I often write boxed text for new in-game events and locations. I find it easier to think through the sights, smells, and other sensations during GM prep and write them out, rather than improv’ing when I’m trying to write a game. Here’s one such moment.
As you continue through the Gloamwood, slowly working your way down into a river valley, the road widens out for a while, and the trek becomes a bit more flat. You hear the aether-infused creek babbling through the trees somewhere off the road to your east, and occasionally a sparkle reflecting through the leaves catches your vision.
And as you work your way through the brushy forest, you come upon an odd sight in the middle of a well-exposed stretch of the old road: a wide spot in the road, with a round ring of stones in the middle. Vines and brushy plants form an elongated mound, running from the middle of the ring across half of the road, as if something is piled under the flora.
You peer off into the forest, and from the road, you can see the ruins of some sort of settlement scattered in the surrounding forest. Flat spots appear to be cut into the rolling forest floor, with the remains of old stone steps leading up to them. Low, straight lines of stone jut up from the dirt here and there–possibly the last remnants of foundations of some sort.
In fact, if you didn’t notice that they were made of layers of stones carefully laid together, you might think they were simply oddly-shaped rock outcroppings.