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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Archon Basileus" data-source="post: 7358058" data-attributes="member: 6855545">EVERYONEThe orchard is fresh this time of the day, thrown under a blanket of shadows and receiving the cool winds that climb up from the many fountains placed around. All sorts of small animals can be heard, birds and hares, as the heroes' eyes and ears soon denounce, moving from cover to cover and taking interested, curious peeks at the arrivals. Plucking a fruit from a branch feels natural and pleasant. The fruit rolls between his fingers, filling his palm with a smooth sensation. It's ripe for the taking, he can tell, as most of them are. No small specimen hangs from the branches, and not a single one is green. As the heroes' eyes rise once more to the emptied branch, they realize another fruit has already started growing there, gaining shape and size in an astounding speed. Within the minute another golden sphere replaces the one Daxio took from the branch, as pristine and tempting as the one that came before.Within his hands, the fruit feels heavier than most. It is also surprising that smaller branches won't break under the combined weight of a few fruits. The texture resembles that of an apple, but the surface is cold, as if the fruit had been left to cool down under the water. The pulp's smell reaches Daxio's nostrils even without breaking the fruit's skin, a sweet, citric memory, mixed with the notes of mineral waters and pure, untouched earth, reaching out to him, inviting to a bite. The vital force that flows from it might keep a man standing for at least a day or two, with a single fruit for sure. Also, the attributes he identifies suggest powerful curative qualities as well. The downside is that the fruit also deteriorates at an alarming rate: already Daxio sees the thing building up small ripples, as if growing stale. Whatever it is, it must be consumed soon after it's taken, lest it rot away and disappear.Above, the draconian scouts the area. The orchard took the best of the field's old shape, but memories still linger. He sees that the surrounding areas are still marked by the ruins of old separation walls, probably built by farmers before the fall. The Nymphaeum outlines itself at the center of at least five small rivers, coursing from many areas around the ruined city. Beyond, the small dragon sees the old castle, now taken by growing branches, the ruins of the old city, victimized by similar fate, the central square, decorated for perennial festivities, and the many woods that covered the open areas of the settlement. Peace and movement are combined in a natural grace unmatched by humans within these lands.The orchard itself, he sees, holds far more than he'd have expected. The old mills that oppose the Nymphaeum are active and brimming with elves and satyrs. The Nymphaeum fountain is visible to the small flier - but only because of his acute perception. Even hawks would have trouble finding it under the many-colored canopies. No surprise, the fountain is visited by many a nymph, and a frolicking group of them seems to have fun as they giggle and dance, elder creatures in their childish age. Amidst them, though, the dragon sees a most peculiar thing: an old, shriveled creature, sits in satisfaction, peeking at the Nymphs' naked dance from a safe, hidden perch. The creature seems old and wrinkled, like an old lady that time chose to mistreat with particular intensity. She's there for a moment, but a second later she's vanished, unnoticed. On the other side of things, a bunch of satyrs also spy the youths as they leap and dance. To the south, a bunch of elves engage in a hunt - probably just for sport, a non-lethal exercise against the small beasts that crowd the orchard. All around, the place's deceitful rest is broken by bursts of life, in secrecy, contemplation or lust.The heroes' timely arrival at the Nymphaeum is quite the event. From afar, they can hear the giggles and the sound of water splashing, noticing someone's juvenile presence beyond the green barriers that limit their sight.[Ok, if you guys want to arrive in secrecy, this is the time for stealth! You may also roll for perception, in order to see the satyrs that Moss has already identified. As for our small dragon, I'd ask for Will save against 13. He DID see the Nymphs dancing, after all! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />]</blockquote>

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