"Well, let's see. If nothing better turns up we can land there and start looking."

And he circles the upper part of the mountain, at a safe distance and paying close attention to the movement of other air traffic, as though he's deciding which dock to set down on. In a sense that's exactly what he's doing, really.

"Anything stand out?"

"... The wind sounds - better for Saerith in the direction away from the Sun," says Ranelin slowly.

"A bit more like it could become a force to be reckoned with?"

"Yeah. That probably sounds strange."

"Not at all. Let's begin looking on that side."

"All right, let's," says Riale. He brings the swoop in to land at one of the higher docks, not empty but very sparsely populated. Someone comes up to ask him for a docking fee and he shows her his imperial seal, then helpfully walks her through the process of filing for imperial reimbursement when she hesitates; it only takes half a minute all told.

While he's doing that, Kastimund will walk the dock thoughtfully, Ranelin on his shoulder.

"Not quite right," he muses thoughtfully.

"We're on the right track though," puts in Ranelin.

"All right," says Riale. "Where to?"

The streets of Highpoint are surprisingly pedestrian-friendly for a city with so much vehicle flow; there are stairs and lifts and paths and lots of very clear signage. Here on the shadowed side, the street-lamps are already lit, glowing globes on tall poles spaced out along the streets at regular-ish intervals as terrain allows.

"I believe that for Saerith, it might be most appropriate to get to know the city first. Do you know this city well?"

"No, I've barely visited it before. Is this more of a 'go for a walk' getting-to-know or a 'books and maps' getting-to-know?"

"Go for a walk," says Kastimund, sounding amused and admonishing. "Though a map might be useful."

"Right. Map, then walk."

He follows the very clear signage to a small library, which is just closing but will yield up an impressively detailed city map to Riale's imperial seal. He studies the map intently, puts it in the book, walks out of the library, and creates a copy of the map.

Kastimund seems to find this hilarious, or as hilarious as he can find things in his state. Not that this will spare Riale from teasing.

"Ah! But if only the citizens of this fair city could hear me cry, Thief! Thief of intellectual property! This man has copied a map! But they cannot, and your rampage of crime will go unchecked."

"Alas," says Riale. "Well."

He holds out the map and studies it.

"We're here... which way do you think we should go first?"

"Is there a main marketplace or something? Or - Saerith also likes inns and taverns. Not for the alcohol, for the people."

"A significant fraction of the city appears to be marketplace. The closest ones are... in precisely opposite directions from here... higher or lower, d'you think?"

"Higher. With this city, I predict a very dramatic view."

"Higher it is."

He sets off thataway.

The city is very... mountainous. Nearly every part of every street is sloped. The market, when they reach it, is half dug into the mountainside, a truly cavernous space lined with storefronts and spilling out into the open to cover the biggest flat area they've seen since they landed. It's not packed at the moment, but it maintains a modest bustle despite the lateness of the hour. Framing the artificial cave on either side, well-lit stairs climb the cliff face; across the top, a lovely stone balcony stretches between them, providing what is almost certainly a stunning view of the open-air half of the market and the rest of the mountain stretching away beneath it. There are a couple of currently-deserted shipping docks near the market on this level, and a passenger dock visible on the level above, a little ways up the street from the balcony.

"That balcony," says Kastimund, pointing. "I'm almost certain."

"Yeah, it looks... very in keeping with your descriptions," says Riale. "All right. Up we go."

He heads for the nearer of the two sets of stairs and starts climbing.

Kastimund floats along behind, describing the scene to Ranelin in quiet undertones.

"Yeah, that sounds like where Saerith would be."

"Do you want to awaken our airy companion this time?" He does not admit that Ranelin is better at it for Saerith than he is. He's possibly never going to admit that, even if he knows it. He will continue to pretend that he is infallible in all things, because it sort of amuses him, and because pride is not considered an emotion by his chain and so he has it in abundance.

"Sure."