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Aldwyn's ears flicked in the direction of another approaching buck, and he turned to shoot a wary glance out the corner of his eye to the stranger. He wasn't a particularly interactive noulicorn, himself, and it was only the potential of a threat that had lured him out here to seek information alongside the guidance of the ascended Viltalta. But for the most part, he did not prefer to socialize, and the need had been further dampened by tensions in the clearing. Still, he wasn't rude, and that wasn't the impression he wanted to give.

He turned his full attention to the other buck- Ralir, as he'd introduced himself- and tried to temper the snarky urge that had sprung up from someone who was not the one trying to be open and communicative with him now. Ralir deserved Aldwyn's best, not an attitude.

"I don't blame anyone by myself, if I've been excluded," he replied with a tilt of his head and a confused blink as to why Ralir would think that was his fault. "I wouldn't want to be the one to get in the way of progress, and there's no reason for me to seek attention if I have nothing to contribute. But I am glad to know all that has been found, and I- oh. Of course." At the mention of 'pooling clues,' Aldwyn nudged the small engraved tablet that had stuck out to him over to Ralir. It was the only thing of particular interest he'd come across, and it certainly didn't seem as helpful as anything like the bits of map some others had found.

But Ralir at least expressed some degree of confidence in knowing what was going on, which was a bit more than Aldwyn could say. He turned his head to the most recent finding, a detailed map encouraging someone to 'follow in their hoofsteps.' "Do we know if that," he gestured to the map. "is from Traveler to Wanderlust, or the other way around? If it is still here in Wanderlust's den, then it either wasn't necessary for the journey or it hasn't been found by Traveler yet, depending on who made it... Do we think that there's any chance Traveler is here in Homewood, or do we believe Wanderlust followed him to the caves?"

Viltalta watched Draven leave with trepidation stirring in her gut. Hopefully the grey buck would be back, they had no telling what sort of dangers they might face, but the fellow seemed able-bodied and would be useful if a predator followed their group. She had to focus on those who remained, though.

“If the Traveller is in Homewood, it would be useful to track them down, unfortunately it seems odd that they wouldn’t answer my call for help to find their friend.” She’d considered this when they found the first note. If the “traveller” was in Homewood, Viltalta might think they’d been up to foul play, sending Wanderlust off to their doom. She hoped he wasn’t here. “It might be useful to send a messenger to check Homewood regardless.”

She turned her attention to Adahy and his jack hop. “We will certainly need light, or a solar noulicorn capable of producing it to guide us.”

Tempest felt something caught on her leg and she kicked it away before looking over at a buck who asked if she was alright. But he seemed to have already moved on before she could reply to him. She shook herself and tossed her mane out of her face and proceed to join the group of noul in the tree. It seemed all the clues had been found and it was time to start figuring out what they all said and how to go about deal with the information. Tempest, having been late to the party, seemed to not know what to ask and positioned herself close to the entryway. It was better to listen to the other noul and the elder doe. Perhaps Tempest could be of some use to the group later.

WC: 134 / 397

Viltalta examined the old stone tablet, her ears cocked back in concentration. Adahy’s question was a good one, but unfortunately it was also puzzling.

“The v-shaped marking resembles the same mark Wanderlust made on their map near the caves. The other shape must be a creature. Something that existed before the others came here, I believe.”

She recalled the Traveler's note, mentioning a place the others had not touched.

“Perhaps it’s the danger Wanderlust was worried about. Maybe not all of these things - whatever they are - died when the others exterminated everything else.”

It was a lot of guessing, but guesses based on many years of experience.

Aldwyn stepped delicately around the clues. Now that it seemed most of their searching was done, he took a minute to inspect what others had found. Ralir's assertion that Wanderlust must have headed for the caves did indeed seem true. A place untouched by Others, a journey too inhospitable for even them... Grubs and water that had been hidden away- it must have been dark: the insect glowed. And Viltalta believed that there were likely dangerous predators about, as indicated by the stone tablet. Those would've been nice to know more about.

Difficult terrain could be traversed with enough information and preparation. But unfamiliar and volatile creatures could pose a problem for them, if they didn't know how to handle it... And there didn't seem to be much mentioning of how they might handle it.

Aldwyn swallowed. He shook his mane out to clear his head, then leaned down to sniff among the gathered items.

Most of them were notes and maps, coupled with a few trinkets. He wondered how far the cave system was. It must have been farther than any noulicorn had traveled before Wanderlust's crew and the traveler. He nudged the vial of water with his hoof. This smelled clean, though. And it was odd how none of this well-prepared party returned...

He nudged the vial over to Viltalta. "If this is safe to drink, is it possible Wanderlust simply found a place that could sustain life? It must be able to, if grubs and predators are lurking out there. Perhaps the party is simply assessing it as a potential alternate home front location? A base for those doing work out in the Barrens?"

It was a comfort to know that Ralir's theory sounded reasonable - first Aldwyn's speculations, and then Viltalta's own sounded, and Ralir nodded. He had a lot to think about, though, and he considered the new stone tablet, map fragment, and rock in succession.

Before Ralir said anything, though, one of the other bucks who'd been accompanied here by a jackhop spoke up, asking about a light source. Ralir would've volunteered, knowing that was an ability usually associated with Solar users, but he was fairly certain he didn't know how that worked yet. "I don't know mu - " Ralir was beginning to say, but soon noticed Tsarine's find, which Viltalta had been looking over. "Excuse me," Ralir said, bashful as he headed over.

He spent a lot of time examining it as noulicorns all around them made discoveries and walked in and out of the clearing, ready to make their plans happen. Ralir listened: he was feeling pretty self-conscious, having spoken a lot earlier, and everyone else deserved a chance to voice their own concerns. After a while - that grey buck had returned with many supplies - Ralir stepped forward to ask, too. He also wanted to update Father, and then gather what supplies he could. But it might be best to do that with Viltalta's advice. He looked from the list of supplies Traveler had constructed to the concern scratched in the bark. "What sort of preparations would you suggest we make, given Wanderlust's own preparations, and whatever dangers they were worried about? I know there's not much time before our group departs, but I want to be as thorough as possible." Was there something Wanderlust just always brought along, as a seasoned traveler? Were there things Ralir could do to prepare for danger?

He kept the new information in mind constantly. An exiled atmos adept did not sound like someone who had Wanderlust's best interests in mind, no matter the affection between them.