Radagast's Birding Bonanza! (game)

[Lail]

Radagast’s Birding Bonanza

Oops! Radagast a.k.a. Aiwendil the Fool bird-lover, accidentally enchanted bird food in the trees near Rhosgobel. Some of his bestest feathered friends are experiencing odd side-effects.

Can you help him find birds so he can reverse the enchantments?

How to play
RP your character (anyone you choose) looking for birds in Mirkwood near Rhosgobel.

Pick 1 square to search. Bold your choice. (example: River 4)

The GM will update with what bird(s) you find. Some will be addled by enchantments, some will not. Birds will move around the board so even if a spot has been searched, it can be searched again for another bird.

The winner is whoever finds the most birds at the end! (Not sure how many rounds there will be, but we’ll see how we go.)

Game Board


Text version of board:
Forest: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
River: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Marsh: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

[Drifa]

Looking for pussywillows along a forest creek, Drifa heard a quite alarming yet unusual cry. It sounded something like a bird, but the call was more human; help help with a mere pause, then, joking joking. Making her way hastily toward the sound, worried that someone might be in trouble, she heard the cry once more above her head. Looking up, she spotted a bird sitting on a branch, the last note coming from its mouth. 'Well, I never,' thought Drifa. The bird cried out once more and then began to clean its wings.
Something was wrong with the bird. She knew that Radagast the Wizard lived in this part of the forest. Maybe he could fix the bird's speech? Taking out a piece of dry bread from her deep pocket, she placed it in her palm, waiting for the bird patiently. The birds were quite friendly in this part of the forest.

Forest 2

[Lail]

Round one

@Drifa finds a Thrush with sparkling violet eyes and a penchant for dwarf speech. She hops curiously into your hand and nibbles the bread. What a perfect distraction while Radagast reverses the spell. Pick another square or stay there and see who comes your way.

new players always welcome!

[Pele Alarion]

This was not Pele's usual... habitat, nor was this her usual activity, but here she was - floating along the river, lying on her back in a boat, hands behind her head, feet crossed, squinting up at the sky and random tree branches leaning over the stream. She tried whistling various bird songs to see if she could attract some of the feathered creatures and somehow assist Radagast with finding the said creatures.

River 5

[Drifa]

"You don't say," replied Drifa after listening to what the bird had to say between beakfuls of bread. Then suddenly, the pretty thrush spoke the secret speech no more and flew off into the forest. Walking away, she shaded her eyes from the sun; Drifa looked up and around, wondering what other talking birds would be found as she approached the marshy ground.

Marsh 3

[Silky Gooseness]

A Goose

The goose padded cautiously along the side of the river, his feet slapping into the mud. The excited tweets and chatter and gronks he had heard had all carried one call: food! Freely available food! but it hadn’t been long before they had turned to cries of wurbleGREEP, Gnngnngnngnngnn, aCHOO and the like, which naturally provoked suspicion in the goose.

It was time to find out What Was Going On.

river 1

[Lail]

Round two

@Pele Alarion's bird songs have done the trick! As you float along the river, you hear a quacking duck and look to see-- for it is impossible to miss!-- a Duck of an Unusual Size. The size of a fully grown HORSE, in fact. Radagast reverses the spell and shrinks the duck back but not before the duck splashes in the river and makes a big wave headed straight for you...

@Drifa squelches and scrabbles into the marsh mired with mosquitoes and gnats-- and finds it strangely silent of bird songs. Bugs land on your neck, your nose, every bit of exposed skin and bite you. Itches erupt all over you. Oh dear. Suppose you could try another bird treat?

@Silky Gooseness Goose finds nothing obviously out of the ordinary on the river aside from the suspicious absence of other birds. Perhaps they ate all the food and skedaddled already? Do they know something you don't?! Better go find out what you're missing!

New players welcome! You may also choose to remain on the same spot if you wish (as the birds move about the board, too.)

[Silky Gooseness]

A Goose

The twittering had all fallen silent. This naturally made the Goose very suspicious: was there a predator about? He craned his long neck about; he could hear and smell nothing at all, which in and of itself seemed quite unnatural. He let out an experimental HONK, bracing to fly away should danger present itself, but it merely echoed, lonely, over the water.

He padded on.

River 2

[Drifa]

One of Drifa's ears was so swollen that it stuck out of her head like a wing*, and her right eye was swollen shut. She should have known better heading into marshland at the height of gnat season. And even with one outer ear larger than usual (resembling the wing* of an old gramophone *exaggeration*), she could not hear any birds. Reaching into her pocket for a seed bar she had while swatting insects away, she stood with the bar in her hand and waited. But not for long. The gnats were covering her hand and going up her shirt sleeve. Enough was enough! she thought, shoved the bar back in her trousers, and high-tailed it out of the marsh and back to the forest.

Forest 5

[Pele Alarion]

Suddenly Pele became quiet as she stared at a HUGE duck paddling her way. This was not really what she had in mind when she went a-whistling, but here it was. Along with the duck waves came, and Pele grabbed out for the sides of the boat, but since she was not in the best position to do so, one of the waves tossed her right out of it, with the boat overturned on top of her. Somehow she managed to escape from the boat-roof and paddled to the river bank. Meanwhile the duck was no longer huge. The Gondorian muttered something under her breath as she wrung out her clothes as much as she could and then began looking around the little bit of forest by the river.

Forest 4

[Lail]

Round 4

@Pele Alarion squelches into the forest on soggy shoes and finds a nice spot of sun to help dry yourself. Out of the trees, you hear a call. “Who-HOO-hoooot! Who-hoot-hoot!” A distraught owl crash-lands to the forest floor. No wonder the flight went awry, the bird’s head is stuck in a backwards position.

@Silky Gooseness Goose paddles along the quiet stretch of river. Nothing to see here, nothing to smell, either, then all of a sudden, an earsplitting song fills the air. A small wren sings his heart out, darting from one willow to the next. But it’s terribly off-key! It seems this little bird has driven everyone else away with its incessant, out-of-tune song.

@Drifa escapes from the mosquitoes and gnats and even with a swollen elephant ear, doesn’t hear, or find, any birdies in the forest. Fortunately, you do stumble upon a little patch of herbs where chamomile, aloe, and other soothing plants grow…do you dare try to use any so close to a wizard’s home?

So far,
Drifa found: thrush
Pele found: duck, owl
Sil found: wren

6 birds remain! we'll play til they're all found unless it turns out to take a ridiculous amount of rounds to do so. come join in and find some birdies!!

[Pele Alarion]

"Aw, you poor little thing," Pele muttered, once she unfroze after having been startled by all the hooting and crashing of branches. Slowly she approached the bird and reached out to pick it up and make sure the wizard could fix the issue before the owl ran into a tree too hard. That done, the Gondorian walked on slowly through the forest, turning around watchfully now and then.

Forest 3

[Drifa]

When Drifa arrived back at her Mountain home, she sent word to her cousin Afird from the Blue Mountains. The dwarf, arriving at Khazad-dûm, had been alarmed at her appearance. One of her ears swelled beyond recognition, the side of her face plastered with different what appeared to be poultices made of herb leaves. One of her eyes was bulged shut and plastered too. After a pot of tea and an explanation, Afird packed his luggage and made his way to the Southern parts of Mirkwood. He knew his cousin Drifa disliked not finishing what she started, if possible.

And so here he was with plenty of citronella leaves tied in his hair and beard and a particular net that covered all of this. The hobbits of Bree had guaranteed him this plant's leaves, and the netting would ward off any midges, noseeums and mosquitos. He stood carefully, listening for any strange bird songs. Not a sound could he hear. He decided to head towards the swamp as his kin had, but with his hands ready (in soft leather gloves for protection) to ward off anything that might bite him.

Marsh 5

[Silky Gooseness]

“waawaaWAAAAAAAAA,”

the goose heard, his feet flapping as he waddled through the rushes -

“WaaaaaAAAAaaaaaAAAAAA!!!!”

“HONK,” responded the goose, loudly [“Everyone knows you haven’t got a girlfriend, Jeffrey, and if you keep singing off-key you’re like to stay that way”]

The silence lasted only moments before the shrill wailing recommenced, more ardently than before.

The goose left for somewhere quieter.

Forest 1

[Lail]

No one found any birds!

Branches crash, twigs snap, and Radagast races out of the forest toward you. His hat is askew, leaves trail in his beard, and lichen clings to his cloak and he does not seem to notice he is missing a shoe. He leans heavily on his staff and shrills, “Stay out of the forest! There’s been an accident! Deathcap mushroom spores are spreading everywhere—they’re toxic!!!”

The forest is closed to your search until Radagast fixes his toxic fungi experiment gone wrong. The marsh and river are safe…for now.

Bird log:
@Afird Splitax found: thrush
@Pele Alarion found: duck, owl
@Silky Gooseness found: wren
6 birds remain

[Pele Alarion]

There seemed to be no birds nearby, but suddenly there was such a noise as if a whole herd of oliphaunts was stampeding through the forest. Pele retreated towards the river and stared at the trees in all honesty expecting something along those lines. It turned out to be Radagast though. Mouth slightly open, the Gondorian stared at him for a few moments until his words registered eventually.

"Oh. All right then," she responded and crossed the river to get as far away as possible, though she guessed that marshes would have even less birds than in the forest.

Marsh 3

[Silky Gooseness]

The goose had scarcely been in the forest for a moment before a noise like an out-of-control thresher mixed with a nest of angry wasps began howling out of the trees, shortly followed by a wizard, although at first glance one could be forgiven for thinking it a perambulary hedge. Radagast had long ago given up on asking people to fetch him a shrubbery and, instead, dressed like one. With another loud wail he cursed the goose out of the forest: something the goose was used to was being shooed out of places, at least. Speaking of shoo, the wizard appeared to be lacking one, but this didn’t feel like the right time to comment. Not particularly wanting to ingest deathly spores, the goose waddled sulkily off to

MARSH 5

[Drifa]

How had that wizard lost his dignity (PJ most likely), wondered Afird after hearing him cry about toxic mush and boars? Or at least that is what the dwarf heard, for he was still swatting the biting insects in the marsh. He did not tend to find out if what he heard was correct and stayed put, moving in another direction where the swamp was less boggy and some ash trees grew along the banks. Maybe a bird or two, without toxic mush or boars chasing them, would show their beaks.

Marsh 1

[Lail]

Round 6

You are all very fortunate to have escaped the death cap fungi and your luck leads you to find…

@Pele Alarion finds a warbler singing sweetly from a low willow branch

(@Silky Gooseness) Goose sees a hawk circling (menacingly??) overhead, perhaps with one (or both?) eye(s) on a tasty goose…

A sudden (supernatural?) wind bursts to life and sweeps through creaking trees and swishing reeds. A pungent scent is detectable on the breeze. What has Radagast done now?

@Afird Splitax finds a helpful raven who caws a warning for everyone to hear: “To the trees! The wind is blowing the fungi this way!”

You may search the Forest only this round as the wind Radagast crafted (with the best intentions) to clear the fungal spores from the forest is spreading them to the river and marsh…This will be the final round! Get your bino's out!

Bird log:
Drifa found: thrush, raven
Pele found: duck, owl, warbler
Sil found: wren, hawk

3 birds remain...

[Pele Alarion]

"Ah, little birdie," Pele murmured, as she stood fascinated by a warbler's song, even closing her eyes for a moment to capture the sound better.

Suddenly wind arose and nearly blew her off her feet. "Oh, flee for your life, little bird!" she called to the warbler, and made a mad dash for the forest to escape both the wind and fungi it brought along.

Forest 3

[Drifa]

Having heard a wise raven caw out a warning (fungi??), Afird decided to leave the swamp behind for a time, sure that boars and mush had passed him by. He was tired of swatting insects as well. He was proud to think that not one midge or its relations had been able to bite him. But why take a chance, he thought as he moved towards the swamp's edge and the brighter sky above him. He could see the gleam of the sun upon the water. He was close to the river. But not there yet. Maybe water birds would be close by?

Swamp 4

[Silky Gooseness]

The goose looked up. A speck in the sky was circling, drifting lower with each circuit. The goose caught the glint of gleaming eye and hooked beak and talon, and honked his defiance. The hawk kikiiiiid in reply; the goose was a little large and weighty for even a hawk, but there was still a greedy aggression shining in its face.

Just then the wind picked up, buffeting the hawk, which stretched out its wings and swooped up to carry the drift. The goose was hit by the smell of it: it smelled of hot socks. Angrily he stamped his webbed foot in the dust and scuttled into the trees.

Forest 3

[Lail]

Round 7 (final)

No one found any birds this round.

@Pele Alarion and the warbler escape safely into a peaceful corner of the forest. It is so peaceful, in fact, no other birds make themselves known, though maybe they’re hiding from fungi and clumsy wizards in cavities or high canopy.

@Afird Splitax remains in the marsh, but fortunately, the death cap fungal spores breeze past him. The only ill effects he experiences are an itchy nose that produces a voluminous sneeze which scares away all the birds.

(@Silky Gooseness) Goose scurries beneath tree cover and sneaks into Radagast’s backyard where he finds a cache of garden tools, a variety of interesting (and edible or enchanted?) seedlings, and a tattered wizard’s hat.

The standings are:
Drifa found: thrush, raven
Pele found: duck, owl, warbler
Sil found: wren, hawk

You all return to Radagast’s backyard to find him ambling around with a pair of twittering wrens perched on the brim of his mossy green hat singing along with his humming. Everything seems back to normal, or whatever normal is for the wizard.

Radagast offers a charmed pink handkerchief to Afird. “Here you are, lad, this ought to clear up your sniffles in a jiffy!” He laughs and scratches his beard. “Uh, sorry about that. The spores were meant to enhance your vision to find birds, but uh,” he trails off, mumbling something inaudible about the perils of mycological misidentification.

His eyes twinkle at Pele and he bows to her, spilling a sachet full of seeds he seems to have forgotten about. A flurry of doves swarm him and the seeds. Through a mouthful of feathers, he says, “My dear, you have such keen eyes! How can I repay you for your help today?” He offers to spin you a spell or craft a charm of your choosing. (well, if he gets it right...)

“And for you, my feathery friend…” Radagast presents a bright red bow tie to Goose. “May it protect you from the dreaded Dinner Plate on all your migration and wanderings.” Shuddering at the very terrible thought of eating a glorious goose, Radagast said no more.

Congratulations Pele! Thanks all for playing this silly spring bird game!

[Pele Alarion]

@Lail

"Ah, dear Radagast," Pele says, observing the Wizard and all his seeming disorderly activities with a small smile. "If I may... Could I have one of those pretty doves, or would a bird not wish to leave these woods and your presence? Else, perhaps a seed or two?"

[Drifa]

Bowing his thanks to the wizard, Afird hurriedly put the handkerchief to his nose and sneezed. Unfortunately, there had been no netting protection to cover his nostrils from anything he might have encountered on this excursion. But he knew all would be well soon. Radagast was a wizard, after all.

Congrats Pele! Thanks for the game, @Lail

[Lail]

"One dove?" Radagast twisted his head around a faceful of dove and raised a bushy brow at Pele, inquisitive, considering..."why not take two!?" As if trying to take off himself, he flapped his arms, robe billowing and flicking feathers and bits of moss everywhere. "They're happier in pairs, and some seeds, too, you'll be friends for life." He tossed Pele a drawstring bags of seeds. "Here!" A pair of doves disentangled themselves from the wizard and dove (ha ha) after the seeds.

Radagast was still covered in doves like a highly ineffective scarecrow when Afird sneezed again, startling the birds. Feathers flew as doves scattered every which way, leaving piles of stray feathers like the aftermath of a particularly aggressive pillow fight. Radagast surmised, puffing his chest out with pride and dusting feathers off himself. "Good to see the hankie is working!" He winked, and soon disappeared into the trees, humming a happy little tune.