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The Timeworn Aviary

Scene details

Setting: The party is returning in triumph and exhaustion to Zerhem, their adventures on the western coast of Granse concluded. On the road back, they stop to rest in a picturesque logging town near the Misty Forest where the architecture seems familiar, reminiscent of Kernunnos's shrine. It turns out that some of the town's residents have claimed to be descended from the druids of Vaeltrandia scattered upon the kingdom's fall, though most of them have passed away.

One of those self-proclaimed inheritors of druidic talents was especially skilled at predicting the weather, and used this skill to navigate the Misty Forest and amass a small fortune as a timber merchant. This eccentric was fond of the wide variety of birds native to the area and constructed a mansion with riotously colorful gardens quite out of place in the otherwise modest town.

The house has been abandoned since her death decades ago and now, decrepit and in disrepair, it is home to the birds she loved, which nest in its nooks and crannies. Though it is little more than a local curiosity, Kernunnos wishes to visit it to see if anything can be learned of its late owner's lineage. Either way, it will be a prime opportunity for some relaxed birdwatching.

Log

On the outskirts of a logging town at the edge of the Misty Forest, an odd mansion has been overtaken by nature. The needles of young pines, densely sprouting from the rich earth, rise up from what was clearly once a path, screening the decrepit house from view. Once orderly gardens untended for decades have become a tangle, blooming vines entwining about trees to reach for sunlight otherwise obscured by growing canopies. Bright colors pop amongst the green, some non-native species having survived and thrived, the occasional sunflower turning its petals heavenward. Though the vegetation obscures one's view of the grounds, anyone willing to shoulder through thin branches heavy with pine needles and sidles past glittering spiderwebs will be able to approach the abandoned house.

Ivo has seated himself upon its once grand and now half-collapsed porch steps, having uncorked a canteen from which steam emerges, taking a deep breath of it and smiling. "This is the local herbal tea blend, I'm told," he expounds to no one in particular, his eyes following the many birds that make their home here. Fat doves bobble their way away from him, slightly disturbed by his words, as sparrows and finches swirl, seeking sunflower seeds, and a red-tufted woodpecker raps against a pine. "A mix of pine needles, peppermint, and mountain rose." He takes a sip. "Nicely balanced. A little bitter, a little sweet. Anyone want some? Kernunnos?" The young man smiles. "If you manifested, you could drink it, right?"

The light in Reize's pendant flickers.

"I will spare you my presence," the demigod replies patiently. "Though it is true that, when I am not contained within this stone, I possess a physical form."

Now that the party has three-fourths of the Crux, Kernunnos seems much more talkative, being significantly less concerned with exhausting himself. Admittedly, the party was only able to fully empower him during their fight against Draaken thanks to the overwhelming power of Chaos, which they could not bring with them, given how damaging even brief contact with it was to Argent. But they are now able to keep him energized even without the prayers of his faithful.

"Everywhere we go," Kernunnos says quietly, "we find only traces."

But, the more he speaks, the clearly it is how often his mind is on his lost faithful regardless. In the Pits of Avarice, they had encountered a druid's lingering spirit, but that is the closest they've come to direct contact with one who has memories of Vaeltrandia in its glory days. There was no evidence in Aurita Meloda of the druid who must have cast away the arm of the Crux there.

"And here?" Ivo prompts the demigod, curious.

"I sense nothing," Kernunnos, after a pregnant pause, replies.

Bird watching was something that Reize did very often in his days prior to adventuring.

As their trip through the mansion led them into a place of questionable terrains, Reize was able to nimbly avoid the many branches, pine needles, and taking out a few offending spiders on the way, Reize wandered through to meet with Ivo. Given that his older friend is enjoying the tea, Reize's eyes wander over towards the birds that flutter in the air.

He extends his hand to the sky, staring upon the heavens as he watches the bird.

~ "I've always wanted to be an adventurer. Visiting distant lands, confronting dangerous beasts, helping those in need... just like my father did in all the stories he's told me." ~

The sight of the fat doves fluttering away from Ivo is observed.

~ "... The birds you see every day have all left their nests. When's it going to be my turn to soar, to be carefree, unbound, with the world wide open before me?" ~ There is a brief moment where the everything fades around the explorer as he extends his hand high. In that moment of the darkness, the explorer is wearing the clothing of a normal villager to reflect his home. That image fades back to the Undercity at the sealed door. There was a familiar feeling when he touched that seal.

~"I want to leave... have an adventure of my own..."~

And the music box...

~ "--and maybe find---" ~

What snaps him out of it is the words of Kernunnos, who notes the lack of traces of the faithful. His eyes widen and he blinks a few times to re-orient himself. "Huh?" Pause. "Oh. Perhaps it is just a good time to at least enjoy the time of rest." He does give a thought, "Though, would you even be able to enjoy something like 'tea'?"

If there's birds, there's eggs and eggs might be edible. ... okay. Ruidosa isn't gonna steal eggs like a sneaky fox, but she is gonna sketch birds and eggs. She's following along behind Reize who seems lost in thought as she finally asks...

"Whatcha thinking about?" she asks.

Ruidosa has experience traipsing around old abandoned mansions. Because she lives in one. She's looking forward to exploring another. When Ivo offers tea, she takes the offered canteen, sniffs at it, makes a face. She takes sips, and makes another face and offers back.

"That is not to my tastes. I apologize."

Ivo watches, his smile sedate, as a bold finch alights on Reize's contemplatively extended hand, the small bird tilting its head curiously a few times before determining that no food is to be found and fluttering off. It is clear that the birds in this town are very tame, a situation no doubt encouraged by all the colorfully painted birdhouses that adorn almost every abode. The color scheme of white and red, and the carved statues of animals situated seemingly protectively at the town's borders, were very much reminiscent of the Painted Remains, the shrine where the party first encountered Kernunnos. It is certain that some druidic traditions were passed down to those who settled here, even if any substantive knowledge of Vaeltrandia was lost.

"Likely not as I am," Kernunnos allows, in reply to Reize. "But we spirits may be shaped by the thoughts and desires of you mortals, just as our presence reshapes you. Were I to sustain myself upon your cognitive effervescence, I might become more as you imagine me. And were you to imagine me as an animal like others, I might in turn acquire senses such as taste." His voice turns faintly amused. "But, having no need for mortal aliment, so too do I lack its pleasures."

"An acquired taste, perhaps," Ivo says to Ruidosa, smile broadening into a grin as he takes the canteen back from the girl. "You lived among mortals for a long time, right?" Ivo queries after another sip, relaxing against the creaking steps, spreading out his cloak for comfort. "Did that change you?"

"It made me more as I am," the demigod replies. "I was treated as a divinity, cloistered in my shrine, where it suppressed the damage I might have done them. I had thought I could watch over them that way, assist them in achieving their dreams. But I saw too little."

"I wonder if Meloda felt the same way," Ivo muses idly. "She endowed Aurita Meloda with her Blessing, only for Draaken to resent her. Even great and powerful beings cannot foresee all."

"Was she wrong, do you think?"

"Wrong?" The Cosmopolitan seems startled. "Ah..."

"She lent the mortals she sought to aid an unfathomable power," Kernunnos continues, not awaiting an answer. "She led them to what might allow the realization of their dreams, and then watched, just wishing to see them succeed. But that power was twisted, and with it, those dreams. Is it enough to say that the suffering and despair that followed could not have been foreseen? Would those who perished in agony accept that excuse?"

Ivo is left speechless, glancing between Reize and Ruidosa.

"I have wondered," the demigod says, tone soft among the trees and flowers, "since I awakened from my slumber, if I made a terrible mistake. And my doubts," he confesses, "have only grown."

Ruidosa's question has the boy regard her with a smile. "Watching these birds reminded me when I was stuck in my home region. I wanted to be as free as the birds around." There is a rueful smile that forms, "I was even envious of them." He considers, "There was a bit of reflection of my time there and..." He thinks, before he cracks a grin, "I am just happy to be an explorer now!"

The explorer listens to Kernunnos regarding the spirits and their shape and the thoughts of them acquiring taste. A thought bubble appears over his head, manifested as a super-deformed, or chibified, Kernunnos using his hooves to take a sip of a tea and preening.

"Huh, I see!" The conversation between Ivo and Kernunnos earns a frown. He closes his eyes, holding onto the pendant. "...Wish, huh...?" The boy furrows his eyebrows, realizing that it has been a long time since he had those 'dreams'.

As the conversation turns a bit awkward due to the reflections of the eidola. "... We'll just have to set things now, right?"

Ruidosa frowns. "I think I'm too accustomed to the tea at home for wild tea blends." she says bluntly. She looks back to Reize and head tilts. "Huh." she says. "I never thought of birds like that before. I was stuck in home for a long time, but not a lot of life around the manor to take in. Most of it hides in the swamp waters..."

When the conversation turns to doubts, regrets, she gets a bit uncomfortable. "Mom always said regrets and doubts are why vampires go mad. Because we're long lived and we have too much time on our hands to wonder..." she shifts. "That's why she... I.. write down and draw things in the book. It's like. Therapy or something. To have something to talk to ''people aren't supposed to read who's names rhyme with 'Livo'." she says bluntly.

"I dunno what to say to that. Except maybe talk about it with people you trust since I dunno if you can write in a book." she says.

"Y-yeah," Ivo ventures, nodding to Reize, then to Ruidosa. The young man looks a little embarrassed at his careless comment having elicited such a painful admission from the noble spirit. "Your people's history hasn't yet been written, Kernunnos." He gestures toward the tome in the girl's hands, which, to his credit, he hasn't read... for a few weeks. "We still haven't discovered the true legacy of the Star-Crowned. What your faithful created may be able to save our friend. And so much of what they left behind has been beautiful."

A vivid red cardinal flutters by, ascending to one of the ruined mansion's bedrooms above, where it now nests among the vestiges of human habitation.

"Mm." Kernunnos does not seem embarrassed, perhaps lacking the capacity. "I had not before conceived of myself as having a 'wish.' At first, it was merely a sympathetic impulse toward those struggling people. I was astonished at their outsized dream -- and hungry for those dreams myself." As an eidola, he means this literally. "But I began to feel a true fondness for them. They wished to reach the sun, to return to their great father of their own volition. They believed this was the test given them at the moment of the world's sundering. And I..."

The demigod trails off.

"Ever since I came to rest in this pendant," he muses, "and have dwelt cut off from my long lost faithful's dreams, I have found my own yearning deepening. If I was mistaken, I will accept it. But... there is so much I do not know of what happened to my people, of what was done with my astral gift. Even my memories of the crisis before I was left alone within my shrine are vague."

Ivo quirks an eyebrow.

"I wish to know what happened," Kernunnos says firmly, simply. "I wish to know if I was right or wrong. And so I chase my people's traces, even once as faint as these."

The trees that have overtaken the old house sway in a gentle forest breeze. Though mists perennially shroud the adjacent forest, here the skies above are clear.

"Well," Ivo says, turning his head to sweep his gaze up the house's outer wall's peeling paint to see birds fluttering in and out of long-broken windows, "this, too, is a beautiful remnant."

Reize thinks over towards Ivo as he regards to the history of the Vaeltrandia and the people, Reize interjects, "Well, I think between my journal from my adventures and Rui's entries that she had made," He brightens, "We can both an entry that can be left behind here in Granse, so that everyone can have a written legacy." He runs a hand over to his chin, "And if we have Nais on our side for that, he can share the knowledge that was long lost." He cracks a grin, "We're the Star Chasers, uncovering the undiscovered and lost."

As Kernunnos shares his own wish, Reize smiles warmly, "We'll just have to continue to travel around and record our findings until we help you find that answer." His attention turns to the mist that shroud a forest, then he lifts up to notice the clear gaze.

"It's nice to be able to relax like this."

Ruidosa La Crima softly sighs a little. "Well, we'll do what we can to help you figure it out then!" she says softly. "My mom never wrote anything about your people so I don't think she ever interacted with them or their legacy. So nothing I can share..." she shrugs, as she looks up at the old manor.

"Wow, this has been negelected even worse than home....."

"I love it!" she says as she runs up to a window to peak into it. "I wonder how many bird species reside here..." she says softly, as she looks back at Reize. "Hopefully there isn't a Dire Chicken." she says gravely back at his comment. "To ruin the relaxing."

"Well said," Ivo exclaims, grinning at Reize. "Once we reach this journey's end, let's write the history of Vaeltrandia ourselves. We can ask Fox what she's learned on her journeys too. She was able to confirm Nais's druidic heritage." He watches a dun-colored female cardinal pluck a seed from a sunflower. "I wonder how she learned so much. She's quite the mystery."

He looks rather happy about it, for some reason.

"History," Kernunnos says, sounding, also for unclear reasons, rather amused. "A charming concept. Mortals reach for immortality in so many clever ways. I delight in your innovations. Yes," he adds, softer. "I have always delighted in mortals."

The demigod's sense of self seems to be strengthening.

"Thank you, my champions."

> Kernunnos's Affinity Rank has increased to 5.

> Reize's ability to bond with birds increases by +2.

> Additionally, attempts to transform Reize into a bird receive +5.

"Good question," is Ivo's lively response to Ruidosa, smiling at her enthusiasm as he gathers himself up, shaking a little dust out of his cloak. "Shall we peek inside and find out? Watch your step on this old wood."

The front door has half fallen off its rusted hinges and has to be maneuvered out of the way more than opened, but the foyer retains evidence of great eccentricity. The wide and many-windowed room is littered with pots overflowing with flowers, perhaps once intended for replanting in the garden, and small carvings of animals in various states of completion. Above the mantle is a painting of a delighted-looking old woman with a rare red-breasted house finch eating out of her hand. On the mantle itself, coincidentally, a family of similar-looking birds have made a nest, and they ignore the intruders, unconcerned.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20.

Comment: Does Fate Hate Me

Roll(s): 16. Total result is 16.

There is a smile as he glances at Ruidosa, "We'll be able to write something together!" He re-assures her, "We learned a lot during out travels here and we've explored places that no other people have been able to." He does frown, "... I do want to go back to the Burial Mound at some point, though." He lowers his head a bit, "...That mimic." He mutters, running a face to his cheek.

As the group make their way into the age old home that is made of long old wood, the explorer stares around to see the wide and many-windowed rooms. The carving of the animals is one that is filled with amazement.

Ruidosa is awarded a squint from the boy as he wanders to the aged house, "Bah! You worry too much, Rui. This is a peaceful area! I am certain we won't run into any of those sort of creatures here." Reize brightens, "This looks amazing!"



As Reize takes a step over to one of the floors, he narrowly avoids what could be a broken platform that could have sent him into the basement.

Deep within the basement, after all, in the abandoned place, exists something. BAW-CAWW!!!!!

Maybe. Just your imagination. Really.

Ruidosa scoffs! "H..hey--watch who you're calling mortals...!" she says with a huff! She follows inside with the others and looks up at the painting and makes a :I face at it as she looks back at the many windows. She eyes the birds on the mantle as she's careful of the floor.

She's used to stepping on rickety wood and knows how to avoid say, falling through the floor into a basement full of... things. She isn't sure what's in Mom's basement. It's been locked for time immemorial for as long as she's known.

She isn't interested in THIS places basement however, instead, sketching the birds on the mantle.

"I dunno, plants attacked me once." she hesitates, looking at the plants in the pots. She's watching you, pretty.... pansies or... daisys or whatever they are! Huff.

"We'll write something together....yeah!" she says, sketching the birds still.

"We have had bad luck with animals," Ivo is compelled to acknowledge, starting to look a little dubious for the first time. "Oh, right. And plants." That's a lot of bad luck. His brow furrows. Come on, man, it's just an innocent nest of tiny birds.

Or is it?????

"Oh, look, that one is more orange than red," the Cosmopolitan cheerfully observes, looking at two house finches on the mantle grooming one another. "That's a rare variant, I believe."

Yes, in fact, it is. The foyer requires some ginger circumnavigation, what with the damaged floorboards and the clutter everywhere, but the artworks here have mostly stood the test of time, though they are universally spattered with bird poop. There is a distinct lack of furniture, but the birds make themselves comfortable in every nook and cranny.

"Seems she lived here alone," Ivo adds, tilting his head toward the woman in the painting. "Well, as the only human, I mean."

"A joyous expression," Kernunnos notes.

"Yeah," the young man agrees. "She knew what she wanted, clearly. Apparently she made her fortune as the owner and manager of a successful logging company, so it's not as though she lived in total isolation, in any case. I heard she could predict the weather, or so they say, and help loggers safely navigate the woods. I remember the mists of the forest seeming dangerously impenetrable. But Nais could control them..."

He peers into a side room.

"Well, this is quite something."

The smaller space is ringed with painted wood pinwheels that spin lazily whenever a breeze passes through the broken windows. An odd weathervane stands in the middle of the room, turning to and fro, a collection of animals carved atop its multiple pointing arrows.

"A bear, a cat, and owl..." Ivo glances back at his friends. "These are Kernunnos's sacred beasts. The late owner may have used this to work her rumored arts." He looks back into the room and shakes his head slowly. "But I doubt it is usable or interpretable by those without her druidic skills."

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 19. Total result is 19.

Reize furrows his eyebrows, "... Bad luck with animals..." A thought bubble rises above his head, going back to the chibified times.

Chibi Reize: Hi little buddies! ^_^

Chibi Piglets: O.O O.O *CHOMP*

Chibi Reize: agjhagahghrajghrgra

Chibi Mother Boar: >:( *bulldozes Reize*

Chibi Reize: *bowling pin smashing noises as Reize flies in the air*

And episode later...

Chibi Reize: Hi little guy.

Chibi Flamingo: watah! *poke face*

Chibi Reize: asmdsmmfajhfjashasjfhafsad

As those thoughts fade away, Reize is grumbling, his head bowed low as a shade of darkness hangs at the side of his head. "Y--yeah... those were not the greatest." As Ivo directs them to the house finch, Reize takes interest, "Oh! Nice!" He brightens, then he continues to wander around to get the feel of the place. Outside of the multitude of bird feces, he realizes how spacious it is.

The side room is regarded with interest, as he follows Ivo to the side room. "Oh, is that so..." He looks over towards the collection of the animal carvings. Off the corner of his eyes, his eyes light up.

"Oh! I found one....!" From the carving of the cat exists a shiny little bug. It is a stag beetle with the glittering wings.

Ruidosa ughs. "Living alone can be boring though..." she admits. She softly thought bubbles about animals.....and there's a chibi Ruidosa in the bubble trying to shove various animals into her mouth. Or wanting to feed adorable piglets.... but she shakes it off, as she hears Reize found something....

She softly eyes the carving with the little beetle on it...

"Oh, it's that beetle again! Should we put it in a jar?" she asks. "Or ... uh? Do we need this one?" she asks.

"Oh, these are completely ruined," Ivo is murmuring to himself, having moved away from the ritual room to examine the staircase to the upper floor. It has totally collapsed, leaving a mess of jagged wood fragments beneath an opening to the second floor high above, from which merry chirping emanates. "We'd have to climb to go higher, and we'd surely disturb the peaceful inhabitants. I doubt there's treasure to be found-- oh?"

But Reize has found a treasure of sorts: a rare crowned beetle, hardly ever seen away from the Lonely Woods. Ivo pauses to admire the way the sunlight cast through the broken windows refracts off the prismatic wings of the docile bug.

"Nicely done, chief!"

It crawls along Reize's finger for a moment, quirking its wings, before lifting off to slowly float toward the boy's pendant and settle upon it, resting there.

"Thank you, little one," Kernunnos says, light faintly pulsing, "but I am well-nourished now. You may be relieved of your duties." Still, the beetle remains where it is.

"How did these beetles come to gather sunlight for you, anyway?" Ivo asks. Apparently they don't need this one. But it occurs to the young man, in the wake of their earlier exchanges, that he never probed deeper into the crowned beetles' place in Vaeltrandia's history.

"Through the efforts of my faithful," the demigod replies. "The insects were specially bred by my people to bring me tribute and, it was said, to lead lost druids back home." Those words linger in the air. "Thus they revealed to you the hidden entrance to my shrine."

"I'm grateful for that," Ivo says cheerfully, making a conscious effort not to say anything too melancholy again.

"As am I," Kernunnos warmly responds. "And I am grateful to my faithful, who planned for my sustenance in their absence." He hesitates. "Only now," he adds, more quietly, "do I wonder what they anticipated, and why."

"You know," Ivo is reflecting, having surveyed the whole of the lower floor, "it would take some work to repair this place, but it wouldn't be so bad, living here with the birds above. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner started giving the place over to her aviary long before her passing." He grins. "Well, once we can secure Nais's freedom, if he decides he wants a peaceful life making himself useful, perhaps he could master this wacky weathervane himself and apply his talents to assisting the lumberjacks here as this kind lady once did."

"Err, let's not capture it, Rui," Reizes advises against capturing the beetle to Ruidosa. "We typically spot one to just let Kernunnos know." He brightens at her and then he looks over to the pendant. Ivo's compliment earns a bright grin from the young explorer.

Oh! This is something of interest. Reize does take into the account of learning more about the beetles' relevance to Vaeltrandia's history.

As they look over the house, he looks back at Ivo with a thoughtful look, "That sounds like a good plan!" He smiles faintly, "It'd be a shame for this place to just... become obscured by time."