Thunder Dome watching as you waste through the ground

Even on the lower reaches of the domed mountain, the wind bit down. It had been no easy feat to climb this high from the plateau; there had been much in the way of working around and scaling that had eaten away at a day's travel. It was too easy to get stranded up there as well, so once daybreak had come, Valtari had swiftly carried on from where he had deigned to rest for the night.

Sunlight broke through to the valleys beyond as sea swept winds pushed cloud cover out at its own pace, but the view was grim at best from what he could see. A low fog had descended to the foothills to obscure autumn's hue in the forests, but he had a clearer line of sight on where the smoke arose from in the east.

Though he didn't know it, where he stood was very much a volcano too, and the smell of sulfur and scorched stone was not just a clever illusion. The fires there and thankfully not here were in fact, volcanic. The smoke was ash, choking and full, and it knotted his hungry stomach as he considered the omen it wrought. The earth had rendered a blot for them to see.

He'd have to return now, to share that information with @Raleska, with @Aningan.

The earth trembled beneath him; he heard the sound of loosened stones skitter with the pulse. Close, too close, and reason enough to vacate the slope with haste. He turned and skirted back against the ledge that had brought him around in the first place, and plotted his descent in the same stroke.

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