After seeing Sir Thalos with them, the warriors of the Stone Hawk Tribe led Lucen's group into their domain.
The valley opened up as they descended, revealing a settlement unlike any Lucen had seen before.
Massive stone pillars jutted out from the earth like the broken ribs of some ancient beast, their surfaces worn smooth by wind and time.
Some of the pillars leaned inward, others outward, creating narrow corridors of stone where wind howled endlessly.
Each step deeper into the valley changed the acoustics; their footfalls echoed strangely, sometimes swallowed whole, sometimes thrown back at them in sharp, distorted bursts.
Lucen found himself glancing upward more than once. From certain angles, the stone spires looked close enough to touch the clouds, their peaks half-shrouded in drifting mist.
