"By Calistria's gaudy toerings, halt!" Valai snaps. "Reconnaissance must precede attack. A small team should scout ahead to gauge resistance and disarm any traps in the way. This is basic military logic."
"Calistria has toerings?!"Celia asks with genuine interest, eyeing the climb like a towering monster.
"She generally has whatever she wants," Valai grumbles under her breath.
"Excellent point, godling. If you like, I would provide my services to make reaching the top all the easier. Blessed ones as yourselves deserve to fly rather than dirty yourselves with the scaling of this cliff."
"Finally, you people speak of gods I have heard of! Though I have never heard mention of Calistria's toe-rings, I have heard many other things about her indeed. But that is a tale for another time..."
Looking up at the wall of the plateau rising before them, Zellyser says to Variel, "The eluf maiden is right, general. We should take a look and see what lies before us. That is what I am trained to do. Use your magic to let me fly up, and I'll scout around a bit. Elkay, Valai, wee one? Any of you want to join me? How about you, goat?"
Where my masters go I go
Celia looks to William expectantly before she replies to the tiefling with an affirmative nod.
"Going ahead seems li' a solid enough plan.N' I'm small enough ta' not garter too much attention, li'."
"Onward and upward, then," Valai says, thin-lipped and frowning.
William tries to hide his head under his front legs (an attempt stymied by his helmet), but finally bleats in the affirmative -- with obvious reluctance.
Variel takes a moment to cast fly upon them all.
"This should last you about ten minutes. Make sure you use it well."
"That's the plan," Valai says, her tone glacial as she rises into the air and starts to fly towards the top of the plateau. "William - heel."
William bleats fearfully, but obeys the call of his master. His legs kick feebly as he rises into the air, and he looks longingly at the ground he is leaving behind -- or rather, below.
"Whooooaaa!" Celia waves her arms up and down, half expecting to need to keep her balance in the air like a bird. After the initial novelty has worn off (and she's accomplished a backflip in the air), she ascends after the Valai and her faithful goat, one fist up into the air.
Leads the way with his arms pressed to his sides like Iron man positioning repulsor rays
They flew to the top of the plateau and were unprepared for what they found. A majestic city, even larger than Qabarat. Red brick and dusty stone was the material of choice. Buildings of all size dotted the area. However, they were all dwarfed by the massive, red pyramid at the center of the city. Resting at the top of the pyramid is a large portal, currently inactive.
The had found the city of Arl.
"Alright," Valai says, eyes narrowing at the sight. "We are agreed that Variel is a lunatic, yes? So do we go in and try to arrange for his troops to be restrained as non-violently as possible, or do we go in and scout around a bit, first?"
"Awesome, tha' fit o' tha--!"
Celia pumps her arms up and down in excitement, still hovering just a bit while taking in the sights. Judging by the level of excitement and the gusto of her movements, she probably isn't hearing anything Valai is saying.
She wasn't expecting a city so grand!
Scanning the horizon
So do we want to actually scout out things, or try and just negotiate with the target of this mans attack and try and find out what's going on? I'm inclined to agree with the the "general" in that an attack like this might be necessary, but it's quite the dilemma.
The Android seems almost oblivious to the majestic scene before him, analyzing the scenery and situation and unable to really appreciate the beauty such a view affords most
"I'd agree that the eluf leader is out of his senses. Whether we're going to scout or negotiate, we need to get a bit closer. The power of flight he granted us will not last long, and I'd like to have it available for our retreat if we need it. Let's approach the city and see if we are welcomed or attacked, and respond accordingly."
With this, Zellyser begins flying at top speed toward Arl, his weapons sheathed.
Valai represses a sigh and flies after Zellyser -- using the Tiefling's bulk to shield her own, more slender form from both perception and projectiles.
Celia lags behind, still busy staring until everyone else is moving forward, at which points she shoots towards them like the spacecraft they arrived on Castrovel in.
"Ihopetheyha'asenseo'humor!"
