Nirann too gave a quick look over Carthage. “Emotion-based patterns? I like that touch. I used something like that for a while. Marae just loves how creative I can get with my avatars. I can go a lot more crazy than just colors and patterns like most Rothians. I just decided to go the more ‘natural’ route for my avatar in this expedition, so I wouldn’t be too distracting.”

When 595 questioned Nirann, he chuckled as he gestured forward to her. “What? Do I not look like enough of a pack mule already? No, I’m pretty much resigned to the fact that I’ll probably be carrying some of you by the time this all is over. But it’s up to you to fight over who gets to ride on my shoulders.”

Rareth, as expected, ignored much of the banter behind her and pressed forward as soon as they had gathered up all of their cargo. She agreed with Thebes’ strategy, though she still did not stray too far from the group until they were beyond the trees that had been surrounding them. There was now no doubt that this place was dangerous, so she wanted to be in position to provide assistance at all times, should something unexpected happen. Once they neared the far side of the basin, however, Rareth ran ahead to scale the cliff near the waterfall and see what she could scout at the top. The climb itself had the potential to be more difficult than before, given the proximity to the waterfall, but the rocks were not too wet to climb as long as they kept as much distance as they could. Rareth herself had no issue rapidly scaling it without a load to carry, but the others would need to be more cautious. In any case, she used her vantage point at the top to observe as much of the area as she could, especially what was ahead. They had been on their hike for almost an hour by this point, but there was still many kilometers of walking to go to reach the beacon in the distance.