Taking Inventory 5

Just as they finished, the Skwiven that had been sent out earlier returned with a fresh jug. It didn't carry another cup with it, so she would have to share Donovan's. Far more carefully than Donovan had, the Arboreal Maiden assisted it in removing the jug from its belt. With a smoothness uncharacteristic of someone with their eyes covered, she poured a very small amount, not even a tenth of the cup.

"Sip it up, slowly. If you go to fast you might end up with a headache." Diana thought the medicine smelled quite nice, though she was used to such medicines being artificially scented to make them appealing. Fortunately for her, the taste actually matched what the scent advertised, and a wave of relief made its way to the source of the pain.

"Thank you."

"It was not a problem. Do you think you can stand?"

"In a minute, maybe. What's going on?"

"We just finished a preliminary discussion over what materials we might be able to offer you to assist your building of a basic industry."

"Donovan was in charge of negotiations?" Diana's eyebrows raised. "He didn't do anything unsightly did he?"

"No, in fact he was quite courteous." The Arboreal Maiden handed her the cup again, this time a little bit more full.

"Thank goodness." Diana once again sipped the liquid slowly. "Did he, did he see me?"

"He made an effort not to look, but I suspect he might have seen your bare skin in his dazed state. I wouldn't hold it against him."

Diana wanted to squeal, but the sensible portion of her brain restrained that instinct. Part of her was embarrassed that she was seen in such a "vulnerable" state, another wondered if he had done anything to her. Considering her position when she awoke, probably not. Maybe if she was in a bathing suit she might be less defensive about he whole situation, but there was a difference when she was in her undergarments. Those were not supposed to be exposed, even if they covered more skin in comparison.

Taking a few deep breaths, Diana calmed herself down. Donovan was going to see her in her underwear at some point anyway, in fact he was going to see her with less on. When he first saw her like this was not relevant in the long run, even if it did get her heart racing.

"...was he at least interested?"

More than wondering if her crush was physically attracted to her, she had some insecurities about whether or not Don would be willing to continue the human race. Being told over and over that you were attractive was one thing, actually seeing the response was another thing entirely.

"He was blushing, probably, if that's what you mean. I couldn't quite be sure owing to my blindfold, but his heart most certainly fluttered when he looked in your direction." This in turn caused Diana's heart beat to increase and her body temperature to rise.

A sudden exhale.

"Anyways, we should get back to business." Diana was no longer pained by the exposure to split, though she was still sipping that liquid between each sentence. "My name is Diana Helmsguard, to whom do I owe the pleasure?"

The robes were rather loose, something that Diana and the Arboreal Maiden alike realized as Diana stood up. They weren't in danger of falling off of her body, but they were threatening to trip her up. As Don had done before her, she offered up her hand as the Arboreal Maiden translated.

"It is my pleasure, Lady . . . Helmsguard was it? I apologize if my pronunciation is off. I am one of the Sanctum's Grand Elders, the Merchant. Firche is my given name, but I insist that you only call me Merchant as you would address the Scholar or the Captain. It is a cultural preference, one I am sure you will soon come to understand, but I will not scold you for using Grand Elder Firche."

Don marveled at how his introduction was practically identical to the one before. Perhaps this was a peculiarity of split, though it being a practiced greeting for his station was not entirely off the table either.

The Merchant didn't hesitate to shake her hand as he had with Donovan. He was quite proud of his ability to pick up cultural customs quickly. It was an important skill considering his station, though he couldn't exactly demonstrate it to the fullest with such a minor pleasantry as a handshake. Still, it was seamless enough for Diana to initially believe that handshakes were part of their culture, though the limp-wristed-ness of his handshake betrayed this assumption.

"We had just finished going over a list of materials that you would be requisitioning in order to rebuild with. I suppose you wouldn't yet be able to read Sanctum-script, so would I be able to read the list over again to see if you have any requests?"

"That is an excellent idea, Grand Elder Firche."

- - - - -

Aside from the addition of some various seeds, Diana didn't have anything she could think of. Most of the materials she would want were also highly processed, plastics once again being chief among them.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time." Diana gave a slight bow.

"It is not a problem. Now if you wouldn't mind, would it be permissible for me to leave now? Aside from gathering an assortment of materials that you might need for you to look over later, I have important matters that should be handled in a timely manner."

"Please do. I will send a Skwiven with a missive detailing where to meet them and with how much of each material at a later time. I am certain that they would appreciate it if you could arrange a sample of the raw materials they are interested in for them to get an idea of the quantity. Standard bars should do for the metals, though perhaps the yields of the seeds might be better than the seeds themselves." The Arboreal Maiden was trying to make as much time as possible for them to do stuff before they had to attend the academy.

"Naturally. While I might be pressed for time, I can certainly have one of my aides gather the materials required for such a small thing. Would you like me to bring along a selection of metals you did not expressly say you wanted?"

Both Diana and Donovan nodded to this suggestion. Given their limited knowledge of metallurgy, it might be useful to get a look at some of the other options to see if any part of it was something they needed. ARC and the Noah possessed the capability to determine an external sample's atomic make-up, so if they could find a lump of iron or other such metal that contained traces of aluminum in it they could potentially use that small portion to get started.

There were a great many steps needed to actually build a slipway, armor plating foundries, electronics manufactories, and the necessary structure producers to actually make the slipway's skeleton chief among them. Supposedly, ARC could manufacture the necessary electronic equipment through the use of the Noah's nanodrones, but it was expected to be terribly inefficient, slow, and a burden on ARC's processing capabilities.

Unfortunately, until a steady supply of the relevant materials and a satisfactory industrial base could be realized, it was looking like ARC would just have to deal with it.