The Climb was not a place that he came often. Once or twice before, as a Mer beneath the full moon's magic, he'd walked the Burrows on quests, but the heat and ash and stone of the place did not make for a comfortable environment for one born of water.
And it was a quest once again that brought him to the Climb today. His feet were protected by thick boots and he wore a lightweight jacket of close-fitting leather to protect his skin from floating embers. His hair was braided tightly back for the same reason as he picked his way carefully across the Crust. His trident served as both walking staff and a way to test the ground ahead of him for stability, and on his back he carried a backpack with a few tools.
He knew that Ancients lived within the Climb, of course, but he did not expect to find one that he recognized there. Nevertheless, a familiar dark cloak caught his eye as he followed a sluggishly flowing lava stream and rounded a large jumble of boulders to find a placidly bubbling pool of molten rock and fire. "Captain," he called out, his voice a low rumble below the hisses and pops of the incandescent liquid stone around them. "Is that you?"
And it was a quest once again that brought him to the Climb today. His feet were protected by thick boots and he wore a lightweight jacket of close-fitting leather to protect his skin from floating embers. His hair was braided tightly back for the same reason as he picked his way carefully across the Crust. His trident served as both walking staff and a way to test the ground ahead of him for stability, and on his back he carried a backpack with a few tools.
He knew that Ancients lived within the Climb, of course, but he did not expect to find one that he recognized there. Nevertheless, a familiar dark cloak caught his eye as he followed a sluggishly flowing lava stream and rounded a large jumble of boulders to find a placidly bubbling pool of molten rock and fire. "Captain," he called out, his voice a low rumble below the hisses and pops of the incandescent liquid stone around them. "Is that you?"
