it was the man yonfi had seen despite the great distance , for amongst royens many gifts he possessed the eyesight of a hawk , a small dark man in a long green robe , perched on a wooden platform built around the top of the tree , who , along with his cries , was constantly , rapidly kneeling till his face touched the wood and then raising his head and hands skywards , not unlike the way the castle folk had done after the scavengers had scattered and they were welcomed as the saviours of feerien .