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[color=FFE4E1]"It's a sign of trust,"[/color] Cecilia replied, winking at Artemisia.

No new parties popped up out from the woodwork, and as they got closer to the palace tower, the spearwoman was able to gauge the height more effectively. About 40 or so feet, wasn't it? Looked basically fine then. From her pack, she pulled out a hefty length of rope, 50 feet total, perhaps the most important piece of equipment she had beyond her actual equipment. Never leave home without rope, after all. Tie people up, burn it for fuel, climb up things, the applications were limitless. She pulled it over her shoulder, letting it hang against her collarbone, before slapping her thighs a couple times to encourage warmth in them. Nice and supple as always; after the regenerative potion she drank, whatever injuries she sustained in the previous fight wouldn't affect her mobility at least.

Once her meager preparations were done, she turned to the others. [color=FFE4E1]"I'll head up first then. See if I can secure a piton up there to attach the rope from, and then the rest of you can climb up too!"[/color]

No point in waiting now. Her ankles cracked and popped as she rotated them and she licked her lips. Planting her feet against the side of the building, she tested for grip first, as well as texture. The stone was weathered, worn from rain and wind, pockmarks everywhere as bits and pieces of it crumbled over time. Not as great as if she had climbing spikes (maybe she should have taken Norbert's shoes too), but it wasn't a big problem.

Cecilia hopped a couple steps back, and then ran right at the wall, a lilac-scented gale. Kicking off the ground, she ran upwards in a diagonal fashion, her feet skittering against the rough stone, and, on the precipice of falling, she jumped up. One jump to the side, and then a [i]second[/i] jump in mid-air, propelling her back against the wall to take another few steps up. It was an easy rhythm, but also a frenetic pace, and she was happy, at least, that there were a couple of platforms against the wall for her to establish a better foothold on, producing a more powerful jump that gave her another feet or two of extra height.

Through that combination of wall-hopping and switchbacking, the spellblade made it up to the hole with enough leeway (or perhaps just pride) to finish her ascent with a front flip. She flashed a thumbs-up at her companions down before, before hammering a spike into the stonework, where she secured her rope.

[color=FFE4E1]"Don't know how safe it is,"[/color] Cecilia called down, still feeling the effects of her adrenaline rush and her sugar rush kicking in at the same time. [color=FFE4E1]"But the horse probably can't climb this, Arte!"[/color]