Aurielle Adravendi

It felt like days later when she found herself free of the tunnels she’d slipped into from Fenrir’s Maw. The tunnel she stepped from, blinking in the moonlight – almost bright as the sun to her eyes after so long in the dark – opened onto a wide, flat ground, circular and clear of any trees or grasses. As her eyes adjusted, she padded slowly forward, studying the ground. It was stone, patterned with interesting mosaics. The whole place was serene, even though Volkan’s angry peak was so close here. The clouds were sullen and red further to the east, which didn’t seem far at all from here. She shuddered at the thought, turning her mind away from it as she noted how… odd the air was up here. Thin. Her lungs didn’t find the breaths she took as satisfying as normal. The effects of the high altitude were less aggressive than they might have been if she hadn’t spent as long as she did, working her way through the utterly terrifying journey through the tunnels going up and up and up. Still, it was a little unsettling. However, she still took the time to explore the clearing a little, taking in the surroundings until her eyes caught on the strange cliff face that was the true summit of this hidden mountain-peak of Fenrir’s Maw. There were cave mouths here, too, but they were… shaped. Her attention was snapped around by the sound of movement from where she’d come from and she turned, falling into a light stance in case whatever or whomever it was came out fighting… Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr worked his way through the labyrinth of tunnels and ravines. Ari sat perched on his back with a bottle of blackberry juice in one foot and their makeshift map prototype between his hands. The map was becoming especially useful as they navigated the maze. The monkey marked out a few areas where they'd hit dead ends. The map also served as a lifeline. If they got to a point where they were starving or ready to give up then it would be easy enough to just follow their map right out to the entrance. Hari grinned, feeling himself quite clever.

Up ahead was a light and with excitement he put on a burst of speed causing Ari to grasp tightly onto his fur before he slowed and the duo stepped out into the moonlight. Blinking he strode out onto a stone courtyard and immediately noticed a familiar form.

"We have got to stop meeting like this," he chuckled.

Aurielle Adravendi

Her stance relaxed as she recognized the man who popped from the shadows. At his chuckled remark she huffed faintly, a light smile playing around her features as she returned, “What, at the tops of mountains?”” Her bannered tail waved slightly in a fluid gesture of good humor. It was clear her spirits were better than the last time they’d spoken. The loss of her mother was still a raw storm in her heart, but she’d learned how to cope at the very least, even if that storm was a hurricane in a bottle. That bottle would shatter at some point, but for now… she felt safe that she was in control. She released him from her gaze and looked around at the peaceful, cloud-borne scene. If she didn’t know the mountain was below those clouds, she could have been easily convinced that they were on an island in the sky. “I just got here… It’s a strange place. Care to explore?” There was an almost knowing glint in her eye as she posed the question, tipping her head toward the cliff face and the dark doorways. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr barked out a laugh, pleased to see Aurielle's sense of humor. She asked if he'd care to explore and he quickly nodded. "Certainly! We came all this way just to explore. It would be a pity to stop now."

The clouds here seemed especially close and as he padded to the edge of the courtyard and looked out he could see low lying clouds that were actually below him. It was a surreal experience. Turning his attention to the temple he approached the strange stone structure. There were beautiful carvings on the outside of it and he wondered how they were made.

"Ari, mark down both the courtyard and the temple please." The monkey nodded and quickly made a few quick marks on the map before leaning over to show his work to Harbringr. Hari nodded. "Yes, good." He glanced at Aurielle. "Shall we go inside?"

Aurielle Adravendi

She hadn’t expected any other answer from the male. It didn’t take a genius to have noticed in all of their encounters that he liked exploring and moving around rather than standing in one spot. She joined him in staring at the cliff face, though as he spoke to his companion, she paused and took a peek at what the monkey had compiled, ears perked with some interest. “I take it devices like this are common of your culture?” As he suggested going in, she nodded, padding forward until she’d crossed the courtyard. The yard itself was edged with cherry trees, though they’d dropped their blossoms long since, and worked to form the fruit. The eruption had affected even here, it seemed, but high winds seemed to have brushed the place free. She stopped at the largest doorway, raising a paw to brush over the ancient carvings, tracing swirls and sharp angles… and images. Greats of another race, deities of the long gone. Man. She spent several heartbeats committing the scene to her mind, memorizing the shapes and musing thoughtfully as she stepped into the ink-black darkness of the interior. It didn’t stay dark once she moved fully within the blackness. Her own coat had continued to shed and develop as it grew back, almost unusually fast – though she was glad for the speedy rate of hair-growth, not wanting to be without a thick, warm fur coat by winter – and the glow was steadily intensifying. By now, it was just enough to cast a subtle light. Weak, but enough. She forced herself to ignore the light and instead took advantage of it, though she muttered, “Should have brought a coal-horn…” The hall was large, though darkness beyond her range gave it a cavernous feeling. There were some streaks of moonlight that made it through a broken glass sky-light, but much of that opening was grown over by vines and ancient trees. A trickling sound brought her eyes from the ceiling to a wide pond, where the fountain still worked. She didn’t know it, but the mechanism for the fountain was a simple system of gravity and momentum, keeping the water moving, eternally. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr shook his head at her question. "No, not that I'm aware of. This is just something I've been messing with. We mapped our way here through the maze, marking dead ends and keeping track of where we went. It's proven useful in more than one situation." Of the many inventions and things he'd tinkered with he had to say the map was one of his favorite. He knew it probably wasn't unique to him but it was still knowledge he was glad to have and to have worked for.

Harbringr followed Aurielle into the darkness. She seemed to glow in the darkness but he wondered if it was his imagination. "What is a coal-horn?" There were a few holes carved into the stone where the moonlight streamed in as well as a broken sky light that offered some light. The bands of moonlight that did enter the chamber crossed across the darkness in an eerie manner. In front of them was a wide pond with a fountain. Hari stepped forward, leaning over to sniff at the water. It smelt of minerals but he wasn't quite sure he wanted to taste it. Something about this place unnerved him.

"I wonder if this is the work of humans. Ari, mark this down please." Harbringr moved into one of the shafts of light so that his companion could better see the map. The macaque took more of the smashed berries on his stick stylus and sketched in the rough outline of the temple, marking the fountain at its center. He leaned over and showed it to Harbringr who examined the monkeys work before nodded. "Yes, that looks good."

Aurielle Adravendi

His answer did have the cogs in her mind working, as she glanced around at the details of the place. Marks that had meaning, like the Nomads’ brow tattoos. Would it be possible to use marks to send messages to other packs via flighted companions? Messages that could not be altered or messed with? His question in turn brought her attention to him and she explained, “They’re hollowed out horns from bison and other bovines. If you fill them with moss and put a live coal inside, and cap them, you can carry fire with you for quite a while.” She watched Ari’s work, mind mulling over her previous thoughts before she moved into an offshoot door. She moved more surely—after all, she’d grown up win a cave and alcoves. This was somewhat familiar to her. Even the steps she found, partially by her own glow, and partially by nearly stubbing her toes on the foot of the first step. She rested a paw on the stair, waiting for Harbringr before moving up the narrow stairway. It was stone, and steady. In fact, the whole place had an air of immovable eternity and peace. Far from her exploration buddy’s unnerve, she felt more at peace here than she had since shortly after her mother and brother’s return from the slavers. The second story landing leveled under her paws, and she padded through the hallway, peeking into doorways at dark rooms, glimpsing faint impressions of beds, offices and meditation rooms as she passed. “It must have been them… Imagine if we wolves could achieve structures like this...” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr made note of the coal horns. That sounded like a useful item to have on hand, especially when exploring dark areas like caves. He and Ari had had to call off some explorations short as they would quickly lose sight of where they were going and while the map was useful it only really worked if one could see it.

Hari followed Aurielle over to a side door, curious what else this temple had to offer. Through the doorway was a set of stairs. He carefully reached out a paw and tested it but it was solid and made of stone. Had these been carved into the cliffside as well? He was willing to bet it was so. He worked his way up, carefully nudging Ari off his back so he could better concentrate on the climb. The monkey rolled up the map and then scampered up behind the duo.

Hari peeked into one of the rooms the pulled his head back out of the door way to glance at Aurielle in thought. "It might some day be possible. It looks like this place was carved into the cliffside, like we dig holes into the earth but I can't imagine an efficient way to cut stone. You could chip away at it but it would take centuries to make something like this."

Aurielle Adravendi

She mused at his answer, eyes scanning the hallway as she padded slowly down it. “I’ve heard of some structures in Auster that were Man made… But last I knew, until recently; the Abraxas occupied the main one. They aren’t there anymore. I may have to go investigate that place, and see what I can glean there. Valhalla has a wall, but it’s mostly only large enough to keep young pups in. I’d be happier with solid, taller walls but river stones aren’t the most stable of building materials.” She passed into a well of utter blackness, squinting as the weak light she exuded cast faint illumination on the area, a tight corner that split, one way leading up in another staircase, the other continuing in a hallway. She paused, considering, then took the stairway, climbing steadily onto another landing and studying the new hallways. There were more staircases leading up, but she chose to investigate some of the rooms first. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think