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Morning came quickly when the first rays of the sun clung to the cliff face, reflecting off the genuine glass and metal of the hanging world, illuminating the safehouse from the entrance below.
"The top of the basin is not very far. Just a 10 minute climb from here if we move at yesterday's pace." Alexander said while the team readied for their next leg of the journey but his curiosity peaked.
He noticed that along with the remnants of the morning's meal, Ethan stowed away a new journal the gator hadn't seen him writing in before, and judging by the pristine condition of the bindings, was definitely unused until this point.
The party kept their arrangement that they had during the second half of their initial climb; Feathers on Alexander's back and Ethan scoping out the area ahead.
As the party moved along the ridge, the entire basin could be seen through occasional glimpses between buildings and out of broken windows as Ethan led the rest for a taller building.
They found a tower that could provide them with the view they were looking for. It appeared to have originally been intended to be a lighthouse or an astronomy observation deck, but its purpose was lost in the crumbling passage of time.
Climbing up the iron stairwell, out a window and to the top of its rounded peak, they took in the world around them. A large expanse of city stretched on infinitely around the basin's curvature that centered on a giant dark chasm at its center.
The wind no longer rushed against the round exterior from the ocean as it took long slow breathes from that dark center, exhaling a cool air, inhaling the tropical heat.
Ethan took in the sight fully, the craftsmanship of The Architect, the pathing of the city roads and the ground of which they were all built. The way the white walls contrasted the black grounds and long rusted metal work to accent their designs.
It was a sight to behold, one full of beauty Ethan had to admit, but there was something odd with the way the roads lead from one city center to the next, designated parks and larger buildings. At some spots, it completely broke cohesion in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on it before Feathers pointed out something in the distance.
Far off, in the 1 o'clock of the basin, a large dust cloud column rose from amidst the city. With the way they have seen old petramir crumble into dust, this cloud would have easily been confused as a potential landslide or multiple building collapse.
They observed for a moment as the wind died down, exhausting it's breath, and take up its deep hot inhale. It sucked in the trailing cloud but the dust never settled, continually disrupted and disturbed to feed the hungry chasm.
"Must be The Architect." Alexander furrowed his brows, judging the distance between the world beast and their team. "It seems to be busy with something on the other side so we should move quickly but don't forget it's also on the move with us."
The raven and the gator slid down the roof to the windowsill they climbed out of, leaving the specule to puzzle what exactly about the terrain broke the perfectly measured and spaced patterns of the city.
"Ethan. We can't waste any time sitting around here till that thing notices us." He heard that he was called from down below. With one final breath, Ethan took a picture of the view before sliding off after his team.
"I noticed something strange about the way the architect built the city around the basin." Ethan threw out when his teammates gave him a curious look at his delay. "Feathers, did you notice it too?"
Feathers shook their head "no" but accepted the extrapulator screen that was presented to them to study while they walked.
"What was so strange about the city?" Alexander asked.
"I'm not sure exactly." he answered slowly. "Something felt off about some of the city centers and public parks but it wasn't all of them. They weren't aligned as the rest of the city."
"There's always a possibility that they weren't originally those things and were changed after the fact, making them not perfectly aligned with the rest." Alexander suggested while they walked and talked, retracing their own steps first before retracing Clockwork Locomotion's.
"That may be…" Ethan trailed off in thought and he was about to finish that thought but Alexander interrupted first.
"Regardless of how strange the pathways look, we aren't taking our path off any main road." the reptile scolded. "Even with the information we have from The Adventurers Guild, consider that we are currently in an uncharted wild next to the biggest danger we could face. We can't afford to disregard proven facts and information given to us for a misplaced whim. We stay on the roads." Alexander stated sternly without any compromise.
Ethan knew he had a point but there were still more questions he had about their limited information, the odd city centers.
What made those centers different?
It was reported that devilhogs lived longer lifespans within the basin but where are the reports about viperwolves? The basin had much more uneven terrain than the islands but how was this area more optimal for their survival?
What was inside the buildings of the basin? If the chances are that there are no viperwolves in the basin, then what dangers awaited inside that were worse than the cliffs?
Ethan sat on these questions as they moved through the streets, taking in the building structures, pondering the answers and the odd feelings of familiarity he got from forms of architecture.
Feathers studied the picture on the screen thoroughly until they decided they've seen enough and put it away. As they traveled, they kept watch for anything hidden along the broken walls and shadowed corners.
Alexander tracked the path through the city, searching for landmarks to guide them to the splitting point. The only thing distracting him was how many times Ethan kept pulling out that new notebook to write in. If he noticed or discovered any new information, he could at least share with the rest of the party. Information could be the key to changing their fate in a life or death situation, no matter how small it may be.