((Also where is that in relation to the castle. Is he castle in the historical spot or in another spot?))
Drystan simply nods.
"I do not believe that the 'local authorities' will be much of a hassle. The local laird, Nevin Mac-an-Toisch, can be described as a bit of an unsavory sort, himself, and I would not be surprised if he were to give us as much leeway as we wish in that regard."
Talia notices that he is carefully not specifying which regard he's speaking of.
((Urquhart Castle won't be built for several years yet, irl. The castle that Talia saw while exploring the loch is actually a little bit north of Foyers, on the east side of the loch.))
"How vast is his reach? Inverness? Edinburgh? Any advice on where the men might best ply their trade?"
"His lands are vast, but not that vast. He's the Laird of Loch Ness, his lands are all those surrounding the loch.
"And if we can get some kind of commerce, it's possible that we can trade with Foyers, or some of the families along the loch. Or, if we are able to head up the River Ness, there are sure to be some settlements between the loch and Inverness."
"Is this his castle?". Talia points to the spot. "How aware of magi is he?"
"Aware enough," Drystan says. "His manor house is in Cill Chuimein," he says as he moves to Talia's side to see where she's pointing.
He then leans closer, brows furrowed. "There shouldn't be a castle there...in fact, there aren't any castles on the loch at all."
"It would appear the laird's lands may be more vast than he can handle, or he expects armed encounters in that spot. I could return and visit the castle. Although, I'm not well equipped for such an endeavor. I'm sure they are extremely curious about the ship they saw. Perhaps using that curiosity could be useful. Is Laird Mac-an-Toisch receptive to magi from the covenant visiting? Do you have any suggestions?"
"There is...shall we say, a mutual uneasiness between Lord Nevin and the covenant. He hasn't spent enough time here to become accustomed to the Gift, and we like to keep him, and the whole Mac-an-Toisch clan, at a safe distance as much as possible."
"Very well, I'll investigate this castle on our laird's behalf. Perhaps this will be a boon at opening lines of communication between us. Is there someone who can speak the local language and Latin? I'd normally bring Ysebrand on something like this, but he's become increasingly unwell since coming to Caledonia."
((Caoimhe speaks Gaelic, but doesn't specify Scots Gaelic, am I missing a discussion about commonality of languages?))
"Most of the covenfolk speak passable Latin."
((She speaks Irish Gaelic, which iirc is at -1 to Scots Gaelic. So in her case, she kinda speak Scots Gaelic at a 4 because of how close the two languages are.))
((Ok, that's good enough, I was thinking the language difference was greater for some reason.)) She'll send word to Caoimhe to be ready to leave at first light the next morning, and she'll leave her son with the personal servant at Insula Canaria and they'll sail up the loch to the location of the castle.
There's not a Scots Gaelic until much more modern times. In game time, all the Irish, Scots, and Manx are speaking Middle Irish. (Even to this day, "Irish Gaelic" and "Scots Gaelic" are very nearly the same language, with only minor differences in spelling and pronunciation.) The only difference would be if you spell it Gaidhlig or Gaeilge.
On a related note, Cornish is only nominally unique from Cymric and Breton. Which makes things a giant headache for me when some wiseguy makes a character who speaks "French." Great, buddy, is that Brythonic, Norman, Occitan, or Gallic French?
((I'm sorry, this thread totally slipped my mind for some reason.))
The Whoa Buoy, including Caoimhe, casts off shortly after sunrise . The sun is almost blindingly bright, and when the boat reaches the castle, it will be more or less in their eyes for a while, anyway.
The castle appears to be about 500 feet inland, and about 200 feet above loch level. There seems to be some activity along the top of the castles, what appear to be watchmen, but from the vantage point of the boat it's hard to see the base of the castle due to the trees.
There's no dock or pier there.
IS there any kind of shore, a place to beach a smaller boat?
Where the castle is, there's about five or ten feet of land before the trees start. If you go about six or seven hundred feet south, there's more of a "beach", about twenty feet of dirt and grass. There are occasional paths going off of the shoreline headed inland through the woods.
((So, the castle appears completely surrounded by trees, as in the trees go right up to the castle?))
Talia will order the rowboat lowered, take Sal and Caoimhe and another grog with her. Her orders to her her first mate are to await her return. If the castle should disappear for any reason they should return back to Insula Canaria before nightfall. Then they should return at the same time everyday and await her return, departing for Insula Canaria so that they can return well before sunset each day. "If after a week, the castle or she hasn't returned, tell a magus."
((No, but from your angle a few feet above water, the trees between the shore and the castle obscure the view of the lower part of the castle. It looks like there should be a clearing around the castle proper, but you're not sure how much of one.))
((Are you going to strike for the narrow beach closest to the castle, or for the larger beach further south?))
Caoimhe has shoulder length corkscrew curls of vermilion, and an axe.
The narrow one. And I suppose I've spoken for Caoimhe. Of course, Talia will ask "Do you have an appropriate outfit?" If so, we'll wait for her to change, and then depart.
And nevermind, we'll go ashore closest to the castle.