Westra backs up until she is level with Aldridge. "What did it say?" she asks in a fervent whisper, looking around nervously.

"Pay you a story, you say?" Aldridge smiles toward the darkness. "You're speaking my language, friend. I don't suppose you would mind a little music to accompany it, would you? Musical tales are kind of my specialty. I will gladly pay the fee, though I would be curious to know what the fee is for before I begin."

“᛬ᛞᛖᛚᛁᚳᛏᛟ᛬”

"Very well. For trespassing and for lodging, I will pay you thusly." Aldridge begins humming and tapping his drum in a slow, almost hypnotic rhythm as he spins his tale.

"Many moons ago, a lone Wanderer traversed Cloudbreaker's Rise in search of an ancient tome. Over the course of travel, the Wanderer came across a village. Though most of the village refused to help the Wanderer find the tome out of fear, a Woodsmith eventually acquiesced. The Woodsmith lead the through a canyon to a mountain several miles away. They found the cave across a chasm. The Woodsmith assumed that was the end of their journey, but the Wanderer lifted a stone of sparkling blue. The cave entrance took form of a hideous monster with three antlers, sharp teeth, and long tongue that formed a bridge. The Woodsmith stayed on opposite side of the chasm out of fear, but the Wanderer crossed the bridge alone.”

The drum quiets and slows to an ominous beat.

“The Wanderer traveled through the cave with the guiding light of the blue stone. The Wanderer lept over hidden cracks in the floor and ducked under hazardous stalactites. Eventually the Wanderer found the Tome of the Ancients, sitting on a pedestal clasped by skeletal hands. With a wave of the stone, the Wanderer freed the tome from the grip of the hands. The tome’s removal also awoke the spirit guarding it, as the hands rose free to reclaim it.”

The drumbeat is rapid, starting quiet but rising as the chase is described.

“The Wanderer rushed back out of the chamber as the head of a beast with three antlers took its place above the hands. With a ghastly cry, the spirit doggedly pursued the thief. The spirit moved faster than the Wanderer, not encumbered by physical legs. The Wanderer sprinted to the cave exit, diving into the sunlight before the hands to lay claim to the thief. The Wanderer successfully escaped to the awaiting Woodsmith as the bridge dissipated with the guardian spirit. The exit itself returned to its original appearance before a cave-in filled whatever was remaining of the entrance. The Woodsmith and the Wanderer sprinted back to the village, arriving before nightfall to retire at the Woodsmith’s place of rest.”

Aldridge rubs his hands over the drum, drumming periodically with his fingertips as the tale continues.

“As night fell, a mighty thunderstorm followed the pair back from the mountain. The storm continued strongly throughout the night, and continued to thunder relentlessly without ease into the following day. A young Sheep Watcher attempted to calm the storm by summoning the spirits of the rain, but the spirits  were scattered by the raging storm. The Watcher pleaded with the Wanderer to speak to the spirits on her behalf. The Wanderer agreed, and trekked into the Rise in search of signs of the spirits. The Wanderer traveled over unstable stone and through treacherous wind and rain, and managed to find the spirits. The spirits indicated that the Wanderer must return to the mountain where the tome was to calm the thunder spirit. However, the stone spirits blocked the way, and only the spirits of the forest could intervene.”
“The Wanderer returned to the village and sought the help of the Woodsmith. The Woodsmith agreed to speak to the forest spirits, but said that the spirits would only respond to those who spoke to them directly through meditation. The Woodsmith showed the Wanderer the mental pathway to the forest spirits, and the Wanderer entered a trance to meet these spirits.”

The drum begins to make an oddly dissonant series of sounds as Aldridge tightens it.

“In the realm of dreams, the Wanderer saw a dancing boar. Approaching it, the boar ran away, leading the Wanderer to the shores of Greymir Lake. The forest spirits greeted the Wanderer here, and agreed to intervene with the stone spirits. As the pact was made with the Wanderer and the spirits of forest and stone, the thunder spirit also ceased its rage. In the material realm, the storm ceased. A mysterious light emanated at a meadow near the the village, placing all of its residents under a deep trance and introducing the presence of a glowing red stone from the tome.”

The drum takes on a slow, ominious march beat, before errupting into a war beat.

“Returning from the dream world, the Wanderer approached the red stone. The red stone emitted a wall of flame, scorching the Wanderer. The Wander dove behind rocks and into the Woodsmith’s tent, retrieving the Tome of the Ancients and the blue stone. The red stone attempted to scorch the Wanderer again, but the blue stone protected its holder. The Wanderer approached the aggressive gem, and trapped it inside the tomb with the blue stone. The Wanderer attempted to tend to the village, but was shocked to find that they were all still under a trance.”

“The Wanderer found the Watcher and the Woodsmith, and entered their dreams. Inside of them, the Wanderer found a green stone and a transparent stone. The Wanderer trapped them inside the tome as well. With all the stones united, the Wanderer awoke from the dream world in the heart of the mountain. The Wanderer’s eyes adjusted to show that the beast with three antlers had fully formed. Its face was that of a wolf with three eyes. It attempted to swallow the Wanderer whole, and destroy the tome and the stones. The Wanderer dashed around the small chamber, but the beast was significantly faster. The stones did appear to have a slowing effect on the creature, but the effect was temporary. In a fit of prayer, the Wanderer reached out to the forest spirits, the stone spirits, the rain spirits, and the lightning spirits for assistance.”

The drum beats faster and faster, crashing hard with each slash of the beast.

“The spirits told the Wanderer that it was possible to defeat the Beast of the Mountain, but it would be at a great cost. The Wanderer turned to the Beast and lifted the Tome of the Ancients to it. As the beast lashed out with a massive swipe at the Wanderer, the stones all emitted a bright light, engulfing the entire cavern in blinding, intense light.”

The drum beats harder and harder, faster and faster, increasing with the intensity of the story. Upon the final blast of light, the drumbeat stops entirely. Silence hangs in the air for a few moments.

“The villagers all awoke from their trance. None remembered the change in colors, as a spirit of darkness was replaced with more vibrant hues. None remembered the mighty storm that shook the trees and the stones. None remembered the Wanderer who had passed in their village. None realized the sacrifice she had made for their sakes. None, save the Watcher and the Woodsmith.”
This message was last edited by the player at 04:11, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

The voice seems well pleased. “᛬ᚢᛖᚱᛖ᛬ᛗᚢᛚᛏᚫ᛫ᚫᚢᛞᛁᚢᛁ᛫ᛏᚫᛗ᛫ᛚᛟᛝᚢᛗ᛫ᛏᛖᛗᛈᚢᛋ᛫ᛖᛚᛁᛏ᛬”

“᛬ᚾᛟᚳᛏᚢᚱᚾᚫᛖ᛫ᛩᚢᛁᛖᛏᛁᛋ᛫ᛒᛖᚾᛖ᛫ᛗᛖᚱᛁᛏᚢᛋ᛬ᚷᛟ᛫ᛒᛖᚾᛖ᛫ᛁᚾᛋᛏᚱᚢᚳᛏᚫ᛫ᛖᛏ᛬”

Aldridge bows deeply to the voice. "Thank you for your hospitality. It is much appreciated."

He turns to the rest of the party. "We may rest here for the night, with the blessings of..." He turns back to the darkness. "I'm terribly sorry, may I ask for your name? Mine is Aldridge Finley."

“᛬ᚢᛗᛒᚱᚫᛖᛋ᛬” (Spoken: 'ʌmbrɛɪs)

Aldridge bows once more to the unseen ᛬ᚢᛗᛒᚱᚫᛖᛋ᛬ before turning back to the campsite.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:53, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

Alwan raises a quizzical eyebrow. "Care to translate any of that?"

"I agree," Westra says. "What was that voice? Things kept from the party last time did not end so well, if you'll recall."

Aldridge smiles. "᛬ᚢᛗᛒᚱᚫᛖᛋ᛬ liked my story, said it's been a while since they've heard such a tale. They will forgive our trespassing and have said that we have earned a night of rest."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:53, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

"What do you mean, 'they?' I heard one voice."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 16:47, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

Aldridge whispers that he used the gender-neutral 'they' since he didn't know the creature's gender, and figured it was rude to wait until now to ask.

Westra tries to glean anything she can about what the being could be from her remembrance of how the voice sounded (Arcana 18).
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

"I don't want to alarm anyone, but I am fairly certain that the voice belongs to a dragon," Westra says to the group. "It's probably a small one!" she says quickly. "If it indeed is pleased by Aldridge's story, we should be fine, but dragons can be capricious, and I didn't want to keep this information from the group."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:09, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

"We're just here for rest," Aldridge yawns. "It'll be fine. And should our draconic host require another story, I shall be happy to oblige. But for now, I do believe we can all rest easy without requiring anyone keep watch."

"'It'll be fine'.  Last words of many dead men." Ryudo murmurs, then says more audibly,  "I'll take first watch."

"I feel reasonably certain about this as well, but I didn't want to leave anyone in the dark. You would know more about that than me, though," Westra says pointedly at Aldridge.

"Wake me for second watch, if you would, Ryudo," she continues. "I have some herbs I need to brew into a potion. It will take me about four hours."

“I will likewise take a watch.” Airdsgainne starts to lay out the bedrolls.

Ethic is visibly shaken by the news of their erstwhile companion in the cave. He lays his sleeping furs as close as possible to the entrance of the cave. [Language unknown: Te k ven eswer laore eeiv'ssut ti nt.]

"So, Ryudo can take the first two watches, since he doesn't need as much sleep as the rest of us. I would prefer to have a watch partner, so I can focus on my potion making. Airdsgainne could do that. Ethic, you can watch if you like, but it's not necessary. Aldridge, you feel free to be selfish." Westra says the last sentence with a wry grin.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:37, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

"I don't mind taking watch, if you're all truly worried," Aldridge breathes sleepily into his living pillow of a drake. "But any creature who is that satisfied with a good tale and has guarded this domain for as long as it has is really all the security we need." With that, Aldridge falls into pleasant unconsciousness, dreaming of the next tale to spin.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:41, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

The party goes to sleep while Ryudo keeps careful watch. (10 Perception)

Ryudo watches for several hours, but all is silent. Every few minutes, he gets up to pace about the small campsite, to ensure that nothing sneaks up… from any direction.

After four hours, in the briefest of moments as Ryudo's head turned toward mouth of the cave, Ryudo's ears pick up a faint scratching against the ground. As he turns around, he sees a dragon, about the size of a horse, flying low and silently through the air, carrying a body. The dragon's scales are dull and dark. The dragon slips out of view an instant later; it can't possibly be more than sixteen paces hence. Immediately thereafter, Ryudo notices that Aldridge is missing!

(Everyone is asleep except Ryudo. Ryudo may act.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:09, Wed 12 Aug 2015.

Ryudo, deciding that haste was better than subtlety, attempts to awaken everyone with a yell while shaking Westra.  "Wake, everyone! The dragon has taken Aldridge!  He is flying deeper into the cave!"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:51, Thu 13 Aug 2015.

Airdsgainne and Alwanzatar both wake up. Westra, Flutterwing, and Ethic remain asleep. (It takes an action to attempt to wake a sleeper by shaking them awake.)