"Is everything set?" Hearon steps onto the makeshift metal platform, glancing at each of us.

"Yes," I reply. Each of us has a backpack with food for the day, a camera, a headlight, and smoke bombs. Each bomb is laced with electricity to interrupt any attempt from the fairy to telepathically mess with us.

With a nod, he hands out a small white circle to each of us, "These are comms, Silen. They attach to the area just in front of your ear." I press it against my ear, and it sticks thanks to an adhesive. I tap it, and a small ding emits from it, confirming it has powered on.

"Testing, testing. Am I clear?" We reply in confirmation. Hearon taps the metal box beside the platform, and we start to ascend.

I double-check each corner of the platform to which the metal lines are attached. I'm surprised there's an entire setup for a pully system already built in the MULE. These guys have really thought of everything. We slowly ascend, and I can see the gap between the platform and the tree the pully goes through. Massive metal spikes that hold up the platforms extend all the way to the edges of the platfrom are visible.

As we get closer, I can see that the entire underside is an intricate web of metal supporting the platform. These trees must be unbelievably tough to still live with those metal spikes embedded in them and hold up an entire city. We approach the gap, and just before we pass through it, a small zap of electricity travels through my body, causing me to shudder. That must be us passing through the illusionary barrier.

With a clunk, we settle just above the platform, and the city expands before us. "Wow." I glance around me at the otherwordly sight. Every building is made out of the same ivory-like material the carvings were made of in the trees we passed on the way here. Each building is a different shape. Some are box-like, and others have cones at the top. A few even look like orbs. However, the thing that sticks out the most is the brown carvings in each building. The ground is made out of an extremely dark wood with thousands of engravings decorating the artificial floor.

Behind us, each spike connecting the tree to the platform has a wooden bridge that stops at a door. Hundreds of windows decorate the tree with even more artistic carvings ingrained around the windows. Some carvings are random, swirly shapes, and others depict animals or plants. There are no obvious paths between buildings, no lights or anything to indicate where we are.

I'm still gaping at the windowed tree before Zack smacks me in the back of my head, "Focus, rook. The apex could be around any corner."

I clear my throat and tear my gaze away. Hearon and Azu have already moved to inspect a nearby orb-shaped building.

"I did some preliminary inspection while Zack was setting up the elevator. These engravings are extremely complex." She runs her hand over a wave-shaped engraving. "This brown material is wood. Whoever made these was not only a master at engraving but also filling in the carvings." Hearon hums in thought as I run my hand over the material. There isn't even a bump between the wood and ivory stuff. It's completely smooth.

I look at the other buildings. Each one has engravings just as perfect and complex as this one. Now that I look around me, I see that this place is extremely well-preserved. Almost like whoever lived here never left.

"Isn't this place a little too undisturbed? I thought it would look a little more... ruined." I ask, my gaze sweeping over the endless buildings.

Azu remains quiet as we walk around the orb-shaped building. It's almost as tall as the MULE. We encounter a door as we approach what I assume to be the front. It's rather plain, an engraving of a bird with swirling wings in the wooden door. A feather-shaped handle beckons us in. Hearon and Zack set up a position on each side of the frame as Azu goes to open it. I grip my sword, ready for something to leap out. With a click, the door opens into a surprisingly empty interior. Besides a counter carved out of the ivory stuff, there is nothing in the place. There is complete darkness in the building due to the lack of windows.

I move to the counter, running my fingers over its smooth top, "Pretty bland place. Think it was incomplete?"

"Doubtful," Azu responds with camera in hand. "The tree has obvious signs of construction. It may be possible this was a workshop or store." She takes several pictures before leaving the building. I reluctantly leave as well, switching off my headlamp.

Zack nods toward the room, but Azu shakes her head. He sighs, and we move onto a square-shaped building. This one also has no windows, and there is a lot of imagery of plant life on the walls. The inside of this one is completely different. It has two stories with a polished set of wooden stairs and banisters. There are several rooms on each side of the door. Azu motions to the stairs, "Check upstairs. Take pictures of anything that might be of interest." I nod and walk up to the second story. I'm not entirely sure why I'm the one helping Azu with the discovery part, but I'm not complaining. This is kinda fun.

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There are three doors on this floor. Two are on my left, and the remaining one is on my right. Opening the first two doors reveals empty rooms. There's not even an engraving. With a sigh, I open the final door. It creaks open, something that all the previous doors lacked. It must have been used a lot. The room is completely dark, darker than the rest of the house somehow. I flick on my headlight too high. No furniture, just like the other rooms, but this one is different. There are drawings. Or, more accurately, engravings that were clearly done by a child. Starting from my left, there's the image of two people. There isn't any detail, just two stick figures. There are clear ridges, the proof of inexperience. I follow the pictures, each one better than the last.

The two people now have a child. The next image has the child holding one of the people in the fetal position, a spear through its body. Now the details are better. The child has hair...and horns. The horned child is now an adult. Is this a tail? What the hell am I looking at? I move to the next engraving. They have engraved a square building in great detail. Its roof is dome-shaped and made up of ribbons that swirl together. The horned person now has a family of their own. I move my light to the final image. Or at least I thought it was. Instead, the right wall only has a massive claw mark on it. Four marks scar the entire wall. It's a chilling sight. Whoever's room this was did not have a happy ending.

I back out of the room, a chill running up my spine, "Azu? You might want to see this." Azu runs up the stairs, a look of excitement on her face. Before I could even get out a word, she shoves past me into the room.

She silently inspects the engravings, stopping to view the scarred right wall. "Any thoughts? I ask.

"I will need more time to go over this. Take some pictures. We do not want to stay in one place for too long." We both take a few rounds of pictures before regrouping with Zack and Hearon. Apparently, they went to inspect some buildings of their own, but much like this one, there wasn't any furniture. However, there were a few tables and what might have been a place for beds. We continue our trek through the abandoned city, inspecting a few buildings, but continue to come up empty.

The lack of pathways made navigating this place a pain, but eventually, I manage to find an opening among the buildings. It was a street carved out of the wooden floor. Not too far away, I can see a bridge that connects to another platform. Zack yawns and stretches out his arms, "How about some lunch?" We all agree and stoop into a nearby orb-building furnished by yet another singular counter.

"So, any thoughts on this place?" Zack pulls out a metal bottle and some jerky.

Azu looks at me expectantly. Actually, all three of them are looking at me, "What?"

Hearon chuckles, "Silen if only you could see yourself right now." I look at him, confused. He smiles, "You have had a smile on you the entire time. A look of absolute wonder and enjoyment."

"Oh." I felt my mouth, and it was indeed turned up in a smile. I wonder why. I cross my arms, thinking about what we've uncovered so far. "I think this was a residential district. All these buildings have a pattern. The square-shaped ones share the same plant-like motif with rooms, windows, and possibly places to rest. The orb buildings could be stores. There are only a few of them, but the counter gives it away. Then there's that room. We haven't seen anything like it since, but it was definitely a place where a child lived. Maybe they inherited the house when their parent died? That's why they continued to engrave the wall."

I stop, noticing all three of them sharing glances. "What?"

Azu twirls her hair as she speaks, "To think you had such a natural talent for this." I raise an eyebrow. She motions to the room, "Connecting the dots and making a logical guess based on the evidence. That is not something just anyone can do in a few hours, much less in such a mysterious place with almost nothing in it."

I shrug, "I think it's pretty obvious. Zack?"

He shakes his head, "Couldn't tell ya. Everything looks pretty much the same to me. For all I know, this could be an entertainment district."

"Nah, I get the feeling these people didn't have something like that."

"What makes you think that?" Hearon asks, taking a bite out of a sandwich.

"Well, we've only come across three types of buildings. The square ones, the orbs, and the conal-shaped ones. Each one seems to follow a specific layout with only a few changes. Of course, we still need to look into the cones, but I'll bet money those are schools or hospitals. Maybe these people had Siphons of their own. With such complex engravings, a lot of time was probably spent learning."

Zack lets out a low whistle, and Azu hands him her glass. He sighs and taps into against her, the ding of a money transfer filling the silence. "Who knew you'd be right."

"About what?"

Zack stands, grabbing his spear and stretching, "Just a little bet between us, nothing you need to worry yourself about. Anyway, I'm gonna go walk around while you guys nerd out. Have fun." Azu opens her mouth, most likely to protest, but Zack's already gone. She sighs and shakes her head, mumbling something under her breath.

"So, what's your take on the mural thing?" I take a swig of water, washing down the salty jerky, glancing at Azu.

She rubs her chin in thought, "I am not entirely sure. It was most likely the different stages of that child's life. However, I do not understand the horns. My best guess is that either they slowly turned into a monster, viewed themself as a monster, or someone else took over. The style was rather inconsistent." I nod in agreement. I was thinking something along the same lines. There aren't any signs that whatever that thing was causing damage anywhere else, so it might have been an artistic choice. But it's such a drastic change from the rest of the mural. A sigh escapes my lips. This is hard.