This meeting presented a conundrum for Suihime; meetings with people of importance would mean wearing her best, but her best could not be worse suited to the climate, nor might it be welcome by the locals who are not used to seeing the clothing of Rokugani.

Eventually though, she decided the silks would have to suffice for the morning. It would be disrespectful otherwise. She sent word ahead of her that she wished to speak to the governor before she arrived, and when she managed to get someones attention she bowed to them and spoke politely.

"Good morning. I am Miya Suihime.Please forgive me my sudden unexpected arrival. I had sent word ahead that I wished a moment of the governors time to converse with him. Is the honoured governor able to meet with me?"

"The governor is expecting you, Senorita. Follow me." The butler said and led her past the door through the hallway and into a spacious parlour room. The man inside was standing before a large set of shelves with even rows of books in it, searching for something. On her arrival, he turned toward her. "Buenos dias, Senorita." He regarded her calmly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Suihime nodded, following the man and admiring the home before they reached the parlour room. Her eyes lit up for a moment at seeing such vast amounts of books, but she quickly caught herself and bowed deeply to the man.

"Buenos dias Senor. Please accept my thanks for agreeing to meet with me with such short notice. Allow me to introduce myself, I am" Miya Suihime, "captain of the Ashitae Maru. My thanks also for allowing us to dock here, your kindness is as great as your very impressive collection of literature" she gave him a smile "I must apologize for not coming to you yesterday when we docked, I had spent most of yesterday ensuring the ship and its crew were ok after the storm. I hope you and yours have not been too affected by it? It was some storm."

"The hacienda has suffered some losses but we're recovering, thank you for your concern." He turned away with a book in hand and opened it, browsing. "It is good that I meet a captain of one of these ships. Your arrival has been quite the surprise. Sailing in on the vestiges of the storm no less. As you see, we usually lead a stable, contemplative life here and we're not used to such extravagances in eventfulness, but I suppose we need to acknowledge them when they happen." He smiled faintly. "The delay is understandable thus. We all need time to adjust and understand each other's intentions. Is it simple a courtesy call then, Senorita Milla?"

Did he say milla?

"Our arrival has been very sudden, and I apologize for any inconvinience caused" Suihime offered a bow in apology "I am unsure how long we will remain here, but for the time we are here I would very much like for yourselves and the explorers to begin a friendship that will last beyond our stay. As a sign of this, I would like to gift this to you" she took out a small bottle that was wrapped up in some material. She unwrapped it, and presented it to the man. "I don't know what you know of Rokugan Senor, but this a quite popular brand of Sake. I hope it proves itself worthy of its popularity. The Imperial Explorers would also be happy to assist in any situations, should any issues arise."

"Your gestures are kind, Senorita." Juanito accepted the bottle and opened it, then poured some of its content for both of them, in glasses. He regarded the liquid, then smelled it with a slight frown. "Is there a purpose to them beyond appearing less threatening than your flotilla probably is?"

She watched him study the sake, before she tilted her head at his question. "You have concerns or suspicions regarding my intentions Senor? My Merenease is not perfect, so I hope I have not given you cause for concern. The Imperial Explorers have not come here to threaten or intimidate. We are here to see the world. To learn, to explore. For us, this is unknown lands, and certainly I would wish to see more. I am a woman a deep interest in learning, much like you seem to be senor. We can certainly learn from each other I'm sure, much like the Imperial Explorers will learn much from the sights around us."

"What you call exploration, Senorita, is entering a place that was settled and cultivated before you. Back in your lands, when you enter someone's home without asking, do you call it exploration too?" Juanito paused. "You are our sudden guests at best. And you'll be treated as guests as long as you behave as guests. But there is a real possibility that if you treat your presence here as anything more than that, we'll have to conclude that you've overstayed your welcome."

He took a sip of sake. His expression indicated he considered it an acquired taste.

"So what is this that you want to explore and learn. And where will it follow from that? I've already been told that your people are trying to... settle."

"When we enter someones province, we go to the governor. "You are master of this port I believe? So I came to you. It is why I wish I apologized for not coming yesterday, when we arrived. It is when I should have come." Suihime paused, taking a few moments to think on what to say. "If there is trouble from the Imperial Explorers, I would like you to inform me Senor. You are right, we have sailed in on a storm and disrupted your lives. I don't want to think that any among the Imperial Explorers will cause trouble, but as the Retainer of Hantei-denka "I can bring any problems directly to His Grace, and ensure any delinquents "are punished. You have my word that all issues will be dealt with."

She took a moment to sip the sake as well. It wasn't her favourite, and there had been no toast, but at this point it didn't matter.

"Where will it follow? I don't know, perhaps trade. Perhaps warmer relations. We are separated by an ocean but that does not mean we have to be distant. Yes, I can confirm that His Grace has asked us to arrange somewhere to stay on the Island instead of living on our vessels. Others currently docked at the port to the West are also looking to explore the Northern parts of this island. I know those docked at your port here, the East port, would also wish to do the same."

"Let's say I am moderately reassured, Senorita Milla." Juan nodded, taking another sip of sake from a wine glass. "It is good you are aware that the current state of affairs between us is volatile, however. We are aware here that your authorities have been unkind to the Merenaese living to the west of here where the power is on your side and it still leaves the question open why we should be any more magnanimous. If you want our relations to truly improve, the events of last year cannot go unaddressed in a way that is satisfactory for both sides."

He looked at her intently. "We are no fools here, Senorita. Sweet words ring well, but we have our good guesses what's behind them... Why do you want to explore the north? The waters are prohibitively perilous there, only small fishing boats can take the risk."

"I will bring this up with His Grace as soon as I am able to. You have my word. I cannot guarantee he will come in person, so you may have to tolerate my face for a little longer. I hope this won't be too unacceptable?" Suihime gave him a smile, taking a sip of her sake before speaking again. "Why do we want to explore north? Because we have not been there before. We wish to visit places we have not seen, so we can learn what is there. What makes the waters to the north so dangerous Senor? Our ships are quite big, so any dangers I would like to learn of to inform my fellow captains."

"It is hardly unacceptable, Senorita Milla, as long as the matters move in the right direction." He paused. "Northern waters are very unforgiving for sailors. A combination of bad weather and submerged rocks."

"I should be able to speak with His Grace "soon on the matter. I will warn the other captains of the dangers as well, thank you for your kindness senor" Suihime bowed to the man "please let me know if there is anything else I can do to assist you."

She considered asking something else, but decided against it, giving the man a smile and a shake of the head. "I have already taken up much of your valuable time Senor. Thank you for meeting with me, and I hope you will enjoy the sake. I will send a message when we can meet to discuss the issues of your people's treatment in Rokugan. I hope this will be acceptable?"

"It will. Enjoy your stay, Senorita." The man bowed Merenaese-style and turned to his matters.

Suihime bowed, and made her

/exit

/Scene!