The captain himself is on deck, near the helmsman, though once the ship drops anchor in the natural bay area of the island he became more relaxed and listens to Annette's request. Shrugging, he takes the gold from her and then calls one of the men over - his first mate, she would have learnt from her voyage - asking if any of the men has done well during the voyage and would like some extra time on shore.<br/><br/>A name is proposed, the captain concurs, and a doughty broad shouldered muscular sailor of about 6'2" is then called over. The captain instructs the big man - Lyon or maybe Lion, if she heard right - to follow her and assist her with her thinga. The captain also tosses him the gold she had offered, keeping none for himself, telling the man it was an advance tip from Lady Gabelle.<br/><br/>The longboat is readied and lowered with crewmen at the oars, and Lyon assists Lady Gabelle with her luggage. Radek Engelton follows with 2 bodyguards he had brought, and the boat is brought to the island. Unless Annette objects, Lyon would carry her on shore so her feet wouldnt get wet, before heading back to carry her luggage.<br/><br/>The envoys from Ar Khazan are there waiting for them, inviting Radek and Annette to their respective quarters outside the arena. There seemed a good number of civilians helping to set up for games tomorrow, and Annette might notice it doesnt seem like there are any guards or soldiers. Then again, there was no obvious path from here up the plateau, and the seas around here facing the ocean had no merchant ships, pirate ships or any ships apart from the military craft of the Ar-Khazan.<br/><br/>She might even notice that the houses were all placed on the side of the Arena closer to the sheer face of the cliff near the plateau, and if one trained to watch out for such things were to look closely, there were firing slits carved into the side of what seemed natural cliff face, as well as some mounted oversized repeating crossbows with some mechanisms about 50' up the cliff face. If the place was manned - and it was virtually impossible to tell if it was manned or not - most of the "village" could be turned into a killing field with but an order.<br/><br/>At this point to a wary observer the civillians' role also becomes clearer. Almost all were male, with just a small smattering of womenfolk, and though they were of various trades, fishmonger, vegetable stall seller, baker, etc they all carried small weapons of some kind and typically had some larger tool on hand nearby.<br/><br/>Annette may or may not notice all of this, of course. After all at home, common folk might be well beneath her attentions.<br/><br/>(OOC: the earlier notes are for the players reference. You decide if you think your character will notice)<br/><br/>After she settles in to her own quarters, she is informed that the contest will be held the next day. She is invited to have dinner with the Arena coordinator, who will also seek her input on how she would like the stage to be set to best show off her skills. Annette might also be gratified to be notified that she alone was invited to this dinner, and Radek and his bodyguards would not be around unless she specifically requested them to be present.<br/><br/>The "dining" hall esconced under the west wing of the Arena, is a grand affair, with a 30' high ceiling, and chandeliers hanging down, with the central one being grander and more ostentatious. Its size made potential for a multi purpose hall, and with the right furniture the hall could probably be adopted into a ballroom or a speech hall. The table, which was oversized for a dining table, was thoroughly dwarfed by the size of the hall. The food would probably have to be served individually to each of the two, because in the centre of the table was model of the arena itself, about 5' x 4', along with carved miniatures representing various terrain pieces.<br/><br/>The Arena Coordinator is a grey robed man with his hood let down, blonde with long hair and a yellow beard, looking about 30 years of age. He seemed genial and friendly as he stood up to greeted her with courtly manners, his mannerism clearly one used to social niceties, and probably of noble birth.<br/><br/>"Good evening, Lady Gabelle of Aquilion. I am Darion, and most graced by your presence this evening. Please, have a seat and let us speak and dine first. After we are suitably acquainted, we can move on to more official business." Clearly referring to the matter of the Arena model.<br/><br/>(OOC : note that no one will attempt to remove the weapons from Annette at any point in time.)<br/>