[ For someone so recently coughing out mouthfuls of sand, the quite tall elezen man seems to have recovered with a genial aplomb, and—with his new translation device clipped securely to his vest—has taken to assisting the caravan and its variety of members in whatever ways he can, especially in all manners mechanical.

At the moment, he has a couple beaten-up cooling suits resting in his lap, and appears to be tinkering with what appear to be ripped, bald wires, carefully twisting them back together. His eyes hop quickly back and forth between the torn wiring twisting in dextrous fingers and referencing a much-folded piece of paper with a hand-scribbled diagram being continuously edited. As approached, however he will look up from his tinkering and offer the guest a cheery smile. ]

If you are in search of respite from the heat, fear not! I suspect I will be done with the repairs of these suits before long. Always good to keep the gear in shape.

[ In addition to the traditional set of ropes and climbing hooks, at periodic intervals Stephanivien kneels down on small ledges, bracing his carbine and charging it up with his aetherotransformer, and shoots out a blast of anchoring heads attached to chains that dig into the cliff face, offering a more sturdy and secure, if only temporary, assistance to climbing the cliff face. His smithing goggles are pulled down over his eyes to protect them from the violent sands tossed up in the whirlwinds, and he's gained an additional layer of wrapped cloths and cooling suit components to shield the rest of him, including small wrappings for this larger pointed ears.

The small pouch of ashes is stuffed beneath his shirt, vest, and all outerwear, and he shields that side of his body with great care. ]

Not much farther, yet, I think. [ One gloved hand further shields his face as he scans up the remainder of the cliff face yet to go. The other presses gently against where the pouch of ashes is tucked against his chest. ] T'will be a good service, to grant a wearied soul their rest.

Quite the creature, that one.

[ Stephanivien has braced himself behind one of the wider, crumbling pillars, secured tightly by climbing rope, periodically reaching out in the gaps to either shoot large, spinning drill-like bullets at the tentacles, or reaching out to grab a fleeing explorer to safety behind the pillar, granting them a tight loop of the secured rope to grip and give them further time to more securely position themselves away ]

There must be a better solution to those tentacles than this, surely.

some other idea? Feel free to hit me up at crincakes or just chat me here to set up something different