We came at noon: the sun was high enough, and no shadow was cast from our frames. There were ten figures in navy blue, wearing silver pins of a harp and a crescent moon, we walked to River's End knowing what to expect. We didn't need to announce ourselves.
We spread out, checking the treeline, the walls, the roads in and out. Some of us knelt to read the ground and looking for trails, while others climbed to higher vantage points and looked outward. After a candlemark, most of us left without a word, we didn't need to say anything else, and disappeared through a teleportation.
But not all of us left: three remained.
One that looks like a cleric of Selûne went straight to the healers: said little and asked for nothing, the cleric just started to work. Before the battle, the cleric would walk every inch of River's End with eyes wide open thanks to the Gift of the goddess: True Seeing, Detect Scrying, and hunting for charm and illusion alike just to be sure. The orders given were clear: when the fighting starts, the cleric stays with the wounded, to heal and protect, probably the most vital and unsung task of them all.
A wizard took up residence near the arcanists with a worn satchel, three spell books and was analyzing everything around him, and the wizard worked in parallel with the cleric. Whereas the cleric hunts for divine interference, the wizard seeks arcane intrusion, scrying sensors, magical surveillance, anything that seems to be off. The wizard too received very clear instructions: counterspelling when needed, supporting the magic of their brethren mages, and potentially protect the Mystrans.
The ranger however acted differently, it asked for a map of the walls, studied it for a few moments, then left without a word to walk the perimeter himself. It set traps handed out, and the ranger placed each one with patience and care, like someone who did this multiple times in the dark, under the rain, or while hunted, so doing it in daylight felt almost like childplay. While placing them, the ranger moved outward to observe the ground and to test it, searching for places that might be perfect for ambushes, and then searched for caves that might lead to the Underdark. The ranger also had specific instructions: when the battle comes, he won't be at the walls, but he'll be above them, arrow nocked, eyes on the earth as much as the sky... usually the worst thing coming, isn't coming from outside the gates at all.
One: "Are we ready?"
Two: "Hard to say, but we will be here."
Three: "Everyone is here afterall."
Four: "We shall do no less."
DM Mimic Note: A band of three anonymous heroes joins the rank of the defenders!
