Potential creepy visualization, not large enough for a post of its own even if it were to happen, buuuut

Imagine a felt doll with a white dress, twirling around and moving on its own as though it were dancing, through the vacant halls. It doesn't care about avoiding the puddles of blood, instead laughing and jumping in them like a child might stomp a puddle of water after a rain. Each time, its dress becoming more and more red. Skeletons approach, and then pass it by because it's just a doll; it's not alive, not a target. It's not a threat.

Right?

I find it interesting looking at the discrepancy between Aranwen's outward appearance vs her inward thoughts. She is afraid for her allies, with good reason after the last encounter. She holds that fear inside, caging it with the knowledge that there is nothing that can be done aside continue or retreat, and to retreat is to give up which she is unwilling to do.

Aranwen is not a paladin; she still has her fear. Even if she hides it to the best of her ability

Not me, Aranwen's nerves are on edge as she's concerned about enemies she doesn't know where they are 

And with that the Kazari gave a great sigh, “Forgive,” he rumbled, wincing as he sank onto his haunches, “I… I thought…” He shook his shaggy head, then, and chuffed out another sigh as he took up the dagger at his feet. “Where are we rrow’ka? What has happened?”

Aranwen shook her head, giving a warm smile at the Kazari, "There is nothing to forgive; you've harmed neither of us," She reassured him.

Kith sat back down in front of him, her grin now one of delight, “First, be sure not to lose that again,” she gestures to the dagger he picked back up, “It was my very first, and I would hate for something to happen to it.” She then gestures to the room at large, “And you are in my humble home.”

"I am Aranwen Galandel," Aranwen introduced herself again for Ch'dau's benefit, "For my part, I had only begun scouting in the city proper, when my attention was drawn to a skeleton attacking a civilian couple. I followed its path, and those of other stray skeletons until I came to the keep you were both at. By convincing the gate guard that I was part of the city guard investigating the skeleton outbreak, I got inside, and got to the inner courtyard, though not unscathed with the skeleton groups I had run into," Aranwen recounted.

"Then the window above me shattered, and you both fell through it. Though you told me to take Kithran, I knew that to leave you was to let you die, and I was not about to accept that outcome. Between both of us, we carried you away, stopping only long enough to bind your most grievous of injuries," Aranwen continued, "Once we got out, Kithran led us here. Both of you fell unconscious about as soon as you were no longer standing. I saw to your injuries as best I could."

Kithran looked back and forth between the two warriors, both incredibly different in stature and style, both so powerful, “So Kazari, Bladesinger, what are your plans from here? I have a few of my own, but I think we could all benefit from the help of the other. What say you?”

Aranwen nodded, "I would welcome assistance with my search," She admitted, "I am trying to find the head of a snake, so to speak. Someone who holds great influence over the buying and selling of slaves in Dravnor. Sylvari, in particular, seem to be targeted by those seeking to ambush travellers for coin in exchange for selling their lives," Her golden eyes hardened briefly, then she nodded to herself, "It isn't much to go on, but I'd rather make the attempt than give up without trying."

Left unspoken was her other target. However, she had no intention of bringing these two into her personal vendetta. Besides which, even if she found the one called Morgana, or one of her black masks, what did she even intend to do? The thought troubled her.

"That said, I've no reason to believe that this metaphorical snake has any inclination to move, so I am in no hurry," She noted, "Your troubles on the other hand, they seem very much in the present, don't they?" She asks

Aranwen scowled at the state of the hallway, shining her torch beyond Kithran into the hall proper.

"Definitely a side passage," She mused, "Used primarily by their undead minions, perhaps."

With a soft sigh, Aranwen nodded to the others, "At the very least, we can hope this will continue to cover our approach, as opposed to walking in through the front hall," She offered quietly, "Line up single rank, that we won't block each other's movements. Stay alert."

I don't like that we haven't encountered anything yet, Aranwen thought to herself, Hard to predict an enemy you can't see in a place you don't know. Stay calm... Stay alert...

Kind of leaning towards investigating the other way through the main entrance, but I can't quite tell if that's Aranwen's logic or my personal reaction of 'gross'

Looks much the same as two abreast - just take the bottom row and shift them up and right a bit

Or to be more specific, from left to right as front to back: Kithran, Aranwen, Garn, Cedric, Midge, Davena, Gib, and Ch'dau

Feel free to fire dialogue my way  it does make sense for Kithran to have woken up sooner, especially if she's still subconsciously on alert

I've work as well so don't worry about me getting a post in quite yet before you do  

I rather like the touch of how Aranwen's most distinctive feature through Ch'dau's hazy recollections is her eyes. The broken dialogue also really captures just how foggy everything was for him. That half dream like state where it's unclear what is and isn't real...

Also: cute kitty!

I was half expecting Aranwen to have to defend herself against two morning attacks - Ch'dau of course, as we discussed, but also Kithran for waking up to a Syl woman

Now that is a chance encounter... quite mysterious. And clearly she's had sticky fingers for a very long time

With regards to Ch'dau... I feel it makes a lot of sense for him to more or less pass out once the danger has passed and he's no longer being moved. He might say something before doing so, but it might very well be a half thought out ramble with the adrenaline leaving his system. It also makes sense for him to lash out on waking. He may actually fear the events of the previous day were but a dream and that he is still captive even.

No matter how it happens, Aranwen will do her best to catch Ch'dau's claws when he starts upright and swings out, taking the hit as she needs to, while speaking in a calm but firm tone. In this regard, she actually does have a lot of experience about grounding someone after a 'bad trips' so to speak, which is an odd coincidence how it works out.

"You are not there! You are here. Easy! There's no enemies here. You are okay. You are here, you are safe. Rest, relax. Your wounds need to heal. You are here, not there. Hear my voice, feel the ground beneath your feet, hear the sounds of the city outside. We are not there any more."

It'd be things like this she'd keep trying to tell Ch'dau until he recovered, though I'd be surprised if she survived such an awakening unscathed, especially without Little Kitten intervention

Kind of curious... did you suspect I might have picked Mithwen's name intentionally?

Also looking forward to those sketches, take your time For me when I end up carving, there's times where it's just, pick up the knife and whoops seven hours have passed.

Kithran spoke quickly between heavy breaths and the strain of the feline around her shoulders, “The witch, necromancer, she was, was torturing him, I think. I found him in a cage and we’ve been pursued by her undead monsters” she glanced back behind her, “like that thing, as well as her guard. Do not trust them to let us go easily.”

"Unfortunate," Aranwen muttered, "If that is true, my ruse as a member of the city guard won't suffice to keep them at bay. I'll still try at least."

* * *

A guard inside the gate doors spotted the mottly three immediately, and wasted no hesitation, “They’re here! They’re here!” He drew his sword and raced toward them, the guard on the outside of the door slipping in for back-up.

The armored woman lifted the large Kazari arm off of her shoulders, and helping to lower him to the ground. Kith stayed knelt beside him, “I apologize, I may not be much help here, can you manage?”

Aranwen nodded, her golden eyes sympathetic, "Rest, let me weather this attack."

Striding forward, she drew her blade, and took a breath, "If you value your lives, I strongly recommend finding employment elsewhere," She said, her tone cold as the steel in her hand, "But if you want them, come and claim them!"

Though Aranwen could see the flickers of doubt in the guards' eyes, they did not stop their pace. She nodded, taking another breath as she rushed forward to meet them head on. Though the first lunged with his blade, she wove to the side, her voice audible as she begun her song, bringing her blade around her to deflect the sword harmlessly to the side. In a rising crescendo, she didn't stop her movement, her back leg coming up to kick the shield back into the guard, forcing them apart. She observed him wince at the impact, his shield arm weakened by the unconventional assault. In staccato, she pushed forward once again, parrying a hastily raised blade and grabbing the shield with her free hand, pushing hard. She forced the shield aside even as she followed his blade upward, slashing across with her blade. The slice cut deep into the guard's shoulder, just striking through joint of the shoulder armour, and he recoiled back once more, into the second guard that stumbled with the dagger through the knee. Seizing the opening, Aranwen brought her song to a close with a charge, running past and slicing at the exposed necks of both stunned guards.

Wiping the blood from her blade, she sheathed it, before returning to Kithran.

Kith already had Ch’dau’s arm around her shoulders by the time the Syl returned, “That was incredible.”

Aranwen gave a smile, "So was your aim," She returned, "Not much help, hm?" She gave a playful smirk

Together they made their way into the streets of Davnor, still helping Ch’dau, though he seemed to be able to get his feet under him a little better with each alleyway they put between them and the clutches of the Undolithe estate. They eventually found themselves resting against a building in one of those alleys, attempting to find some breath before moving forward.

“Have you any quarters in town, Bladesinger? I have a place close to here if we need it. It should work for now, but it isn’t great.”

Aranwen shook her head, "I've none," She replied, "I only arrived to this city today. If you've a place, I'd appreciate being some place low profile myself."

Kith nodded and pushed herself off one wall and into the door on the other side, fumbling with the picks hidden in her armor, “My place is very close, I should say.” With little effort the door swings open to a few stone steps leading down into a dark cellar. She swayed a second at the realization that sleep would soon be upon her, but shook her head for now and turned back to the other two and the bladesinger’s mixed expression of question and strain.

The three gingerly made there was down into what the others could now see was a wine cellar. Kith lead them to a wall with a thin mat against it, and she and the Syl lowered Ch’dau onto it. She then trudged back to the door and made sure it was locked, lowering a wooden bar in place as well. When she turned back only the question remained on the woman’s face.

Kith leaned back against the wall and slid down next to Ch’dau’s head, “When I first arrived in Davnor, I needed a cheap place to stay, so I stole several of the most expensive bottles of wine from this cellar, stashed them quickly, and then returned to the storefront as a customer.” She took out the dagger she had lent to Ch’dau and examined the worn handle as she spoke, “As you can imagine, they were in a bit of disarray, why, they had just been robbed of their retirement plan! Well Shinara’s favor shined down on them that day because I just so happened to work in finding things and people, at a price or for a favor.” She untied the sheath at her hip and continued, “Long story short, I took care of those who had wronged them and returned their prized possession. I am truly kind, you know. And they were so happy, they offered me the world, but a humble traveler and smile-finder like myself, I simply needed a place to stay. They couldn’t offer much, but it’s home. I must simply remember to put the bar down when I am here for the night.” Kithran placed the sheathed weapon on the Kazari’s chest. Whether he was conscious or not was a mystery, but he was alive and she was grateful.

"Very resourceful," Aranwen complimented with a chuckle, "I see you know your way around the night quite well, and how to make a space for yourself."

She tilted her head back against the stone and closed her eyes, “I apologize, bladesinger, I cannot stay awake much longer. Thank you, for--” a big yawn muffled the rest of her words and as her head began to tilt into sleep, she mumbled, “Ah, you may call Kitheran . . . or Kith . . . if you must.” And she was gone.

Aranwen's golden eyes widened for a moment in shock, "Mith-" But she paused, averting her gaze and she shook her head realizing she had misheard, "No. Kithran," She looked back and gave a gentle smile, "Rest, young one," She offered to Kithran in whisper.

She looked between Kithran and the Silver Cat, slumbering peacefully, "She looks so young," Aranwen mused, "For a Syl to adapt and learn so quickly to night walking and subterfuge... but why are you here, and not home in Sylvari?" She wondered, before she regarded the kazari, "And you, Silver Cat, what path did you tread to see you here? A captive?"

Aranwen shook her head, "What a strange day it has been."

After she was sure the others were asleep, she looked at Kithran once again, "I know it's not her, but... are you influencing my path from the forest beyond, Sae?" She whispered.

Aranwen did what she could to tend to both Kithran and Ch'dau's remaining wounds, doing what she could not to wake them. She was left with no more supplies to treat her own injuries, but hers were far less than theirs. With that done, let herself rest against the opposite wall, placing her sheath in the door's handle to bar it closed, before allowing herself to succumb to sleep.

* * *

When the others awoke, they'd most likely find Aranwen checking and replacing their bandages.

"Good morning," Aranwen offered, her golden eyes mostly looking relieved to see neither of them succumbed to their injuries.

The polymorph trap is so well known as a thing from 2e D&D I somehow know about it despite never having encountered it

In any case, Kithran, still got any lockpicks handy?

If so, I vote wooden door first

Maybe I can draw them?

As you had noted that Ch'dau had previous knowledge of bladesingers, it only made sense for some stories of him likewise finding their way to the order, I thought  

Adedra's keep is actually within the city walls - Aranwen went from outside the city, into the city, then into the keep. After we leave her keep, we'll be well within the city, but adjacent a residential district.

Any remaining skeletons that have left her keep are almost certain to have drawn the attention of the city guard, which ought to occupy them, if they're not just chasing civilians around. If we do encounter an enemy that attacks us though, Aranwen will go on the attack, telling Kithran to keep steady while supporting Ch'dau and begin the bladesong again. 

I'd imagine Kithran would have determined a few possible hideouts within the city itself, but if she either hasn't or doesn't remember at the moment, Aranwen did effectively save the lives of a number of civilians. The possibility that one may lend shelter is surprisingly not zero  

Does Kithran hide her ears or half-Syl heritage in other ways? I'm thinking Aranwen will initially mistake her for Syl if she can see her ears

Course, in her mind, she sees you two in mortal peril, so she figures introductions are secondary to taking action and helping you both survive

Sorry I wrote in Kithran reaching for Ch'dau by the hand first; after the fact I'm not sure that's what she'd do and I can redo that section appropriately based on what you think

Aranwen is just full of questions now though

If you're wondering about the spider, in my head it's in the inner courtyard a bit confused at its targets being gone. Couldn't exactly see where we went through the tiny window, after all. Gives a momentary reprieve to make emergency first aid, I think

Aranwen opened a door to make her way into the inner courtyard, and found herself in the midst of a skeleton search party, thankfully smaller than the last. She held a few wounds over the encounters she had faced, and drawing breath once again, she steeled herself, her resolve, her blade, and rushed forward once more.

Sweeping the blade in reverse, Aranwen struck a ringing blow against one skeleton's head, cracking it with the flat of her blade. Around in an arc, she brought the blade down, ducking underneath another skeleton's swing as she struck at the joint between upper and lower legs, removing its mobility. With a twirl, she brought the blade back up, narrowly catching the blades of the remaining skeletons. The combined force of the blow forced her back, and she knelt outside one of the manor windows, before she lifted her voice in crescendo and lept forward, twirling her blade around to slice through both skeleton's necks.

Turning around in case they had survived the attack, she readied her blade, but was shocked to hear the window smash above her, and a large grey creature and a humanoid landed hard on the ground. Both were covered in blood.

“Take… her… rrow’ka,” Ch’dau wheezed as the surprised Syl peered down at him and the bone-spider’s front legs appeared in the broken casement from which they had toppled, “Get her… free… of this place…”

Aranwen looked to the young woman, who looked more than a little delirious, by her opinion. Her head snapped back up, her golden eyes narrowing at the creature they had clearly run from. She could see the wall buckling as it pressed its weight against it. Taking quick stock of the situation, she nodded, before she looked at the woman, "Can you stand?"

(( ))

"Then help me with him!" Aranwen told her as she sheathed her blade, "You take his right side, I'll take the left. By Adaron's grace, the path to the front gate should be clear as I left it."

Aranwen shook her head as Kithran went to pull Ch'dau upright by the hand, "Not like that," She quickly instructed, "Here, follow my lead."

She knelt down, carefully drawing Ch'dau's arm across her back until she could feel she had a good position with his shoulder, before she nodded at Kithran. Once Kithran had Ch'dau in a similar position, she nodded once more, "Now, lift with your legs," She told her, carefully pushing herself and Ch'dau to his feet, "Up you get, warrior. I won't relinquish you to death."

By this time, the skeletal spider had started bashing at the outer wall, but with Ch'dau now balanced between Aranwen and Kithran, they were able to leave the courtyard just as it broke through.

"When we get to the front gate, I'll get the guard there to let us back out," Aranwen told the others as they started making their way through the outer keep, "I can't believe you two are still able to move at all, judging by the amount of blood on you," She observed, "Just what happened here?" She asked, "And you," She looked up at the kazari, a faint recognition dawning, "Hm, Silver Cat?" She asked, now getting a good look at him without the distraction of being chased, "I see your reputation is well deserved. We need to treat both your injuries as soon as we can, but I'd sooner do that outside of this skeleton-infested household than within. That said, we need to stop."

Aranwen nodded at Kithran, before kneeling once again, "I can feel blood seeping through my shoulder armour. Take the small satchel out of my bag. There should be wrappings in it; take them and bind his wound as best you can. We need to stop the bleeding."

She tilted her head a bit to look Ch'dau's in the eye, "Stay with me," Aranwen told him, "Hear my voice, and feel your breaths. Slow your breaths, and breathe; the fight is done."

Though she was not trained in the ways of the healer as Saeriel was, Aranwen did know enough to have learned that the most dangerous thing for a bleeding creature was their own heartbeat emptying them of blood.

"That feeling is chilling, my friend, I am glad you are so much stronger than I."

Aranwen shook her head to the half-Syl beside her, "It's not a matter of strength," She replied with a chuckle, "Just my heritage, it seems, nothing to do with who I am," she shrugged her shoulders, "Strength is what we each develop through our experiences."

She nodded at the open door, her golden eyes narrowing in distrust at the green light beyond, "I know not what manner of magic or substance is needed to tint those lights green, but I don't like it," Aranwen noted, looking to the others, "If you've a free hand to carry a torch and wish to do so, go ahead and light it. Whatever's here has seen fit to do away with darkness, so we need not be stingy about shedding light of our own," She reasoned

"Kithran, and everyone, please be mindful of the building around you, including the floor and the walls," Aranwen commented, "This is architecture we cannot be sure of. Though I don't believe they'd put something that'd hinder their own passage, there's things that won't hinder them but will harm us, as we've seen with the door. Aside that, we proceed as we have been."

(Aranwen will light a torch herself, and offers a spare if someone else wants one)

Should they find themselves overwhelmed and really need to back off, they can always follow Ara's song. Reason being Ch'dau has heard enough of Adedra's gloating to recognize her voice and the singer is definitely not Adedra, and someone unknown in a place that tries to control everything that happens inside can be reasonably assumed not to be part of the enemy group  

I can put something together to move us forward  

"The style is so named due to the strange music caused by the wordless, soulful tunes which are sung as these warriors rip their whistling blades through the air." - from the class description 

 yes, they are literally singing while they fight

Not too surprised this is a detail Blackthorn missed, or perhaps omitted. But if you go to my first Current Aranwen post, the bandits do hear her too, and I wasn't being hyperbolic about it echoing through the hall she found herself fighting in, in the keep 

I even played with the idea of some enemy calling her 'banshee' as a result

For her current singing, she is doing her best to make a strong song to match the strength she wants in her swings, but it is still tinged with heartbreak

One spooky mixture being mixed there  the lighting effect is perfect

I like to call my projects collectively as 'dreamsynthesis', the act of taking something from a dream and making it in reality  

Here's the thread I've posted some in if you would like to see 

Sometimes I miss nightmares for the kinds of things that can be seen in them. Sometimes they can be quite intriguing after the fact. 

I would be working on my Halloween cosplay, but I actually finished it in September.

Maybe I should try designing a real prop of Aranwen's sword...