GM Bill Spivey's page

Spivey looks back at her shrine, a worried expression on her face, "I don't know if I should leave this area unprotected. Not as long as there are enemies in the castle, at any rate. I also don't know much about recon."

Looks like a good time to move forward...
After a night of decent rest, everyone is hale and healthy thanks to Spivey's ministration, full magical energies restored.

Spivey, who has stayed awake all night gazing at the stars, pipes up with a question, "Are you going to deal with the rest of the birdmen today? There can't be too many of them left. I've never seen very many, I think, though it's hard to tell because they all look mostly the same to me."

Spivey takes in the stories with wide eyes, excited by the events that have transpired. She also flits and plays about with Rawnie's familiar while you prepare the message.
"I did see a winged woman, a harpy, flying from the castle, Alara. I saw her fly southward and out of sight. She should be miles away by now at the rate she was going."

Getting a message to the caravan and back, now that you're using Walthus's map as a medium, should be a matter of a half-hour or so. Is there anything particular you want to pass on or just general update?

Going with Spivey's cemetery...

The tranquility of the cemetery is a welcome change to the stress of the hostile castle, giving everybody a chance to rest and decompress. Spivey flits about and around you excitedly.

"You're BACK! You're BAAAAAACK! Oh, how was it? Was it exciting? Were you heroic? Are you OK? Oh, you're hurt! I can help that," she rapid fires her questions and statements, not even affording enough time to form a response. But once she spots the injuries among you, she slows down. A few words of prayer to Desna as she administers to each of you and soon, everybody is fully healed of all wounds - even the ettercap poison that had been afflicting Masamune.

Spivey takes a deep breath to slow herself down and says, "Tell me all about it. Don't leave out a detail!"

Engage in any storytelling or discussion you want. Now is your chance to rest and chat without being in adventuring time and rounds.

Spivey claps her hands with excitement. "You should be able to spend the night here! Nobody ever bothers the cemetery any more. It will be so good to have the company!"

It ends up being fairly easy to find a spot in the cemetery not directly observed by the castle, though it seems a matter of common sense not to light a fire. A few hours after sundown, a bit of noise erupts from the area of the castle. It's hard to make out but it sounds a bit like the cry of crows.

Spivey indicates that the birdmen generally head down the road until it bends into the town and then usually strike out in to the woods. How would you like to proceed with an ambush?

I've put an image of a crow on the map about the point where the birdmen leave the road.

"How long has it been since their last hunting party? If we could catch them while they are out, we can reduce the numbers within without them knowing we are here..." Ash says thoughtfully.

"I think tomorrow may be a hunting day. They usually go out midday and stay out until dusk. Then they make noise until late into the night. Disgusting creatures," she says as he tiny nose wrinkles up.

Since you came down to the town after a bit of travel, it's about mid to late afternoon now as you chat with Spivey.

"Sadly, I know of no other entrance for those of you who are confined to walk rather than fly. Nor do I know for certain the bird men can see in the dark. They are active after dark. Every few days or so, a group of them leave the castle for a while, I think to hunt," Spivey says in apologetic tones.

Spivey laughs, "Oh, the dragon is dead, alright. The reefclaws have been feeding on it. The body is right on the shore of the lagoon," she wrinkles her nose up in an expression of disgust.

"Getting into the castle without using the front door would be easy... if you could fly like me. But you cannot and I am not big enough to carry any of you."

I have posted links to maps of the ground floor and upper floors of the castle so you can get an idea how it is laid out. Unexplored interior areas are, of course, blocked out.

"Oh, yes! If you could rid of the creepy bird men then nicer people might come back. Those bird men are nothing but brutes. Black as crows, they are, covered in feathers but they don't have wings. They're as cruel as they are stupid. A couple of them seem to be on watch on the roof, but that just means they get to sleep in the sun. They're not very good at their jobs."

She flits in and about the group a bit more, Rawnie's butterfly gamboling behind her.

"As far as the rest of Brinewall, I've seen a few other creatures about. There are reefclaws in the lagoon now, so watch our for them. And the bird men may not fly but there are others at the castle who do. There are two other kinds of bird people - one also has black feathers but is smaller and skinnier than the disgusting bird men - and he wings. The other is a woman. I would guess she is a harpy, but I've never heard her sing and I thought harpies sang. At night, giant bats come out to fly too. So I usually do my best to stay safely hidden."

"One day, not long ago, there was some excitement because of new visitors. Humans came in a boat - it's sinking now but it wasn't when they got here - but they were attacked by the dragon that used to live in the lagoon. I thought all of them died while killing the dragon, but then I saw bird men dragging one into the castle that I think was still alive. She's probably dead now, though. I bet they ate her. Yuck!"

She then focuses her attention on Piper for a moment.

"As for me? I'm not a faerie, I'm a lyrakien. I came from a different world. Your wizards call us azata. I once served a mistress who traveled to many different places, but she was eaten by a plant leaving me stranded and alone ever since. So I make myself useful here."

The small creature looks at Piper's writing and says, "My name is Spivey. I am the caretaker of this consecrated ground and servant of Desna. It is good to see people who revere her once more."

While her butterfly-like wings suggest she is fey, there is another otherworldly aura about her that makes it hard for Piper to figure out exactly what she is.

In response to Alara's compliment, she says, "Thank you, I've tried to clean up more of the town and church, but that has been too dangerous. So I devote my efforts here. An island of peace."

With Masamune and Ash getting down to business, Spivey flits around the group, in near constant motion. "You have a seer? Is that why you have come here? Nobody else ever does. But I am not surprised about terrible visions. There are terrible things about. Wicked, dirty bird men. Ugh, everything they do is foul. But they don't come here. They think the graveyard is haunted. Hee hee hee." She giggles happily about that.

As Rawnie and Alara approach the statue, they find Rawnie's butterfly virtually nose to nose with a small creature - a female humanoid no taller than about a foot - also with butterfly wings. The butterfly's antennae flit all around the creature's face as she laughs and says, in a voice with a musical lilt, "And it pulled it's skin back?!? That's disgusting! Ha, ha. Then what did she do? Lightning? That's fantastic!"

The small creature looks up at that point, spying Rawnie and Alara, and says, "Oh, hello. Welcome to my home."