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The delegation continued at a leisurely but controlled walk along the road, which was honestly little more than a broad, packed trail in the red earth. The two Exarchs, resplendent on their towering War Elekks, headed the group with stoic complexions and wary gazes. Behind them came the Ambassador on his own travelling Elekk, not nearly as heavily armoured but nevertheless suited with a lavishly embellished harness; Theluin consistently kept pace on his dark-spotted Stormsaber, making light conversation to pass the time. Finally, Eli and Tuan brought up the rear on their respective steeds, the Paladin intent on staying around the she-rogue in the event she would start getting insufferable. The Exarchs’ adjutants – four athletic, platemail-armoured Vindicator acolytes – covered the flanks on foot, keeping up with their mounted masters with little more than a light sweat coating their foreheads. Their role was to keep an eye on sideways movements, and to act as scouts and guards in the event the delegation would have to make camp in the open.
Tuan leaned back somewhat in her saddle, bracing herself with one hand on Sandy’s rear armour, and peered behind her. Far away at the horizon, the tell-tale dust cloud rose from the carrier column powering back to the Hold. “Took them some sweet time to get back on the road,” she muttered.
Eli glanced at her. “I dun think it woulda been terribly tactful to have us leave th’ temple grounds walkin’ through a giant exhaust cloud, Miss Tuan,” he replied with a degree of reprimand.
Tuan rolled her eyes and straightened herself again. “Whatever.”
Eli stole a quick glance forward. Thankfully the others hadn’t noticed – or didn’t indicate that they had heard. He sighed inwardly, likely for the umpteenth time so far. Still, he kept reminding himself that the she-rogue had all the potential to get much more intolerable if she would feel like it. The fact that she wasn’t could just as easily be a sign that her inherent discomfort was slowly receding, or that she simply wasn’t bored enough – yet.
They came over a natural ridge in the burnt-out, barren expanse, and found a wide, shallow basin stretching far before them. At the furthest edge of visibility, one could just make out a great mountain chain that apparently was the western-most section of the semi-circle that encapsulated that entire half of the peninsula. The road continued onwards into the basin, sloping downwards gently but noticeably.
