Online:Vateshran Barth

Vateshran Barth is a Reachman vateshran, lore keeper, who wanders The Reach telling and collecting stories among the various clans.  His wealth of knowledge makes him particularly revered among the Reachfolk.
 

Related Quests
 

Quest-Related Events
Vows and Oaths
Find Vateshran Barth
Deep inside Briar Rock Ruins, you'll find Barth in binds:
:Vateshran Barth: "You there! Help me, please!"
:''"I don't know what you're doing in this terrible place, friend, but would you oblige an old man and undo these bindings? Those damned hagravens were talking about flaying the skin from my bones!"
:I'll untie your bindings.
:Vateshran Barth: "Ah, that's better. Now, could you help me get out of here?"''

If you try to speak to him, he'll remind you of more important matters:
:''"This isn't the time or place for a long discussion, friend. Get me out of these ruins and then we can talk about whatever's on your mind."

Escort him back to the front gate:
:Vateshran Barth: "Never thought I'd be so happy to see a gate in all my years."
:Vateshran Barth: "Now, let me thank you proper."
:"Hircine's hind, I appreciate the help, wanderer! I'm in your debt. Are you in the habit of wandering into dangerous ruins and delivering old storytellers to safety, or was there something you needed of me?"
:Can you tell me how the feud between the Eagleseer and Six-Ford clans began?
:"Well. That's an oddly specific request. Most people prefer the tale of Red Eagle's final hours. Why does an outsider care about a feud between two minor clans of the Reach?"
:I'm helping two clan members try to end it, so they won't have to get married.
:"Ah. So this is the about the handfasting at Hroldan Ring. Eslyn of the Eagleseer and Madearn of the Six-Ford, if I'm not mistaken. You saved my hide, so a story's the least I can give you. But, not here. Let's do it back at my camp."
:I'll meet you at your camp.
:"You go on ahead. After all that running and sneaking, I need to catch my breath. My camp is up on the ridge, to the east."
:How did you know about Eslyn and Madearn's handfasting?
:"I'm a vateshran, outsider. Knowing what happens in the Reach as well as the practices of its people is my duty. It's me and my kind that bring tales and tidings to the clans of these hills."''

Rescue the vateshran and return with him to the camp and you'll hear Eslyn and Madearn having a friendly chat:
:Eslyn: ''"You're lying! You stole the cowl from the chief-of-chiefs?"
:Madearn: "Bal take me if I speak untrue. She was stone-drunk! I plucked it—"
:Vateshran Barth: "A Six-Ford and an Eagleseer, yammering away like a couple of jackdaws. Now I've seen everything."
:Madearn: "Vateshran!"
:Vateshran Barth: "Calm yourself, lad. Your friend here told me what you and the lass are thinking."

Speak to him:
:"I really do like this camp. Perfect location. I expect I'll have to move, though. Can't depend on outsiders delivering me from the Thornroot witches again, can I? But before I move on, I owe you a tale. About the Eagleseers and the Six-Fords, yes?"
:Can you tell us how the feud started?
:"It's an old hatred. I pieced the tale together during my time with the elders of both clans. Before there was the Eagleseers or the Six-Fords, there was a man and a woman. They loved one another and were promised to wed."
:What happened to them?
:"They fashioned the Lover's Coil, a totem of stone symbolizing the spirals of their lives entwining. Of their love. But the day they were to wed, the Coil broke. They believed it a sign of the displeasure of the spirits. So the pair separated."
:What does this have to do with the Eagleseers and Six-Fords?
:"The man's bloodline became the Eagleseers. The woman's, the Six-Fords. The love they once shared festered into hate. Battles were fought. Each clan rallied around a fragment of the Lover's Coil. Proof, they said, that the spirits ordained their feud."
:Why did the lovers and clans start hating each other?
::"Love and hate are both born of passion, outsider. Though they decided their love was doomed, the passion they shared did not simply vanish. But there was only one form left for it to take. Ire. Which was passed through the blood."
:What caused the Lover's Coil to break?
::"The stories vary. But I suspect the Coil simply fell from its mantle. Nothing more than an accident. The spirits had nothing to do with it, I'm sure. A simple broken stone was enough to cause the rage and violence that persists to the current day."
: 
:: 
:Madearn: "That story. I never heard it before. The elders never talk about it."
:Eslyn: "What if we tell everyone the story? And we repair the Coil?"
:Eslyn: "Vateshran, the fragments of the Coil. What became of them?"
:Vateshran Barth: "The tales say they were lost at the battles of Karthspire Lea and Faolan's Ire."
:Eslyn: "I know Faolan's Ire. I'll look for a fragment there. Our friend can search Karthspire Lea."
:Madearn: "All right, Eslyn. I'll escort the vateshran back to Hroldan Ring."

Speak to him:
:"Looks like I've been conscripted! Will this plan work? Only the spirits know for sure, but I'm willing to help. After all, if not for you, I'd still be at the mercy of the Thornroots and their hagravens."
:How do you know where to find the fragments of the Lover's Coil?
::"You're speaking to a vateshran of the Reach, not one of those dapple-trousered bards you find in outsider cities. The history of the Reach, its people, its relics … I know them all. Because if I didn't, they'd be lost."
::Are you sure that the fragments are still at those battlefields?
::"Of course not. The only way I could be is if I buried them there myself. And I promise you, I'm not that old. All I can tell you is the last time those fragments were mentioned in the old tales, they were at those battlefields."
:What can you tell me about the Battle of Karthspire Lea?
::"It was one of a few pitched battles between the Six-Fords and Eagleseers in ages past. There was no clear victor. Both sides slaughtered almost to the last man. And woman. It took place in the lea of the Karthspire."
::Do you know anything that might help me find the Coil fragement?
::"Hmm. The tales I got out of the elders say the Eagleseer leader bound himself to a pillar so he could die fighting. He's the one who would have carried the Coil fragment into battle. If that pillar still stands, the fragment ought to be close by."''

Hroldan Ring
Return to the gathering at the ring and Vateshran Barth will be retelling the tale of the Lover's Coil:
:Vateshran Barth: ''"And so, the hatred between your two clans was born of a twist of fate, the shattered Lover's Coil."
:Vateshran Barth: "But today, Madearn and Eslyn have restored the Lover's Coil. Let their efforts show that you need not continue this quarrel."
:Chief-of-Chiefs Cannear: "Thank you for the tale, honored vateshran. We will discuss this. Eslyn, Madearn, wait in the handfasting cave."
:Chief-of-Chiefs Cannear: "Outsider. I bid you stay."
:Vateshran Barth: "I'll just rest my haunches a while, if it's all the same to you."''

Barth takes a seat, waiting for what's next.
:"Chief Eagleseer and Six-Ford are about as friendly as I remember. Talk to the chief-of-chiefs, outsider. Everything depends on what she decides, after all."

Speaking to him before you form a final decision:
:"I thought it might come to this. It seems the decision rests with you now. Either force the handfasting to end the feud, or support Eslyn and Madearn and hope their time together signals hope for it to end another way.
:Why didn't the restored Lover's Coil convince the clans to end their feud?
:"Each of these chieftains haves seen their people slain at the other's hands. That hardens a soul. At the end of the day, outsider, the tale is just words. This one happened to have a nice rock to go along with them. Now it is up to you to decide."
:What do you think I should do?
:"It's not my decision to make, happily enough. But the chief-of-chiefs has things a bit confused, as I see it. Not supporting the handfasting doesn't mean the feud will go on forever. The choice is about ending it today, or ending it in the future."
:What do you mean?
:"If Eslyn and Madearn complete the handfasting, the clans will be united, that's true. But, they're of chieftain's blood, and will some day rule these clans. After today, do you really see a future of continued violence for them? Hope is not lost."
:I understand.
:"It is a difficult matter. End the feud today and you stop the violence right away, but there are other factors of the heart to consider. Or support Eslyn and Madearn to carry out their plan, but the feud will claim more lives until they can end it."
:What will you do now?
:"I'm famished after that telling. I always am. And wouldn't you know it, I left my damned seed-pouch back at camp. The birds'll have gotten to it by now. I might haver with that fat Eagleseer over yon. He looks like he knows where to find a vittle."

Speaking to the Chief-of-Chiefs, you have to decide to convince Eslyn and Madearn to go along with the handfasting or help the couple find another way. 

Go through with the handfasting
:"The chief-of-chiefs certainly looks perturbed. How did your talk with her go? Did you make a decision?"
:The chief-of-chiefs insisted on going through with the handfasting. I agree with her.
:"Ah … I'll let you explain that to Eslyn and Madearn, then. I understand your decision. I may not agree with it, but I can see the benefits. I only hope the lad and lass feel the same."

After completing the rite:
:"Peace between the Eagleseers and Six-Fords at last. I know it's not what these two originally intended, but given the way they look at each other, it seems fitting. I feel for the lass Madearn was to marry, but Reachfolk are hardy. She'll be fine."
:Do you think the handfasting was the right thing to do?
:"I cannot say, outsider. Though I must have spun a hundred-score tales in my lifetime, I don't have words to answer you. It is up to Eslyn and Madearn now. Many lives will be saved because of this handfasting. We can take solace in that. Pride, even."

After completing the quest:
:"Normally I'd tell you to offer congratulations to the happy couple, but this was a strange affair all around. Hopefully their newfound affection for each other won't falter when they have to return to their holdings."
:What will you do now?
:"Hmm. I have not been to the Ring in some time. I'll learn the tidings from across the crags. If you find anyone in need of a vateshran, send them my way, aye?"''

Madearn changes his mind
If you told Madearn that you can't force him to make a decision, he'll reveal that he is promised to Drisene. After Madearn's revelation:
:"It was bold of the lad to stand by his word. I can understand why he did it. Aside from kin and clan, word is all a Reachfolk can be sure is his in the tumults of life. The chief-of-chiefs may not have gotten her peace today. But perhaps in time."
:What will happen now?
:''"The tale of this day is not of a feud ongoing. It's of an Eagleseer lass, a Six-Ford lad who now see each other not as foes, but as friends. In time, they might just bring this feud to its end. For your part in this outsider, you have my thanks."''

After the quest, he'll add:
:"Eslyn and Madearn will have to return to their clan holdings soon. You may wish to say your farewells before then."
:What will you do now?
:''"Hmm. I have not been to the Ring in some time. I'll learn the tidings from across the crags. If you find anyone in need of a vateshran, send them my way, aye?"

Find another way
:"The chief-of-chiefs certainly looks perturbed. How did your talk with her go? Did you make a decision?"
:I told Chief-of-Chiefs Cannear I wouldn't force Eslyn and Madearn go through with the handfasting.
:"I'm glad an outsider such as yourself is involved. The calls of clan and kin are powerful, Eslyn and Madearn will need your support. But I believe in them. They can work to bring about a future of peace for the Six-Fords and Eagleseers."''

Once you've spoken to Eslyn and Madearn, return to the circle and the two chiefs will express their regret and walk off. Speak to the vateshran:
:"Passions do not die easily. It was too much to hope, maybe, that the chiefs would see the reason for the feud was simple foolishness. But the way Eslyn and Madearn worked together today … it gives me hope for the future of these clans."
:What do you mean?
:"We did not fail on this day. The true story here is of an Eagleseer lass, a Six-Ford lad who now see each other not as foes, but as friends. And who have pledged to end this feud, in a kinder time. For your part in this outsider, you have my thanks."

After the quest, he'll add:
:"Eslyn and Madearn will have to return to their clan holdings soon. You may wish to say your farewells before then."
:What will you do now?
:''"Hmm. I have not been to the Ring in some time. I'll learn the tidings from across the crags. If you find anyone in need of a vateshran, send them my way, aye?"''