NationStates Jolt Archive

The huge 74SL came into final approach, its box-wing design and other modifications allowing the liner to ignore most of the effects of the snowstorm outside the windows.

The touchdown, nonetheless, is a touch rough, bouncing open a few overhead compartments.

”This is your pilot speaking. Welcome to Vastiva. Gardemeister Aeroport Control has us approved for docking at Gate C-9. It will be a few minutes until docking, please remain in your seats. Please have all documentation prepared for your passage through Vastivan customs, diplomats are to proceed to the silver zone, natives to the green zone, and visitors to the red zone.”

Tam Lin was a bard. A very young bard and like all bards forever in the pursuit of new knowledge. He climbed out of the overhead compartment he'd been forced to sleep in because the plane was overcrowded.

Stumbling off he headed towards the red zone his right leg fast asleep. Dragging his spectracles out of a pocket he looked around for anything that may have been hidden from him. Someone had tried to sneak in a turkey but other than that.

He continued towards the check-in zone his semi lazy eye drifting over the seen as his short cape accidentally caught on an old lady's bag. After ripping it out and taking most of the bag with him he finally made it there.

The red-jacketed customs official is a bit amused by his predicament, but not overly.

Two others come and help pick up the mess.

"Welcome to Vastiva, Mr. Lin. Passport please? Business or pleasure? Anything to declare? And how long will you be staying?"

The presence of several squads of SWAT, armed and watching; the roaming security, both armed and seemingly unarmed; and the omnipresent cameras are interesting.

The snipers on their own balcony-walkways is somewhat disconcerting, but no one pays much attention to them either.

With a slight raspy voice Tam answers. "Well here is my passport," he hands over a intricately carved leather bound booklet with a white stag on the front "pleasure. I intend to stay until I learn Vastivan. So a few years at the least. And I have several dogs to declare. They're still on the plane."

He produced the requisition forms required for animals and took off his top hat revealing preternaturally white flowing hair.

With a slight raspy voice Tam answers. "Well here is my passport," he hands over a intricately carved leather bound booklet with a white stag on the front "pleasure. I intend to stay until I learn Vastivan. So a few years at the least. And I have several dogs to declare. They're still on the plane."

He produced the requisition forms required for animals and took off his top hat revealing preternaturally white flowing hair.

She nods and stamps the passport with the Sultans Crest and the word "STUDENT" in bold underneath.

"If you have animals, we apologize but they will be in quarantine for the night at least, probably the week. Our vets are very efficient, but summer is coming and tourist season will be in full bloom in a few weeks."

She hands him a booklet. "Here is a primer on our culture and customs, and there are credits in the back for visits to various places. If it is not improper, Vastiva would also like to give a small gift."

She hands him a roll of what look almost like quarters, only thicker and impressed with strange writing.

"Those are each worth a meal at any restaurant or eatery in Vastiva, there are twenty of them, we ask that you sample our wares as a guest of the Sultan. Welcome to Vastiva!"

She adds a tag for the dogs to his passport, allows him to collect his shoes and carry on luggage - all of which has been scanned - and waits patiently to see if there is more she can do, or if he is going into the airport proper.

"That's rather nice of you," he pulls out a small carving of a white trout with a red dot on it and places it on the desk the trout winks at her "thank you for your hospitality and my your deity see favor with you."

He continued onto the airport his hat bouncing on his head when he trips over a sleeping man. The man awakes rather mad until Tam taps him rather lightly with a cane that he'd managed to conceal.

The cameras watch impassively.

No one pays much attention to what is going on.

An announcement comes over the loudspeakers.

"From the VNN Channel 722 Weather Station.... A storm is expected tonight, emerging from the south. As this storm has proceeded up the coast, we expect heavy snowfall, temperatures to approach -10C. All clear and white units are to report immediately. Citizens are requested to remain in domes except as necessary..." The message repeats twice and stops.

No one in the airport pays all that much attention - or seems to.

Tam turns around and walks back over to the woman. "Do you know where one of these domes are? I have no prior place to live while here." He smiles slightly as his hair turns green at the ends.

*blinks*

"Travellers aid is in the center area of the front. I believe they can arrange for some form of habitation, temporary or otherwise, if you so desire. And the domes are all around - they shelter our city."

"Thank you once again." He nods with his tophat one more time and a wedge of cheese appears on her desk.

Tam set out once more. He came to the Currency Exchange and pulled out a heavy red bag. Pouring three thousand bank notes unto the table he declared. "Each one is worth about five camel teeth. I'd like to exchange them for Vastivan currency." (one camel tooth is about one USD last time I checked).

He scratched a roughly growing beard stubble that had formed around his neck.

"Thank you once again." He nods with his tophat one more time and a wedge of cheese appears on her desk.

Tam set out once more. He came to the Currency Exchange and pulled out a heavy red bag. Pouring three thousand bank notes unto the table he declared. "Each one is worth about five camel teeth. I'd like to exchange them for Vastivan currency." (one camel tooth is about one USD last time I checked).

He scratched a roughly growing beard stubble that had formed around his neck.

A quick exchange to Polar Crowns (1 PC = $1.57 USD) is performed.

"Welcome to Vastiva."

Tam gathers up the money and steps outside. He flags a taxi (or your equivalent of one) and asks to be taken to the nearest dome.

When he arrives he sets out to look for a motel.

"Nearest dome?" The cabbie looks nonplussed. "Are you looking for a particular someone, a part of a city, what? Sisu Vaari is aperk with domes, all sorts of things there. The nearest dome would be one of the storehouses for salt and sand, you want to go there?"

"Ah, somewhere to stay. Well that's different. Travellers Aid has inexpensive hostels if you don't mind staying mucho cheap. Of course, there is only one hotel in Sisu Vaari..." he laughs.

OOC: The one hotel is the the Burj Singinkatu. It is a 21,500 room monstrosity carved partially into the facing rock and facing the ocean. The lobby is a huge amount of the bottom floor.

Looks like this (http://www.mgmgrand.com/)

Just over three and a half times the size of this. And yes, everything is well marked.

The "lobby" runs the width of the hotel, front to back, and could probably easily hold a marine regiment with gear. It being the beginning of "sunny season" and the Vastivan Cruise Lines are starting to hold their "Whale Watch", "Antarctic Tourist" and "Hedonism" cruises, which have a certain reputation internationally; a handfull of nations are well represented, with some lesser known ones showing up now and again. The VCL main office is in Nassanuella, but many tourists stay at the Burj, as it is simply the best place to be.

Oh, and it is not under a dome. It doesn't have to be.

I'll go the giant hotel.

The cabbie takes you to the drop off - "No, sir, no need to pay, its all part of the service. Welcome to Vastiva!" - and drives off.

The lobby is huge, occupied by hundreds of travellers - yet there remains far more then enough space to walk through. From the rear of the huge room, you hear the whirl of roulette wheels, the clamour of the crowd, the roar of cheers over speakers.

You are accosted on the way to the desk by a red-vested clerk. "Yes, sir, may I help you?"

"Holy crap y'all have great service. Don't make my poison glands go into override!" Tam exposed tiny fangs and picked up his bags before nodding at the red vested man and saying "Yeah I need to learn Vastivan."

The clerk looks at him like he's grown a second head.

"I... see, sir. Well, you are in the country it is spoken in, though it is not certain whether you would recognize it when being spoken. Our children learn it while in school, or from their... teachers, or both. It appears to remain well learned through life.

"If you like, we can look up teachers of many languages, if that is what you are after?"

"Yes I'll be needing that. And a warning to the maid who might clean my room. My room might be rather interesting....." Tam looked at the floor before looking back up and smiling rather widely.

"Interesting? Do you require special quarters?"

"Maybe something with strong walls and no beds. If that isn't to much trouble. Oh and a room that can accomadate animals." Tam's hat fell off and landed on the desk revealing three rats that were curled up just resting.

It doesn't even phase the clerk.

"Carpeted or uncarpeted? If uncarpeted, wood, slate, cement, sand, all sorts of flooring is possible."

"Sand. Do you have any random extra clothes laying around. I need to make a nest for all my critters." Tam began to dance to a song playing in his head.

OOC: Most of my people are like this BTW.

"Clothes? Certainly. Do you have a preference?"

"Cotton, some bed sheets, and a wee bit of hay. That'll be realy comfy. I can't wait to start learning you language."

He nods. "As you wish. If you could just sign these damage waivers... and will that be cash or credit?"

Tam throws some money on the table as he signs the waiver and then heads up to his room.

OOC: HA! Right.

IC: The clerk escorts Tam to a room - ground floor, central, well ventilated with a floor thick in hay with two nests of cotton bedsheets already laid.

Considering the walk took about ten minutes, this is efficient.

"The bathroom has a low side, which will allow your pets to walk in and out, and there is this separate room for their relief. If you wish them walked, this can be arranged. Did you wish breakfast here, or elsewhere?"

OOC: ?

IC: "No I'll just hunt it down. And I'll walk my own pets. If you could just give me the name who can begin teaching me Vastivan."

"Wij wensen u o mais melhor di fortuna dentro su búsqueda pour la connaissance, ayid." He smiles. "If you will wait until tomorrow, we shall have several... names available. And," he looks a bit worried, "there is very little to hunt in Sisu Vaari."


OOC: "We wish you good fortune in your search for knowledge".

OOC: That was interesting it looked like a cross between Spanish and German.

IC: Tam nodded and gave the man a knife with an intricately carved handle that depicted the sun shining above a great red wolf.

"Bwaythta hr tong," at the man's slight confusion he said "that is the Green Language. It's spoken by most bards. Translated what I just said is 'Good fortune it shall bring'." Tam stepped inside the room he would be living in for a few years.

OOC: That was interesting it looked like a cross between Spanish and German.

IC: Tam nodded and gave the man a knife with an intricately carved handle that depicted the sun shining above a great red wolf.

"Bwaythta hr tong," at the man's slight confusion he said "that is the Green Language. It's spoken by most bards. Translated what I just said is 'Good fortune it shall bring'." Tam stepped inside the room he would be living in for a few years.

"Hmmm... related to Old Welsh and Celtic... A bard, you say? Do you perform?"

"Of course. Every bard does. Do you have bards in Vastiva? The Welsh are Celtic. Bcau ming bing baw!"

OOC: Laosian for crazy white boy.

[Laos]
"We have a respect for bards in this country. Performers do well on occasion."

ooc: Really? Because the guy from Laos said that the language was called Laosian and so were the people but the country was called Laos.

IC: "That's good. If I can't find a job then I'll take to the streets. There's no way that your people have seen any thing like what I have to offer." With this he spun bowed and shut the door.

OOC: I'm using a [language (speaker)] format, as going through translators looks odd after a while. That means the speaker is saying something in a language other then english. Mkay?

IC: The room is plush, comfortable, quiet.

Large screen plasma TV on one wall. The TV Guide is the size of a phone book - 5000 channels available, there is nothing "pay per view"; everything is readilly available.

"This is nice." Tam says to himself pulling out his two little rats. "You two have been acting good?" The rats squeak at him. Tam nods and gives them a piece of cheese.

OOC: ...okay.... and?

He goes to sleep.

OOC:That's pretty much all we can do right now

The next morning, breakfast arrived - a little of everything, more of whatever he liked. Along with this, an envelope.


"Many pardons, Ayid, but what you ask is... difficult at best. Our children learn young, no adults have requested such learning, and the best that could be found were some teachers of the young.

"If you have a gift for tongues, it may go easier. If you do not, your quest will end here."

"I wonder who I respond to?" He said out loud.

OOC: Gee, there's this phone....