As he gets to the top he gives a smile and rubs his hands together, proceeding to pull the rope out and secure it"Shall we get going lady and gentlemen?"He doesn't wait for a response to start moving back to the exit, wanting to be far away from this place.
'As you exit the mouth of the cave into the cool but welcoming open air of the damp and dark Wispwood, you are all startled by a loud *CAWWW* from overhead. Craning your necks to look up at the tip of the overhang above the cave mouth, you see your raven guide, Worms perched above you, staring down with yellow eyes that almost seem to almost glow beneath the gloom of the shadow and web shrouded cannopy. The black bird cocks its head to the side at your emergence, its neck and sharp-beaked visage seeming to pivot to regard each of you individually as you exit the tunnel opening.
Without further preamble and with a second even louder *CAWWWW*, the raven dives from its perch and, raising its wings to either side, swoops down, up and away from your group, flying back in an Easterly direction along what you think is the way that you all, with the exception of Orlys, came prior to entering the Spiderfey Caverns.'
[OOC] Everyone can make a perception and insight check to read the below spoilers, DC15 for both:
Perception DC15:
'Worms' thick neck and almost cruely sharp features definitely pause for half a second as the bird watches each of you emerge from the cave mouth. The last person that the raven regards with its equally sharp yellow gaze is Orlys, the only one of your current party who did not enter with the rest. The black bird's head tilts to the opposite side as it's intense stare rests on the long-armed bugbears form for twice as long as it gaze regard to the rest of you, before your avian guide takes flight.
As you follow Worms' feathered form with your eyes, you note through a momentary break in the cannopy overhead the partially cloud-shrouded sun, sitting now slightly past its zenith, indicating the time as a little past noon. It would seem that you spent the better part of a couple of hours in the spider infested caverns.'
Insight DC15:
'As Worms' gaze regards you all, you somehow get the sense that the black feathered bird is pleased, or perhaps relieved, to see you. As the dark bird's attention turns to regard Orlys', your impression of the exceedingly expressive bird's demeanor changes to one of cold and dispassionate wariness. As the bird takes flight with a cry, you get the distinct feeling that it is telling you in no uncertain terms to 'follow... and follow quickly'.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
A'ro takes a deep breath of the fresh air his cheerful and carefree smile returning from reconnecting with the sky and air as an elemental being. He just looks at the bird watching it fly off and begins to follow the bird back to the apothecary"Let's go mates, we might still have some time for Vaken to get paid, me to get a new shirt, and then some time to get drunk before tomorrow."
Orlys stands for a moment, blinking in the sunlight from behind the three spiderfey he is carrying. He drops them on the ground, and crouches, closing his eyes, his nostrils flaring. At anyone's concern, he shakes his shaggy head. "I am not... I am... grateful to be quit of that place. You are..." and he raises his head to look at the assembled party. "I am in your debt, and to whatever gods put you there to find me."
Noticing the bird (Perception 15!), Orlys does a double-take (which is obvious to everyone). They stare at each other before Worms swoops past you (at which point the bugbear flinches a little and ducks a bit), and he watches it go.
A'ro sets off to follow it, and Orlys stands again, gathering his many-legged carcasses. "I would bring these to where you go, it is the least thing."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Orlys stands for a moment, blinking in the sunlight from behind the three spiderfey he is carrying. He drops them on the ground, and crouches, closing his eyes, his nostrils flaring. At anyone's concern, he shakes his shaggy head. "I am not... I am... grateful to be quit of that place. You are..." and he raises his head to look at the assembled party. "I am in your debt, and to whatever gods put you there to find me."
Noticing the bird (Perception 15!), Orlys does a double-take (which is obvious to everyone). They stare at each other before Worms swoops past you (at which point the bugbear flinches a little and ducks a bit), and he watches it go.
A'ro sets off to follow it, and Orlys stands again, gathering his many-legged carcasses. "I would bring these to where you go, it is the least thing."
'The tall, gaunt blue-skinned man who had healed Orlys below and introduced himself as Virt removes his odd goggles to likewise blink his bright green eyes in the relative brightness of the open air. Turning towards Orlys, the leather clad man hangs his smiths hammer on a belt loop with one hand as he smiles while offering the other to the bugbear, saying amicably,'
"The names Virtoris Fishflower, but folks call me Virt the Blue... or just Virt, if'n we're friends. Matters bein' what they were below 'n all, our greetin' was a bit rushed. Seems nows as good a time as any to remedy that.
An' the way I be seein' it, friend Orlys, we helped each other down in that hell hole. Yer more'n free to travel with us to town and while we're about our business, but I'll not hear of any debt bein' owed. Good folk of all stripes should stand together, that's what me pa always said, an' the man n'eer spoke a lie in his life!"
'With those words, the strange man whose exact likeness Orlys had never before encountered gives the spider hauling bugbear a comradely slap on the back before walking alongside him after the departing master of sail.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Orlys smiles a sharp-toothed, fanged smile at Virt, as he shakes his hand. "Yer a kind man, Virt the Blue, friending one as looks like me. Name's just Orlys, and I left land and family a long time ago now. The ocean be my home, aboard whatever boat will have me."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
'Following that sound of Worms' beating wings and intermittent cries, you all navigate your way across the rolling wave-like ground and between the web-slathered trees to emerge into a rocky tree-ringed clearing where a rough, moss coated pillar of stone emerges from the ground. For those of you who have been here before, you note that your raven guide is once again perched on the crooked rocky protrusion at the clearing's centre, apparently awaiting the party's arrival before once again taking flight, this time *swooshing* Northwards before banking to the West. You being to hurry through the clearing and past the crooked stone pillar after your seemingly impatient avian companion.'
[OOC] A'ro ONLY may read the below spoiler, but all PCs may make a perception check DC 15 to read the lower spoiler:'
A'ro's spoiler:
'As you pass through the clearing past the mysterious stone plinth that you had examined earlier, you feel a stirring within you, similar to the potent invigoration you feel when summoning your elemental heritage to enact your sorcery. Though uncalled for, you feel that strange still barely understood part of your being rising within and without doubt you know that your eyes are flaring white and your hair is drifting about your shoulders. Without quite knowing why or how, you sense that this experience is being caused somehow by the ancient stone pillar, though why this is happening now, you can't be sure.'
Perception DC15:
'Even focused as you are on the dark trees and shadowy underbrush around you, you glance over at A'ro at the exact moment as his violet eyes flash white and his hair begins to drift lazily about his shoulders and head, as you saw it do below during the sorcerer's spell casting efforts. You also hear a strange, low *hmmmmmmm* humming sound, which you glance about trying to place. Eventually, you realise that the sound seems to be coming from Vaken's pack.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Orlys just stands there (Per 15, again!), looking back and forth from A'ro to Vaken, his arms full of giant spiders. "There's summat in yer pack, big man, making' that noise!"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Orlys smiles a sharp-toothed, fanged smile at Virt, as he shakes his hand. "Yer a kind man, Virt the Blue, friending one as looks like me. Name's just Orlys, and I left land and family a long time ago now. The ocean be my home, aboard whatever boat will have me."
'As the two mean are walking alongside each other talking as they enter the clearing, Virt gives a little laugh at Orlys' statement about looks, but quickly raises a hand to forestall any misunderstanding or anger on the part of maul wielding bugbear, saying with a degree of mirth in his voice,'
"Haha. No worries on accout of looks, least none with me, Orlys. While our teeth and skin may be different, I too know what it's like to be the odd one in the looks department. Mayhap i'll tell ye about it over an ale back in town, eh? Say, you're not from Rumbottom are ye? The thought just struck me that maybe yer better acquainted with the town than most of us."
'Focused on the murky terrain around him and his conversation with Orlys, Virt notices nothing amiss until the bugbear points across at Vaken's pack.'
[OOC] Virt's perception check: 15 - a nat 1 in case of edit mishap.
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
'Kestrell emerges from the cave and lets out a quick yip at the feel of the sun on his face.'
"Bugbear! Thanks for your help, and I'm glad we could rescue you. You don't mind carrying those spiders to Naskeen do you? And you are looking for a ship you say? We may know a ship looking for a hairy sailor or two. Come with us and we'll introduce you to the appropriate people."
'With that, Kestrell starts following Worms back to Naskeen.'
OOC > Pre-A'ro lighting up role-play conversation...
"I should like the chance to berth on a ship, aye," the bugbear admits, with a nod to Kestrell's offer. "I am not... from Rumbottom, no, and I canna say I have visited much," he seems a little cagey on this topic.
Orlys just stands there (Per 15, again!), looking back and forth from A'ro to Vaken, his arms full of giant spiders. "There's summat in yer pack, big man, making' that noise!"
'Kay turns around, from her position at the front of the group where she was chasing Worms and doing her best to scout the area ahead before anyone could blunder into another trap or ambush, and as Vaken approaches her eyes grow wide and she backs away slowly,' "I hear it too. Vaken, what'd you collect from the spider cave?"
"I should like the chance to berth on a ship, aye," the bugbear admits, with a nod to Kestrell's offer. "I am not... from Rumbottom, no, and I canna say I have visited much," he seems a little cagey on this topic.
"Well, stick with us for a bit. We'll see what we can do. If you aren't from Rumbottom, what brought you to this cage?"
[OOC] Insight on Orly's cageyness about Rumbottom: 12
OOC > all this still before A'ro starts glowing and Vakken's bag starts humming...
Orlys shifts the weight of the spiders. "Me last berth saw me an' some mates sent ashore ta run an errand, much like I imagine you all are up to. Only, it ended with me an another trapped in that cave after they sailed without us." He growls that last. "I have ta think they've decided to do without me services, though I might like ta have words with them one day."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Vaken is clearly unnerved by the sound coming from his pack. All he can imagine is that some of the smaller spiders crawled in, so he hurridly shucks the pack and starts looking. It's it's quickly obvious that the crystal 'branch' he broke off in the cave is the source of the noise. And it almost appears to be glowing... or is that just a reflection of the sunlight. Vaken holds the crystal rod up into the light to inspect it.
When he realizes several members of the group are looking at him he grows self-conscious."Sorry y'all. I'm not sure what's going on with this thing."
"Kestrell was trying to break a branch of this crystal off but couldn't so I helped."
Holding the crystal up to the sunlight, in a distracted tone of voice,"It really is amazing, though"
'As Vaken lifts the glowing purple crystal rod from his bag within the small enclosed clearing, it pulses with an even brighter violet glow, a glow matched for a brief second in intensity by the flaring of elemental magic within A'ro's intense glare. For the span of a few tense slow heartbeats, the humming sound begins to build in intensity *hmmmmMMMMM* and you all clearly hear an answering whistling sound *phweeEEEEE* start up in response coming from the direction of the ancient stone pillar at the clearing's centre, but just as the low hum and high pitched whistle reach painful levels of intensity that cause wincing and hands to futilely cover ears... the purple crytsal in the blinking goliath's hands pulses with a one final incredibly bright flash of light before it's luminescence fades suddenly and completely, leaving the once glowing crystal dark and suddenly cooler to the touch. No sooner have the crystal's glow and warmth abatted than the arcane glare of the sleeveless vest wearing sorcerer also disappears and both the humming and answering whistling sounds likewise fade from hearing.
Within a few scant moments the display of contrasting but oddly symbiotic lights and sounds are gone, leaving the clearing once again to its previous quiet, shadowy gloom. A second later, from out to the North-West beyond the clearing's edge, the harsh sounding *cawww* of your raven guide echos back to you all, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen over the area and its inhabitants.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
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A'ro just nods "That we do."
As he gets to the top he gives a smile and rubs his hands together, proceeding to pull the rope out and secure it "Shall we get going lady and gentlemen?" He doesn't wait for a response to start moving back to the exit, wanting to be far away from this place.
Campaigns:
Wildemount: The Felderwin Irregulars (2020) - Balassar Silverstone - Dragonborn Fighter (Rune Knight) Lv. 5 | Rise of TIamat - Aiwin Aralana - Wood Elf Fighter/Ranger (Arcane Archer/Gloom Stalker) Lv. 9
Vaken re-lights his torch and follows A'ro. This cave, hell this trip, has caused him much embarrassment and he longs to get back into town.
"Yes, let's finish this assignment"
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
'As you exit the mouth of the cave into the cool but welcoming open air of the damp and dark Wispwood, you are all startled by a loud *CAWWW* from overhead. Craning your necks to look up at the tip of the overhang above the cave mouth, you see your raven guide, Worms perched above you, staring down with yellow eyes that almost seem to almost glow beneath the gloom of the shadow and web shrouded cannopy. The black bird cocks its head to the side at your emergence, its neck and sharp-beaked visage seeming to pivot to regard each of you individually as you exit the tunnel opening.
Without further preamble and with a second even louder *CAWWWW*, the raven dives from its perch and, raising its wings to either side, swoops down, up and away from your group, flying back in an Easterly direction along what you think is the way that you all, with the exception of Orlys, came prior to entering the Spiderfey Caverns.'
[OOC] Everyone can make a perception and insight check to read the below spoilers, DC15 for both:
Perception DC15:
'Worms' thick neck and almost cruely sharp features definitely pause for half a second as the bird watches each of you emerge from the cave mouth. The last person that the raven regards with its equally sharp yellow gaze is Orlys, the only one of your current party who did not enter with the rest. The black bird's head tilts to the opposite side as it's intense stare rests on the long-armed bugbears form for twice as long as it gaze regard to the rest of you, before your avian guide takes flight.
As you follow Worms' feathered form with your eyes, you note through a momentary break in the cannopy overhead the partially cloud-shrouded sun, sitting now slightly past its zenith, indicating the time as a little past noon. It would seem that you spent the better part of a couple of hours in the spider infested caverns.'
Insight DC15:
'As Worms' gaze regards you all, you somehow get the sense that the black feathered bird is pleased, or perhaps relieved, to see you. As the dark bird's attention turns to regard Orlys', your impression of the exceedingly expressive bird's demeanor changes to one of cold and dispassionate wariness. As the bird takes flight with a cry, you get the distinct feeling that it is telling you in no uncertain terms to 'follow... and follow quickly'.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
A'ro takes a deep breath of the fresh air his cheerful and carefree smile returning from reconnecting with the sky and air as an elemental being. He just looks at the bird watching it fly off and begins to follow the bird back to the apothecary "Let's go mates, we might still have some time for Vaken to get paid, me to get a new shirt, and then some time to get drunk before tomorrow."
Campaigns:
Wildemount: The Felderwin Irregulars (2020) - Balassar Silverstone - Dragonborn Fighter (Rune Knight) Lv. 5 | Rise of TIamat - Aiwin Aralana - Wood Elf Fighter/Ranger (Arcane Archer/Gloom Stalker) Lv. 9
Orlys stands for a moment, blinking in the sunlight from behind the three spiderfey he is carrying. He drops them on the ground, and crouches, closing his eyes, his nostrils flaring. At anyone's concern, he shakes his shaggy head. "I am not... I am... grateful to be quit of that place. You are..." and he raises his head to look at the assembled party. "I am in your debt, and to whatever gods put you there to find me."
Noticing the bird (Perception 15!), Orlys does a double-take (which is obvious to everyone). They stare at each other before Worms swoops past you (at which point the bugbear flinches a little and ducks a bit), and he watches it go.
A'ro sets off to follow it, and Orlys stands again, gathering his many-legged carcasses. "I would bring these to where you go, it is the least thing."
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
'The tall, gaunt blue-skinned man who had healed Orlys below and introduced himself as Virt removes his odd goggles to likewise blink his bright green eyes in the relative brightness of the open air. Turning towards Orlys, the leather clad man hangs his smiths hammer on a belt loop with one hand as he smiles while offering the other to the bugbear, saying amicably,'
"The names Virtoris Fishflower, but folks call me Virt the Blue... or just Virt, if'n we're friends. Matters bein' what they were below 'n all, our greetin' was a bit rushed. Seems nows as good a time as any to remedy that.
An' the way I be seein' it, friend Orlys, we helped each other down in that hell hole. Yer more'n free to travel with us to town and while we're about our business, but I'll not hear of any debt bein' owed. Good folk of all stripes should stand together, that's what me pa always said, an' the man n'eer spoke a lie in his life!"
'With those words, the strange man whose exact likeness Orlys had never before encountered gives the spider hauling bugbear a comradely slap on the back before walking alongside him after the departing master of sail.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Orlys smiles a sharp-toothed, fanged smile at Virt, as he shakes his hand. "Yer a kind man, Virt the Blue, friending one as looks like me. Name's just Orlys, and I left land and family a long time ago now. The ocean be my home, aboard whatever boat will have me."
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
'Following that sound of Worms' beating wings and intermittent cries, you all navigate your way across the rolling wave-like ground and between the web-slathered trees to emerge into a rocky tree-ringed clearing where a rough, moss coated pillar of stone emerges from the ground. For those of you who have been here before, you note that your raven guide is once again perched on the crooked rocky protrusion at the clearing's centre, apparently awaiting the party's arrival before once again taking flight, this time *swooshing* Northwards before banking to the West. You being to hurry through the clearing and past the crooked stone pillar after your seemingly impatient avian companion.'
[OOC] A'ro ONLY may read the below spoiler, but all PCs may make a perception check DC 15 to read the lower spoiler:'
A'ro's spoiler:
'As you pass through the clearing past the mysterious stone plinth that you had examined earlier, you feel a stirring within you, similar to the potent invigoration you feel when summoning your elemental heritage to enact your sorcery. Though uncalled for, you feel that strange still barely understood part of your being rising within and without doubt you know that your eyes are flaring white and your hair is drifting about your shoulders. Without quite knowing why or how, you sense that this experience is being caused somehow by the ancient stone pillar, though why this is happening now, you can't be sure.'
Perception DC15:
'Even focused as you are on the dark trees and shadowy underbrush around you, you glance over at A'ro at the exact moment as his violet eyes flash white and his hair begins to drift lazily about his shoulders and head, as you saw it do below during the sorcerer's spell casting efforts. You also hear a strange, low *hmmmmmmm* humming sound, which you glance about trying to place. Eventually, you realise that the sound seems to be coming from Vaken's pack.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Orlys just stands there (Per 15, again!), looking back and forth from A'ro to Vaken, his arms full of giant spiders. "There's summat in yer pack, big man, making' that noise!"
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
'As the two mean are walking alongside each other talking as they enter the clearing, Virt gives a little laugh at Orlys' statement about looks, but quickly raises a hand to forestall any misunderstanding or anger on the part of maul wielding bugbear, saying with a degree of mirth in his voice,'
"Haha. No worries on accout of looks, least none with me, Orlys. While our teeth and skin may be different, I too know what it's like to be the odd one in the looks department. Mayhap i'll tell ye about it over an ale back in town, eh? Say, you're not from Rumbottom are ye? The thought just struck me that maybe yer better acquainted with the town than most of us."
'Focused on the murky terrain around him and his conversation with Orlys, Virt notices nothing amiss until the bugbear points across at Vaken's pack.'
[OOC] Virt's perception check: 15 - a nat 1 in case of edit mishap.
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
'Kestrell emerges from the cave and lets out a quick yip at the feel of the sun on his face.'
"Bugbear! Thanks for your help, and I'm glad we could rescue you. You don't mind carrying those spiders to Naskeen do you? And you are looking for a ship you say? We may know a ship looking for a hairy sailor or two. Come with us and we'll introduce you to the appropriate people."
'With that, Kestrell starts following Worms back to Naskeen.'
OOC > Pre-A'ro lighting up role-play conversation...
"I should like the chance to berth on a ship, aye," the bugbear admits, with a nod to Kestrell's offer. "I am not... from Rumbottom, no, and I canna say I have visited much," he seems a little cagey on this topic.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
'Kay turns around, from her position at the front of the group where she was chasing Worms and doing her best to scout the area ahead before anyone could blunder into another trap or ambush, and as Vaken approaches her eyes grow wide and she backs away slowly,' "I hear it too. Vaken, what'd you collect from the spider cave?"
~♡~
"What are you all talking about? What do you hear?"
"Well, stick with us for a bit. We'll see what we can do. If you aren't from Rumbottom, what brought you to this cage?"
[OOC] Insight on Orly's cageyness about Rumbottom: 12
OOC > all this still before A'ro starts glowing and Vakken's bag starts humming...
Orlys shifts the weight of the spiders. "Me last berth saw me an' some mates sent ashore ta run an errand, much like I imagine you all are up to. Only, it ended with me an another trapped in that cave after they sailed without us." He growls that last. "I have ta think they've decided to do without me services, though I might like ta have words with them one day."
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
"Indeed! Well, luckily we came along! Stick with us Bugbear, and you shall not be abandoned so easily next time. What did you do on board ship?"
Vaken is clearly unnerved by the sound coming from his pack. All he can imagine is that some of the smaller spiders crawled in, so he hurridly shucks the pack and starts looking. It's it's quickly obvious that the crystal 'branch' he broke off in the cave is the source of the noise. And it almost appears to be glowing... or is that just a reflection of the sunlight. Vaken holds the crystal rod up into the light to inspect it.
When he realizes several members of the group are looking at him he grows self-conscious. "Sorry y'all. I'm not sure what's going on with this thing."
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
OOC > Before A'ro lights up...
"On ship? I swab the decks, mostly. Break heads when needed," the bugbear says matter-of-factly to Kestrell.
OOC > After Vaken confesses to stealing from the spooky cave...
"Why would you take from that forsaken place!?" Orlys backpedals from Vaken, dropping the spiders and hefting his maul.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
"Kestrell was trying to break a branch of this crystal off but couldn't so I helped."
Holding the crystal up to the sunlight, in a distracted tone of voice, "It really is amazing, though"
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
'As Vaken lifts the glowing purple crystal rod from his bag within the small enclosed clearing, it pulses with an even brighter violet glow, a glow matched for a brief second in intensity by the flaring of elemental magic within A'ro's intense glare. For the span of a few tense slow heartbeats, the humming sound begins to build in intensity *hmmmmMMMMM* and you all clearly hear an answering whistling sound *phweeEEEEE* start up in response coming from the direction of the ancient stone pillar at the clearing's centre, but just as the low hum and high pitched whistle reach painful levels of intensity that cause wincing and hands to futilely cover ears... the purple crytsal in the blinking goliath's hands pulses with a one final incredibly bright flash of light before it's luminescence fades suddenly and completely, leaving the once glowing crystal dark and suddenly cooler to the touch. No sooner have the crystal's glow and warmth abatted than the arcane glare of the sleeveless vest wearing sorcerer also disappears and both the humming and answering whistling sounds likewise fade from hearing.
Within a few scant moments the display of contrasting but oddly symbiotic lights and sounds are gone, leaving the clearing once again to its previous quiet, shadowy gloom. A second later, from out to the North-West beyond the clearing's edge, the harsh sounding *cawww* of your raven guide echos back to you all, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen over the area and its inhabitants.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea