Arjun wiped some of the rock from his face. It had been liquefied by the heat he had generated, and he was indeed stained by it.

"Wha-? Oh, Alexius" he extended a clawed hand as his friend helped him up. "Thanks for the hand. Glad to see you again. Tribe's still the same as before. You haven't missed much. Workers still working hard. Mines still full of metal. Most of us still live in caves. I got myself a hut though. So, I assume you've seen that they have privacy up here, in the surface. Never been to Absence or Constantsea myself."