The journey resumed, this time on Emery's terms.
Stealth first. Speed second.
The dwarves had little to offer in that regard—but Ilvorn, the High Elf, proved to be a master of Wind Law in his own right. He cast a high-tier wind spell that transformed the air around the ark, creating a vast, natural-looking cloud formation thick enough to completely conceal the Floating Tortoise from the ground.
The spell was powerful enough to mask the ark's presence from ordinary perception, but maintaining such a large-scale concealment while moving at full speed would make the cloud appear unnatural. To keep the illusion convincing, they had to slow the ark to nearly one third its normal speed, allowing the cloud to drift naturally across the sky rather than appearing to race unnaturally over the grasslands.
They also gave every known settlement a wide, deliberate berth, avoiding populated areas even when doing so added several detours to their route.
