An Avian Revelation

• Title: An Avian Revelation
• Emitter: Ravenstongue
• Characters: Ravenstongue, Stjepan
• Place: A07 - Fernwood Pub
• Time: November 12, 2021
• Summary: Ravenstongue seeks refuge at the Fernwood Pub from her ongoing harassers: a flock of birds that won't let her sleep much and follow her everywhere. Tonight, it's a congregation of owls, and she exchanges words about the situation with her friend Stjepan. Stjepan uses his arcane sight and is able to make some observations, but there's only so much that can be concluded with the limited data. Ravenstongue is left reeling with the questions that having some of the answers, but not all, often gives, and leaves to try and get a good night's rest.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* A07: Fernwood Pub *>--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

The common room of the Fernwood Pub dominates the inn, spacious and airy because of the high, vaulted ceiling. Ornately carved beams of dark, polished wood form a lattice overhead, supporting the arched roof two storeys above the floor. To the right of the double-door entry is a spiral staircase, winding upwards to a balcony that rings and overlooks the main area. Large windows at this level grant an excellent view of the river to the west and colorful market stalls to the north and east. An air of coziness is salvaged by keeping the pub dimly lit; parchment-shrouded mana lanterns hang at intervals from the base of the balcony, nestled amongst lush, magically propagated ivy and ferns that grow over this false demi-ceiling and the struts that support it.

The bar is sleek and simple, comprised of meticulously polished black lacquer. Tables are set under the darker niches formed by the balcony floor as well as on the balcony itself. A few are deliberately sized to accommodate halflings and gnomes, but the majority are meant for human-sized individuals. A large common table is on the main floor, set before a semi-circular stage situated against the western wall. Beside it, with pipes mounted upon the wall and running up past the balcony and almost to the ceiling, is a refurbished pipe organ made to look like the one lost when the Fernwood was destroyed during the Merkabah Siege.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
 Ravenstongue    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.
 Stjepan         Big, blonde jotun. 
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

It's well into the night as Ravenstongue sits in the corner of the Fernwood. There's a veritable feast of foods on the small table, but only Pothy is pecking at them, as Ravenstongue stares out the window at the several owls sitting in a tree outside. They all stare back at her in a strange way, like they were communicating silently through just their gazes.

Pothy nudges Ravenstongue's hand with his fluffy head as he pushes a stack of crackers into her palm. Ravenstongue startles out of her staring match with the congregation of owls outside, and she sighs for a moment before rubbing her eyes, which have rather deep dark circles underneath them. "Right. Sorry, Pothy, I don't mean to worry you..."

Stjepan comes in, ducking under the lintel. His arrival is marked by a gust of curling, cold wind and a few stray dead leaves. He scans the room, eyes taking a moment to adjust. His gaze hitches, taking in the details, and whatever he was going to do is interrupted, as he heads towards the back corner. As his shadow impinges on the table, he asks affably: "Are ya laying out bait for company?"

Ravenstongue practically lights up as she looks up from the shadow to its caster and recognizes her familiar giant friend. "Honestly, I came in here to get away from them," she says, motioning to the owls from the window. "But I'm absolutely open for company."

Pothy croaks happily as he sees Stjepan, too, but unlike his usual demeanor where he immediately begs for snacks from his second-favorite snack dispenser, he takes another cracker and begins to swallow it, his eyes quickly returning to the owls as though he was the lone barrier between the congregation and Ravenstongue--despite, well, the wall and the sheet of glass separating them.

Stjepan lowers himself down into a chair, and looks out the window casually. "Whoo?" He looks back, "Get away from them? Why -- you harbouring mice in your dress, or something?" He glances at Pothy, and grunts. "Huh." Reaching for some food. "What's going on?"

"I wish it was mice," Ravenstongue says with a little laugh. "They've been following me for weeks now. Croaking outside of my bedroom window, following me around at night. If it's not owls, it's ravens. Sometimes other birds, but it's mostly ravens and owls--ravens at day, owls at night. I only get a few hours of sleep at night now. Pothy's been my little bodyguard--he'll chase them off sometimes if they get too close, but they always come back."

Pothy seems incredibly proud of his bodyguard efforts, croaking a little in agreement right before he scarfs down some cubed cheese. Dairy isn't great for birds, but Pothy... Pothy's unique in both feather color and diet.

Stjepan nods slowly, reaching out to pat Pothy absently. "That sounds strange." He considers for a moment. "You do or say anything to prompt that?" Then, he leans over to look at the owls. Slowly, his eyes glow blue, and he keeps staring.

<OOC> Ravenstongue says, "For funsies, make a Spellcraft roll."
GAME: Stjepan rolls spellcraft: (12)+4: 16
<OOC> Stjepan says, "Clearly, his best roll :D"
<OOC> Ravenstongue says, "Lmao, it'll do at least"

Those are not normal birds. Not only do those owls light up like beacons, they shine like illusory figures, the magic light glowing off of them similar to the shimmering of fire. They are not real birds, but rather sent here by a spell. And that means someone or something sent them.

"Not a thing," Ravenstongue replies with a sigh. "They just showed up and haven't left me alone."

Stjepan nods slowly. "Well, that's cause they're magical, they're not real. No self-respecting owl would act like that." He looks faintly annoyed with the birds. "Do the owls or ravens act any differently?" There's a pause. "You talked to Sandy about this? Being an apprentice should have some privileges."

The more that the birds are analyzed, the more that they seem to bear... a certain magical resemblance to Ravenstongue, who also shines like a beacon in terms of arcane sight, but only in that her blood is literally magic. There's some sort of connection, but it's difficult to assess without going outside and grabbing an owl from the tree and making it bleed--if that's even possible, considering it's an illusion.

"I haven't been able to meet with Sandy about it," Ravenstongue elaborates. "That's why I arranged a meeting with a lady at the arcanist's society a couple of days from now, and put up fliers asking for anyone to come and help figure out if we can sent them away. And... Well, they don't act much differently. They just stare at me from a distance and even try to approach me sometimes--that's when Pothy fends them off."

Stjepan nods slowly, turning his glowing eyes on her. He takes a moment, a long moment, to look at her, heedless of the glow. "That's a good idea." The light from his eyes paints strange shadows on his face. He's slightly distracted as he says it, though. There's a lot of craziness heading down his optic nerve right now, after all.

There's a relation. That's for certain. Somehow, like how family members bear similar facial features like noses, eye shapes, jawlines, and cheekbones, there's a similarity between Ravenstongue's arcane glow from her bloodline and that of the owls in terms of their magic. Not similar enough to be magic siblings or magic parents, but closer to distant cousins that you can tell, somehow, are related in the way that they smile and it creates the same dimples in their cheeks.

Ravenstongue frowns as she notices the odd shadowing on Stjepan's face from the arcane sight. "Is everything okay?" she asks. "You look funny." An unintentional compliment, to be certain, considering Stjepan is likely used to his default status being considered as 'odd' or 'funny', but Ravenstongue has never been one of those people.

Stjepan's eyes are suddenly normal again. "The birds, they're related to the thing that makes you magic and sparkly." He pauses. "I don't know why, but they are." He pauses again, the little hamster wheel in his head squeaking away. "That lady should probably know that."

"The thing that makes me magic and sparkly?" Ravenstongue asks. Then it hits her just a couple of seconds later in her sleep-deprived state, her eyes widening. "You mean my bloodline? You mean the birds are... related to me? Somehow?"

The half-elf girl slumps back in her chair and groans. "I was kidding when I said I was ravenblooded! This is ridiculous!" she declares, a palm going to her face like suddenly her whole head was aching.

Pothy gives a little laugh to Ravenstongue's plight before he shoves another pile of crackers into her palm. At least her little feathered bodyguard is encouraging her to eat.

Stjepan nods to Pothy. "Raven, you need to eat, and you need to sleep." He folds his arms across his chest. "Birds or no birds."

Ravenstongue sighs and crams the crackers into her mouth. She pauses her a long moment as she just chews, appearing contemplative as she finally sits forward again in her chair. "I know, I know--Pothy's been good about that. I just--why? They're magic birds, so they're not real birds, and they've just been sort of following me anywhere. They haven't tried to harm me... But if they were here to give a message, don't you think they would have done it by now?"

Stjepan pauses. "Knowing why? That's something else. Maybe someone is checking up on you. Maybe, its like when crows run someone out of their territory." He shakes his head. "Youre not going to figure it out tonight. Sleep on it."

Pothy echoes, "Sleep on it." This seems to break through to Ravenstongue, as she nods and scoops Pothy up onto her shoulder. He protests a little at being separated from all of that delicious-looking food, but he finishes swallowing another beakful of cheese cubes.

"I think I should," Ravenstongue says with a smile. "Please have the rest of the food for me and Pothy--we got enough. Have a good night, Mister Stjepan."

Stjepan nods. "Good night, Raven. Sleep well."