L17. Aviary
The door to area L16 is closed but not locked.
Old, empty birdhouses are nailed to the walls of this cramped room, and a dozen birdcages hang from the ceiling. The cages are filled with tiny clockwork sparrows. As the birds’ gears turn, the air thrums with rhythmic ticking. Paper and quills are heaped on a small writing desk under the cages. A pair of open windows overlook the forest beyond. Carved into the wall above one window is the word “Hither,” and above the other is the word “Yon.”
Granny Nightshade uses the mechanical sparrows to relay messages to her sisters. The sparrows use the hawk stat block but are Constructs that are immune to poison and psychic damage; the effects of exhaustion; and the charmed, frightened, petrified, and poisoned conditions.
The sparrows have their names engraved on their breasts. (Example names include Glyff, Pim, and Zwee. Create others as needed.) If a creature speaks a sparrow’s name aloud and gives it a task, it flies off as though affected by an animal messenger spell. In addition to delivering spoken messages, a mechanical sparrow can also carry written letters.
Writing Desk. The writing desk contains three letters, two from Bavlorna and one from Endelyn:
Sister,
I don’t have Elidon’s horn. If I did, I would use it to free Bloodybeak and send it after the jabberwock that lairs in the palace and hunts in your forest. No matter what Endelyn says, that burbling beast of a dragon is a threat to our coven and our three realms. How Zybilna managed to befriend it, I’ll never know! Maybe we should ask her—ha ha.
Much love,
Lorna
Lovely Skab,
The last time I saw the unicorn horn, it was in your possession. Pity you lost it. But fret not! I have gazed into the Orrery of Tragedies, and it has revealed to me that Elidon’s horn will be found.
If worse comes to worst, recall that Elidon’s mate still dwells in your forest. You could kill Lamorna and take her horn—assuming, of course, you’re not too busy making toys.
Your darling sister,
End
Dear Sister,
There’s no use asking Endelyn if she has the horn. She doesn’t tell us anything! But if we don’t find it soon, I fear what the jabberwock will do after it gets tired of prowling the forest and turns its fiery gaze elsewhere. Gods’ bodkins, that thing gives me nightmares!
Must I remind you that we need a unicorn’s horn to free creatures from the cauldron’s time-freezing magic? It’s not enough to know their true names, you know. Of course, my greater concern is that someone else finds the horn and uses it for exactly that purpose. What do you think Zybilna will do to us, we treacherous three, if she’s no longer bound by her cauldron’s magic?
Your beloved sister,
Lorna