07.04: Shadow of the Mountain

[Joshua]

Osmund speaks up, "Technology can't fly here. Maybe glide, but not fly. Big magic is a problem, so you're limited to single assassins flying in. Dangerous, but not an army." He humphs, "You want to treat those individually anyway.

Of note during the walk, the fort is noticeably less euclidean in the caves and caverns inside the mountain.

[Wyvern]

"Hm." Alys thinks for a bit, and eventually shrugs. "I'll have to experiment with... what can be brought in, I guess, make sure there's nothing we're overlooking. It just feels... wrong, though, to have an open roof without at least something protective in the way."

[Joshua]

Morgana nods. "I've been meaning to add a proper enchantment to it. Mayhap a lightning generator. At the moment, we just throw bolders at people who bother us." She grins and winks at Asai.

[Veyska]

Asai tilts her head thoughtfully, as if giving deep reflection to Morgana's speculation. "I suppose the trees would be better able to handle stray bolts of lightning than they would random flying boulders and flash-cooked wildlife would be tastier and easier to gather than scattered smithereens, but then I wouldn't be able to have fun afterwards watching people try to reload and retrieve ammunition..."

[Wyvern]

"Why not both?" Alys suggest with a grin. "Plus there are any number of useful things we can do with the cliff face, ranging from the basic - arrow slits - to contouring it in ways that make the winds... interesting."

[Joshua]

The conversation continues as the tour goes on, Morgana asks, "I take it you wish to have your lair underground? Where you won't have to worry about such things. Or, if there's a reason you mentioned flight, we could see about setting something in the cliff above us."

[Wyvern]

Alys shrugs. "A balcony might be nice eventually, but I certainly wouldn't rate it at a high priority. I'd rather see the effort that would take go into defenses before luxuries. Still, either way I'll want to discuss possible plans for the cliff face with... I believe Suthe Goldbeard is the current chief engineer for the dwarves here?"

[Joshua]

"Yes, he is. Well, time to introduce you." Morgana finishes the tour by leading you to the throne room, where a large gathering of orcs and dwarves is there... Also in attendance, a decent smattering of gnomes mix in with the dwarves and a handful of ogres with the orcs.
There are a few unique attendees, a troll and centaur near the back of the orcs, and a pair of dark elves talk to a minotaur between the two groups. They get silent as Morgana and the group enter.

[Wyvern]

Alys follows confidently behind Morgana; taking note of who is present, but not focusing her attention on any group or individual in particular.

As usual, anyone with at least chaos rank warfare can recognize that Alys is entirely prepared to deal with anyone foolish enough to attack her - whether that be an overeager orc, or a sniper halfway up the cliff, or, etc. She doesn't actually expect to be attacked, of course, but since when has that mattered?
Anyone below chaos rank probably just gets the sort of uneasy feeling one might have upon noticing a tiger wandering around, without being able to pin down exactly what about Alys is triggering it.

[Veyska]

Asai quietly pads along behind Alystrakos and Morgana, a guest but not the guest of honor (so to speak). Her expression, as much as can easily be read on her inhuman face, is pleasant and mild and so is the impression she gives off. Her tail arcs up gently behind her in its normal position, but the last band or two is going twitch, twitch, twitch with almost metronomic precision. Either she's simply very curious to see how Alys is welcomed by her new court or else her outward tranquility is a deliberate mask. Or both, knowing Asai...