Tibaltuous, who is a bard and bounty hunter, departed Axegard while the RedWater Fellowship awaited the transformation of their flying tower's power source from demonic to a dragon heart.
His mission, as he defined it, involved heading East through the DarkReach — formely the elvish kingdom - the lands infested with undead and ruled by the Dreadking. His objectives were threefold:
1. To scout for threats, particularly the undead (which he expected to find easily).
2. To attempt to gain a list of high-level allies and enemies within the hierarchy of the BlackRunes.
3. He also carried 3 tomes of forbidden knowledge and head of related to a bounty (either to Fax or city of Nulb). [DM: see blogpost for details on this bounty]
Understanding the need for communication while scouting, Tibaltuous planned to arrange for the Fellowship to use the sending spell to contact him once every two weeks. He intended for the cleric, Hester, to handle this spell, allowing Tibaltuous to brief the main party on his findings, such as discovering enemy camps, outposts, or information relevant to targets in the Blackrunes, undead and other key areas.
Since he was traveling alone and over long distances, he decided to pass his telepathic earrings on to Doc Holliday and Graxxuzzaz, as the item would be useless to him hundreds of miles away.
The Journey East and Route Adjustments
The bard traveled by horse, which he recognized as his only means of quick transport, as he noted sadly "I do not have a flying carpet" and needed to travel undercover to avoid suspicion. His journey was slow, and by the time the party's tower was fully ready (seven weeks later), he was only just entering the former province of Iron Helm.
1. Axegard
2. Dragonkeep
3. Northwick
4. Fax
5. Enstad [former Elvish capital now called Darkreach capital of the undead realm of Darkreach]
He initially debated his route across the mountains:
* He rejected going directly toward Enstad calling it a "terrible idea" due to past troubles there.
* He considered the Celine path further Southeast route, passing through Harrington before entering the mountains.
* He contemplated traversing the Druid's Defile to scout BlackRune territory, but noted this path was heavily guarded by both the BlackRunes and Overlord Romack’s forces (who share an on-and-off truce there), meaning he would either have to pay a substantial amount of gold or rely on being very sneaky, potentially bribing a scout to lead him through mountain trails to bypass.
1. Thrunch
2. The bridge that the Fellowship had a supposedly valid and legal deed to ownership
known uprisings and rebellions occurring there. His planned path through Iron Helm - now also a protectorate under the iron fist of the Overlord Romack's forces. This involved heading far South to Northwick then to Thrunch, Fog Hollow, and eventually Rittersmarche. Along the way, the bard intended to check on the bridge that the party had a deed to ownership, reporting back to the party on its status.
Acknowledging that the Fellowship would be flying their tower north, he realized he would fall "way behind" his companions. Consequently, he decided to continue traveling South towards Highport to investigate the rumors he had gathered.
Intelligence Gathering
Despite his slow progress, Tibaltuous managed to gather significant intelligence concerning the shifting political landscape in the East:
**Highport Status**: He learned that Highport, formerly a major slave center on the Wild Coast, had been taken over by an unknown entity, and the BlackRunes had been pushed out. Given the existing alliance between the BlackRunes and the Orcish Empire, this suggests that the BlackRunes’ allies might be turning against them. He confirmed that the takeover was not by the undead.
**Elven Borders**: He heard a rumor that the elves residing in the Bright Deserts had completely closed their borders, refusing entry to all caravans and solicitors.
**Scarlet Brotherhood**: He gained information from a former galley captain who claimed to have been transporting an individual bearing a Scarlet Brotherhood tattoo, who was subsequently taken captive by the BlackRunes. This is notable because the BlackRunes were previously known to be allies with the Scarlet Brotherhood?
Tibaltuous concluded that the BlackRunes were likely being turned on by their allies, leading him to believe that this information should be reported back to the party, suggesting that it might be the "perfect time to strike while they are weak".
One Impact on the Fellowship’s Assets
The bard’s absence had an immediate effect on one of the Fellowship’s key assets in the tower:
**The Cube of Gold**: The party discovered that without Tibaltuous, the Cube of Gold lacked the
necessary followers to function with celestial power. Gothi was assigned as the caretaker of the Cube during the bard's absence. [DM: blogpost for more details]
By the time the Fellowship had flown their tower North to DragonKeep and travelled up into the mountain passes towards the former city of Enstad, Tibaltuous had arrived in the partially destroyed
war-torn town of Thrunch and was enjoying a warm night's rest at the Inn of the Lost Knight, while the snow came down blowing hard in an early Autumn storm.
war-torn town of Thrunch and was enjoying a warm night's rest at the Inn of the Lost Knight, while the snow came down blowing hard in an early Autumn storm.
Tibaltuous' adventures would continue, as Hester the cleric would check-in every 2 weeks by sending spells.
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