OUTER WARD FIRST FLOOR 52 MAD BILLIAM'S EGG EMPORIUM.

52 MAD BILLIAM'S EGG EMPORIUM. Painted on the door to this room in crude white letters are the words “1 copper - 1 egg, breakfast special – 1 silver”. Below this is a slot which can be opened from the inside and this is how the egg commerce of this unusual store is usually carried out.

The proprietor is a Neutral human male, Mad Billiam (AC 10; MV 12”; HD 2; hp 15; #AT 1; D Quarterstaff; XP 50)

He is assisted by a baboon named Chauncy (AC 7; MV 12”; HD 1+1; hp 8; #AT 1 bite; D 2-5; SD Climbing; XP 36)

Billiam is unarmored and carries no weapons, although if attacked he will pick up a sturdy wooden stick and strike as if with a staff. He is an older man with a bald head and a long scar across his nose. He has small close-set eyes and talks with a very low voice. A veteran of the wars, he is now interested only in selling eggs, although if he takes a liking to an adventurer he may invite them in to swap stories. He usually sits on an old wooden bucket, underneath is a crude tin holding 58 copper pieces and 17 silver spanners.

Chauncy usually minds the store if Billiam is out exploring the castle or in the garden (Room 56). While Chauncy cannot speak, he can understand human speech and he is good enough at math to collect the correct sum. He uses his fingers to indicate numbers if necessary.

This room was used originally as a large guest room like Room 49. However, it has been converted into a henhouse by Billiam. The beds have been broken up and the raw materials have been used in part to make 15 chicken coops. The various nests have chutes in an elaborate system to automatically collect eggs as they are laid. In all there are 43 hens, 16 chicks, and 1 rooster. Billiam keeps a large supply of eggs, perhaps more than 200 at a one time, which he regularly sells to the talon goblins or anyone else who is interested. They are stored in wooden trays.

The walls are white painted plaster and there is a working stove with a pile of fire wood and several frying pans. There is a bunk bed, a table holding a keg of ale, a pitcher of fresh water, and a bowl of oranges. There are twenty sacks of birdfeed and a large metal barrel containing fresh, clean water. There are several barrels which hold pickles, salted pork, salted fish, rum, and apples. There is enough food (besides the eggs) to feed Billiam and Chauncy for about a month. Four windows are here, which look out upon the garden. The view is, however, obstructed by the overgrown hedges.