"I will have it known, miss, that I am in fact a mythic hero only a couple steps down from a demigod!"

"But only for a couple minutes per day, and my reserves for today are almost out. I'll need eight hours of rest to get my magic back. I don't want to die, and I very much prefer you don't either. That said, if the big guy's main damage is of the fire persuasion, I can usually take it easily - but you're the local here, and I won't gainsay you."

"Which reminds me, I still need to fill my ring, do you happen to have some magic of first or second circle I could store in it?"

"It definitely hasn't shown off all its tricks. We'll need to observe, figure it out, gather more people and prepare... And, what? Uh... I have a wand of fly. It's more a stick than a circle though."

"Flight is third circle though, and I already have it. Oh - I should have clarified, I'm a sorcerer specialized in fire magic. If you have a wand of Flight, I have a couple more Invisibilities for the day - the 'curses' didn't seem to detect me when I was invisible and making no noise. I should also have enough energy for four more Dimdoors if things go south, almost a klick in total. Oh, and a couple Fireballs and the usual upcasting us sorcerers can do."

He won't mention the first circle spells, they're unlikely to be relevant for scouting and he has a relatively boring set of them.

"Oh, fire sorcerer, okay. I mostly fight with tooth and claw. The fodder is no real threat to me, probably... Big S or some other nerd will have to recharge it after nine more uses. But yeah, I can tap you with fly. Curses have mostly normal senses... Are you thinking to go observe a bit more, invisibly, then run?"

A... wand you can recharge? Well, if she fights physically, it's probably just a staff and she doesn't know the correct nomenclature.

"How long does the Flight lasts? My Invisibility lasts ten minutes, so I will wait until we're much closer before tapping you. We can definitely observe a bit then run. If things get dicey just grab my hand and I'll teleport us out. I'd prefer not to, to keep it for emergencies, but if we need it - well, that's an emergency, isn't it?"

"...Hmm. The version of Sinnah's Fly in the wand lasts thirty two minutes and puts you down gentle at the end. But it's tricky to learn at first and won't stop you from slamming yourself into a wall by accident."

Thirty two minutes... that's... a very powerful caster, and Extended. Impressive.

"Oh, that's a very good duration! You won't need to worry about my flying skills, I had a lot of practice!"

...Okay, sure. She'll enjoy laughing at him.

"Yeah, Sinnah is great at that stuff. I don't super know her but its Sinnah's Fly because she invented it. Hmm. I can follow your scent pretty easy, probably, and we can talk quietly or whisper to communicate? Priority would be... Figuring out what the big one can do, maybe figuring out what the place used to be. Sometimes that's informative."

"Oh dear, do I smell so badly? I thought I had Prestidigitated myself properly this morning! I have Message for communication, it allows you to reply by just whispering and lasts more than an hour and a half at my power, so I can cast it before we become invisible. If you want to poke the big guy with a stick I can give you the good invisibility, the one that allows you to attack and stay invisible, but it only lasts a minute and it trades off against the teleports."

He will recount what little he has seen of the inside of the building, maybe Vee can have a better guess at what it was used for.

"Nah, you don't stink, fox nose is real good. Huh, how's that message work exactly?"

...Yeah, definitely sounds like some kind of warehouse or military base.

"Like this!"

Reed points and casts Message on her, then takes a few steps back.

"You should be able to hear this, even though I'm whispering."

"This is... Super weird. Can you hear me? Does it keep going, like, back and forth? Anyway- Oh, nice, this place is enough of an 'old battlefield' to make changing back easier-"

She draws a wand from a holster, and-

"I prefer this shape for sneakery and speed. Even with the Fly wand."

Her pack is apparently cunningly designed to hang like a saddlebag when she does that.

He extends his hand to accept the Fly.

And the paws are dextrous enough to wield a wand and say "Activate Sinnah's Fly" and poke him with the wooden tip. And then do the same to herself and float upward gracefully.

He lifts up, fully intending to show off his experience with flight by floating around her.

He finds himself flung ten meters into the air before he realizes that this spell is very much not the Fly he's used to.

"I'm fine, give me a moment and I'll get the hang of it!"

She snickers as he collides with a branch. "I knew it. Sinnah's Fly is a legitimate skill. It takes attention and can get very VERY fast. Best advice for new users is short bursts of speed, and immediately slowing down again, which you do with a sort of - backwards push."

This must be some kind of witch or druid spell. Sorcerers spells are much more reasonable! His Fly does what you mean, moving you at reasonable speeds and just needing a moment to get used to.

"I can try that!"

He gets closer to the ground which more grace. Despite his overconfidence, he is in fact used to flight, and has fair skill in it.

"I think I'm ready. Let's keep close so I can make ourselves invisible when we're near. Do you expect to be able to deal well with a physical attack? It shouldn't come to that, but I'd prefer knowing if I need to shield you, or vice versa if I should shield behind you."

"I'm pretty good in a straight up brawl, but it's more dodging than being invulnerable. Don't go out of your way to protect me unless I say I need it. To repeat, information I'm trying to gain: What this cryptid can do. What this place's story is, if possible, any writing or whatever. Rough count of the small curses would be nice but not over deeper scouting."

"Then let's go! Ladies first!" He gestures while bowing his head.

"How many minutes or miles away would you want to be when I make us invisible? I defer to you on the tradeoff between time to observe and safe distance to still be visible at."

"I'll say when."

...

...

They creep forward into the forest, until the crumbling walls are just barely visible through thick vegetation.

"When."

Message. Invisibility. Invisibility.

"Ok, we have ten minutes from now. Remember that attacking someone will make you visible again. I will become visible six seconds before you. I will try and warn you before that, but if it happens unexpectedly just grab my hand and I'll yeet us back."