The final stretch leading up to the highest tier of the island was a steeply inclining bridge of wooden plank and thick-hewn rope, which swayed against the winds that swept off the ocean. Àkriel leaned his weight forward and gripped the guide ropes as he trudged upward. He was obviously familiar with the bridge, but that didn't make him incautious. The locals lacked Raithen's wings to save them if they slipped and the descent would have been brutal.
Once they were across, Àkriel would turn back to Raithen with an amused smirk.
"My people did not choose me, but I suppose they do abide me." The Archigós noted, "Please. This way." He gestured to the towering structure that was, perhaps, the most prominent piece of architecture on the isle and led the way to the broad double doors leading inside.
They would enter a large, open hall that might have served many purposes and very likely did. For the moment, tables were being set up and fruit was being sliced off to once side, though it did not appear that some lavish feast was being prepared- Merely modest refreshment of fruits, vegetables and their respective juices all surpassingly fresh. One of the locals was humming a lilting melody as they used their webbed hands to toss a salad of kelp with a bright, orange dressing of some kind.
Chairs were still being set up at the round table to which the Archigós gestured for them to sit.
"What wisdom we have we gladly share, but ours are simple ways. No mighty mages reside here, nor harbour we any ancient artefacts... Nothing of import to your world, at least. Only heirlooms of our own tribe." Once they were seated, a wide-eyed child with stringy braids of aquamarine hair rushed up to them with a tray of sliced melon as if they were on a mission of paramount import with life-or-death stakes. They offered the tray up toward Raithen, gaping with some blend of abject terror and ardent hope.
"Ευχαριστώ. Μπορείτε να αφήσετε την πιατέλα." Àkriel sang tenderly. The child nodded and handed the entire tray to Raithen, before darting off to the preparation tables.
"Now, pardon me if you find my impatience impertinent, but if you are a messenger... what is the message?" A spark of his prior nervousness revealed itself in the glint of the chieftain's eye.
Once they were across, Àkriel would turn back to Raithen with an amused smirk.
"My people did not choose me, but I suppose they do abide me." The Archigós noted, "Please. This way." He gestured to the towering structure that was, perhaps, the most prominent piece of architecture on the isle and led the way to the broad double doors leading inside.
They would enter a large, open hall that might have served many purposes and very likely did. For the moment, tables were being set up and fruit was being sliced off to once side, though it did not appear that some lavish feast was being prepared- Merely modest refreshment of fruits, vegetables and their respective juices all surpassingly fresh. One of the locals was humming a lilting melody as they used their webbed hands to toss a salad of kelp with a bright, orange dressing of some kind.
Chairs were still being set up at the round table to which the Archigós gestured for them to sit.
"What wisdom we have we gladly share, but ours are simple ways. No mighty mages reside here, nor harbour we any ancient artefacts... Nothing of import to your world, at least. Only heirlooms of our own tribe." Once they were seated, a wide-eyed child with stringy braids of aquamarine hair rushed up to them with a tray of sliced melon as if they were on a mission of paramount import with life-or-death stakes. They offered the tray up toward Raithen, gaping with some blend of abject terror and ardent hope.
"Ευχαριστώ. Μπορείτε να αφήσετε την πιατέλα." Àkriel sang tenderly. The child nodded and handed the entire tray to Raithen, before darting off to the preparation tables.
"Now, pardon me if you find my impatience impertinent, but if you are a messenger... what is the message?" A spark of his prior nervousness revealed itself in the glint of the chieftain's eye.
