Welcome to Gaia! ::

"You certainly will," Earendil smiled. "We're going to visit her after we're finished with our business here."

The boat hit the water then, and he held the side as it rocked back and forth. "Make sure you sit very still," he cautioned Miyuki. "It's going to be very rocky from here to the shore, and if you stand up and it rocks too much it could tip us all over into the water."

Which looked a bit cold, he had to admit.

Earendil chuckled softly. "Yes ... well, we were spoiled with having Haldia with us before," he commented with a smile. "And I'm sure Kelirahc will be coming to the island every now and then. But this is just our first time going to the island, I'm sure once they know we're here they'll be more than happy to fly us back and forth. Besides, it's a good experience," he added, chuckling.

"What they ought to do is build a dock so we can just walk up," Mikhail quipped. "It would make things a lot easier."

"Maybe they could build a ship or two of their own and start some commerce with the Southland," Shea suggested. "It would be good for them - for the economy and for international relations."

"There's an idea," Earendil chuckled, putting one hand on Miyuki's shoulder to help her feel a bit more steady despite the rocking of the boat. "Everyone would see a lot more of them. Travel would be a lot easier."

"With Roydon here, they would have the best shipwright in the world to teach them how to make ships," Earendil grinned. "Perhaps I'll bring it up to Aerin in a few days or something. She would be the one to talk to about it anyways."

It took them only about ten minutes to reach the beach, and once they were close enough that they were brushing along the sand, the two crewmen hopped out and pulled the boat to shore so that the others wouldn't have to get soaked coming to shore.

Earendil, being nearest the bow, hopped out to help them, then held a hand out to help Miyuki and Lin onto the white sand.

Earendil chuckled at Miyuki. "Not quite like the Southland, is it?" he asked her with a grin, stepping away from the boat to make room for his uncles to come ashore. "It's a much finer sand here. Coastal sand."

He looked up at the cliff above them. "That's going to be quite a walk," he couldn't help but comment.

"That's why I wanted to bring the horses," Shea commented in reply, following Earendil's gaze as he stepped out of the boat and nearly tripping in the process. "But Roydon said it wouldn't be a good idea."

"Such is life," Mikhail grinned. "Come on, Shea, it won't kill you to walk for a few hours."

Earendil pursed his lips thoughtfully. "From what I recall, it's not too bad," he commented. "I mean, sure we flew mostly, but I mapped it all out, so I had to study the terrain quite a bit. I don't think there's many rocky areas at all."

Thousands of years of people living there had pounded the rock into a slope, and there were at least a few inches of topsoil on top of it. Good for growing a few things at least, even if not for proper crops of food. Though on the lower half of the island, where the gnomes had been (he wondered if they were still there somewhere), the ground had been good and rich soil, perfect for planting. Very different from the elven half.

Earendil laughed and squeezed Miyuki's hand. "Yes, yes, we're going," he chuckled down at her. "Have patience. Otherwise you sound like Amalirahc, always trying to get everyone to hurry up."

Shea and Mikhail exchanged a glance, then looked at Earendil and nodded. "Lead the way," Mikhail told his nephew. "Since you're the one who knows it."

Earendil smiled and started forward, leading Lin and Miyuki. "You know," he commented to Lin as they walked, "it will be interesting to see how things have changed since the last time we were here."

Earendil squeezed Miyuki's hand to show her he was glad, but he kept his eyes forward and his attention on Lin.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how we're going to be received," he told her softly. "I know we're not going to be thrown into prison, but maybe we won't even be considered threatening this time."

He smiled at her, only half joking about that.