The Sky's The Limit

[Arle Nadja]

'When you are done with your training with the Mages Guild, do you mind too terribly meeting up with me?' ...The question was still fresh in Arle's mind as she stepped through the portal. It was an important question to answer, as much as she really wanted to know what the heck technology meant. Before Arle could get to that, however, a delightful smell hit her like a wave of relief. It was... dirt, grass, nature. Normally it wouldn't have fazed her, but after having been deprived of the scent of nature for a while it was a comforting sensation. Arle took a deep breath and let out a content sigh. "Ah... That's much better~!" Arle remarked aloud, turning to Warren with a big smile upon her face.

"Sure--We can meet up. It'll be nice to see some familiar faces for once~" the mage would finally respond somewhat light-heartedly. She had other questions, however, and turned to observe the area around her. She was surprised to find that there was an actual floating city in the sky, easily visible due to its anomalous nature far above the horizon. She'd somehow been expecting that ot be more of a figure of speech. It was quite far in the distance still, but already Arle was impressed.
"Wow--Is that it? ...I wonder how they keep it afloat like that." Arle mused aloud. It seemed like an immensely strenuous feat of magic to her, far above what any mage ought to be capable of via a simple spell. Perhaps they had a trick they used to simplify the process, however. Another thought had been building in Arle's mind however, one that came only after she'd spent some time piecing things together.

"...Hey Warren? What did you mean when you said I was lucky it was my first time there? Do people... normally not treat you very well?" she asked, somewhat bemused by the idea. Now why exactly would anyone choose to treat him like an enemy?

[Jack Darby]

"What I mean was I was brought to the Omniverse once before. You are lucky in that it has only happened to you once." said Warren, groaning as he remembered that. His muscles involuntarily tensed, as the memory of him getting beaten by Stormtroopers came to his mind. It caused his body to tense up because of what they had done to him while he had been in Coruscant. The smell of dirt, grass and nature hit his nose. Truthfully the fresh air was a relief compared to the smog of Coruscant, or the frozen air of the Frozen Fields. Why had he made his home there? It was something Warren was going to have to consider. Relocating his home might be a wise idea, but he wasn't sure. Warren thought about what she asked. Did people not treat him very well normally? Saint Walker had been decent, but the Storm Troopers had been downright rude to him. He'd then say to her. "If you encounter any white armored soldiers on Coruscant, do your best to avoid them. It's for your own good."  As he looked upon the floating island that she'd been looking at, Warren had to admit that he wanted technology that could do something like that. Magic may not be his strong suit, but he knew things that were impressive when he saw them. 

"And normally people treat me right, well except for those Storm Troopers." said Warren.  "So, do you need me to guide you all the way to Dalaran or shall we part ways here?" asked Warren. "While I'm here, there's a few weapons I'll be looking for while you're busy training in the arts of magic. Who knows, when we meet again I might even be stronger than I am now. I know I'm looking forward to at least having more than two capabilities at my disposal." said Warren. "I can do that Chaos Burst, though it doesn't need nearly as long of a charge time but wouldn't be at full power as a result. Thirty seconds is enough time for it to reach the maximum power it needs. In any case, once we do meet up again I'd like to see what you're capable of, if you'd be willing to show me."  This was stated by Warren with a soft smile on his face.

[Arle Nadja]

Arle took a long moment to question just what exactly being brought to the omniverse a second time entailed. ...Did--Did he go back home? Why would it be any less plasant than the first time coming here? Somehow she had more questions than before, though admittedly these new questions weren't as pressing as her original query. "I take it they're no knights in shining armor." Arle replied somewhat lamely, poking fun ant the classical concept. Hers was not a world ruled by kings, so it was perhaps weird that the concept of a knight had survived. They were understandably quite rare in her world, most often serving a very powerful magician rather than royalty. Arle was somewhat surprised by Warren's next questions, though. He wanted to... see what she was capable of? That sounded oddly like a challenge. She wasn't exactly unfamiliar with challenges nor particularly opposed ot them, but this didn't seem like the time or place for it. Regardless, she supposed she ought to roll with it.

"Alright..! I'm sure I'll be feeling a bit better soon. I won't let this little slump keep me down forever~" Arle would reassure Waren, offering him a very bright smile. "And... I think I can find my way from here. You don't have to stay here and hold my hand if you don't want to." the mage went on to offer somewhat bashfully. She didn't want to be a burden, even if in truth having company meant a lot to her. Warren clearly had his own life to tend to though and she couldn't ask him to come with her just because she'd feel a little bit better.

[Jack Darby]

Warren thought about her offer. She didn't want him to stick around if he didn't want to? She was truly a kind soul, and deserved his help. With that in mind he smiled at her for a moment. "I'll go with you, but I won't do the magic training. When you do that, you will be on your own. Is that okay with you, Arle?" asked Warren to her, with a smile on his face.  His smile faded and he said. "You're right about the Storm Troopers not being "Knights in Shining Armor" as they are willing to do whatever it takes to deal with 'troublemakers." "  Warren paused, and then said. 

"I seriously would advise you not go to the world of Coruscant until you have at least ten of your spells back at your disposal. I am about to show you one of my weapons, a weapon that I have made for myself with Omnilium. Well two weapons. They don't require as much of a charge time as Chaos Burst thankfully, but I'll be working on learning other moves when you're training with the mages." Her very bright smile made Warren blush and this time he made no attempt to hide it from her. The Quarterback of Chaos was nervous, because he had never known someone to be outright friendly to him. Arle was someone who could potentially reform him from his criminal nature, if she knew he was a villain. It was a good thing he'd kept that secret from her.  "So. How shall we go about this? Do you want a winged horse, or a jet to take you up there?" asked Warren.

[Arle Nadja]

Arle gave Warren a knowing look. He'd said exactly the words she wanted to hear, without ever having been prompted. "Hehe~ Thanks. I'd like that" Arle replied somewhat softly. What he said next gave her pause, however. ...Who was a troublemaker, now? Certainly not her. Arle rarely made trouble for anyone else! ...Well, that wasn't true. Trouble tended to follow her around like a lost dog searching for its master. Really, when she thought about it her presence here was actually a bad omen. It indicated with almost certainty that something very, very terrible would be following in her wake. That wasn't her fault, however. Those old fools could answer for their own crimes. Perhaps they could answer questions about what they were doing chasing her across time and space while they were at it. That was a bit much to hope for, however. As much as she didn't care for her stalkers, she knew that they were far too strong to simply be dealt with by the proper authorities. ...Probably. That's how it had always been for her, anyway.

"I'll try not to get myself into any trouble, then. Right now I just want to restore my magic and find my friends. Hopefully that doesn't make any trouble for any stormtroopers, right~?"  Arle replied somewhat light-heartedly. Surely these so-called white-knights had better things to do than harass her. She wasn't anyone special--not as far as this world was considered, anyway. Arle waited a moment for Warren to present the weapon he'd mentioned, but it never appeared. ...Ah well. Maybe he'd show her later? She wasn't too concerned with weapons, especially when there were weird words she'd never heard of getting thrown about. She vaguely recalled winged horses from her world. Namely, she recalled fighting them. They weren't very nice creatures... She recalled one black as night in particular, mostly because it had a terrible pun for a name that had made her do a double take. "Well I don't know what a Jet is and the only thing I've ever ridden is a flying squirrel. I heard something about a crystal transport--but whichever you think is best!" Arle replied somewhat lamely. ...Did she say something about riding flying squirrels?

[Jack Darby]

Was it right to corrupt innocence like hers by showing her what guns were capable of? Warren didn't know. She had expressed interest in the weapons, and by extension in him. The thought made him feel a bit warmer inside than he normally did. Typically Warren normally had felt cold inside when he was around the various secondaries of the Omniverse. There was something about Arle that made him not want to double cross her, but he couldn't put a finger on what it actually was. As this confused him to a degree, Warren decided he'd definitely show her what his guns were. Concentrating for a few seconds he'd materialize his hand guns first, so that she could see them. "These are my hand guns. Do they have crossbows on your world?" asked Warren. "Well these fire bullets at the speed of arrows, although I will be working on improving the speed of the guns eventually. I also have another one of these, but that is slightly more powerful. Say, would you mind showing me what you could do?" 

Warren was curious about what she could do for a multitude of reasons. She was a magic user and he had failed the Quest to learn the magic of Camelot. It was actually good that he had failed because he didn't want to be tied to any of the various factions. Friendship with one meant animosity with another. Warren demonstrated how the guns worked, firing them harmlessly into the air. Dismissing them he'd summon the M-16 that he had, and demonstrate it as well once he had materialized it.  "Now you've seen what I'm currently capable of. So what are you capable of?" asked Warren. As he had shown her all of his techniques, he hoped she was going to reciprocate, and return the favor by showing him whatever she was capable of.

[Arle Nadja]

Arle lenaed over a bit to get a better look at Warren's guns and--...What in the hell were those? Their design didn't make a lick of sense to Arle, whom had never been exposed to a war. In a land ruled by magic, there was simply no room for conventional warfare. What was a gun? Why did it look like a very ornate boomerang? She didn't know what a bullet was, what it meant to fire something or generally what Warren was talking about. "I've never heard of a crossbow, but sure, I guess..!" Arle would reply. She wasn't sure what was so interesting about what little power she had at her disposal, but that just meant a demonstration wouldn't take very long! Before she could finish that thought, however, a series of very loud bangs startled Arle out of her thoughts! The mage's eyes widened in fear and she flinched several times, her eyes darting back and forth. "Ah! What's happening??" Arle blurted out in alarm. She couldn't see the bullets, so all she could grasp was a bunch of very tasteless noisemakers going off. What was even the point of these, other than being incredibly awful to listen to??

The shaken mage was understandably not in the mood to show off at that exact moment, flustered and conused by what had just happened. "Hold on. What was that?" Arle would ask after the moment passed, clearly uncomfortable with what had just went down.

[Jack Darby]

"I see you're afraid of guns. Don't worry, I won't use one in your presence again since you can't handle the sound of them. They're just one of the many weapons that exist that I could think to create for myself. So tell me, how does your fire ability work? Would you care to give me a demonstration please?" asked Warren, curious about her control over the element of fire. 

Seeing what she was capable of might make him more creative than he was now with his own attacks. Her ability was interesting, because he wanted to know what little she could do. As non-creative as he was right now, Warren knew he couldn't come up with anything on his own. Seeing the ability of another prime up close and personal? Such an action might trigger his imagination, and allow him to get creative with what he could personally do. 

"I'm sorry if I scared you, Arle." 

Warren paused once more. 

"Or if the use of my weapon offended you, I apologize. The Storm Troopers wield a variant that isn't as noisy, but is equivalent to a less powerful version of Chaos Burst.  Anyway, I do have a new technique but I'll wait to show it to you until I see yours. Two, actually. They aren't nearly as noisy as the weapons I used, which I apologize for." 

[Storyteller]

For a fleeting moment, a faint shadow fell across the pair of conversing Primes. It happened so quickly that Arle wasn't even sure if she had just blinked, and not realized. What did occur to her, however, was the fact that the normal sounds of the forest had gone completely silent within the past few seconds. Concerned, she held a hand over her brow and looked into the sky, to see if something might be coming. Warren picked up on her worried searching and turned around, surveying the light cloud cover as well.

"Did you see something?" the Quarterback asked, his grip on his guns tightening. Arle made a soft noise as she tried to decide on whether or not see was just being needlessly jumpy.

"Ahmmm..." she hummed, before the light in their forested clearing dimmed again. This time, the shadow was followed by a spine-arching screech as several large forms dove directly out of the blinding light of the sun. They must have been circling directly overhead, hiding themselves in the glare of the corona before beginning their perilous descent. Three winged monstrosities slammed into the ground around them on all sides, each bearing the head of an eagle and the body of a horse.

"PRIMES! DON'T MOVE!" came a booming voice, carried by a resonance that Arle immediately identified as being magically amplified. The declaration was so fierce that she hesitated to bring herself into a defensive position, but when she saw that Warren was now training his alleged weapons on the hulking beasts, she began to reach into her limited wellspring of arcane power. Now that the initial shock had passed, it was plain to see that each of the monsters had a rider on their back, dressed in gleaming armor with flowing blue robes. The gilded faceplates of these beast-riders betrayed no emotion, but it was plain to see that they were not here to play nice.

"I'm giving you one warning, Prime." the lead rider said, identified by the read epaulet on his left shoulder and the beautiful two-tone plumage of his mount. He continued shouting in his magically augmented voice as he raised a long spear which was visibly charged with crackling electric power.

"On the Authority of Albus Dumbledore, as given by King Aragorn of Camelot...I, Sir Adrian Hellkite of the Dalaran Outriders, command you to de-summon your weapons and submit to our custody!"

[Arle Nadja]

A distressed Arle began to regain her bearings after being given a chance to calm her nerves. It sounded like a little explosion! By the descripton, she'd been expecting something far more subdued like a bow and arrow's dull strum. She was tempted to ask how an extremely irritating noise was supposed to be used as a weapon, but decided against it. She wasn't looking for another demonstration. The notion that she couldn't handle it didn't sit well with her, however. Those were fighting words! She kind of wanted to prove him wrong, but it served little point. Sure, his exaggeration of her fright was a little frustrating, but she had nothing to gain from competing to tolerate terrible noises. "I don't know how anyone can get used to that. I bet we just scared every animal in the area away." Arle would lament, holding up her hands in a helpless shrug.

"...It's alright. I guess this world is very different from my own." Arle went on somewhat unenthusiastically. Without further ado, she looked around for a place to demonstrate her magic. Magic wasn't something she just used all of the time. She distinctly remembered accidentally removing a wizard's head with a fireball. ...Given, he had also been trying to kill her at the time. Still, she hadn't been trying to kill him! ...Given, losing his head hadn't really put a stop to him. Not only did he keep fighting, but he somehow got better. She wasn't so sure about that last part, but what could you do when you were dealing with powerful dark wizards? They didn't quite obey the same rules as everyone else, even in her world.

Before Arle could settle on a place to demonstrate her magic, however, everything got terrifying again and she was lost in a sea of noise and confusion. Several humongous impacts sent the poor, bewildered mage to the ground. She'd lost her balance on the unexpectedly shaking ground. Shifting to adjust her tiara and pick herself back up, however, Arle found herself being shouted at and commanded. She could only wonder how she got herself into these crazy situations. Why was she being accosted by gryphon riders of all things? They hadn't done anything wrong! At least, as far as Arle knew, anyway. One could observe that Arle was unarmed and upset. Her hands were balled into fists in an anxious manner and she sort of recoiled a bit, as if she were expecting to have to dodge a sudden attack. If one did not know what she was capable of, she was a very unintimidating presence. Arle attempted to find words to describe her frustration with the situation, but without understanding why she was even being bothered this only resulted in her getting more upset. Regardless, she couldn't just pick a fight with the authorities--even if they were actively wronging her. That was also wrong, so she did the only thing she could.

"...Fine!" Arle would indignantly reply, her voice raised so that she could be heard at a distance. The mage was giving up without a fight, standing there and awaiting whatever would be barked at her next. Her mood was decidedly soured, but with any luck things would get better for her.

[Jack Darby]

First Coruscant, and now Camelot? What was the Omniverse coming to? Could he not show his moves to another Prime in peace without the interference of others? Warren was beginning to get justifiably annoyed with the situation as it had been presented. Of course his frustration could come from the headache caused by firing the weapons without protection for his ears. Note to self, when firing weapons wear armor to protect his ears against the racket that was the shots fired from the weapons that he wielded.  "So,  Sir Adrian Hellkite why have you come to arrest us? All I've been doing is showing this new Prime what to expect on some of the other worlds, and seeing what she can do. Well I was about to see what she could do before you interrupted us. However, as I have no desire to encounter an army of you."  Warren de-summoned all of his weapons, and then took off his NFL-R which without which he could not perform any of his moves, summon his armor or do much of anything. He'd offer the NFL-R to Adrian Hellkite. "Without it my abilities will not work, so now you can see that I am truly disarmed, as you have put it." 

Truthfully Warren was more than a little miffed about the situation they had found themselves in. If it turned out to be like Coruscant in the slightest, Warren knew he was going to blow a fuse. Of course the reason for him blowing a fuse was likely to be quite simple actually. If he had to clean poop or other nasty substances off of carts, or clean horses or spit polish the floors of a castle? Warren wasn't going to tolerate such punishments. It had been bad enough what he had to do in Coruscant, not counting any punishments they could come up with here. Still as he didn't want to risk fighting an army of them, Warren had surrendered himself.. for now. It was wise to see how this was going to play out. 

[Storyteller]

Sir Hellkite dismounted his Hippogriff with a needlessly flashy swing of his legs, and approached Warren slowly, keeping his energized spear held ready. The Dalaran Knight took the proffered device cautiously and placed it on the ground behind him. Red eyes glinted out from behind the narrow slits in the filigreed faceplate as he signaled for his two wingmen to also dismount. The hippogriffs pawed and snorted uncomfortably, sensing the tension in the air.

"Be still, Sasha." Sir Hellkite intoned, gesturing calmly at his mount. Sasha offered one last snort of contempt, but settled into a more relaxed sitting position. Warren was beginning to become more than a little chafed by all the pomp and circumstance.

"Is my question going to be answered?" the Quarterback snapped, crossing his arms sourly over his chest.

"You are not under arrest, at least for right now. We received reports of two new Primes entering Camelot, one fresh from the Fountain. One of them was reported to have been discharging dark energies into the air, and moments ago we were alerted to weapons being fired-"

"You know what these gun things are?" Arle blurted out, incredulous that even these people knew what Warren had been talking about. Was her world the only one that hadn't come up with these noisemakers or something? Perhaps it was just the fact that these other warriors lived in the Omniverse that made them privy to such knowledge; after all, she couldn't assume everyone was just as fresh as she was! Her hypothesis was confirmed as one of Sir Hellkite's wingmen piped up.

"You think we got this far in the war with the Empire without learning what firearms are? Typical Primes..." he jeered. Hellkite motioned for him to be silent and the wingman clammed up.

"Yes, we do." Hellkite said slowly. It seemed as though these Primes were willing to cooperate, so he raised the point of his spear skyward for the time being.

"Normally, firing weapons and spells into the air would be rude, but not a concern. Unfortunately, you happen to be near Dalaran...and Dalaran..." Sir Hellkite said, gesturing towards the floating city with the tip of his weapon, "...is in the air."

There was a long silence.

"Oh." Arle said, blinking in comprehension. Now that she looked again, she could see small shapes flitting in and around the distant towers of the floating city as people came and went. While she still didn't quite grasp how Warrens loud weapons worked, he had compared them to a bow and arrow, which was enough for her to make the connection. She could imagine that it would be pretty alarming to be flying along and suddenly have a barrage of arrows fly up at you!

"So what happens now?" Zimmer asked with more than a small amount of venom dripping from his words. It was clear to see that he did not enjoy being bossed around. Sir Hellkite picked up on this pretty clearly.

"That depends on what you're doing in the area, Primes." the Knight of Dalaran said in a patient but guarded voice...

[Arle Nadja]

Arle would pout at no one in particular. These ones seemed a little self-absorbed with their own conflicts. She may not have had even the slightest grasp of what a gun was, but she knew this wasn't her business. Why would she know about the empire, or whatever craziness was going on in this world? It wasn't as if Omni had sat her down and had a talk about the politics of the region before she arrived, nor would it have really been her place to make judgment calls on them even if he had! She wasn't from here. This society hadn't raised her. She knew nothing of how they thought and rationalized what they did.

Her gaze trailed up to the floating island above the horizon. There was, of course, one major issue with the comparison to a bow and arrow. She couldn't see bullets in action. The idea of tiny piercing projectiles was so utterly foreign to her that without being able to see the projectiles being fired the comparison to a bow simply didn't make sense to the mage. Were the arrows invisible? What was the purpose of all that noise? No connection whatsoever. ...More than that perhaps, the idea that this area so far away from the city's actual buildings fell under its jurisdiction was weird to her. She had only lived in a small village her entire life. Thankfully, she hadn't been planning to shoot any fireballs up into the sky anyway. That was a very obtuse way of demonstrating her magic. All of this combined, however, had caused her to realize something very important.

...She wasn't going to find her new home here. While the area certainly smelled better than the nexus to her and the idea of being surrounded by magicians was alluring, she'd seen enough to know this wasn't her homely little village back in the Madou World. The way they spoke to her, the high security. No... This was a city, something Arle had only experienced briefly in Suzuran. She had been uncomfortable then and she was uncomfortable now. Turning her attention back to the knights around them, Arle seemed to deflate a bit in disappointment.

"Well, I was hoping to visit the mage's guild so I could restore my lost magic." Arle explained, now somewhat unenthusiastic about the idea. It showed in her tone. "Right now I'm kind of wondering if maybe I got some bad advice, though..." the mage would go on to muse aloud in a somewhat exasperated tone. She clearly did not fit in here, which was a bit of an issue given the trouble it had gotten herself into.

[Jack Darby]

The knights of Camelot were just as arrogant as the Storm Troopers.  Only the Storm Troopers had never seized his NFL-R. Sure he had offered it as a way of placating them and preventing his own untimely demise, but still. The item was in eyesight, although out of his reach. Chances are he’d have to make a new one anyway. Internally he groaned without making any noise. For making a new NFL-R meant traveling to the Frozen North, finding his base and gathering the supplies needed to build one. As he had not gotten the hang of making items out of Omnilium, Warren knew life was more difficult here than it had been back home. In Canton, at least he had known the rules of physics of the world. Here the rules of physics were a virtual unknown to him, and a mystery. A mystery that Warren had to admit he hated. Mysteries were some of the things he hated because they bothered him on a level. As he was unable to solve his problem given that he lacked the capability to use Omnilium for much, at present Warren decided that he needed to learn how the substance worked. Experimentation was in order, but not with these soldiers of Camelot around. They had one thing going for them more than the stormtroopers, and that was that they hadn’t tried to beat the crap out of him yet. Still, without his NFL-R, he was helpless except for Chaos Burst unless he learned how to use Omnilium properly. Such weakness could not be allowed any longer.

His skills were going to have to improve if he was going to survive. Omni had said that Omnilium could do anything if one had enough of it. The substance could provide them an advantage that they otherwise wouldn’t have. For it could be used to create anything. There was just one small problem with that detail, that Warren didn’t know how to use the substance. The substance was a mystery, a mystery that for the life of him he wasn’t going to be able to figure out. While he had wanted to show her the techniques that he had developed, the Lightning Blast App and the Fire Blast App respectively he knew he couldn’t do that presently. Without the NFL-R any of his capabilities except the Chaos Burst were lost to him, at least for now anyway. His situation was frustrating, to say the least of how he felt. Honestly, he wanted to maim Sir Hellkite so badly but he couldn’t allow himself to do so. Doing so was going to get him a bounty in Camelot, and that was the last thing he needed at present.

His friend, for what else could he call her Arle had surrendered to the secondaries on the Gryphons. The creatures were ones he had never seen before. Warren made a mental effort to keep himself from panicking because he had never expected to see creatures out of mythology. They were perhaps dangerous, especially if their riders were to lose control of them. Yet the animals were intelligent, and could make a good mount for him if he was able to acquire one. If being the key word, as he didn’t know if he could or not. Unfortunately for him, without his NFL-R he didn’t dare use Omnilium at all as he had lied and said that he couldn’t do anything without it.

“As I had mentioned, I was in the process of showing Arle around. She wanted to go to Dalaran, probably to see if any of the magic users there were from her world, and as she said to regain her magic. I, on the other hand, had come to Camelot to hunt for relics, but before I was going to begin doing so I decided that I needed to learn what she was capable of. I showed her each and every move that I currently have in my arsenal. The other reason I am here, as I mentioned is about relics. More specifically, The Sword of Conquest. I figured it might make an excellent addition to my arsenal.”

Warren had shown her everything, but the Lightning Blast App or the Fire Blast App. Those were going to be difficult for him to figure out how to get working. Especially without his NFL-R as it was required for the bulk of his powers. Without it, he couldn’t fight, and that was probably why he wasn’t going to get it back from Adrian Hellkite anytime soon. Building a new one out of Omnilium was going to be difficult, to say the least, as he hadn’t the supplies needed for such.

Truthfully he could honestly say he was rusty if something like a knight with a spear could catch him off guard. Apparently, he’d need to go back to basics, and train himself from the ground up. One of the books he had read in the library of Coruscant had spoken of a sword, a sword called the “Sword of Conquest” that was a weapon that was a twin to Excalibur. The blade was intriguing and might make a good addition to his arsenal. At the very least, it couldn’t make a bad addition to his arsenal. Any weapons he had besides the NFL-R were a welcome upgrade to him. What he wouldn’t give to still have his spear or Wazikashi but both of them had broken. Since they had broken, he had been obligated to dispose of them by converting them back into Omnilium and absorbing them.

At some point, Warren realized that he was going to have to relocate Fort Zimmer. While a home in the Frozen North was isolated it was also dangerous. The blizzards, winds and intense colds saw to the danger level of the Frozen North. Of course, that was not the only problem with the base. It was underground, and thus out of reach normally for him.

"Now, may I please have my NFL-R back?" asked Warren. Politeness was not his normal activity, but with how much danger both Arle and himself were in, Warren knew he had no choice but to play nice with the riders. They were all armed, and he didn't have a weapon. It was a worrying situation for him, one that made him concerned he was going to die. His question was posed without any emotion in his voice.

"The NFL-R also acts as my Communicator and Mobile Dataverse Device. Without it, I won't be capable of anything. In other words, I'd be helpless without my NFL-R. So, as I have asked. Would you please return it to my possession?" 

Warren was sure that Arle was not as enthusiastic about Dalaran because of how she acted. Hopefully, she wasn't the type of person who was going to hate him for this. If she was, he'd have to ditch her before she became powerful enough to kill him off. Yet she was not that kind of Prime. She'd proven that through their conversations. She also didn't think Power was needed, except to protect others which hopefully meant that if he kept his nose clean, she wasn't going to kill him. He'd shoot Arle an apologetic look, because he was worried he had done something to offend her.

[Storyteller]

The wingman that had been so quick to interject earlier spoke up again, his tone as snide as ever.

"Okay, but why not just shoot a tree? We've got lots of trees. We've only got one flying ci-"

"Silence, Patoma." Sir Hellkite interjected, shooting a look at the mouthy cavalryman before returning his attention to Warren and Arle. The Knight of the Outriders studied the odd pair for a good minute before responding. The harsh, red glare of his eyes didn't sit well with either Prime. Beyond being an inhuman hue, his gaze seemed to hold something darker within it; an ephemeral, predatory aspect. Still, as they explained their reasons for being in the area, and to a greater extent, Camelot, Sir Hellkite's stance softened.

"I see..."

Another long silence passed, but at least the birds were singing again. The Captain still did not like the look of the Quarterback, but this girl who expressed interest in learning from the spellcasters of Dalaran seemed to be reasonable, and perhaps even valuable to the crown. It would be in the kingdom's best interest to try and accommodate them, so long as they continued to behave. The famous Prime known as Samus Aran had recently come into service of King Aragorn, but the Primes that were loyal to the Empire still outnumbered those of Camelot two to one.

"Well, if you're heading up to the city, my men and I can give you a ride. We need to report back anyway, so it's no trouble." the Outrider Knight said, leaning down to retrieve the NFL-R. He slowly returned it to Warren's awaiting hands, and the dark Prime snatched it back eagerly.

"Seriously, Sir Hellkite? These two? Why should-"

"I said SILENCE Patoma! One more word out of line and I'll have you mucking the rookeries for a WEEK!" Hellkite roared, the air in the clearing rumbling from the ferocity of his anger. Loose branches and leaves were shaken from the canopy of the forest, and it almost seemed as if the shadows of the forest writhed for a moment. The younger Outrider was instantly cowed into compliance, and remounted his Hippogriff along with the other of the three patrolmen. Adrian turned back to Zimmer and Arle, who were visibly shaken to say the least, and took a deep breath.

"I apologize. Patoma is...green. He has not yet learned proper respect for Guests of the King." Sir Hellkite said, emphasizing this last string of words, presumably for Patoma's benefit. The senior Outrider mounted his Hippogriff and spurred her into standing.

"What say you, Primes?"

[Arle Nadja]

A sixteen year old apprentice mage really ought not to be looked at that way. She had far too much of her life ahead of her to be worried about whatever was going on there. Arle, however, was very familiar with that particular look. She'd been looked at that way many times before, usually by people she then proceeded to set on fire. She knew exactly what that look was and it made her skin crawl, usually because of the exact nature of the monsters she usually associated with it. That look usually meant someone wanted a piece of her, either figuratively or literally. While she'd always been too powerful to be taken by any of them, just knowing that they were thinking was enough to disturb her. She would miss the small village she'd called home, where everyone knew eachother and that look was never seen. For all the limitations that came with living in such a small town, it did foster a sense of community and human decency that you couldn't expect to stay a hundred percent intact in a city. Some more uncomfortable yelling later, Arle hesitantly reconsidered her options. She did kind of want to check the city out, but she was also concerned for her safety at this point. The mage seemed unsure of herself, conflicted even about her answer.

"...I guess that would be alright." Arle would relent after a moment of delay. Arle had been half-tempted to ask them to call her by a name since they arrived, and she was about ready to give in to that urge. "Are you sure I'm wanted, though? I mean, no offense, but I haven't even been here for a day and I already don't like being thought of as a 'prime'. My name is Arle, by the way." she continued, not much wanting to be a part of this whole primary and secondary grudge going around. How could they even tell that she was a prime? Was she exhuding some sort of aura..? She felt the same as she ever had, give or take a few issues, but somehow that one word had become an insult to her. It was as if she was branded the moment she got to the Omniverse with a name outside of her control that labeled her as some sort of criminal, and frankly that was no way to live.

[Jack Darby]

Warren attached and locked the NFL-R onto his wrist when it was returned, so it couldn't be taken off of him easily. Looking at them for a moment Warren considered his options. Arle was fine with going to their city, and their city might have information he could use. Putting such information to use could save him time in hunting for the Sword of Conquest. As a result of this, Warren made up his mind. He'd go with them, and Arle to make sure Arle was okay because he had plans for her. The NFL-R shouldn't come off, which meant he was less likely to lose it than last time. With what it could do for him, it was more useful than a typical watch. Not only did it act as a communicator, and mobile Dataverse Device but it also acted as one of his primary weapons. 

"We'll go with you, as my friend Arle has decided, " said Warren.  "However, when we arrive at your castle which is where I am assuming you are taking us, I'll need access to your library. There has to be a book or something with more details on the Sword of Conquest. Given I plan on acquiring it for myself, you could see why I'm interested. Oh, and while we're there something to eat will probably be nice as well. I'm still learning how to use Omnilium so I can't create all that much personally. It's why I've incorporated what techniques I have into my NFL-R." 

[Storyteller]

Though it was not apparent through his ornate facemask, Adrian Hellkite raised a sharp eyebrow when Warren spoke of accessing Dalaran's library and of giving them food. He was honestly not sure how to respond for a moment, but a stifled chuckle from Patoma brought him back to the moment.

"When we get to the city, you're free to do as you please. I just keep Dalaran safe; I'm sure you'll find your way." Hellkite said. He gestured at his two wingmen.

"Patoma and Ardeni will give you rides. Sasha here doesn't like seating two." Sir Hellkite said, patting the feathered mane of his Hippogriff. Warren took a seat with Patoma while Arle opted to sit with the very silent Outrider known as Ardeni. Now that the apprentice magician was closer to the quiet wingman, she could tell through subtle curves that Ardeni was, in fact, a woman. It made her all the more comfortable with her choice, seeing as Hellkite was just scary and Patoma seemed kind of mean. Once everyone was seated, Hellkite let out a sharp two-tone whistle and the three winged beasts launched from the clearing like missiles. The initial ascent was dizzying, but once they were level with Dalaran, the flight smoothed out considerably.

Once the flight was level, Arle peeked over Ardeni's shoulder in awe at the Floating Metropolis. It was a sight to behold, certainly, but that was not the most pressing issue on her acute mind. With some trepidation, she spoke up over the hissing wind that blew past them.

"Sir Hellkite...he's not..." she started before trailing off. It was hard to know what might or might not upset these people, but Ardeni seemed to immediately follow Arle's train of thought. The woman spoke in a voice that was strong, but not overpowering in the way that the Knight's had been.

"...Human, no. He's a Revenant, or Wight, if you feel like calling him such a thing. An intelligent zombie, basically. Saw his eyes, did you?"

Arle couldn't find a satisfactory response.

"He's one of the most upstanding citizens of Dalaran, and his...life status is quite well known. He can't help looking scary, and he knows it. That's why he prefers to be out on patrol most of the time. If you ever really get in trouble, Sir Hellkite should be the first person you go to." Ardeni explained, keeping her attention focused on their flight path.

Warren had only begrudgingly taken hold of Patoma's waist after almost falling off upon launch, but the discomfort of seeking a lesser Secondary for safety soon left him as the sprawl and scale of Dalaran fully began to take hold. Swooping, scalloped palisades rimmed the edges of bronzed rooftops, all at once familiar and foreign with the arcane filigree worked into their bubbling structures. Spiraling minarets stood as testaments to the ingenuity of magic, capped with shining beacons that glowed with a myriad of color.

Closer to the well-kept streets and avenues, the architecture of Dalaran ebbed towards a more pragmatic, gothic flavor, with flying buttresses and arched windows plunging up and down the densely packed structures. As they cruised over the rooftops, they could see people going about their daily lives, marching to and fro on levitated bridges and walkways. People of all shapes, sizes and colors bustled in the city below, and the air was purely electric with the zing of arcane power. The high noonday sun threw the yawning balconies into sharp relief against the pale brick and mortar of the buildings, and it was into one of these cavernous apertures that the troupe of Outriders flew. The three mounts circled what appeared to be a large staging area before gliding down for a smooth landing.

Once the passengers and riders had dismounted, Ardeni and Patoma quickly removed their helmets. Patoma didn't appear to be any older than Arle, but his stature was bulky and tall. On top of that, he seemed to have a series of jagged tattoos running down the center of his face. Ardeni, on the other hand, turned out to have blue hair and purple skin, and her eyes glowed like an aurora. Warren and Arle did their best not to stare, but the newer Prime was glad when Sir Hellkite opted not to remove his helmet. If just seeing his eyes was troubling, seeing his entire face was something Arle wanted to avoid altogether. 

The two subordinate Outriders said hasty goodbyes to their Prime guests, but Hellkite motioned for Warren and Arle to wait for a moment.

"As of right now, you two are guests of Dalaran and Archmage Dumbledore, and you have free access to the city and her amenities. Just remember..." Hellkite said, giving a sharp look at Warren in particular, "...you will be under observation."

With that note, Adrian Hellkite turned on his heel and strode away from the Primes with a stiff gait, his Hippogriff trailing close behind. That left Warren and Arle alone in the large hangar area as the hustle and bustle of Dalaran aerial patrols came and went. The only decision now was what to do first...

Storyteller is now leaving the posting order. You are free to continue as you see fit.

[Arle Nadja]

...Arle had had many experiences with zombies. Many terrible, traumatizing experiences. She'd been fighting them since she was five years old, after all! It was easy enough to destroy them, as their rotting bodies tended to fall apart in the face of her magic. Yet, there was really no way around acknowledging their impact on the world around her. Sure it wasn't hard to break most of them, but one had to stop and consider just how horrible it was to ask a child to butcher a rotting person! And it didn't end there. That was the easiest part of dealing with them. A vivid and grotesque memory passed through Arle's mind and her muscles tensed with anxiety. She quickly forced herself to think of something else, not wanting to lose herself to herself to a terrible memory in mid-air. That could end very badly, and more importantly she'd gone to great lengths to try and forget the things she'd seen. It was easier said than done, but it was also the only way she knew of to cope with it. It would certainly be an awkward conversation for Arle if it ever came up. ...She'd have to remind herself not to bring it up.

As they drew closer to the city however, Arle's eyes lit up with wonder. She'd been expecting something closer to home, but... "This is..." Arle murmured. Nothing about the city reminded her from home. Her old magic school had been quite humble in comparison to the extravagent architecture of Dalaran. Not only that, but the feeling in the air was alien to her. She was well familiar with magic, but the nature of magic in her world was very different. It did not simply hang in the air, so this feeling was new as well. The mage briefly brushed herself off once she was down on the ground, turning over to acknowledge. Being told they'd be watched was a little creepy, but she supposed she wouldn't have to worry about it forever. "Hehe... Thanks~" Arle would reply, declining to comment on the watching bit.

She then turned to Warren and just sort of considered their options for a bit. ...Well the trip had taken a few hours. She supposed she had worked up a mild appetite, and riding a gryphon hadn't exactly been easy on her sore legs. Probably easier than severam more hours of walking, but y'know--details. "...Wanna stop and get something to eat before we--I mean I head off to seek magic advice?" Arle would ask after a moment's hesitation in a casual tone. It seemed like the logical way to go about things, but then again... "...Ehehe--Well actually, I don't think I have any money. I guess I'll have to skip dinner tonight. Maybe I can figure something out later..." Arle went on, somewhat disappointed by her forgetfulness. She somehow doubted the mages here would accept cookies as payment.

[Jack Darby]

Her lack of money was a problem he also shared. Cursing his short-sightedness in not preparing any currency for this world with Omnilium sooner, Warren sighed as he thought about the potential options. She was here to seek out magical advice, but he was here to find more weapons so he could stance a fighting chance. The architecture was astounding and if he had the time Warren was likely to redesign Fort Zimmer so that it employed some of the designs that he saw in this place. It was beautiful, even if it was not what he was used to. 

"The place is beautiful,  Arle. It is better than anything I could ever build. I'm definitely using the designs of such when I rebuild my home elsewhere in the Omniverse. Currently, I have my home, Fort Zimmer located in the Frozen Fields. The intense cold, and blizzards there are proving hazardous to my mental state each time I go there. So I've decided to relocate." 

When she asked about a meal Warren considered how best to approach the subject. "Can you find us somewhere quiet? I could try to create food out of Omnilium, although I've never done that before." said Warren, nervously.  "Creating food is one of the things I've never learned how to do with Omnilium, and I might mess up, but as we're both hungry I thought it could help. Perhaps before we seek out a magic tutor for you, you could perhaps help me find the Sword of Conquest?"  

Warren had a pleading look on his face, as he led them to a quiet area. Using Omnilium he'd summon up a table with a variety of foods on it.