-*do something!*- insisted Greeo -*go to them! speak to them! steal their things!*

*you are out of your cerebral lobe*- protested Tow -*we are in terrvm incvgnitvm and among singletons * of the type that does not bear to stand our kind *

*but, but… this is such a massive opportunity * we rarely interact with islanders other than beorg’s minions*

This back and forth between Greeo and Tow, ongoing for a better part of a quanter already, and became at this point the main event in Anh - Birdekk - Tow - Greeo - Thernohh’s cranium. So much so that the dominant, Anh, had to stop reading. The reason for this debate was quite obvious. As soon as the ever sociologically curious Greeo noticed that there is an entire herd of the elusive islanders in the immediate vicinity, she wanted to know more. Fortunately this happened in the morning, after they spent the remnants of the night in the camp, otherwise Greoo would probably force the dominant to act immediately and do something they would all regret later. The problem was that Stelandians were so elusive because they purposely kept to themselves, rarely making excursions to the continent. Even if they did, they limited themselves to the trade of goods.

Kingdom at sea was very defensive of its borders, rarely allowing ships from Sorres, Cammot or Maargard to dock, and even that in controlled areas far away from the general population. But that was not the worst. That description was reserved to Stelanders not liking the tanai.

Whenever a vessel from Tanais tried to even enter the Stelandian claimed territory, it was kindly sent back. The kindness was inversely proportional to the distance to the island. Any and all ships arriving at the island were searched, in case a stowaway scientist was present, and Vihrs save the captain if one was actually found. A tanai hasn’t been in Steland since… forever.

This sentiment was, apparently, deeply ingrained into islanders, because as soon as they noticed Anh’s presence, they simply moved away, making sure there is at least several mers distance between them and the tanai. After a short while two men, armed with several pistols each, came around, sat at the edge of the exclusion zone and were totally not, but actually keeping an eye on the hexergist. To his dismay, because as soon as Greoo became aware of what was happening before their eyes, her rampant curiosity made it impossible for others to continue with their activities.

*i admit this is infuriating*- said Anh -*it would seem that any activity on our side will cause some sort of a hostile action as a response*

*may i have a heretical suggestion*- chimed in Thernohh -*maybe we should get off our buttocks and just, you know, interact with them*

*and how do you propose we do that * they clearly don’t like us*- interrupted Birdekk, worriedly -*even maanica and niven are silently hostile when any of us asks about their homeland * and they worked with him for four decades now*

*only niven is a proper pure blood stelander*- replied Greeo with dismissive undertones -*maanica is a coastal, so more like a mutt of an islander and some continental fellow or fellowette generations ago* from kan-dag-sori*- this last revelation was further reinforced with a mental equivalent of a dismissive hand weave -*anyway even if niven wasn't such a tight-lipped curmudgeon he is but a single sample * and these guys here are proper islanders * from steland * not polluted by continental modernity * do i really need to remind all of you that they have never been examined in detail? *

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There was a brief silence inside the tanai's head, as the personalities considered all the pros and cons.

*maybe we should kill one*- said Tow sarcastically -*and then do a dissection immediately? * in full view of his comrades?*

*excellent idea*- coldly responded Thernohh, to a background 'nooo' of Greoo -*what better way to end the day than a little gore bath*

*peace!*- interrupted the dominant, quite irate -*peace among the kinfolk, please * no one is killing anyone! * we might get a corpse to dissect if anything goes really bad but for now i agree that we need to at least try and talk to one of them* I am going in!*- Anh bluntly finished the dispute and was about to lift off into the camp.

Then of course Beorg came around and interrupted this perfectly logical scheme.

-“Anhs, I have just received a message from the field agent. We are moving out.”

-“And here I was just admiring the bivdawn!” - he scoffed, unhappy that his plans to invade the islander camp were thus foiled - “And look at me! I need to change! This robe got dirty. Do you expect any hostilities? I don’t know if I should wear aqua blue and violet or a proper tough tanai red with flames embroidered in gold thread.” - The hexergist manoeuvred towards his luggage and opened it. From it, as if on its own, a screen on a round frame floated out, creating a portable changing booth, held mid-air by the tanai's telekinetic talent. Anh floated inside -”I guess, considering the weather, the blue will better deal with the heat. This red robe I have stashed here is very dark.“- his voice echoed inside the booth - ”Good, tehei work from Weidana, very expensive, but if you could just see how it flows all over you! And with a little effort you can make it flap around when using the craft to dazzle the onlookers.”

-“Red. We are here for a specific purpose, Anhs. Focus.”

-“Right. Right. Give me a triskol. We need to change anyways, this green robe is too heavy for this heat. We’re sweating so much we are going to suffer from dehydration.”

-“Just hurry up, and take the absolute necessities. It takes a candle to get where we need to be. Maybe a bit more.”

It took Anh no time at all to change to a blood red robe with golden trim and an elaborate gold coloured collar with a flame ornamentation. The outfit was meant solely for tanai, as it was hanging way below his feet, clearly indicating it was not meant for walking or even touching the ground. To complete the kit he wore a pair of brass coloured goggles, currently on his ample forehead, and a rectangular, sizable in comparison to his silhouette, leather backpack trimmed with a black thread and obviously laden with… things.

Whilst Anh was changing, Beorg managed to load two sizable saddlebags with several bags of gunpowder, a few bags of musket balls and then added no fewer than a dozen pistols wrapped in protective cloth. If the wound on his shoulder caused him any discomfort, he surely didn't make it shown.

-”We are ready and willing to do the worst. Although, we’d prefer to do the best!” - exclaimed Anh as he approached his aberrant companion, ignoring surprised and amazed gazes from just about everyone around him. Especially the islanders, who seemed amused rather than amazed, and their open hostility dropped down a few notches. One of them took a large piece of material, wrapped it around his waist and started prancing around on his tiptoes, in a comical attempt to imitate the tanai's floating gait, to much laughter and applause of his companions. At first Anh wanted to be absolutely offended but a gentle reminder from Greoo that anything that helps break the ice between the two nations is welcome, made him just smile politely and ignore their antics.

The only person unfazed with this display was Beorg, currently busy with strapping his luggage to a bay coated horse.

-”Good, follow me.” - he said flatly, then mounted up and clicked his tongue twice. The beast snorted and took off in a lively canter. Anh put on his goggles and floated after him, effortlessly keeping up with the speed and easily maintaining the right distance to talk.