegation, and says, "Welcome to Shibuya." She looks over the group, and continues, "I am Yeowang, with the New World Alliance, and I would be glad to show you around our small village. We're still building it up, of course, so we are a work in progress."

Miho is till finishing up hee prep to head to the land of dragons. FOr now though she heard there were going to be travlers comming here. Well tnow this could be quite fun she had a few samples of her work in her inventoy if she gets a chance3 ot try and show them off. She would come up to Yeowang as she speak to their guest and she'll bow, tail swishing.

"Welcome to Shibuya! I'm Miho Mithrilscale a Blacksmith! It's good to meet you."

Needless to say battleships sailing up drew plenty of attention and concern. Thankfully it isn't an actual attack. Though now it was concerning in other matters.

Shiruba hustles out of the New World HQ while trying to smooth out her coat. She was not prepared for a visit like this! But she does her best to be presentable. "Hello , and welcome to Shibuya! May I help you find anything?"

Sure technically there's no reason not to trust these guys. After all they came all the way out here just to check out Shibuya. But Kaydon can't really help himself, because that's just where he's at mentally. Thinking about security threats. He's not even in charge of security!

He's still present, and armored, however. He's no diplomat, so he'll leave the diplomatic stuff to Shiruba and Rizadoman. The last thing anybody wants is Kaydon opening his mouth and managing to start a war with another continent.

    Rizadoman had been buried in paperwork as that seems to be how it works, any time he returns to the palace lands he gets pulled in by the administrative tasks of being one of the leaders of a guild. Fortunately news travels fast in Shibuyaa and the unannounced visitors are quickly announced and the large Lizardman makes his way out to greet them. There is the casual glance as he seems to size each one of the new comers up for a moment before giving a bow of his head, " Greetings, I am Rizadoman of the Moon Tree guild. We welcome you to our small village, if there is anything we can do for you to make your stay more pleasant, please do not hesitate to ask."

There are thoughtful looks towards the various lights lit throughout the area, but it doesn't seem like they are too concerned with the chemical flames. They are from Kallamore Kingdom after all. As Merek steps up and asks if he can assist, the Imp remarks; "Ah yes, we are looking for a place to eat. You can tell much about a culture by the food they make." He explains. "So far, the food this region has offered has been... bland." Perhaps unaware they need to request the good stuff due to the food shortage considerations in the region.

When the sturdy looking female Tank approaches, the large barbarian looking human grunts, eyeing her. No... sizing her up. Considering if he could take her, perhaps. Remarkably lacking of arrogance for a warrior this big.

Yeowang's approach has the Cait Sith's ear perk at the offer to see the town at large. "Hrrrm, we may take you up on that offer." There's a thoughtful moment there, before he nods. "Please, if you would. Food can wait." Which gets a grunt from the Imp.

At Miho and Shiruba's offers, the group bow their head in greeting again. "The kingdom of Kallamore greets you, Adventurers." Too many people saying hi, so the leading Cait Sith just addresses them as a group instead. "I am Ino Hatsuse, one of the Kallamore representatives. Please. Lead on."

At Rizadoman's remark though, the Imp does note; "Some food would be wonderful, while we walk. We are only here for a short time, what with limited supplies. But I hear there is something in this land called 'cheese'?"

A mysterious request had arrived at Prophylaxis' desk not long ago. One which saw him take an unusual trip out of the tower and into what many would consider to be extremely hostile territory for someone of his peculiar affilations.

And that is why there is a doctor in Shibuya today. The Landers' apparent lack of intent to visit Tolbana or Alne has required it, after all. But the doctor makes no attempt to disguise his presence, and he is here labcoat and all to meet the visitors from afar.

"Ino Hatsuse, I presume," Prophylaxis says politely as he emerges as if from the SHADOWS THEMSELVES (note: Prophylaxis has no ranks in stealth, so his presence has been obvious for a while), "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I am Prophylaxis of the Scale Emblem."

Had he anticipated that this meeting would take place? His presence /is/ unusual given the... somewhat impromptu nature of Ino's visit.

    "I can bring you a little bit of food," Merek will offer, while he takes a look about the place, then he nods. The man walks to the Inn and will make an order to bring to them. It will take a few minutes, though when he's back, he will follow along with that tour.

Being a food lover herself Shiruba can agree with that sentiment. "There is the Green Dragon Inn. And many of the dishes are made with what we hunt from our nearby hunting preserve."

Though the visits have been impromptu, there is enough for a network of Adventurers that would have noticed the traveling path of the Palace Land ships. They have been watched with curiousity after all.

At being addressed more directly, Ino Hatsuse nods to Prophylaxis. "That is me. You're welcome to walk and talk." The old man suggests to the Scale Emblem leader. Though there is some wariness from the Imp at Prophylaxis' declaration.

Allynna knows when she's being sized up, but unlike alot of tenacious tanks, she handles it differently... by winking at the barbarian and waving her fingers at him. "Like what you see big guy?" She says with a smirk before turning to walk with the group, keeping stride with Shiruba.

Miho looks up "Bland like as in soggy soda crackers? That means whoeever was making the food was using the menu system rather than actually making it. Generally it's best to ask and pay a bit more I have found."

She notes helpfully.

"Cheese?"

She looks over to Rizadoman she'll het the local Cheese Hound speak.

"That's your cue I think."

Yeowang will stay with the group as she speaks with the Cait Sith, and since he seemed interested in the town, she will point out various salient features as we go to wherever we're actually going. She can show them in detail later, of course, just a broad introduction for now. There's not a /lot/ to the small compound/town, but she will present it like the VIP tour destination like she's done before in RL. She's generally familiar with how these things go, they're not so complicated as that.

Kaydon falls in line behind Shiruba as she walks by, leaning in to whisper something into her ear as he keeps pace with her, "You sure it's a great idea to just let four warships show up on our doorstep unannounced? I don't know about you but generally you warn people before you come knocking on their front door with a bunch of weapons."

Even when he was in the military if they were going somewhere peacefully they'd give them a heads up, make sure it was alright first. Kaydon isn't happy with the unannounced visit.

    Rizadoman listens to the others and eyes the large barbarian for a moment until he hears that magic word. There had been curisoity over these travelers, but the Imp, now has Rizadoman's attention. " Cheese. Yes we do have some here. " Meeting the imps eye's for a moment there is that unspoken bond of acknowledging that this person was one of culture as well. He turns his head and waves down one of the moon tree guildmates and whispers some thinngs to guildie before they run off. Turning back he is about to inform the gentleimp that soon a small platter would be out that would be easy to walk and enjoy, however the Scale Emblem Doctor is here suddenly. Rizadoman tilts his head at the doctor and has a more perplexed look on his face before shaking his head and directing his focus back to being a good host to the travelers, " The cheese and a few waterskins of a very easy wine to go with it will be brought out in a moment."

Ah, gunboat diplomacy. Don't you just love it? It's normal for a foreign nation to put on its strongest show of strength to open formal relations with outside powers, after all. That is probably why their dignitary is being flanked by four red-tier combatants, too. Project an image of invincibility, or at least formidability, and your position is all the stronger for it.

Moreover, this is likely why he was called to Shibuya. Not only is it ostensibly a neutral party in their parlay, it's also a matter of diplomatic flex. 'Come meet us at the place of our choosing, where our discussion might compromise your position in other matters.'

It's a skilled play, but Prophylaxis is nothing if not well-versed in political machinations. Anyone salaryman worth his salt, even one with an MD, knows what power plays look like.

So he just smiles and nods, "Ah, there's a cafe here that serves the most wonderful pastries if you prefer sweets. But if drinks are more to your fancy, then I'm sure our wonderful hosts will provide booze in abundance. Though if it's not to your tastes, we do have quite the brewery back home as well. Perhaps I'll have to bring along a bottle the next time."

The large Barbarian, Hestiger, grunts a bit at Allynna's comment. "I do. It's a shame you are an Adventurer." He remarks, and then glances away from her.

His focus is more on Kaydon and a few of the others, who are very much bickering out loud about whether to 'solve' the Prophylaxis issue (Kaydon being pro, everyone else telling her to quiet down). Sometimes it's easy to forget that Chimlinks are spoken outloud. And they are rather close to these Landers.

There's some looks thrown between the various Landers, after which the Imp remarks; "I see the Adventurers are as disorganized here as they are in the Palace Lands."

To which Ino remarks; "That's not entirely fair. They've formed an alliance, and have even created a small town here, with a fully functioning dock and infrastructure within a year. That takes remarkable organization of a different type."

At Miho's remarks, Ino nods, though it seems like he didn't hear some of what Miho said. "I figured it had to do with the strain the Adventurers were putting on this region. From what we've seen, there is a single Kingdom that supports all other Kingdoms with its food supply. A good monopoly to have, but not very scalable."

They follow after Yeowang as she leads them through the town. Spotting the Green Dragon and the other few spots people are pointing out. The Imp is the one most interested in the food, nodding and listening to Prophylaxis. Ino however, is scanning everything with his eyes. He may be an old and somewhat fragile looking man. His rating is certainly not at the strength of the warriors with him. But he's taking in peoples' strength. Their weaponry. The defensive perimeter in Shibuya. The kind of things the Adventurers considered when they built this place.

"Some alcohol is always wonderful." The Imp points out to Prophylaxis. "Though it will be hard to beat the substance sold in the Ninetails Dominion. That Lustra character may be shady looking, but he knows how to make a good brew." The powerplay continues.

Yeowang did not expect to wind up leading the tour, but doesn't object, showing off the villiages places of interest to the visitors with a polite smile. "There are some things that we don't have with us here in Shibuya that we support and draw from. The Red Chain organization provides relief efforts for victims of disasters as needed around Yamato, though they've had a bit of a break lately." Why does she look to Proph as she says this? "We control a lending bank in Ninetails that can loan gold at a fee for businesses that need gold for immediate purposes. We do have a great deal of involvement throughout the region."

    Rizadoman frowns at the comments he hears from his fellow adventurers and the travelers and gives a glare to his own alliancemates. " An apology on behalf of the New World Alliance, we are usually better behaved infront of guests. Sometimes personal opinions can quickly get out of hand and while normally it is kept in check, other times we all slip. " Turning to Prophylaxis he takes a moment and also bows to the doctor, " As well an apology on behalf of the alliance to you as well Doctor, while I am sure you can understand how your presence could cause a surprised stir that is no excuse." Standing up straight he would then follow behind as Yeowang gives the tour, with Rizadoman watching the group as they go, doing his best to handle requests as he can.

It is easy to overlook especially when one has to try and nerfherd their own members. But the 'disorganized' comments don't escape Shiruba's ears and remind her just what she's doing, leading to a slightly awkward cough into a closed hand and a loom shot at the rest of the Alliance. "Forgive me, the off-side chatter was getting out of hand. Is there anything else you'd be interested in seeing?" Though once she's paying attention again she notice's the elder's scrutinizing gaze, and her ears droop a little. Sigh. So much for good impressions.

Giga over the chimlink just reminded her of somthing she should have known. Well, Allynna feels like a newbie and responsible for this mess, so she might as well help to get them out of it. By doing the one thing she hates even more than her former life... acting like her real life self. Clearing her throat, her usual cheery smile drops, and a serious business like look comes over her face as she looks to the group of landers. "I would like to formaly say sorry, my outburst was to aliviate my allies worries, not to insult you or your cotiere in anyway. "She says giving a formal japanese bow, bending at the waist, her voice has also lowered a pitch.

"Though an unexpected arrival as well as arriving with warships does raise questions, aside from my earlier faux pas, I trust we have nothing to worry about, since your group has shown grace and politeness yes? Somthing that we, myself include,d should keep in mind of our own actions."

Miho looks to Hestiger for a moment and seema amused at this comments.

"The localsp of Yamato were a bit overwhelemd by the flood of Adventuers when we arrived enmass. So your pretty much on the money there." She folllows tail swishing as she goes.

    Merek of course would be talking along the chimlink before he came back to the party. When he's about with them, he will nod a little and follows along with the people.

Oh right, they can hear that. Oh well, too late to worry about it now.

Kaydon makes dead serious eye contact with one of the delegates. Red bar or night, Kaydon would probably throw down for the hell of it. Still, that's no way to handle security, "I'm sure your understand our concerns, that's all. But there's an old saying where I come from. 'Don't start nothin', won't be nothin.' And right now, I don't intend to start anything at all."

"Ah, it'd be a shame to judge someone just by the face they present to the public," Prophylaxis answers the imp with a casual shrug. "You would miss all the most interesting things in the world if you judged a piece of candy by its wrapper, no? The New World Alliance has been able to accomplish a good deal here in Shibuya, and the Scale's advances in Tolbana simply have to be seen to be believed, our otherworldly brews aside. Considering the degree to which we have all been forced to adapt to our changing circumstances, I think it's quite admirable to manage such independence, wouldn't you agree?"

After all, they are not nearly so 'disorganized' as to be led around by bright lights and circus tricks as they are elsewhere in the world. Though that much remains unsaid.

"I'll have to keep that recommendation in mind," he says cheerfully, "It seems like the shadiest sorts are often hiding the most amazing talents. A shady brewer, how novel! Perhaps we aught to get the two of our brewers in the same room sometime and see what they can come up with. Maybe turn it into a brewing competition? Hmhmhm, I do wonder what sorts of amazing concoction such a venture might produce."

The politicking continues. Though at least 'mmmm, booze' seems to be a sincere enough sentiment that little might be hiding behind it.

Maybe.

Probably.

"Lending money?" Ino Hatsuse asks. "Why would you do that? What guarantee do you have that they would pay you back?" The Cait Sith inquires with Yeowang. Seemingly more interested in the economic opportunity than the 'money sink' that is people relief.

The Imp addresses Rizadoman; "It's fine. You are people without a nation, without a military command structure. This kind of disorganization is normal within Kallamore at times." He explains.

Eventually, as Yeowang finishes the tour, the Cait Sith turns to Shiruba and asks; "What do you do for entertainment here? I've been looking for something that could earnestly challenge my grand-daughter." He remarks, seemingly not too concerned with the Chimlink remark. "We're used to Adventurers using their Chimlinks to talk to one-another by now. Do not worry about it too much."

The note of warships doesn't get engaged on either. Prophylaxis had been right on the money, but it loses a sense of power if it is discussed. So, the group leaves Allynna to figure it out on her own, what the purpose of the warships had been. That same kind of might being projected by some of the warriors looking to Kaydon for just long enough to impress upon him that on his own, he would not lay a single finger on them.

Speaking of Prophylaxis, as he contineus to explain the progress Adventurers have made, and then proposing brewing seems to... amuse the Imp. "I'll have to see it to believe it." He notes. "But if you seek to best your own region's best brewer, and manage, perhaps you will face our best brewer after this." The Imp, named Basra, proposes.

Shiruba considers the question for a few moments. Then decides it is better to ask than to assume. "Challenge her in what way if I may ask? Does she have certain skills or such?"

Yeowang smiles about lending money, and how novel the capitalist idea is in an older culture. "As far as guarantees, we have a few. The borrowers must sign over what is known as collateral, which, if they do not repay us in gold, we could collect in its stead. A merchant might offer a shop or a ship, for instance. The owner of a mine might offer the mine as collateral to invest in material improvements to improve his mining rates, allowing him to mine more and faster than before. And we are not without recourse for those who will not honor their contracts." Just how, she leaves unsaid, but an educated guess, well, and given the martial talk earlier might imply that some are eager for people not to honor their obligations. Though for now, things have been ticking over quietly.

Rather than taking caution at the Palace Landers arriving in four capital warships, Yeowang takes note of their construction and armament, and says, "Your ships -are- mighty. Entirely impressive. But, it occurs to me that rather than view them as a threat, if you might take the opportunity to give /us/ a tour. With an eye to maybe procuring such a ship for ourselves." Because financial interest for them, and security for us and a mutual trade agreement to bind our interests.

"Technically speaking, it would not be me who would be doing the brewing. There's this charming young lady who runs the tavern back home whose talents are far better suited," Prophylaxis laughs and shakes his head slowly. "Regardless, all the more reason to turn this into a proper competition, no? If, after all, you are confident in Kallamore's capacity to produce the greatest drink this world has ever known, that is."

And perhaps there might be a way for them all to profit from the enterprise.

...Literal profit, that is. Selling branded and labeled alcohol is a very lucrative business indeed.

"It would be a shame and a tragedy if we turned this into a regional competition and then only had two competitors for an international bout. Why, we might end up tasting some kind of Dol Donan draught at the end of it all. It'd be a pleasant surprise, but I'd hate to lose the opportunity to sample a wider variety."

"Mm, you say you're looking for something to 'challenge' your granddaughter?" Prophylaxis' brow creases thoughtfully, "...Well. If it's a 'challenge,' then there's a number of things that come to mind, though miss Shiruba's question is valid. Is there something she is particularly interested in?"

    Rizadoman is longing for his interaction with King Potimas more and more as he follows behind the tour and tries very hard to not let Basra's words get under his skin. It would not be diplomatic to throw claws without them throwing it first. To the question of the Cait Sith Rizadoman would comment, " A common enjoyment are the festival Peko Races, commonly a part of the events to celebrate the changing of the seasons or other cultural celebrations. They can be quite challenging. Then again, if she is still a hatchling, I would retract the statement. Some of them can be quite dangerous. " Rizadoman quickly slipping that last part in, realizing that being ones granddaughter she may still be on the young side.

    Merek looks to the people of the land, while he takes the time to offer them a few cups, "This is coffee, I would like you to try it. I rediscovered it in Yamato," he offers. Then he takes a look at all the lamps, "These lamps are my invention." The man will offer a little nod along to the party.

Miho thinks about enterainment but will let her firnd handle it as she watches the going on between far more imporant people than she. She's thinking fdor a moment though as she does add one thing.

"Have quite a few wandering bards who tend to do performaces of music."

Welp, after all that Allynna nods and decides to go and have a gander on the wall, as well as a few other things, patting Shiruba on the shoulder. "I'll leave this in your hands boss, I'll be up on the wall if you need me." She says, and gives a bow to the deligates before wandering off.

"Hrrm. Interesting. Such a tactic would create incredible chaos, broken hearts, and misery though, wouldn't it? Certainly, being able to get something you would not otherwise be able to attain is a wonderful idea. But take that to its logical climax, and you soon have predatorial practices." There is intense concern with Ino about such an idea, that much is clear. Kallamore is a capitalistic nation, to an extreme. But it also means that introducing different capitalistic ideas could cause a dangerous collapse.

He then lifts his head and answers Shiruba; "Honestly... she is skilled at everything. She's a bit of a prodigy." He explains, "And my wonderful girl..."

The Imp then interjects; "Enough about your grand daughter. No, we will not permit passage upon our ships. While we appreciate the hospitality. A diplomatic mission such as this does not allow for the exploration of military craft." He takes Merek's offered coffee, and sniffs at it. "Huggh... that smells attrocious." The imp wrinkles his nose and tries a sip, then jolts his head back. "No thank you." He notes, and offers it back to Merek.

"We should consider returning soon."

Shiruba ahs and nods her head. "I see. It must be difficult to keep her engaged in activities if she can quickly succeed them." She sighs softly. "I'm sorry I do not know what we could offer ."

    Merek takes the coffee and will offer it to Shiruba, "If you like." The man looks a little bit thoughtful, and will cross his arms. "Anyway, you will find that those of Yamato are welcoming. They might take a while to get used to visitors. My trading company will generally be there if you need to request anything at all," the man adds.

    With the Imp's sudden interjection Rizadoman takes a deep breath to gather some mental strength before he responds to Basra. " I absolutely agree with, a diplomatic mission does not need to involve the military crafts at all. " Taking a moment he steps aside, " If you wish to return to your ships I will have supplies brought to the port. You will be welcome to take what you would like, we have made sure it is not bland. " Spring was starting soon so it meant the supplies lost could be fairly easily regained. At that the guildie he had sent off earlier finally arrives with a platter of cheese and the lizardman gives a look of annoyance. "The cheese you had asked to sample, if you enjoy it some can also be supplied." Offering the plate of cheese to Basra, " I am glad this was ready before you left, it would have been a shame for such wonderful things to go to waste."

Shiruba takes the coffee with an appreciative nod and drink it. Though she might need something stronger later.

Yeowang arches a brow at them not allowing us a reciprocal tour of their ships, but says nothing more about it. As far as predatorial lending creating misery, she can only shrug. "It is a simple matter to refrain from taking it to that logical climax," she replies simply. "We simply loan people cash to improve things, not to cause hardship. Where is the good in creating hardship?"

She pulls, from her inventory, a small coin, and, rubbing it between her fingers, as if to polish it a bit. She does this in what she hopes is a subtle manner, and will move to help the visitors, now preparing to depart, it seems, with their cloaks and generally preparing themselves for travel. She stumbles, though, bumping into the imp, and she apologizes sincerely. "I'm so sorry, I can't find my feet today, it seems." But ... where did that coin go, she wonders surreptitiously scanning the ground for where it might have fallen. She dropped it, but it'd take mad luck to have dropped in one of their pockets.

"Leaving already?" Prophylaxis asks, tapping at his chin. "Mmn. Well that's too bad, but perhaps we'll see one another sooner rather than later, hm? I have some business that will bring me back to Lumina Cloth shortly," he continues with another shrug.

To attempt, as it happens, something quite similar to that thing that Ino seems so concerned about. What a coincidence...!

"Now, perhaps I should consider what to bring as presents," the doctor muses to himself, "Hmm... Booze and something for the girl, and for that other one... hm, that'll have to be a hard guess..."

The politicking... shall continue another day, it seems.

As Yeowang bumps into the Imp, attempting to drop the coin, the Imp pulls his cloak out of the way a bit. "Hmmff." He grunts, but doesn't say much of it. Instead, he is distracted by the Cheese being offered by Rizadoman. He picks a piece off and snuffs it, then bites down on it.

"Hmm!" The man remarks. "Ah, now this is good. Indeed. I was not aware that Grunties were able to produce something better than their meat." The Imp says. "Please, a bit of supply would be welcomed." He then reaches for a baggie of coins, and hands it to Rizadoman. Worth a lot of cheese. "So that you don't feel like this isn't appreciated." The imp notes.

The group then politely bow to the Shibuya civilians, and move to depart. Kneeled down however, Yeowang wound find that her coin is laying on top of a piece of paper.

It says only one thing: 'Do not alert them. Find the Uncrowned.'

Miho thinks for a moment "I can get how it could be a challenge to keep someone like that engaged. I was bored out of my mind till I ended up in a forge and harassed my grandfather into train me." She smiles a bit "Well I'm certain we might be able to help with that."

She stop and willg et some coffee herself if she's able to. She seem to like it and knows osme people don't like coffee. She's polite and does not comment on coffee not being liked.

    And after they all are on their way, Merek will take the time to speak into the chimlink while he walks along to Alliance HQ, taking the time to light a smoke.

Shiruba bows to the group as they depart.

And once they're past the city limit it turns into a slump as she hangs her head and groans. "That went... well it went..."

    Rizadoman would see to delivering supplies to the ships before they depart, Basra would find a variety of cheeses as part of the supply, the coin going to Erufu to pay for the supplies he is taking from the inn. He would have to replinsh his own cheese stash another day. Howevver before he goes off to look into the supplies he would look at the others...and just sigh.

Well, now this wasn't expected at all. Of course the provenance of the paper is entirely a mystery, but Yeowang will ignore the paper and the coin for the moment, standing exactly on top of it for the moment to keep it hidden from sight. But the message is still unclear. Or, rather, was it left for us, and someone wishes for us to find this Uncrowned without alerting these Palace Landers? Or did they drop it inadvertently, and they're searching for this Uncrowned and don't want to tell us? This may involve some research. And a lot of machination.

"I think that went swimmingly," Prophylaxis chirps because apparently he is VIRTUALLY unflinching in the face of a bunch of foreign dignitaries doing their level best to seem utterly superior in every way. He pats Shiruba and the Lizardman on the shoulders with a reassuring wink and a smile, "As far as 'surprise visit to flex our nation's might' goes, anyway, hm?"

    Rizadoman looks at the doctor, and then at the ship and decides that they are far enough out of range. " Beware of snakes bearing gifts. Since no gifts were exchanged I am willing to look aside their attempt to throw us off by not advertising their arrival. Perhaps they just wanted to see how we behaved, which I will say wasn't our best. So that means they saw what they wanted." Rizadoman frowns and the words of Basra echo through his head.

"It's a common ploy with these kinds of things," Prophylaxis answers sympathetically. "Coming unannounced has a two-fold effect, not only does it test your ability to prepare adequately for their arrival, it also says that they believe themselves powerful enough to come and go whenever they please, regardless of whether or not they've provided any advance notice. Shibuya may be an open port, but it's still pretty disrespectful for a diplomatic mission to come by unannounced with so many warships. But that too was a calculated move. If there were hotheads among your delegation, then they'd naturally be infuriated by such disrespect."

The doctor doesn't wear glasses, but his eyes glint meaningfully anyway, "...They're formidable negotiators, my friend. But diplomacy is a game, and we are all gamers here. If they bring the challenge to us, then we just need to beat them at it."

    Merek will look to people and listen, not going into the HQ yet, while he takes the time to relax.

"I'm an explorer, not a diplomat. And boy did that show." Shiruba huffs in her cheeks. "It's a good thing you guys with better ettiquete and social understanding were here." With that said, she turns and heads towards the Inn rather than the HQ. "I need something stronger than coffee for a drink..."

    Rizadoman sighs and shakes his head as he listens to Prophylaxis, " I much prefer direct negotiations. " Then Rizadoman holds his hand up and covers his ear with his claw for a moment before speaking to the air. " No your not needed. We are not spying on the visitors. That would be horribly disrepectful. " Turning back he looks at the doctor and Shiruba, " I must step away I have supplies to gather and an alliance to roar at. Maybe find a good bog to wah their mouths out in. "

Shiruba pauses, spouts off a string of coordinates to Rizadoman that may lead to something boglike, and then heads into the Inn

"I'm not much of a diplomat either," Prophylaxis admits with a chuckle. "But office politics are pretty similar in a lot of ways. When the big dogs from the next department over, or a competitor, or whatever show up, the rules are pretty much the same. But I understand, this is all new for all of us, no?"

He inclines his head at the Lizardman as he goes to leave, then turns to Shiruba with a reassuring smile, "It'll be fine. Just take a while to relax and know where you stand, and you'll make it through. I've got some stuff of my own to take care of back home though, so farewell for now. Get some booze!"

Boooooze!!