Birdie Salt

15 years ago, a caravan discovered a young child sleeping under a willow tree near Gull's Crossing, a day's travel west of Fellport along the Coast Road. She couldn't remember her name, so the caravan master gave her the name Ophelia, after his missing daughter. Other traders called her Fay-Willow, glad to rescue her out of the Feywild, and priests at the Divinity Sanctum tacked on the name Salt, the traditional orphan surname in Fellport.

Ophelia did small jobs in the Sanctum, but she eventually found her way to the docks. She spent hours staring at the gulls over the harbor, wishing she could remember how to fly. She fell in with the Urchins for a while, learning the ropes for a few years, but she ran into trouble, as she usually does. To escape, she stowed away on the Regalo De Marquesa (Marquesa's Gift), an Andalusian merchant ship bound for the far-distant city of Ndali-Tota.

The crew couldn't catch her when they discovered her thanks to her innate misty step ability. The crew eventually made peace with her, deciding she was a lucky charm for the voyage. She spent hours on the rail, staring at the gulls until they sailed too far from land. The crew called her Pajarito, and she took Birdie from that as the only name she actually earned.

She had a knack for tripping over trouble. While in Ndali-Tota, she befriended a young soldier-turned-thief named Doni Ebikade, on the run from the law with a purloined magical scroll case. She helped him escape, and together they stowed away on the Regalo again for the return trip across the ocean. The crew worried that there wouldn't be enough food to go around, until Birdie figured out how to open the scroll case.

Inside was a rolled sheet of thin metal. She spent some time working with it, and eventually spread it out against the hull in the hold. It shimmered to life, opening a portal to somewhere else. Birdie and Doni walked down a long hallway, opening a door into a room filled with pillows. Birds flew in, bringing them food and books, and they had discovered a private mansion, virtually undetectable from the outside world.

They arrived in Cadiz, the capital of Andalusia. They had a few adventures there, and Birdie found a fey talisman that called to her and gave her an extra boost of luck to get her out of bad situations. They found, befriended, and adopted the third member of their merry band, Princess Leonor, a pretty and headstrong noble child whose parents died mysteriously. They solved mysteries and righted wrongs, but they eventually needed to leave town. They let Leonor negotiate passage to Fellport with the captain of the Regalo, this time heading back to stay.

Birdie, Doni, and Lee spent their formative years in Fellport, getting into and out of trouble while helping the less fortunate find justice against those who try to take advantage of them. They always had the mansion (now called the Nest) as a safe space to retreat to, giving them a place to rest, eat, and plan their next move. Birdie moves the Next every couple of days as a precaution, because sometimes people notice the mouthwatering spell of eggs and pancakes wafting from the invisible portal.

Birdie has a hippie bohemian air about her, combined with a soulfulness that feels far older than her 16 years. She wears her wavy hair long, periodically gathering it to toss it over her shoulder and absently combing her fingers through the ends while she works through a problem. She has a round freckled face with bright hazel eyes that seem to change color in different light. Her broad smile lights up a room like sunshine fills a secluded forest glade. She finds trouble without trying, and she immediately chooses to help people stuck in a jam whenever she can.

Birdie recently learned the fly spell, fulfilling the first dream she can remember. That touched off some soul-searching about her past. In fact, the entire crew has started thinking about working together  to solve their own mysteries. Where did Birdie come from, and why was she left under a willow tree? Who set Doni up to fall into a trap when stealing the Nest, and why? Who killed Leonor's parents, and what did they hope to gain?

Ophelia Fay-Willow "Birdie" Salt
Human (Dunhill?) Archfey Warlock (Level 5) (She/Her)
(Urchin Background; Fey Touched, Skill Expert Feats)
Str 8  Dex 14  Con 10  Int 14  Wis 12  Cha 18
Arcana +5, Deception +7, History +5, Investigation* +8, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +5

Designer's Note: I dreamt about this trio this morning. They live in a run-down RV in a campground on Cape Cod, and they drive a second-hand box truck around to investigate mysteries in the area. Almost every urban RPG campaign could use a band of plucky, kind-hearted teens to find trouble and solve mysteries. Heck, this band might spur some fiction in me.

Part of T.W.Wombat's Lore 24 project, detailing the world around Fellport.
For all city posts, see the Fellport Index. For posts about the wider world, see the Beneterra Index.