(For atmosphere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRltMej-hSQ)
The man with the flowing golden locks is leaning back against the tree, his muddy boots crossed one over the other... his hat hangs from a tree branch above his head and he's gently strumming a lute. His eyes are half closed and a gentle smile adores his golden skinned face.
A small campfire burns dimly in the center of the clearing of trees. If you were a traveler, it wouldn't be a stretch for you to recognize this fire was nearing the end of it's life, and would soon be smoldering coals.
Above the sounds of the lute, you hear a grating snore. Although unpleasant to some, you can tell the lute playing man is unaffected. The snore issues from the bulbous nose of a well armored dwarf lying near the fire on his back. Food crumbs rest on his armored chest.
A light chatter issues from a tree near the lute player. You see an elven woman, fair and lithe as elves are known to be, lying on the ground nearly nose to nose with... a bat... She appears to be staring deeply into the bats eyes. Every so often she reaches and strokes the small furry chest of the beast, when she does, it chatters and she lets out a tiny giggle.
The three appear extremely comfortable with each other... as if they've known each other most of their lives... There is a walking stick laid across a log as if holding a position for a fourth; however no one is seen in sight...
As soon as you notice the fourth spot a second elf appears... You don't know from where and you can't fathom why you didn't notice him to start.
The new elf's face is obscured by a dark hood. The loose fitted clothes he wears are covered by a tabard of black and silver. A bow is slung across his back. He walks across the grass quietly and approaches the lute player...
"Kain, now that we've found it, we must ensure no time is wasted solving the riddles." The elf states intensely. You immediately sense this is a matter of great importance to him. The lute player smiles wider and waves his hand dismissively.
"Master Lyall, c'mon now. We're relaxing amidst this lovely grove, Sirena is so happy playing with her... uh... bat... and Brog, look at Brog, sleeping like a baby!" The dwarf snorts loudly, which concerns you slightly, because he stops breathing for a moment... then he starts awake, knocking away a dark jug of thick liquid which was lying on it's side near him.
"SEAN!" The dwarf exclaims loudy.
"Keep it down you fool!" Sean Lyall quickly turns to the dwarf. "This is no place to be drawing attention to ourselves".
The elf turns back to Kain. "If we wish to provide our services to the people of these lands, we must ensure we are totally prepared. Without access to the proper tools, we cannot hope to overcome the obstacles we're sure to encounter."
Kain laughs "Ahh Master Lyall, always so dramatic. Dirty Work will overcome the obstacles places in front of them, behind them and even waaaaaayyy over to the left... No one with hair as luxurious as this ever fails a venture as promising as ours." Kain strokes his hair gently as he speaks.
At this point, you may have noticed all four wore the same cardinal red cloak. Although you can't see the wrists of all of them, Kain and Sean have a "DW" branded inside their right wrists...
The elf sighs, "Very well Kain. We shall enjoy the respite tonight, but we must get back to the task at hand when dawn is upon us." The elf walks over to his log and removes a book from beneath his cloak and begins reading.
Kain settles in beneath the tree, the same content grin on his face and reaches to his own jugging, tipping it back and deeply drinking from it. He continues to strum his lute and speaks softly to no one in particular, "The task at hand... ahh yes... so much potential in our future... the gold... the fame... just a small obstacle the here and now is..."
Brog, who at some point has lost consciousness again, snorts loudly once more, rolls onto his side while slamming his meaty fist onto the ground "so... much... smashess..." he slurs before snoring again...
The female elf giggles and speaks to the bat, "oh boys... whatever will we do with them blinky"...
