Byrke Vafri

### Return to the City and the Tower of Death

The city loomed ahead of him, a haven for many - and a prison for some. Byrke had been happy to leave the civilized world when he was younger, and smaller; but sleeping on the ground and living off the land, selling the herbs and furs he harvested, was getting old. He had avoided most of the rebellion and the chaos that followed, and now that things were settling out he hoped to find more lucrative - and permanent - work. The first order of business was finding a small (and cheap) room to stay in... For what he wanted, a room at a decent inn would be too expensive but he did not have any "ins" with the locals letting rooms. He settled on a small, dingy inn as a temporary measure, and paid ahead for a months stay and set out to look for employers across the city. A short snuffle from his pocket reminded him that he needed to buy some supplies, including some food for the ever-eager Talsi. The little fox stuck her head out of his pocket, and then darted back, not liking the inn at all.

A speaker standing at the edge of a square caught his attention, seemingly trying to draw in a crowd and talking about a new tower of undead and an effort to halt it with a potentially substantial payout. Byrke wasn't keen on dying amidst the dead, but with a bit of luck and some of his skills he thought he might be able to claim some of that reward.

First, though, Byrke needed to get better acquainted with the ins and outs of the town. for the next week he made himself busy learning where to go for information and supplies - of all kinds. As his explorations progressed, his supply of coin dwindled in return. Always at the back of his mind was the preparations for the assault on the tower, and how he might be able to help in his lowly, poor state….

With a few days left, Byrke had finally gotten to know the right people to find out who needed some of the rarer herbs that were not available in the city. A couple of overnight forays into the lands around the city, with Talsi’s help to sniff out the more difficult ones, rapidly changed his financial picture. He was even able to run some errands of his own, including picking up several vials of something sure to keep the undead down, as sworn by the alchemist he bought it from. Said alchemist had also assisted Byrke in gathering a more complete array of beakers, vials, and glassware for his own alchemical efforts. Those supplies were currently strewn across his workshop - also known as his bedroom.

The recent news of a tower rising in the Ghostlands had unsettled the denizens of the surrounding lands, even with the undead of the Ghostlands giving their typical welcome to the undead leaving the tower. Byrke did not have any false confidence in his own abilities - he was fast, but he was not at all a front liner able to walk into a tower spewing out undead and force them all back. Whether Byrke ended up heading into the Ghostlands himself - and there were certainly enough rumors of treasure to want to go himself - at the very least his contributions might help put down some of the undead horde. Although Byrke was initially inclined to only provide the vials bone burn to the field manager, at the last moment he contributed a small coin purse as well. The last few days had shown how readily he could earn coin here, so it would be a temporary loss… And might help grease the palms of those who would decide whom might be given opportunities at the treasures in the tower!

As the week after the call for interested adventurers went out - along with the definite notice that no one \*not\* contributing would get any chance at the treasures out there - came to an end, Byrke made his way to the collection point. When he was able to catch the attention of the field manager, he brought his vials up to him. "It's not much, but these are good against undead. I myself may not look like much either..." The tiefling's eyes flashed with an ice blue hue, "but like the bone burn, I can be useful. I'd be interested in further assisting the efforts to secure the tower." Byrke hands over the coin pouch as he says the last, not \*explicitly\* making it an offer of a bribe, but his contribution is clearly meant to recommend himself towards the future mission. He leaves the manager with the information for his rented room at the inn, and returns to it. Until he learns more, he plans to continue focusing on his recent entrepreneurial success and build his reserves up.

### An Island Ablaze (The Rage of Kanaloa)

Time had passed quickly for Byrke since the success of the raid into the Ghostlands. Not only had he been able to contribute, but the exposure to so many... impressive... individuals had helped give him an idea of what he and Talsi could accomplish. Someday.

In the meantime, his regular work-day had began to be filled with more actual potion and compound making than with searching out the raw ingredients. In fact, he was starting to deplete his stores, never substantial to begin with, and was on the lookout in the marketplace for capable hirelings when the news arrived of the fire elementals attacking Lalotai. The response was fairly immediate; a great many people suggesting doomsday scenarios and what-ifs about where the elementals might go next, with hardly any real discussion about Lalotai or its inhabitants. Byrke eyed the red archway, just visible in the distance from this particular market, and thought about Lalotai. Fire elementals were far beyond the bounds of his abilities, but where there was fire there would be burns... and that, he could do something about. Not that Byrke had any particular interest in the individuals of Lalotai, but he had learned to find opportunities wherever they came from. In this case, a devastated city with victimized folk could be helped by his potions - and once recovered, said folk ought to be receptive to business arrangements that could ensure some of the rarer ingredients not found on the mainland would be readily accessible for Byrke's pursuits.

Nodding his head in decision, Byrke postponed the search for a hireling to return to his lodgings. He packed everything up, vanishing away the heaviest things and settling his pack squarely. Checking that Talsi's pocket was sufficiently comfortable for the little fox (and occupied!), he set out for the Red Gate. Moving quickly now that he had decided on a course of action, he spent as little time as possible in the Scarlet Keep. The Red Gate to Lalotai was thankfully undamaged, and he slipped through to scenes of devastation and fire.

Making his way to the officials in charge of the survivors, Byrke offers his compounds and poultices, as well as his meager skills in basic healing - a life spent with long weeks in the wilderness had made him adept at treating smaller wounds. Cuts, abrasions, even smaller burns were things he could assist with, bandaging up anyone who could make it out of the conflict. Staying out of the way of the fight might lead some to call Byrke a coward; but as that was the opinion of those who were not-Byrke, he didn’t really care. Elementals were in a heavier weight class than what he could throw around, so rather than try he and Talsi worked tirelessly to help those who needed it. And not inconsequentially, building a solid reputation for helpfulness, ability, and being able to supply quality tinctures. Byrke had started to get an idea of building out his own shop, and having a widespread reputation for quality was an important step in becoming more than just another market-corner stall vendor hawking their wares to unwary passerby.

The days blurred into the nights, and within a short time Byrke had grown weary enough that each hour was an effort to push through, all thoughts of sales and reputation forgotten…

### Striking the Behemoth

The coded message was something Byrke had not anticipated receiving; sure, there were always individuals clamoring that the Behemoth and the city of raiders must be dealt with. Unfortunately there were limited options to deal with something immune to magic and physical harm, that had walked the lands of Etera for all of living memory. Still, a concerted effort drawing on the many peoples of Etera to work together may have a chance at success; and the scourge of raids and slavery had finally pushed enough people to considering that effort. Willing and able to travel, Byrke and Talsi pack up and head to Meita to join the staging camp and the discussions about just what, exactly, to do.

While there, Byrke works on his alchemical remedies for the troops training around the camp. Most of his options will not be useful to the troops; when facing something like the Behemoth, there are few things an alchemist can make that would even the battle for individual soldiers. However, tonics to remove or lessen the effects of fear would be quite useful; as depressing as the need for such things is, Byrke works to make sure that as many soldiers as possible have Fortifying Brew. A small boost to their morale when their companions have been struck down might be the difference between a battle line falling and standing firm, after all.

When the delegate from the command group wanders by and asks Byrke what he thinks ought to be done regarding the massive creature, Byrke has a ready answer for her. “The Behemoth, we know it is immune to magical and physical attacks, right? So there’s a huge limit on what we might be able to do. There’s a chance we could somehow disrupt its internal processes, “poisoning” it, if we understood how the creature functioned; but even that is unlikely to succeed, given the sheer magnitude of its robustness and the time it has lived. No, I think we will be unable to attack the creature and meaningfully affect it. Instead, we ought to be trying to work out containment. The Behemoth itself is not inherently active; if we approached with a two-part strategy, we might succeed with our goals. Part 1 would be to eradicate the city; nothing we do to contain the beast will work if it’s current parasites are around to fight back. Part 2 would be to somehow transport the beast to an isolated island or plane, or if that isn’t possible, to “leash” the beast into a circle; blind one of it’s eyes, weight half of its feet, or otherwise limit its motion to a circle. Once that is done, it will keep walking forward like clockwork while being in a predictable path that can be maintained, and guarded away from interlopers who want to see the world burn.” Byrke will laugh a bit awkwardly. “Of course, eradicating a city may be a little too far for Command, even if they are raiders and slavers.”

Having shared his ideas, Byrke will focus on what preparations he can and abide by the group decision on how to approach the Behemoth, once it is made. After all, there is no way in any plane that Byrke alone would be able to do something about the Behemoth; it must be a group effort to succeed. He will of course do all he can to assist, even if the decision is something like “relocate the raiders to a new city in the mountains with assistance setting up farms and supplies, and let the Behemoth wander free”. Though that would be a less-than-satisfactory decision… Byrke hopes the Command group will come up with something better than that, at least.

### Sunken Island Country

Byrke, accompanied by Talsi and Hati, sets out for the short trip to the Sunken Island. He notes with some amusement that many of his companions are eager youngsters, without yet much experience in the world. Byrke knows that many of the famous adventurers who he had previously had the fortune to work with are not coming; it seems that the barrier is beginning to fade in a strange manner, where the most able were barred from crossing while the less experienced could push through. When the ferry stops at the shimmering border, Byrke shrugs and pulls together his gear. He hoped there would not be any swimming involved; he mounted Hati’s saddle and checked that Talsi had tucked herself into his jacket, and then the magic-infused wolf leapt off the ferry to pad along on empty air as if it were a paved road. As they approached the barrier Hati slowed, slowly stepping forward and across the barrier without any fanfare or fireworks- much to Byrke’s relief.

Once they made it to the land, they began to map out their immediate surroundings. If the only needed information was an aerial overview, then Hati could simply have run the circuit of the island while Byrke scribed the lands contours; but for this expedition they needed to be on the ground and searching for anything that might explain the origin of the land, what had happened to it, and what could be gained from further investigation. The first couple of days were difficult and dangerous; while traveling through something he would have called a forest if it weren’t formed of coral, Byrke scraped his hand on one of the bright red “trees”. The stinging pain and blisters forming around the welt kept him awake for two days, slightly delirious while Hati and Talsi hunkered down with him. His healing magics and natural resilience simply had no analog to understand this new landscape. His ruddy good health eventually won out against the strange reaction - perhaps an allergy of some sort?, and his health recovered.

After that, Byrke was much more careful, only eating and drinking from their supplies. He was thankful that he had packed away enough food for himself, Hati (wolves eat a lot - especially magical ones!) and Talsi, and even more thankful his extra-dimensional storage still functioned for him. He spent the next ten days slowly mapping out from his arrival point, noting several ruins. One of the ruinous areas seemed to delve deep into the land, going below the sea level; Byrke stayed far away from that one, having no desire to swim or dive. He also lacked equipment for such, and even if he had it, would not leave his companions to their own devices to go spelunking on his own. After his experiences with local flora he avoided exploring even the ruins that were more accessible, though they often had a feeling of sharpness around them; that could come later. He found signs of other explorers, though he didn’t go out of his way to meet up with any. Byrke, Hati, and Talsi made a good team and introducing another variable in the middle of a hostile land was a recipe for disaster.

Byrke did take care to note that there were several areas where it appeared multiple other explorers had entered, without any sign that they had returned; counting wisdom as the better part of living and learning from those explorers likely mistakes, he marks the areas on his maps but avoids going deeper into them. Like most adventurers who had answered the call, Byrke was eager to find glory, fame, and wealth, all to share with his “family”, though a wolf and a fox might not be the traditional Tiefling family. That eagerness did not translate into a lack of caution, however, and Byrke refused to needlessly risk Hati and Talsi’s lives by sending them out to scout; losing one of his companions would not be worth any amount of knowledge.

For now, only a map was needed; so that was what he would do. The last couple days he spent traveling slowly back towards the pickup point to rendezvous with the ferry. When Hati slowly steps through the barrier once more he breathes a sigh of relief and directs the wolf towards the ferry, to head home and report their findings.

### Crushing Depths

Byrke hears about the upcoming exploration to the Sunken Island Country, and remembers back to his first time there. Though he has now passed beyond the maximum measure of experience the strange barrier appears to allow passage, he is determined to aid the less experienced adventurers- many of whom may be going to experience the island for the first time.

Thinking on his days and nights spent on the island exploring it, Byrke puts together a number of "care packages". Including the basics such as alchemical salves to heal open wounds is simple; but he also labors over his Cauldron to provide such remedies as panaceas to cure all ailments and elixirs to heal body and soul. The strange toxins and potentially fatal allergens Byrke experienced on his first trip are catalogued and written down as well, making a rough speed-notes field guide to the island and its dangers. He is careful not to put too much power into his alchemical goodies, as drawing undue attention could be deadly for the adventurers carrying them.

There was one other area that Byrke felt compelled to provide greater assistance with; mundane exploration. The island country was strange enough that it may well have shifted physical positions from the first - last - and only - time that Byrke had been there, but he went ahead and scribed out a map of all of his explorations before having it magically copied multiple times over. He also added some basics to the care package that adventurers might not thing to bring; things like a compass (hopefully it works on the island; Byrke hadn’t had one himself), a starchart, blank waxed paper and wax pencils, as well as some basic supplies for waterproofing a bag. The number of underwater caves and chasms was truly astounding for something accessible above water, and Byrke wanted adventurers to be prepared for whatever they might come across. With a bit of wishful thinking, Byrke visited a local chandlery shop and went about making his purchases of rope, candles, and other mundane items - specifically, non-magical means of handling basic needs like warmth, light, and shelter. These various items, cheap on the mainland, would no doubt come in handy on the island where, again, the best advice Byrke could give anyone was to avoid attention as much as possible and choose for themselves when to make their presence known.

Finally, Byrke packages in some stimulants. These “alternative” remedies might be frowned upon by some, but a momentary burst of adrenaline or a focusing shot of energy could be extremely useful in the right time and place. He also includes some basic cautions on the use of such drugs; in the wrong time or place, they could prove more of a threat than whatever prompted the poor uninformed soul to take them in the first place!

### Meita Conflict:

The small town of Meita had become such a focal point of late… rumors spreading of god-touched creatures, unlikely followers who had overcome the stereotypes of their kind to represent a gentle goddess. Increasing numbers of visitors bringing wealth to the town’s inhabitants, and an increasing demand for things the town is unable to provide. The tales of Speaker, Roakarah, Snake, Bola, and Pup had piqued Byrke’s interest… while the claims of the one called Ixorad had roused his suspicions. Arshea had blessed those who rose above their circumstances, or perhaps those Arshea blessed rose above their circumstances as a result of that blessing; who could say? Either way, the peaceful faithful were being put in danger by another who called himself one of Arshea’s Blessed.

Between Kobolds, Goblins, Orcs, Undead, and a human; which seemed out of place? Ixorad did not fit, and his threats against those of Meita left a sour taste in Byrke’s mouth. While he did not often favor altruism - and to be certain, his own deity despised it - Byrke felt a desire to assist those in Meita. Call it chivalry, call it a moment of goodwill, call it a suppressed hope for a better future for other tieflings; however it might be described, Byrke turned his efforts towards assisting Arshea’s people. Under a constant threat of potential invasion, Meita had been locked down, and Byrke wasn’t quite so chivalrous as to lock himself in with the faithful. Instead, he made haste to set three granite statues in the form of foxes around the town limits. One fox rested, nose tucked into tail; another stood guard, teeth bared away from the town. The last was formed mid-pounce, with its unsuspecting prey likewise incoming towards the town walls. Together, these statues would impart the best protections Byrke could provide, short of committing himself personally into the conflict.

A protector for the people, a guard against the unknown evils threatening them, and an aid to the defenders; those were the magics Byrke worked over a long three days without rest. He tied the magics to the form of an armband, purple in hue, and then manufactured magically a round 1,000 armbands.  Once complete, he wrote a quick explanation of what he had done and used his minor telekinetic powers to float the message and the package of armbands to the defenders, though he did not wait for a response. Byrke had spent enough time on this completely unpaid and charitable work, and now felt the need to get back into the lab and return his efforts towards obtaining a profitable advantage over his competition. Knowing that his protections would last well over a month, Byrke had focused on the day-to-day running of his business, expecting to hear through the same rumor mill the eventual defeat - or success - of Ixarod.

(Mechanical Info: Three Monument Extended War Sphere Totems at CL 25, lasting for 50 days and with a 25 mile radius. Any creature wearing a purple armband gains the following: reduce all damage taken by 6 points, and the attacked takes 6 points of damage (Totem of Blood); +3 competence to Attacks and +5 morale to saves vs Fear (Totem of Courage); and any creature NOT wearing the purple armband which is evil suffer a -3 penalty to Attacks and Saves (subject to spell resistance, Totem of Enemies).

### Byrke and the Valley of Music

Byrke and Hati made a careful exploration of the first few hundred yards of the tunnel to the crypt below, but the rhythmic tapping echoing through the cavern system was irrepressible. Still moving forward, his toes started to tap with each step, touching down quickly and up again before the follow through of the step. Hati's tail started to twitch, his hips getting a "twitch" with every stride. In the space of a dozen yards, they had started to dancing to the beat they not only heard but felt reverberating through their bones. The movements were not constrained solely to their feet, either; shoulder shrugs and arm waves started to appear too!

A sudden "whoosh" of a (presumably) poisoned dart passing by startled Byrke, though fortunately he had just dropped into a modified split and the dart went by overhead. A frisson of fear crossed Byrkes nerves as he realized that, at this point, he *couldn't* stop dancing. Watching for traps, he saw that Hati's paw double-stepped in mid air, avoiding another trigger; but then his tail swished into another trigger just as Byrke dropped into an electric slide! The blades swinging from the ceiling came close enough to shave Byrke's whiskers, had he been so unkempt as to have any!

Seemingly past the traps, the pair began to encounter skeletal rats. Hati growled, an odd pattern to the noise; while Byrke struggled and failed to draw his rifle. The skeletons advanced with swords drawn, lunging and twisting to the same rhythmic drive propelling Byrke and Hati forward. They quickly outpaced those enemies and continued on, finding that several potential pathways had been marked as "bad vibes" and maintaining just enough direction over their rhythmic movements to stick to the most vibe-tastic path. Along the way more rats and hamsters appeared, the hamsters standing eerily still except for the occasional "ting" of their triangles. Deep booming bass tones follow Byrke and Hati as they approach the lair of the Necrodancer, with slimy oozes forming pseudopods to beat large drums with.

At long last the end of the path came into sight, with other adventures showing up from the same path as well as others. Most seemed to be affected by the same irresistible beat that was in his every motion, with a variety of "slide to the left!" And others showing off their "slide to the right!" being showcased in the caverns. Hati demonstrated a remarkable forward shoulder roll, while Byrke repeated his timely electric slide from earlier in the cavernous complex. A short moment of quiet penetrated the almost mindless dancing, giving Byrke and Hati a momentary reprieve before passing the final barrier.

### Byrke and his own Mortal Potential

Byrke and company (Hati the magnificent wolf and Talsi the clever fox) decide to scout out on their own when the "army" crosses into the Ghostlands. They requisition one of the Naramoore communication devices, and set off to investigate the area Anubis had reported feeling "different" energies. Byrke pauses just beyond the sight of the traveling group, sweeping an illusory disguise around them to make Byrke and Hati appear to be undead. (Veil Spell). Hopefully seeing a lich riding a skeletal wolf is not so uncommon as to draw attention from the inhabitants of the Ghostlands... Though there isn't much to be done about any Ghostland-specific identifiers that Byrke might be lacking. Byrke sets off, Hati traveling just a few inches above the ground and leaving no trail to be followed. They make good time, skirting around the trails of several wandering parties of actual undead but striding confidently through the wilderness as if they belong there. Appearing confident in your purpose is 80% of successfully passing places you aren’t meant to be, after all!

Unfortunately for their stealthy approach, the undead disguise doesn’t appear to have any effect when they round a small hillock and stumble upon a group of skeletal archers, swordsmen, and their own lich - except unlike Byrke’s spell, the aura of power around this lich is real and a very definite threat. A moment of startled pause from all involved ends rapidly as the lich begins casting a spell. Deciding that “running away as fast as possible” is definitely the better part of valor in this situation, Byrke mentally asks Hati to run as fast possible while Byrke attempts to dispel the incoming attack. Even more unfortunately, Byrke’s unsuccessful dispel seems to increase the cold determination of the lich - and the spell forms, creating a wall of force ahead of Hati. Byrke is very thankful for a stroke of unexpected luck - the wall of force would have been a major impediment if they were land bound, but without missing a step Hati begins to climb, paws landing on air but still continuing to ascend. It takes moments to scale the wall’s height, while Byrke shoots down the arrows and bolts whipping towards them out of the air.

As their bony attackers reach the wall of force, the lich finally shows some emotion, snarling as he dismisses the shimmering wall. By this point it’s too late to catch Byrke - as Hati kicks into high gear, running for all he is worth across the air thirty feet up, the undead have no chance of reaching them. Realizing that even with a disguise to try to pass as undead they still drew attention, Byrke dismisses the veil and instead urges Hati to keep pace, running across the air towards the anomaly. No longer trying to hide, they make excellent time; and the many small groups of undead are left frustrated in their wake, as even those who can fly cannot keep up with the magnificent wolf at full speed.