Alo slowly removed his hand from the gem. He looked at the door and his hand in disbelief. Iktomi's manner made him grunt in annoyance. Content on keeping his thoughts to himself, for now, he moved inside. After the exploration, Alo had settled on taking in the sight of the mural. Seemed out of place, to him, for an Autarch to hold flowers so. "Hmph, nothing of worth here. We should keep moving." Alo said, still keeping his eyes on the mural, trying to grasp some faint reason from it.
@DaKaptin | Relaxing as the door swung open without incident Astarielle followed the others into the tower, noting the minimalistic furnishings. After a cursory exploration the Biel-tani found herself back in the courtyard, the mural occupying her attention. It was the mural's subject that interested her. He had the look of an ancient eldar, one of the original Exodites, or perhaps a Craftworlder who'd become an Exodite. Listening to the others, in particular Iktomi, Astarielle held her silence before reconsidering. "I'd imagine that it is someone of much importance to the community that built this place. Maybe a chief or even more?"
"Mayhaps the Exodite knows why such a colorful mural is located in a place where little seems to happen. Maybe that's why it's here, whatever poor sap they had stationed out here was so bored they had plenty of time to paint that. Dreaming of home then? Who knows?" He preferred his artwork to come out of a forge, usually in the form of a metallic or wraithbone sculpture. The mural was a bit calming though, even if it did feel out of place.
Some studied the mural with interest, others reacted to the painting with annoyance. In each case, every Eldar found their own take on it. It was a design of a calm view, yet it stirred many different emotions. A testament to the power of art. The consensus, however, was that a lack of inhabitants, plus an absence of furniture to make the place comfortable, added to a goodly amount of daylight still remaining meant that moving on was the order of the day. Avrielle cast a last look at the Lord of Lilies and took a couple of crystalpicts, keeping a record of the mural for another day. Perhaps she might be able to show the Seers back on Lugganath? The path wound down the mountain. Lysandriax fell to rearguard, keeping an eye on the mountains behind as she paced along. Avrielle stayed close to Yareli in the centre, while Faenkon was able to scout ahead a little way. The nature of the terrain, however, made it difficult to go too far ahead. Soon the mountains became less steep, but they were harder going as the stone splintered into frost-ravaged scree and became slow to navigate and traverse. Faenkon's aerial reconnaissance was invaluable in keeping the group from the growing number of false turns and sudden drops that now presented themselves, truly more than the natural terrain would have wrought. It was becoming plain that the group would not find a place to shelter for the night, when the sudden turn of the path revealed a sign of life: a small doll. It was carefully placed within a small, doll-sized crack in the rock, a tiny cave for the little thing just large enough to keep off the rain. It had been given a small pile of sticks, looking for all the world like a tiny campfire. The doll was like one that some of the more traditionally raised Eldar might recognise, a soft cloth form made to resemble an Eldar - probably male, but the simple clothes could belong to anyone had the doll been real. It had long hair of flax, and carefully embroidered eyes and a mouth that smiled slightly. Though clean, it had obviously been well-loved and there was a darn in the doll's coat.
Seeing the condition of the doll, Faenkon reasoned that someone had to be somewhere close, and recent. He sent the small drone on a wider search of the area, if they hoped to have a relatively safe place to sleep tonight this was it. "We seemed to be rather close, I'm going to have a better look around. I will be back shortly." With that said Faenkon ventured out yet again in search of any Eldar or structure he could find. If he couldn't find that he hoped to atleast find a cave to shelter the group in for the night at the very least.
Alo gazed at the sky and exhaled the fatigue he had accumulated. Faenkon was scouting ahead, so a brief moment of rest was allowed. He took off his helmet and closed his eyes, still facing the sky. He let air breeze over his face and hair, taking in what ache he had in his legs for traversing the mountain path. A brief moment of calm settled over him and he managed a soft and quick satisfied hum when he opened his eyes again after his private moment, smiling slightly. Nothing to do but wait and keep watch if they were to wait for Faenkon.
Astarielle nodded as Faenkon went off to scout, turning her attention to the group's immediate surroundings. The doll was certainly an indication of the planet being currently populated, especially with the care it had been shown, and it was likely that there was a location nearby from which someone could observe the site. Seeing Alo become slightly calmer than he'd yet displayed, and agreeing that it was a good time to have rest, Astarielle dropped into a reclining position, still keeping a watchful eye while regaining her energy.
Lysandriax glanced at Alo as he paused, taking a moment of serenity amid the quiet. She did not say anything. When she caught his eye, she just gave a small nod. No need to draw attention. Faenkon took the initiative and put his Ranger skills to good use. Where there was a doll such as this, there must be life to make it and if anyone could find traces of it it would be one on the Path of the Wanderer. He moved silently ahead, his drone purring skywards even as Faolchu accompanied Eldanesh. Avrielle sat down beside Astarielle as she rested, taking out a water bottle and offering it around. She watched the path ahead, waiting for Faenkon to return, and looking a little less at ease than she had done. Talis noticed her slight nervousness and began to explain the uses of a nearby mountain herb in order to distract her. It helped; Avrielle looked a little less on edge, but she did not seem quite settled. Still, the little radiotech could find nothing to be uneasy about. Perhaps it was just the sound of the wind in the upper peaks. The light was drawing in, the sun making its way from the sky and leaving the air colder. It would be night in a couple of hours. Mindful of this, Faenkon proceeded some way along the trail but did not go too far ahead. There were no real signs of anyone passing this way, but ... he was tracking Eldar, and nature-loving Exodites at that. Then he found it: the slight trace of a boot on a small patch of clay, where the path narrowed and there would be no choice but to step on the softer surface. It was part of a small footprint, recent enough to be within the last day or so. But he couldn't see where the owner could have come from. On a hunch, he walked a little way forward and sent the drone looping in a low run, almost on a level with the cliff path. It might pick up tracks he had somehow missed. It did not - but it did see the start of handholds, carved into the path-side and leading down into the steep valley between the mountains. Peering over the edge, the Ranger could see a series of hand and footholds leading down and, far below, the suggestion of cave mouths.
Marking the spot with a subtle broken branch, so that he could easily find the spot again. Faenkon returned to the others. "Well it would seem that the exodites here may have made their homes in the cliff side. The climb may be too difficult to attempt at night. Looks like we may need to make camp around here." He busied himself gathering required materials to make the camp a little more comfortable for their stay.
To Lysandriax Alo gave a slight awkward smile. Faenkon had returned and suggested to camp here. With a sigh he took small distance from others and leaned on a rock. "I'll take watch for the night." From his belt pouch he took the rune Shadowseer had given him and idly fiddled with it, occasionally tossing it in the air and catching it.
