Ran looks at the airship for a moment and then at the elevated walkway.

"Unless you've got magic to hide us up there, I'm for staying low and hidden from that big balloon," Ran says. "Wizards with spells to pick us off from a distance isn't my idea of a nice walkabout today. At least down here we can actually fight any danger that shows up."

He looks at the others for confirmation.

Mica looks up at the airship standing out in the blue sky, holding one hand up to shield his eyes against the blazing sun. “We should stay off of that wall.  It would be quicker, but leaves us out in the open unless we can get rid of that airship.”  He looks down into the tangled ruins. “The ruins give us cover up to the wall.  I can take the lead if that works for everyone."

Eryndor cast one last wistful glance at the sunlit top of the wall, then sighed with theatrical resignation. "Ah, the swift path denied once more. Very well—when the wilderness speaks, it is best we heed the voice that knows its tongue." He gave Mica a half-bow, more amused than begrudging. "Lead on, master of the undergrowth. I shall tread carefully in thy wake, thorns and all."

Meili scanned the surroundings too but didn’t rush toward the ruins.

"If we run into something in there - and we will - the fight will draw just as much attention as us walking out in the open. Maybe more. A group moving confidently could pass for mercenaries returning with a report or patrolling. The sound of a battle in the hidden ruins? That screams someone sneaking about."

She glanced between Eryndor and Eligos. "Between the two of you," she asked, "do you have any magic that could make us look more like the Cormyr Company? Or maybe Red Wizards themselves?"

Eryndor tapped a finger thoughtfully against his lips, then gave Meili a small, regretful shrug. "Alas, I can render but one of us truly unseen—and only for an hour. Not quite enough to spirit us all past unseen."

He reached into his pack and produced a folded costume, worn but well-kept. "I do, however, carry a modest wardrobe," he said with a smirk. "With a few flourishes, I might pass for a mercenary—Cormyrean or Thayan, take thy pick. A convincing bluff, perhaps, if luck and distance are with us."

Then, more seriously, he added, "And should we try for guile or grace, I can bolster our efforts for a time—lend your tongue more charm or your feet more silence. It won’t part seas, but it may shift the wind in our favor."

"You won't pass as mercenary talking like that," Ran says as he follows after Mica. "But you're a lock for a wizard."

Eryndor is caught silent. However, he raises an eyebrow at Ran as he smiles and nods almost a fencer's salute to Ran.

[Before I take us into the lower ruins, that is the plan, right?  Or is the party reconsidering Meili's suggestion?]

[as new party member, I am just here to follow - and to look pretty]

((Meili’s was to just walk down the Main Street like we’re supposed to be there vs slinking through ruins?? Ran’s vote would be the street, to the side hoping not to draw attention from above))

"You might pass for a Red Wizard." Meili nodded very seriously - her sense of humor, rare even in calmer moments, now disappeared completely. "Maybe Eligos could too. Or follow invisible? I remember he knows that spell as well. The rest of us could be your escort."

She glanced back at the ruins. "I’m not insisting. Just not sure how fast we can cross this labyrinth - and I’ve no doubt there’s something in there waiting to attack us."

((We are kind of waiting for Mica's reaction to the idea of waltzing through the street. Meili would not insist, just honestly sees it as less risky attention-wise.))

Eryndor fidgets with his costume materials while the others decide their path... he could probably do something with the cape if he turned it inside out so the red lining was on the outside.

Mica looks up at the airship and then back toward Meili, considering her plan. “It would be best to avoid any fights among the ruins and keep our strength for when we need it.” 

He brushes some of the mud and blood off of his breastplate. “I do have Cormyr company armor I picked up in the jungle.  Ran could pass for a mercenary, assuming they don’t recognize all the ones they have left by sight.  And we should have some of those Red Wizard robes in our packs that we found in the swamp.  I suppose we could do a costume party and walk in like we own the place.”

(OOC: I'm game if we want to head down main street.  We should have some red robes we found in the swamp - it seems like ages ago at this point.)

[Inspiration for Mica for remembering the robes... alas nobody seems to have recorded who took them on their sheets.  I went back and checked Nalomanterys and Danica and didn't see them there either.  So, if you want to check to see if you grabbed a robe, roll a D20.  10+ and you did squirrel away a red robe.  Sorry Eryndor, none for you, I'm afraid.]

Meili's memory: 15

Listening to the party it seems that we will be going ahead on the high road. Eryndor pieces together elements from the costumes in his pack. Without a proper red robe, the best he can do is turning a cape inside out so that its red lining might give the proper appearance. 

((If this is sufficient, the costume would give Advantage on rolls))

Ran’s red robe?: 5  

Red Robe: 16.

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Quote from LAXGunner >>

Red Robe: 16. 

Mica digs through his pack, muttering to himself “Thought it would be here somewhere, that was a long time and many miles ago” before pulling a crumpled red robe from the bottom of his pack.  He hands it over to Eryndor. “Here, I don’t need this, I have the Cormyr bird on my breastplate.  You can take it, or give it to one of the others if they need it.”  Mica packs up the contents that spilled out of his pack, taking a small swig of what remains of the dwarven moonshine as he packs it up and gets ready to move.

Digging through their packs, Mica and Meili both locate the Thayan red robes recovered from... a corpse?  A ruined campsite?  Who can recall after all these weeks in the jungle?  Eryndor is able to fashion a passable facsimile, though the red of his cloak isn't an exact match for the crimson robes of the Red Wizards.

That leaves just Ran, without a red robe.

With partial disguises, will you chance the high road?