Items

This oak staff is carved with stylized images of birds of all types, from wrens and vireos to crows — but not predators and scavengers like hawks and eagles. When a Kinfolk activates it (using Willpower or Gnosis), it will produce faint bird sounds, chirpings, cawings, or even scoldings. The user can understand simple messages about her immediate environment, such as whether there are people or predators nearby, if the weather is about to change (such as rain or snow is coming), or if there is imminent danger (a forest fire or a coming earthquake). The user can query the staff for more specific information by making bird sounds herself — they just have to sound somewhat like birds; they don’t have to be perfect — and will receive very basic replies: the group of humans over the ridge is armed, there are three of them; or the oily substance in the water originates five miles upstream. Generally, if it is information that would be known by the local bird population (even if they can’t think analytically about it), the staff can convey it.

This fetish requires a bird spirit, preferably a songbird or a talkative bird like a crow or raven. It cannot be a bird that preys on other birds.