Ground Level

[Warlord]

((ST)) New Scene

Down on the grassy meadow that makes up the area between the great Shadowtop trees stands a veritable army of beings, or so the limited space made it seem. Standing off to the sides are Drow soldiers, located in the sheltering shadows of the massive trees supporting the individual diplomatic dwellings. As before, their individual equipment varies widely across the weapon and armor preference spectrum but all are united by uniformly visible House markings indicating that each and every one of them served House Melarn. The symbol resembles nothing so much as a jaggedly represented stick figure person.

Toward the center of the area circulates a far more intriguing sight. Nearly two dozen Hobgoblins mill about a quartet of lizards the size of large horses, shorter but significantly longer than the equine comparison. The Hobgoblins are all armed and armored as well, though in a far more uniform way as each wears a well kept set of chain, round shield and wickedly designed long sword strapped to their backs. Each shield is lacquered black with a red silhouette of a Black Dragon's head at its center. The goblinoids are in the final stages of packing the lizards for travel, just tugging at the packs to ensure they were firmly secured by their lashings. Each of the lizards is packed heavy, with war saddles (essentially high front and back with straps meant to tie down a riders legs so they can't fall off in the case of the lizards), forward and rear saddlebags, and a heavy pack bundle on the rear in all but one case. The Hobgoblins hadn't been able to figure out a way to place a pack bundle on the lizard being held for the Avarial without interfering with his wings and, thus, had split the resources between the other three lizards.

When Kal'esril appears, jumping down from a half-spiral above the ground to land on his personal lizard, all the Hobgoblins suddenly turn and thump a fist against their chests as one. The Drow warriors overseeing them merely nod respectfully at the higher ranked Drow Ranger. The difference between soldiers and warriors was obvious when it came to formalities of rank. The salute is dropped after all three of Kal's companions are present, replaced as a single Hobgoblin standing next to each of the remaining lizards holds up a rough piece of wood with the name of the intended rider carved into it. Auroa, Ilyrana, Lysan respectively. At Kal's appearance Fir'us makes his presence known with a single bark, marking his position to the North of the circular area. At Ilyrana's appearance she gets a wordless acknowledgment from Nikxor in the form of a telepathic version of a elbow nudge.


((ST Note)) Due to Lysan's military training of a formal nature, it would be a matter of idle thought for him to realize that the Hobgoblins are serving wearing Kal'esril's colors. Interesting only in that they are in service to him, not specifically House Melarn. This same fact would be a long stretch for Auroa to realize. This is likely to be beyond Ilyrana's perception completely, but not her Familiar's if he happens to be interested in the information rather than just seeing them as a bunch of hobgoblins.

[Kal'esrïl Melarn]

Kal leaps down from the stairs before actually reaching the level of the ground, landing on the back of his personal riding lizard surprisingly softly and ensuring he wouldn't be the last one mounted. He doesn't acknowledge the salute, he never did, but that hardly curbed the behavior in the Hobgoblins. They were satisfied with the situation and thus so was he. He wouldn't have to deal with it at all while he was in the field anyway. Instead he busies himself with strapping his legs down for the ride ahead while his underlings executed a practice he had once witnessed in a large Drow city where the practice of renting mounts had taken the place of owning them personally. It was economical in the extreme, but it meant that when a noble came away from his cups a bit tipsy mistakes were prone to happen. Thus some enterprising mind had decided to assign a livery boy to each mount who would carry a sign with the noble's name written upon it to indicate who's mount was who's.

Once he was strapped in, a quick thing for the practiced Drow noble, he turns his attention to the approaching companions to see what reactions he might get. It suddenly dawned on him that the trio, having been to only one city, having never been to any city, and having no need for mounts respectively, might have no concept of the humor behind the action. Kal quickly decides it best to pretend as if the action were a entirely sincere nicety on his part if asked.

[Auroa]

Auroa Glides all the way down the stairs. Pausing only for a moment to look at the scene before her. She giggles to herself "Got to love their vibrant colors" as she reaches the bottom. Seeing her name she floats over to beside her veridian mount. She looks around at the creatures milling about now that they are done saluting. "Excuse me" she says in elvish. Then remembering herself she repeats, "Excuse me" in common. The nearest porter turns, "Can you help me? I have never ridden anything like this?" The solider simply, and a lil gruffly, says, "Watch me." He then proceeds to mount the lizard and lace up his legs. Then, disembarking, he says, "You try." With some trepidation she hops up and swings her leg over. After she gets situated then she starts to tie her legs. After messing up the first few times she gets it. Throughout the whole ordeal she smiles and seems relaxed though surrounded by new beings. The golden creature double checks the binds and they go on to the next one, which takes considerably less time now that she has the hang of it. Once that is done the male goes to walk off. "Wait," she says in common. The creature turns towards her exasperatedly and she leans over and speaks softly. "May the lady bless you for aiding me." With that she kisses his cheek lightly leaving a faint bit of silver there. She smiles and waves as he wonders off a little bit dazed. She absently ponders the flavor of the male. She resigns herself to ask Kal about these rugged creatures later. As the others mount up she thinks to herself "It is so exciting to see more of this worlds beauty."

[Ilyrana Sevayni]

She makes her way out, following the others. When she sees the circle and those gathered she tenses slightly. It was a reflex, she was always on guard. Also, this was far more people and beings in one area than the wild elf was used to. Then the lizards. Ilyrana took careful stock of them, having never been on one. It seemed she wasn't the only one. She eyed them, understanding they were beasts of burden. She'd not had much cause to have a mount before. New experiences at every turn.

Auroa's interactions earn an almost smile. It was clear she was possibly the most outgoing and friendly of all of them. That might take some getting used to. The hobgoblin that holds up the sign with her name on it gives her a gruff; "You going to need help too?" She couldn't tell by his tone if he was seriously offering help or complaining, or maybe looking for the same reward his compatriot had gotten.
Ilyrana shook her head firmly. "No, I saw Auroa and I think I have it figured out. Thank you though." The hobgoblin gestured for her to give it a try. With a little grunt of effort, the wild elf hoisted herself up and over, settling herself with accuracy if not grace on the lizard's back. The creature turns it's head to regard her and she leans in close to speak to it. "Easy there, thank you too." She gives the creature a reassuring pat, which it probably didn't need to do it's job. Ilyrana laced up her legs with a bit of difficulty here and there, but had picked it up fairly quickly from watching the others.

Nixkor had nudged her a moment ago and she chose now to nudge back. I take it you'll be on the wing, then. Good to have someone to talk to, at least.

[Lysan Cloud]

Lysan rushes out the entrance to the tower and, as soon as he has clearance, launches from the stairwell into the air to spread his wings and glide down to the clearing near the lizards, more than likely garnering a few odd reactions on the way. Looking over the field on the way down, he takes note that the hobgoblins wore Kal's emblem rather than his house emblem, which, from the little he has been able to learn is a bit off from the usual practice of servants belonging to a house, rather than a person... but then, these Drow were unusual anyway, in that they were not killing and pillaging, but attempting to create alliances. "learn something new every day, my uncle always said!", he thinks to himself.

"These are the beasts we are to ride?", he asks, looking at the lizards. "I have never ridden any beast before, having always relied on my wings. And I do not think I would be comfortable or even useful, being strapped to these creatures, though I do appreciate the gesture." He nods to Kal. "I would hope that our host would not be offended if I declined the offer and chose to use my own method of transport?"

[Kal'esrïl Melarn]

Kal watches quietly as the others situate themselves. Auroa attempting to interact directly with the goblinoids carried some small amusement for the Drow as he watched his inferiors have their first real interaction with a cleric, let alone the fact that it was the faith of a love deity. Kal had never concerned himself with whether or not the Hobgoblins had a chosen faith, but the soldier seemed a little out of sorts after the kiss and that was worth a hardy laugh to most beings or a small smirk from a Drow. Fortunately, the lizards were among the most well trained and docile of those that had been trained for the surface. Despite the timid and untrained actions of the new riders the creatures would merely stand by or follow Kal's alpha mount.

Ilyrana's interaction with the same gets a solitary nod of approval from Kal, as she seemed to be preferring independence over being coddled. Having had Auroa's example to go on this was very fitting from his point of view, though Kal would have felt much the same way had she asked for help on the basis of clarity. It never hurt to be clear either. That was when he caught himself visually double checking Ilyrana's leg lashings to be sure she wouldn't be thrown. A tiny shake of his head clears the action from his head. He avoids examining why he had done so by turning his attention to Lysan's arrival.

The Avariel's entrance makes Kal's war trained mount shift a step so it could angle its head and keep track of the flying form, but Kal merely uses leg pressure to keep the lizard under control. The other lizards knew better than to move at all unless instructed to. When Lysan asks his questions Kal responds, since he was positive the other two weren't the ones being addressed.
"These are the creatures you may ride, you aren't required to by any means. Since you can keep up on your own you are welcome to travel under your own power. We travel North, hard and fast." Kal suddenly makes a sharp gesture to the North, which is suddenly followed by the elven hound, Fir'us, shooting out of the clearing at a hard run in that direction. "Stay sharp eyed, we will be difficult to track if you lose sight of us in these trees."

[Warlord]

Nikxor's response was equal parts indignant and amused. "Of course I will be flying, it would be perverse for me to ride upon one of those creatures. And you know, young lady, you will have to speak to your companions sooner or later. I'm at least partially certain most of them don't bite... that said... yes, I will be able to speak to you." The creature preens a bit before launching itself into the air, circling the primary tree's trunk once and turning off to the North. Just before he disappears into the forest beyond the illusory wall he he offhandedly comments one last thing. "Hold on tight, my young friend. Those clawed pads that account for toes on that creature means it can climb at a run.... upside down."

The Hobgoblins suddenly begin to disperse, heading in general toward the West in obvious discomfort at the spectacle that Lysan represents. A lone Drow warrior peels off from his fellows and follows them. Otherwise most of the gathered Drow, of which their were about a dozen now, look up at Lysan's arrival with jaded eyes that are only belied by many of them placing a comforting hand on a weapon here and there. The Lizards all shift a bit, but mostly do as they are supposed to though all of them roll their eyes to keep track of the winged biped.

((DM)) One more round and we will be embarking on our journey, our next scene will carry our first combat as well.

[Auroa]

Auroa sits upon her emerald steed with a light pleasant smile on her face. Now around her companions and away from the affairs of the country. She bask in the excitement of the adventure happy to see more of the beautiful world. Auroa notices the smiles from Kal and Ilyrana and smiles back in turn thinking that each is warming up to her and soon they maybe friends instead of just companions. As Lysan alights down she admires the brilliant wings stretched to their full glory. At his question she just looks around examine all the new things since the question was not meant for her. While in her head she puzzles about his unwillingness to try new things. All this while the others get ready to go.

[Ilyrana Sevayni]

When Lysan makes his grand entrance Ilyrana is torn between shock and amusement. No doubt it must have been nice to stretch his wings after so long in close quarters. Still though, by the reactions it gained him, she wondered if it had been to show off a little. It had certainly grabbed everyone's attention.

He refused a mount politely, so it seemed. She wasn't surprised. If she had another way of travel she might have considered it. But the lizard was sturdy and if the drow trusted it himself, she would try. The wild elf snorted slightly at the words of her companion. Easy for you to say. I'll talk when I need to, for now I plan to do a lot more watching, I'll learn that way. Upside down?

Ilyrana glanced down at the lizard and tightened her grip on the harness. Kal'esril had just said they were to travel fast as well. What was she in for now? She watched the Hobgoblins disperse and made her final arrangements. This was it, part of her was intrigued, the other dreaded what the journey would bring. A glance at Auroa and Lysan then, with a final nod at the drow. "Lead on when ready."

[Lysan Cloud]

Lysan steps lightly onto the ground, folding his wings back, but not settling them, as they were most likely leaving within minutes.

"My thanks on that, Kal. I am proficient at my skills both on foot and awing, but have no experience with riding animals. I am sure you would agree that I would rather be at my most proficient in order to do my part to ensure the success of our venture."

Lysan notices the elven hound streaking off to the north, noticing how quickly it ran, and briefly wondering if he would be able to keep up.

"As far as keeping track of you, after hunting in the woods around home for many years, I should have no problem, unless you plan to fall into a hole in the ground?" The last was spoken with an obvious smile and a twinkle in his eyes, to show his good humor.

Nodding to the other party members, he shakes out his wings and settles his new bow for easy reach and use while flying. "If you and our Lady companions are ready, then I am as well. Shall we go forth?"

Launching himself into the air, he shouts down to his companions, "Here is to a new day, new friends, and new adventures!"

[Kal'esrïl Melarn]

Kal'esril looked at the Star Elf as she looked around idly. She was ready and apparently bored with the situation at hand enough to seek fascination elsewhere. But his eyes were quickly drawn to the Wild Elf when she snorted, spotting the distanced look in her eyes before she looked down. He had seen that look before, had had it himself before, there was a certain strength to be had in knowing when your fellows were communicating on the sly... even if you didn't know what they were saying exactly. When she looked at him he gave a single sharp incline of his head in response to her nod and comment. For some reason the moment put him completely on guard.

He shakes off the moment and turns an amused smile, naturally unsettling when set in his countenance, on Lysan. "Kal'esril. Proficient is better." He takes a firm grip of the high front of his saddle. "And no holes... just trees. Enup-cha!" His lizard reared up at his shouted final word, emitting a squealing and enthusiastic call that ended in a prolonged clicking sound. By the time its front claws caught the ground it was off at an alarmingly fast speed. The journey had begun.

[Warlord]

The Drow's lizard was most certainly a dominant male, its cry causing the other three to snap to attention. All four creatures are off at the same time. Though the other three are far more casual about their acceleration they were no less speedy as an end result, all four creatures tore through the cleared forest floor beyond the boundaries of the Mythal bypassing trees at the last moment and only just clearing them by the width necessary to only just not touch them. The creatures quickly came to unaltered terrain, thick forest with full undergrowth, but this didn't slow them for a moment.

All four creatures took different paths, shrilling to each other in some form of communication that seemed to keep them from impacting with one another as their twisting paths crossed repeatedly in the twisting warrens of the forest... until they came across a half fallen tree leaning against a a couple of others. Up the trunk of the partially fallen tree all four lizards went, the three passengers born along the way, into the tree tops. It was impossible to tell if the creatures were already familiar with the route or if they possessed some unknown sense that revealed the path ahead but there was no backtracking. The creatures never ran out of branches, never reached an isolated tree, if there were a gap they would leap it without hesitation to land smoothly on the other side. Twisting paths carried the passengers up and down, back and forth, and even upside down for dizzying maneuvers. On two separate occasions the creatures found need to leap a gap while upside down!

Meanwhile, in the air, Lysan finds he has little trouble keeping track of the party though speed does occasionally become an issue. The size of the lizards works against them in the stealth department, as traveling through the trees even as lightly and cleverly as they do still disturbs the branches in a way that was noticeable to the soldier's eyes. And if that weren't enough the occasional scattering of birds and other wildlife would have made for intermittent trail markers a blind Roc could have followed. The speed was the difficulty. Though their exact location was easy enough to figure out, the lizards were capable of crossing difficult terrain at an incredible rate. Fortunately, where the companion's below were limited by the contours of the land, Lysan had nothing but space. He quickly began to take advantage of curves in his fellows path, flying straight to cut the distance, catching breezes to speed himself along, and occasionally diving to charge ahead toward warm updrafts that would return his altitude. Inexorably North they traveled, and it was only a matter of a couple of hours before Lysan saw the telltale sparkle of a body of water on the horizon...