Dancing Strongbark House

The Dancing Strongbark is a huge and lonely willow tree that curves and weaves through the aurora tinted sky. Cutting between it’s thick roots, the River Summertail tumbles across boulders as it’s makes it’s way to the Gaia Sea, it’s purple tinted blue waters providing a cool and crisp drink that fills the mind and body. Birds sing ancient songs looking down upon meadows of heavily scented flowers, producing an indescribable aroma that surrounds the tree.
The Night Train pulls up at the trunk’s base, allowing you to step down on a gentle mossy floor. The Dancing Strongbark towers over you, it’s residents curious about the new arrivals. A treehog scurries up the bark to inform those who live in the higher branches of the new spectacle.
Vines woven with Rhye magic form ladders ascending the gnarled trunk, up to flattened platforms that have been shaped into various living spaces for the adventurers of the world serpent in. Up the first set of ladders, you find yourself atop a huge circular terrace, sheltered with a pergola solid with tightly knitted wisteria keeping out any rain. A selection of furniture is scattered to form multiple sitting areas – tables, chairs, sofas, recliners, thick and shabby rugs, pillows, and rocking chairs. The hungry and thirsty find themselves draw to a circular bar at the very centre, where they may help themselves to a generous variety of drinks and snacks. A shared kitchen is available in a large knot of the tree, stocked plentifully with ingredients and equipment. The large white furred Homunculus, Smiley, sit’s atop a large climbing frame, surveying the space with his endless unblinking eyes. His wide mouth set in a too-wide grin with far too many teeth.
owards the East, and the rising sun, a huge straight wooden beam juts out into the sky – a perch for messenger dragons, bringing the guild post and packages from across Rhye. Not to far from the tree, a warm sand bath provides the great beasts with an indulgent napping spot.
There are several options for advancing further up the dancing willow from the terrace. Several lead to private rooms, for socialisation away from others or simply away from the outside. The majority however lead to the dormitories – vertical columns of around ten small wooden cabins, each containing a bed, desk, wardrobe and sink. Each column of rooms has a communal bathroom and kitchen. Curiously, a final vine ladder in fact leads down, below to tree, where the residents find a large hanging basket, furnished with an exceptionally tall bunkbed with nearly six levels of bed. A sign has been put on the front labelled ‘Kobold Cupboard’.
Exploration has taken most of the day, and you gather in the terrace. The day fades away, and night begins to creep in. The moon, proud and shameless in the sky, shines through the trees in the distant forest, leaving a cool glow as though the trees themselves are illuminating the sky. Dragons dance like sparrows through the air, the auroras flowing across their glittering scales.