It was a brisk fall day. Sylvia made sure of the hour before she went to call upon Storm in her quarters, those that had once been only the Master of Arms. The corridors were cool, but not to those who dressed to the culture. Sylvia's own gown was a woolen blend of dark green. It swept along the stones in hushed whispers. With a knock upon the doorjamb, she called upon the ambassador.
The rooms were oddly quiet without Ewan and the boys. While she usually enjoyed the more quiet hours that she could find during the day, here in Yransea it made her restless. She tried to tidy up the room, though of course it was perfect upon her arrival. Storm could hear Sylvia's light footsteps and was already heading for the door before the knocking. Her smile was pleasant and easy to find, "Good morning."
"Good morning, Storm. How was your journey?" She gestured down the corridor so Storm might join her.
"Dry," a light quirk to the corner of her mouth as she shut the door behind her to join Sylvia, "And otherwise pleasant. I will admit that while I have come to enjoy the few days sailing, that I enjoy the more immediate arrival."
A rueful smile, she nodded. "I understand. So you have cut the time in half, is that not so? Explain to me again, if you will, the method of journey. You do not sail until you reach this world, is that not so?"
The servants of Seansloe Manor went about their work, stepping aside when the Baroness and Ambassador passed by, and giving bows of their heads.
"That is so. I suppose that I could do without a ship the whole way if necessary, but that would be more taxing than necessary." She nodded to the servants as she passed by, recognizing most of the faces.
The direction they made took them down stairs and along another corridor, leading to the private study of Lord Protectorate, Keefe. The door was open to reveal the dark haired man leaning over his papers and the lamps lit. "No need to tax yourself. There will be plenty of that ahead without adding to it with travel."
"My thoughts exactly." Storm put her hands together in front of her, causing the sleeves of her Guardian Silks to come down and overlap. Keefe's study was not new, but certainly not familiar. When she spotted him already there and waiting, she smiled politely, "Good morning, Keefe."
Standing at the greeting, Keefe smiled formally. "Ambassador." Then the smile took a more familiar turn, and he greeted, "Storm. It is good of you to meet with us. If you would take a seat," he gestured to one of the chairs across from his desk, and he retook his own seat. "Does work begin on the island?"
The rules of formality were still not clear to Storm. However, instead of worrying over the use of his name, she moved to one of the chairs, "Not as of yet. First, I will need to train the other Guardians to access their gift. During our brief stay to see the King, we did not have many opportunities to practice. I would like to discuss a possible temporary location to house twelve of us."
Sylvia took the other chair. "A residence for twelve? Just the twelve or will you also require room for servants and assistants?"
"Just the twelve. I am hoping that it would only be for a few weeks. After that, we will construct the island, and then we will have immediate access to the portal and temporary shelter would not be necessary."
Sylvia looked to Keefe, who nodded. It was a simple understanding that it would be her duty to see to it. "I will find appropriate accommodations. When will you need them?"
Keefe made a few notes on a page. "I think also we will need to share further information to a few prominent members of the Seansloe community to keep the curiosity at bay." Sylvia nodded to it, but then looked back to Storm for the timing.
"Well, we will begin as should soon as a place becomes available. I know we had mentioned it to Ewan last time the Guardians were here, but I believe that a place along the coast would be best for us to train. I would not recommend somewhere near plant life."
Sylvia sat back and gave it some thought. Keefe himself had paused his writing to consider the requirements. He spoke first to the situation, "That may be some difficulty, though there are the cliffs tops. Is that cottage still there?"
A countering shake of her head, "That is in a bad way, and too far at that. I think to the west. But, I must ask, why no plant life? None at all? I fear we do not have a desert nearby."
"Well, we do not have to stay along the coast. I only ask for our training grounds to be there. And from my knowledge and experience, training the fire element has the most consequences for being performed incorrectly. I would rather be by a water source, just in case."
"Ah, well, then there we may have the solution." Sylvia laughed. "The mill. The family was not as large as it once was and to refurbish the old mill was to be too costly. So a new mill was built further up the river. It opens up to the ocean just to the west, and the old mill -- though in a very good shape -- is vacant. It may require sharing of rooms, however. Did you ever visit it, Keefe?"
The rooms were oddly quiet without Ewan and the boys. While she usually enjoyed the more quiet hours that she could find during the day, here in Yransea it made her restless. She tried to tidy up the room, though of course it was perfect upon her arrival. Storm could hear Sylvia's light footsteps and was already heading for the door before the knocking. Her smile was pleasant and easy to find, "Good morning."
"Good morning, Storm. How was your journey?" She gestured down the corridor so Storm might join her.
"Dry," a light quirk to the corner of her mouth as she shut the door behind her to join Sylvia, "And otherwise pleasant. I will admit that while I have come to enjoy the few days sailing, that I enjoy the more immediate arrival."
A rueful smile, she nodded. "I understand. So you have cut the time in half, is that not so? Explain to me again, if you will, the method of journey. You do not sail until you reach this world, is that not so?"
The servants of Seansloe Manor went about their work, stepping aside when the Baroness and Ambassador passed by, and giving bows of their heads.
"That is so. I suppose that I could do without a ship the whole way if necessary, but that would be more taxing than necessary." She nodded to the servants as she passed by, recognizing most of the faces.
The direction they made took them down stairs and along another corridor, leading to the private study of Lord Protectorate, Keefe. The door was open to reveal the dark haired man leaning over his papers and the lamps lit. "No need to tax yourself. There will be plenty of that ahead without adding to it with travel."
"My thoughts exactly." Storm put her hands together in front of her, causing the sleeves of her Guardian Silks to come down and overlap. Keefe's study was not new, but certainly not familiar. When she spotted him already there and waiting, she smiled politely, "Good morning, Keefe."
Standing at the greeting, Keefe smiled formally. "Ambassador." Then the smile took a more familiar turn, and he greeted, "Storm. It is good of you to meet with us. If you would take a seat," he gestured to one of the chairs across from his desk, and he retook his own seat. "Does work begin on the island?"
The rules of formality were still not clear to Storm. However, instead of worrying over the use of his name, she moved to one of the chairs, "Not as of yet. First, I will need to train the other Guardians to access their gift. During our brief stay to see the King, we did not have many opportunities to practice. I would like to discuss a possible temporary location to house twelve of us."
Sylvia took the other chair. "A residence for twelve? Just the twelve or will you also require room for servants and assistants?"
"Just the twelve. I am hoping that it would only be for a few weeks. After that, we will construct the island, and then we will have immediate access to the portal and temporary shelter would not be necessary."
Sylvia looked to Keefe, who nodded. It was a simple understanding that it would be her duty to see to it. "I will find appropriate accommodations. When will you need them?"
Keefe made a few notes on a page. "I think also we will need to share further information to a few prominent members of the Seansloe community to keep the curiosity at bay." Sylvia nodded to it, but then looked back to Storm for the timing.
"Well, we will begin as should soon as a place becomes available. I know we had mentioned it to Ewan last time the Guardians were here, but I believe that a place along the coast would be best for us to train. I would not recommend somewhere near plant life."
Sylvia sat back and gave it some thought. Keefe himself had paused his writing to consider the requirements. He spoke first to the situation, "That may be some difficulty, though there are the cliffs tops. Is that cottage still there?"
A countering shake of her head, "That is in a bad way, and too far at that. I think to the west. But, I must ask, why no plant life? None at all? I fear we do not have a desert nearby."
"Well, we do not have to stay along the coast. I only ask for our training grounds to be there. And from my knowledge and experience, training the fire element has the most consequences for being performed incorrectly. I would rather be by a water source, just in case."
"Ah, well, then there we may have the solution." Sylvia laughed. "The mill. The family was not as large as it once was and to refurbish the old mill was to be too costly. So a new mill was built further up the river. It opens up to the ocean just to the west, and the old mill -- though in a very good shape -- is vacant. It may require sharing of rooms, however. Did you ever visit it, Keefe?"