"Underwater fashion never gets boring", she thinks, as she's gradually pulled by the invisible thread. She smiles and takes several deep breaths, the mask filling her lungs with clean, fresh air, as the stream of the water she's being pulled through lifts her flowing, white dress behind her. It creates waves of white fabric that cascade, creating a beautiful image of a mermaid dragging a strip of ethereal fabric behind her... But suddenly, she feels gravity strengthen.

This doesn't make sense? Hopper falls through the portal, gasping several times as she is stunned when she slams into the water. Finally her head surfaces, giving her a view of... medieval boats? This looks like a miserable reenactment! They would at least try to reenact something with cannons. She looks around, trying to understand the bizarre situation. Did someone drug her? How the hell did she go from enjoying just smiling while being pulled by an underwater thread, to this?

There is a shimmer in the sky above her which looks considerably out of place; perhaps she can get back through it, at some point, if she can get all the way up there.

She hasn't attracted the attention of a vessel yet, but after a few moments she will be able to see a trio of dolphins changing course towards her. Otherwise, here it's just the sea, and relatively calm at that.

She looks at the trio of dolphins, on alert. There are no trained dolphins in Thomassia; this is just magic. Or a hallucination. But people hallucinating get sedated to make it obvious (it's REALLY uncomfortable to suspect that you're hallucinating), and someone would have given her the sedative by now. Hopper just looks at the dolphins, unwilling to wave; she wouldn't know what a hostile gesture would look like, so she stands as still as possible while looking at the dolphins, somewhat tense.

The dolphins circle her curiously - she is a somewhat weird spectacle and seems to not be in immediately danger - and then one approaches, cautiously, as the other two glide around her. If she doesn't interrupt it, the dolphin will gently nudge her with its nose and make a clicking sound.

Hopper just looks at the dolphin, doing her best to try understanding what it wants. Where does it nudge her? How? Is it pushing her somewhere? What's the tone of the clicking sound, does it sound happy? What about the other dolphins; are they forming a perimeter, or just casually gliding through the water? Thoughts rush through her head as she tries to understand the situation. She wonders whether it would make sense to introduce herself or start talking, but waits until she gets an idea of what the dolphins are doing.

It nudges her gently on the arm, and when this works for it, it clicks again and tries to tuck itself under her arm, as if she might want to use it as a weirdly awkward float.

It's pretty difficult to interpret dolphin noises but in context they appear to be something like 'letting you know I'm here and about to try touching you'?

The other dolphins are just casually staying in the area, maybe keeping a look out?

Hopper easily treads the water; when she isn't tied to a thread holding her down, her drysuit can be very buoyant indeed. She doesn't get why the dolphin would want to tuck itself under her arm, but she lets it do so anyway. Hopper looks around, wanting to know if the dolphins respond in with approval as she makes it obvious that she's contemplating heading towards one of the vessels that aren't too far away.

Once the dolphin is in position with no resistance, one of the other two approaches her other side; if she lets thst one in too, they then start attempting to swim off with her in a specific direction, which does not seem to be directly towards the nearest vessel.

The dolphins were clearly well-intentioned enough to attempt to rescue her. The vessels are an unknown factor; she elects to trust the dolphins as they swim off with her. She quickly turns on the surface breathing valve on her mask, knowing that there's no point to wasting any of her oxygen supply. She could make a killing off salvaging sunken ships, so she wants to preserve as much of it as possible; she does not want to live how people at this tech level tend to live.

The dolphins carry her with increasing rapidity, avoiding all the naval traffic, and approach a set of islands, skillfully avoiding a number of hazards to navigation (mostly rocks, some shipwrecks); on approaching a nice sandy beach, they give her one last shove of momentum towards it and peel off to head back out of sea, emitting a trilling noise which is probably happy, by their playful demeanour as they depart.

The beach looks deserted, but there is a clearly intentional if rather nerve-wracking set of steps carved into the cliffside.

Hopper walks up the steps, seeing nowhere else to go. She's happy to get a chance to take her mask off, now that she's away from any water; it's not designed to be comfortable for extended wear, only to give an unobstructed view of your face when yuo do your underwater catwalk. She has masks that are much better for doing that. Her clothing is designed to dry quickly and never get in the way when walking around; she's glad that she's not in the kind of dress that might get in her way as she makes her way up the stairs.

When she's got about halfway up, she may spot nervous faces peering over the edge; she seems to be doing fine, and isn't an entire Grendel raiding party or anything, so their owners wait anxiously at the top rather than getting in her way.

There are three people waiting for her as she makes her way up to the clifftop - all of them are in vividly dyed robes with actually quite a lot of embroidery, gemstones etc for the apparent tech level.

One is additionally in a bright gold coloured suit of scale mail and holding a bhuj in a manner that suggests she knows how to use it; another has antlers poking out of his head wrap and is holding a big fluffy towel; the third is younger than the others, has a patch of bark apparently growing out of his cheek, and seems to be ready to run at any sign of trouble, presumably for backup.

"You okay down there?" calls the one with the towel as soon as she's in reasonable shouting range. "It's a bit tricky to have more than one person on the stairs or we'd come and help - I'm sure you've got a good story in trade."

"It's just stairs? My dress really doesn't get in the way, and if I go slow, I'll be pretty safe. I don't get why one of you holds a weapon of some kind and another a towel. I'd expect both of you to be wielding towels, this close to a beach." Hopper keeps making her way up, keeping a steady pace, guaranteeing that she doesn't slide or make a wrong step.

"Amusingly enough I probably have more good stories to trade than almost anyone from where I came from. I wouldn't even know which one to tell."

They all give her plenty of space to get up the last few steps and onto land, although the one with the bhuj looks like she might be ready to intercept her if she runs off.

The towel holder proffers the towel, then he notices she isn't actually sopping wet and looks a bit confused. "Sorry - did you come in from the sea or from round the coast somewhere? We were expecting you to be... Damper."

"I came from a tank of water with transparent sides. I also came from a world where clothing is designed so that their wearers can wear them through water without being wet or weighed down. But I reached this island coming from the sea, if that's why you asked that question. Now, would you please give me some context? I have no idea about anything that's happening here, and I want to do more than just walk around in total confusion. My current gear would be very useful for salvaging treasures; I mention it because it's my best idea for what to do."

"...who put you in a tank of water?

Oh, sorry, where are my manners! You have washed up on the shores of Atalya, in the Brass Coast, part of the Casinean Empire? I am Mariello i Shantelle i Riqueza, local sutannir and recognised busybody. My friends here are Cavella," he indicates the lady with the weapon, "and Ritelli," indicating the twitchy runner.

"Do let us take you down to the parador - it is much more pleasant than standing around on the clifftop, there will be seats, and drinks, and I'm sure you've stories enough to entertain in recompense."

"Well, I suspect I would. I'm not terribly hungry at the moment, but I'm sure I'll enjoy trying out the local cooking and learning about the local peoples."

Hopper just follows Mariello, taking a closer look at Cavella and Ritelli, wanting to know if there's anything she can gleam from their body language or outfits. Just how much richer than the locals are these people, she wonders? It's hard to imagine a world before cannons where gems like those worn by these people would be as ubiquitous as gems have become back on Thomassia.

Cavella is clearly suspicious - she continues to be prepared to dish out violence at any moment, and also keeps looking around as if enemies might leap from the sparse bushes at any moment.

Ritelli seems kind of disappointed that he didn't have to sprint off, and clearly wants to go faster than Mariello but also wants to stay close enough to hear everything.

Mariello is more nervous than he's putting on - this clearly isn't going as he'd planned, in some respect.

All of them look healthy - well, possibly apart from whatever is going on with Ritelli's face, he sometimes grimaces around the bark and even reaches up absently to scratch it - and all well fed, although Ritelli's a bit stringy, it's more like he's burnt off everything with excess nervous energy rather than being undernourished. They even have much nicer teeth than one might expect in a medieval society.

Their clothes do seem to be designed almost tolerably well, although there are limitations in cut and style consistent with a lack of mechanisation, and Cavella's armour is clearly a little restrictive of her movements and not optimally weight distrubuted; the clothing materials look like silk and cotton. The most implausible part from a technology angle is the variety of vibrant colours - the sunlight here is bright and relentless, if they're out in this a lot then you'd expect at medieval technology levels the colours would fade quickly.

These are people who could reasonably expect violence. They still own gems, body armor, fine weapons, and are inviting her to some kind of dinner. Mariello is in some way inconvenienced in by her appearance; perhaps they were planning on ingratiating themselves with the towel? (Why would they know to have a towel ready at the top of the stairs?)

Hopper quickly concludes that they aren't particularly respectful of the equal freedoms of all sentient beings, and that she'd want to lead some kind of revolt to unseat their rule. She quietly follows them to the parador, wanting to know as much as possible about the political structure and balance of power before proceeding. She wanted to run around playing a soldier with a gun and a flag, not liberate an oppressed people!

The dyes are too good; either the clothes get replaced often or the dyes are special in this world. She tries to see if there's any hint that the clothes are worn, or if they're frequently replaced or re-dyed.

"You said you were expecting me to be damper. Why were you expecting me to show up at all? Are there an unusually large amount of people showing up to this beach, for some reason?"

Hopper tries to think of anything that might support or oppose her theory that they were planning on making or using the portal she appeared through, thinking back on the first time she saw the trio.

"Oh, Ritelli ran to get me when his patrol saw you coming in; it is a fairly popular place for lost sailors to wash up. Labyrinth knows, the Grendel have caused enough dead sailors around here, it's not surprising there are friendly dolphins."

Ritelli's clothes have worn patches and frayed edges here and there; it's hard to tell in the skilful embroidery, but it looks like Mariello's might have been repaired in a couple of places and the patching hidden by decoration? Cavella's robes have some wear spots around where the armour doesn't sit perfectly, but also she is inclined to stare back somewhat aggressively if she catches Hopper staring at her. (Mariello is also by far the most bejewelled, with Ritelli's beading probably mostly being paste on further inspection, although well polished, cut and coloured.)

The first time she saw the trio, she was already a significant way up the steps; their story isn't implausible on timing, especially as they fairly quickly reach a cluster of adobe buildings which appear to be the destination. One of them has a cheerfully orange and yellow striped awning up, and contains multiple small round wooden tables with chairs around them, with another person - this one has ram's horns - perched on a tall stool, behind a long bar. The barkeeper's clothes are not quite as elaborate as Mariello's, but on a level with Ritelli's.

There appear to be no other patrons, but it does look like it's the middle of the day, if the position of the sun is any guide. There are a few other people visible here and there about the settlement as a whole - all of which are wearing quite bright colours, although the younger they are, the less gemstones they seem to have incorporated.

"Welcome to the Shantelle parador! Do take a seat, would you like the alcoholic or non alcoholic syrah, any other preferences I should know before getting you something to drink?"

The actual seats of the chairs are cushioned, again with a variety of brightly dyed fabrics; the backs are just wooden.

Hopper just sits down. "Zero alcohol; drinking alcohol is a romantic gesture in the culture I come from, so I only really use it when I want a date night to be more fun. Try to not have too powerful a taste, please." She sits down in front of the bar, thinking to herself.

"This is the first time I've heard of Grendel. Why would they want to cause the death of sailors? At least thinking of my world's history, captains usually did their very best to capture enemy ships, and being a sailor had surprisingly low odds of violent death. Wouldn't the same logic also apply here?" Hopper is extremely excited to learn what syra is and tastes like, as she looks around curiously. Is she able to see any kind of farm in the distance? She's expecting this to be an agricultural settlement.

There are some vegetable patches, fruit trees and herb gardens; there were a few hardy looking sheep here and there along the clifftop, and the settlement has chickens just wandering about the streets, but no serious cereal farming or similar is in evidence. There are a couple of covered wagons (and a lot more handcarts) parked up here and there, again with unreasonably bright colours - although some of these do look a little faded - and a long-horned ox contentedly munching on some hay which does not look much like the local sparse grasses. The gentle upward slope makes it hard to see much beyond the immediate area, but there does seem to be a dusty road extending onwards over the brow of the hill.

All of this is visible on the way in; the parador is on the edge of the cluster of buildings, and mostly just looks out on the unimproved scrubland towards the cliffs.

The bar does have a few seats, but the people seem surprised that she's taken one of those rather than a seat at a table; Mariello somewhat awkwardly takes a seat next to her, while Cavella leans against the entranceway - still watching out for anything else that might be coming - and Ritelli hovers awkwardly, like he thinks someone is going to tell him to go away soon, but hopes that they don't remember to do so.

The barkeeper pours an amber liquid into a tall glass from a round glass vessel, and tops it up with a generous scoop of shaved ice from a compartment under the bar, before pushing it in her direction. It mostly tastes of apple juice lightly spiced with cardamom and cinnamon, although there's another distinct herbal taste which is less easy to identify; it would be quite rich without the ice, but the generous helping of ice has watered it down to less powerful levels.

"Oh, the Grendel often don't want to cause the deaths of the sailors - they'd much rather take them home as slaves. The sailors often have other feelings about that."

Hopper takes a few breaths, before snapping into focus. She's seen a lot of simulated awfulness in her reenactments, so she manages to take this far better than the overwhelming majority of Thomassians would. "Oh, OK. I'll want to find the portal back to my home, then. They'll want to hear about this and do something about it, quite badly. I remember roughly where I came from; I'm just worried about how I'll be able to get back up there. I'm just a strong pair of hands, and I can't possibly help many people without help from my fellow Thomassians."

Hopper thinks about some of the ships she saw, and the portal she fell out of; would the height of the crow's nest on one of the ships let her reach the portal? Perhaps she'd be able to reproduce gunpowder and cannons! She learned a lot about smoothbore weaponry in her many years of reenactment, and the might of gunpowder weaponry was claimed to have ended the feudal order. She knows that she could do a lot to help these people, with her years of experience using technology their foes would be entirely unfamiliar with.

It's not trivial to work out the distance from a shimmering portal in the sky of uncertain size, while treading water in an unfamiliar sea - but it was probably a bit higher than the tops of even the tallest ships, alas.

"Ah, you came through a portal? I suppose that would make sense... do you know which Realm you came from, if there's a - pocket, I think they call it - and how long it will be open for? I expect people will pay for the portal's location, if they can open it and investigate what's on the other side."

Cavella stiffens, like she thinks her suspicions have been partly vindicated; she says something quietly to Ritelli, if Hopper's hearing is good she'll hear, "go fetch the hakima!". Ritelli sprints off round the corner, in the general direction of the road.

"The name of the planet I came from is Homeworld. I have no idea what a Realm or pocket is, or how long the portal will be open for; I was just being slowly dragged through water before suddenly falling down into the middle of the ocean. The portal is a bit further off the sea than the tallest ship I've ever seen," Hopper points at the hill, pointing to roughly how far above the water she remembers the portal being, "so that makes things just ever so slightly difficult. Presumably, it won't be long before the world knows of our portal. The scary part would be someone being able to guard it, controlling access and preventing Thomassians from showing up to help. The other side has a lot of seriously amazing technologies, so access to the portal would be spectacularly valuable."

Thomassian noise regulations are extreme; they're all about avoiding permanent damage, and hearing loss remains irreversible, so thomassians universally have near-perfect hearing. She'd hear Ritelli being told about the hakima, but reacts with confusion. "Wouldn't you want Mariello to know as well?"