Taylor

Taylor the Pidgeonmancer fanart by @CitricKing

## Background

*"Someone's gotta love [pigeons], ya know? They're so ugly and terrible." ~ Taylor the Pigeonmancer*

Taylor is a human druid in training who lives in Alivast's Lower Druidic District. Despite their best efforts, for some reason they can only find success working with pigeons. As such, Taylor has adopted the informal title of "Pigeonmancer." They can often be found sitting on a bench surrounded by pigeons, most of which were bred and raised by them. Taylor can also be found using their Wildshape ability to transform into a pigeon and sneak into districts where they aren't allowed. They are known to frequent the Opera House in the Entertainment District. Taylor also engages in information trade, and uses their pigeons to spy on the residents of Alivast. Their primary intention was to gather any information on their brother Ivan, his killer Brorc Bronze-Fang, and the tainted legacy he left behind in the form of Ginter's Folly.

During the Winter, Taylor conned Borky into thinking they would help him locate Tubbs, but in reality lived in Luistrog's unused room.

After the five month time skip, Taylor came to the Unexpectables to ask for a favor: that they steal Taylor's brother's journal from the evidence locker in the middle district guard house. When pressed as to why he wanted this journal, Taylor said it was so they could get closure on their brother's death. In particular if Brorc Bronze-Fang had been justified in killing Ivan or not, and what precisely was Ivan's involvement with Fleur de Mort. The Unexpectables stated that they were unwilling to steal the journal, citing their unwillingness to betray their guard allies, but that they would try to find a way to find out what information the journal contained.

## Personality

Taylor is a quirky druid who has an odd appreciation for the subject of their chosen craft, though their faith in their own abilities as a druid is pretty low.

There is more to Taylor than meets the eye however, as they looked up to their brother Ivan quite a bit and is clearly affected by the circumstances around his death.

## Relations

### The Unexpectables

The first time Taylor met the group it was in the Lower Druidic District. Here he presented the incredibly fat pigeon Tubbs to Borky and sold him to the orc for 100 gold. Their second meeting was during the raid on the Opera House by the Bladefoot Pirates. Here, Taylor's pigeons helped the group ascend to the escaping ship, though it came at the expense of Tubbs' life. Most recently, Taylor appeared at The Silver King's ball, attempting and failing to speak to Brorc. Instead he met The Unexpectables and they explained to Taylor how Fleur de Mort influenced Ivan and played into his fall from grace. Taylor is as of yet unsure how to process this information, though they did repay the group by turning them and Remy into pigeons and sneaking them into The Silver King's meeting with the Alivastian Council. During the harsh winter, the adventurers lent Luistrog's room to the homeless druid in an act of kindness. Even though Taylor has left, the room is still covered in feathers.

### Task

Taylor reacted with terror at Task's insinuation of eating a pigeon. Taylor later helped Task locate Hassrad when he was away from the tavern.

### Borky

Taylor offered to sell a large pigeon named Tubbs to Borky, who accepted. Taylor's attempts to convince Borky that Tubbs was dead failed utterly. During the Winter, Taylor conned Borky into thinking they would help him locate Tubbs, but in reality lived in Luistrog's unused room.

### Remy

Remy thanked Taylor for allowing him to hear the Silver King's true reason for intervening in the affairs of Eltmur and apologized he had nothing to offer in return. Taylor appreciated the gesture and told Remy they'd be even if he takes time to feed the pigeons.

### Ivan

Ivan was Taylor's brother and came to Alivast at the same time. Some say Taylor came along out of a desire to follow their brother. Information on their relationship is limited, but Taylor seems to have looked up greatly to their brother and their abilities. News of Ivan's death impacted Taylor terribly and they have done everything in their power to gather info on what happened for their own well-being. Currently, Taylor is processing things and does not know exactly how to feel about their brother.

### Brorc Bronze-Fang

Upon learning that Brorc killed their brother, Taylor began using every means at their disposal to spy on him. This includes sending pigeon spies and using disguises at opportunities Brorc would have a lowered guard. Now that Taylor has some understanding as to why Brorc did what he felt he had to do, they're offended that Brorc is incapable of showing any remorse to them directly.

### Hassrad

Hassrad and Taylor often do business with each other, buying and selling information. The two are rather similar in their methods of collecting intel, and seems to have a mutual respect for one-another.

### Muidos

Taylor seems intent on spying on and getting info out of Muidos, but she's savvy to his techniques and refuses to divulge information around their pigeons. Taylor tails Muidos to gather information on Ginter's Folly, which their brother Ivan created. They noted that if Muidos spilled info to them on purpose she could lose her job.

### Pigeons

Taylor spends lots of time around pigeons because they're the only thing they can work with. They have come to genuinely love the birds, but holds the sentiment that they're "ugly and terrible."

## Trivia

* Taylor responded to receiving 100 gp from Borky with the phrase "I get to eat today." This implies that Taylor is quite poor.
* According to Monty, nobody is quite sure what Taylor's gender is. When the Unexpectables read Ivan's journal, he mentioned an unnamed sister, and the implication was that this was a reference to Taylor. When the group spoke to Brorc about the journal, he also referred to Taylor as "she". It is presently unclear how Taylor identifies themself.
* The coin-eating pigeon that delivered Ozzy's package to Panic was accidentally bred by Taylor. They have also bred pigeons shaped like snakes fire-breathing pigeons, and a pigeon shaped like a human.
* Taylor has never bred two pigeons with the exact same qualities.
* When sneaking into the Silver King's meeting, Taylor turned Task into an Egyptian Red Swift Pigeon, Borky into a Strasser Pigeon, Greckles into a White-bellied Green Pigeon, Panic into a Jacobin Pigeon, and Remy into an Archangel Pigeon.
* According to the DM, Taylor can do anything a very powerful druid can...as long as it involves pigeons.