Ridge is a compact gnome with a perpetually open, friendly smile. His skin has the faint, mossy freckling of one who lives close to stone and root. He keeps his beard trimmed in an angular, tidy line and braids two short strands behind each ear with thin leather ties that tinkle softly with tiny carved bone beads. He favors muted, earthen colors that absorb light; his leather cloak has an inner lining patterned like a starless night sky, an unexpected flourish against his otherwise practical gear. When he moves he has a relaxed, fluid gait, like water finding a channel, but his head snaps with predatory focus when something in the shadows moves. Contradiction: his face is almost always smiling and disarming, but his eyes harden to an animal alertness for a heartbeat whenever he scents danger.