When Tropics meet the North (Closed)

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"That's interesting. Tea and coffee have long been staple crops of the islands so they've been so heavily apart of our consumption."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"I can imagine that." replies Nidia while Dorothy nods. "Speaking of beverages and food, how is fish consumed in the UIS Duchess? I know that it is a cornerstone of your cuisine, but we've yet to hear how your people prepare it."

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"oooh fish huh? Well there's many many ways we can consume fish. We might eat it basically raw like fresh out of the water raw and just dig right in. Certainly villages are known to do that. Other ways can include rolling it up in something like seaweed, rice and consuming it that way. Frying or slow roasting are also quite popular. Some love to have it chared to make it really crispy and crunchy, well that's how I like it. Mother can eat it fresh off the bone basically. Descale it and eating it raw is another way we might consume it. Really I think just about anyway you can imagine we probably do it. We've eaten it for our entire existence it's pretty safe to say we've figured plenty ways to serve it and pep it"

[Astares Amauricanum]

As Marcella explains how the Islanders eat fish, the two Astarial women listen attentively, nodding at times, and taking a sip of their tea.
"Why can't I help being reminded of this movie scene where Gollum eats raw fish?" asks Dorothy to herself out loud once the Duchess is finished.
"You watch too much movies girl, we have yet to invent a ring with an optical camouflage." replies Nidia with a small chuckle.
"Indeed." replies Dorothy with a smile and a chuckle too, before turning to Marcella again. "Thank you for this explanation Duchess. From what I remember having learned, us Astarians also consumed fish, in conjunction with other protein sources such as meat. River fishes, especially trout and pikes, have always been a favourite of our people, although eating it raw is not usual. We would either smoke it, to help preserve it, or eat it cooked in a lot of ways.
Anyway, so far, how are you liking your stay with us? I hope their Imperial Majesties didn't appear as too intimidating." finishes the blonde woman with a smile.

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"The stay has been very nice so far. I can imagine with the accommodations just for my sister and I, my two guards and our reporter are having a nice time as well. Honestly we're all in the lap of luxury it's far more fancy than most of what we have back home."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"We're glad your enjoying your stay with us Duchess." replies Nidia with a smile. "And thank you for the compliments, we do our very best each day to be sure this lives up to its luxury standards.
-Indeed." Continues Dorothy. "That being said though, you don't always need luxury to be happy where you stay. Say Duchess, would you maybe like to discover more about the Silver Palace during your stay, maybe now or this afternoon? After all, what you've seen just a few moments ago with Their Highnesses is but a mere fraction of our working and living place." adds the blonde woman with a small smirk.

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"Why yes, I certainly do agree luxury is not always needed, as much as a place that's just homely and nice and this is one of them that I've stayed in so my compliments. I'd certainly love to learn more about the Silver Palace, anything you can tell me would be wonderful. No time like the present so why not do it now while we still have the time."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"Very well then Duchess," replies Dorothy with a smile. "But first, please allow me to ask: when you have to shelter from a storm or any potential catastrophe in the UIS, do your people have dug underground structures to do so? And if so, how big are they?"

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"Oh the hardball questions already huh? Well yes, we do have shelters from storms. Usually they're dugouts on the side of hills or in inland caves. Otherwise some might shelter in the temples or shrines given those are more built up than others. Size will depend on where they are, and how many they need to accommodate. We've weathered plenty for centuries so I'd say we got a hand on things."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"Very well then, thank you for your answer." replies Dorothy with an enigmatic smile, before rising up from her seat, putting her cup down, and starting to walk towards one of the walls, where a wood panel stands, depicting flowers and birds.
"From what I learned before working here, the Silver Palace have had underground corridors built underneath it every since the beginning, to shelter the local populace and other things in case of war and other disasters. Since the ground beneath us is made of granite, this allows for a good resistance against the outside, and a sturdy shelter. And one of the ways we found to quickly get from the surface to the shelters..." she says with an enigmatic tone, letting the final words hang in the air for suspense. "...were slides."

As she finally reaches the wood panel, she lets her right hand touch the structure, as if she was examining it, before her index finger presses on the eye of a Silver Eagle depicted on the engraving.
Immediatly, the panel slides backwards, and then to the side, revealing the entrance of a small curving slide who dissapears in the ground, lit up by a few LED lamps.
"So Duchess?" asks the young handmaiden as she turns back to Marcella and Nidia, "care to discover what the underground of the Peonos Quarters have in store for its guests in case of trouble? If you want to change into something less formal before going down, feel free to do so."

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Marcella stood up setting her napkin squarely and neatly on the table. "I would be delighted to explore so please, do show the way."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"Okay then, follow me!" exclaims Dorothy before diving in the slide, dissapearing in th ground.

When Marcella would follow her, she would slide down the curving slide for about thirty seconds, before ending up in a small square room, with the walls made of polished concrete, where frescoes had been painted, representing a forest in both a sunny and rainy day. In a corner, a small couch and two seating chairs would sit, as well as a few cupboards.

"Welcome to the Peony Shelter." says Dorothy, facing the slide's arrival as Marcella arrives. A few seconds behind her, Nidia arrives too.

[AHSCA]

Well this was unexpected. When Marcella was told she'd get a tour she expected to walk somewhere but oh well, she jumped along down the emergency chute to follow after them. It was a rather exhilarating experience but no doubt her security detail were gonna flip when the heard about this. Oh well, she'll deal with them later. Landing somewhere new, it was introduced as the Peony Shelter. "Strange but that was fun. This is a shelter so against attacks or other calamities I take it. Oh you mentioned that I believe, right."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"Indeed, it is the shelter designed for guests of state to use in case of an attack or any other type of disaster that would need us to duck and cover." replies Dorothy. "I'm sure you must be surprised to be visiting it, but it is in our responsabilities to ensure you know where to go to be protected. And besides, visiting and explaining the shelter to you does not require much time, contrary to visiting a whole wing of the Palace. Don't worry, you'll get to visit the rest this afternoon if you want to. Now, please follow me Duchess." finishes the blonde woman.

With that said, she moves to a door opposite's the chute arrival, and opens it, revealing a long corridor, with doors on each side, lit by some white LED lamps.
As she advances in it, Marcella who follows would be able to see the painted walls, representing various coastlines, from white cray cliffs of Normandy to the tropical jungles of the Rook Islands.
After having passed a few doors, Dorothy stops in front of the 3rd door to the right, and holds a keycard in front of the knob, which caused a green light to light up. The blonde woman then opens the door, entering the room and inviting Marcella to do the same.
"If the unlikely event things should go south during your visit Duchess," starts Dorothy, "this is the room where you would be staying." Although a bit more spartiat in terms of comfort and decoration, the room they were in still looked welcoming enough. A large, kingsize bed with green and white sheets, two large wardrobes, a small couch and two seating chairs in a corner, along with a coffee table and a wall-mounted television.
To the right, a door would lead to a bathroom, along with a shower, bathtub, two sinks, and separated by a small septum, a toilet.
To the left, another door would lead into a small office, with a wooden desk and a comfortable leather chair, as well as a large table with six chairs around it, most likely for meetings.

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"Well I must say, I certainly do feel secure here so I'd say you got a fine little shelter here! Of course I'm certain our trip here is gonna be great! It's good to see you folks are so prepared in general, I'm sure we can learn a few things too about it."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"Well, many people, including us Astarians, consider and know that being prepared for anything comes from a heightened cautiousness about anything and everything, which foreigners consider to be generalized paranoia." replies Dorothy with a sad smile. "From what I've learned, it comes from the fact that in during the Imperium's establishment and growth over the centuries, taming and conquering the land was not an easy task, so our survival instincts have always stayed strong no matter what. Add to that the various invasions we suffered from the Europeans in the 16th century, and you get this.
Anyway, " continues the blonde woman as sh comes out again of Marcella's shelter room, "concerning this shelter, thank you for the compliments. It's true we are really safe within it, given the fact that the ground in which it's built is made of granite, a very solid type of rock. We have about 20 meters of granite above our heads, plus two meters of reinforced concrete. Building all the subterranean structures underneath the Imperial Compound over the years have been hard, believe me Duchess." finishes Dorothy with a smile.
"Say Your Highness," continues Nidia, "since we're here, would you like to guess what other types of structures we have built underneath the Palace?"

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"I can imagine this must have been a major undertaking to get all this built and stabled so my compliments to your marvels of engineer and building. Wait there's more than these little rooms? I imagine you have rooms for all your needs under here but what else?"

[Astares Amauricanum]

"While in the beginning it was only small shelters and underground passagewzys to link the different buildings between them, so many things have been added where we are now Duchess." replies Dorothy as she walks back towards the shelter's chute room, before opening a door to the side, which reveals a small spiral staircase leading upwards.

"First of all, "continues the blonde woman as she starts to ascend to go back to the surface, " remember that we are in close proximity of the Potomac River. Therefore, about a century ago, an underground canal was built, which takes a part of the river's waters and lead them underneath the Western Walls of the Compound, where it passes through a series of hydroelectrical turbines, which then produce all the electricity necessary for this place. This allows us to be self sufficient energetically.
Aside from that, there's also the fact that aside from the Palace staff and their families living here, the Imperial Compound also hosts the bigger part of the First Shock Brigade of the Keiserlig Custos. Basically, it's an elite unit composed of an infantry regiment supported by an armor battalion, artillery, etc, and various air assets such as attack and transport helicopters. So as you may guess, a unit of this size needs a lot of vehicles. But since parking and repairing them on the surface would take way to much space than what we can have, their hangars, parking garages and workshops are all underneath the Compound.
Then, we have various other things, such as shooting ranges, storage spaces, some services of the Compound's hospital, the wine cellars, etc. If I was to describe everything to you Duchess, it would take at least two more hours." finishes Dorothy as she reaches the top of the stairs, before pushing the door facing her, and ending up in the corridor leading to Marcella's and Gisella's rooms. On the other side, the door is hidden well in the wall, making it nearly impossible for an untrained eye to imagine that there is a hidden door there.

"Indeed, " adds Nidia as she gets out behind Marcella and Dorothy, closing the door behind her, "the Imperial Compound hosts so many things underneath it. When I first arrived here and visited the whole place, I had trouble realizing how big it was, all the work that had been necesary to build all the structures lying beneath our feet. If you want Duchess, maybe you can ask Their Imperial Majesties to give you a tour this afternoon if you want, I'm sure it will give them great pleasure." finishes the dark-haired woman with a smile.

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"Wow this is so amazing! You know on Animalpolis there's a complex of underground caverns carved out by the sea over the centuries. Easy to get lost down there. I could see me getting lost down here too." She giggled a little but she was enjoying herself and seeing this vast complex of tunnels and hearing of just how prepared they really were for anything here. "I'm impressed all this was crafted to keep your government running. It's true sign of amazing ingenuity and forward thinking."

[Astares Amauricanum]

When Marcella mentions the underground caverns of Animalpolis, Dorothy's smile vanishes instantly, her face becomes very pale, and she freezes on the spot, her eyes only showing fear overcoming all of her being, as her hands start to shake.
However, this is quickly stopped by Nidia grabbing her arm with a firm, but gentle hand. Dorothy looks to her colleague, and her face slowly goes back to a calmer expression. Nidia smiles as if to ask if everything is alright, to which Dorothy replies with a similar smile and a nod.
"Sorry about that, bad memories that still haunt me to this day." she says to Marcella with an apologetic tone. "Anyway Duchess, it's indeed true we have a knack for thinking forward about what may go wrong. It's one of the most renowned traits of our people. Although many foreigners have a tendency to just consider it as paranoia, which is a bit justified, given we are very mistrustful of others at first sight.
Aside from that, please be sure to relay those thoughts to their Imperial Majesties, I'm sure they will be thrilled to hear it. So, since there is still half an hour before you meet with their Majesties, do you want to maybe rest a bit?" asks Dorothy.

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"Oh no, I'm sorry for being inconsiderate." Best not to pry but the offer for her to head back and rest came up "That sounds pretty good actually, think I could use some time to settle and relax, starting to feel the trip catch up to me now."

[Astares Amauricanum]

"Okay then, we will leave you to relax. See you in half an hour Duchess." replies Dorothy with a smile and a small bow, before she and Nidia walk past Marcella and go back towards the Quarter's entry, leaving Marcella to go to her room to rest for a bit...

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"Thanks a lot for the tour, I had a fun time. I will see you then." Marcella was left to her own to rest. Closing the curtains to darken the room up she completely undressed took care of her hair a bit then nestled down for a nap for a while. 30 minutes would still be a perfect little power nap for her, sometimes that was the best she could get on the seas during bad weather so this was nothing.

[Astares Amauricanum]

And so Marcella, just like Gisella before her, was left to have some rest before the day would continue.

Half an hour later...
At the doors of Marcella and Gisella, Nidia and Dorothy respectively stand, as they knock three times on each door.
"Your Highnesses, it's wakey time!" says Dorothy with a happy tone through the doors. "May we enter?"

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"Enter." Both would hear and both would find the girls in various states. Gisella was already pretty prompt getting dressed in a kimono that she brought along for the trip. "Not bad huh? Thought I'd go traditional and classy for our first night here!"

Marcella was sort of slogging her way along a bit slowly, she usually was pretty spry after a nap but it would seem the jet lag was kind of having an effect on her. "I'm --" She let out a big yawn "I'm up....Just gotta start getting dressed."