Bubo & Dumeril

## Backstory

Bubo is a Quai-Lir from the Green Isles. He is a Ranger and has recently received favor from Hortiel, and is now learning the ways of a Druid. Bubo has a Heartbeast, Dumeril, who is half Owl, half Eagle. Bubo is fame-seeking and self-adoring. He carries several portraits of himself, one being a Mimic disguised as a portrait. All the adventurers know it's a Mimic, but Bubo constantly denies it.

Bubo has a dedicated fan club led by co-presidents Hank and Barry (and yes, Bubo has his own fan merch).

## Raufel

Bubo has been hired by Elb Gabber to track down Kord Elkas, who has stolen from him. Bubo tracks him down to Pink's Pingus and Pawnand confronts him, but is stopped by Tenoch Coatl. Back at the Tattered Sail, the party explains the situation with the Black Cloaks and Bubo agrees to help them as long as he gets Kord after the mission is over.

The next day, on their way to the location of the next gem, Bubo notices Starheart pickpocket a wealthy Quai and, feeling sorry for her, gives her pointers. Starheart declares that they are friends. At the Hooks headquarters, as Bubo battles with several gang members, a fireball passes over Raufel, leaving destruction in its wake.

The party races against the approaching tsunami to find the final gem, which is located in the governor's mansion. Breaking in, Bubo and Starheart find it, but also the sickly Governor Urit Syle. Tenoch rescues him along with his assistant, Arden Barlow. After fleeing to high ground, the party makes its way to the temple of Sahlen, where the gems are given to the Black Cloaks, who destroy them. The party now turns its attention to the chaos in Raufel and help stop the gang violence, as Tenoch gores the leader of the Gulls, Skinny Jack, to death.

On the day of the memorial, Bubo apprehends Kord and begins the journey back to Elb Gabber. On the way, he meets Nitsuj Allsop and requests he let Tenoch and Starheart know that he will return soon. He returns three weeks later (avoiding orc marauders who destroyed a caravan) and rejoins the party to help them investigate the identity of the mystery healer of Raufel, who turns out to be Jerrot Valmir. Sworn to secrecy, they lie to the governor, but agree to travel north to Copperforge to seek a loan from Queen Sleekrun to help rebuild the city.

## Copperforge

Before leaving the city, Bubo is given a enchanted longbow by Parn Hill, who as asked him to find his son, Gaff. During his journey north, Bubo encounters a cabin beside the road inhabited by Orithel. Orithel is an odd man with mysterious powers, but grants Bubo the ability to call on his name to ignite his arrows with fire. Further north, the party find the remains of a ruin caravan that was attacked by Kurluk's orc clan. They rescue Gaff and take him back to Orithel's cabin, sending word to Parn to meet them there. At the cabin, they defeat a group of raiding orcs.

Impatient with the slow pace of the journey, Bubo departs secretly in the middle of the night to head to Copperforge alone. Entering Copperforge, Bubo takes in a robot match in the Bowl hires Klaxxon Carbal to enchant his shortswords. Meeting with the Queen, Bubo tries to gain favor with the queen be mentioning his efficiency with contracts like the one for Kord Elkas. Later, Bubo and the party are able to rescue the queen's daughter from rogue battlebots.

Days later, Bubo is reunited with Tenoch when they are both hired by Sylence Dewgong to investigate the Dungeon level on behalf of Elb Gabber. On the way, he picks up his new enchanted shortswords, one of who is sentient and constantly shrieking. Journeying through the Prison level, the party free Kord before heading to the Dungeon. There they are meet by Meno and Forgotten. They also discover a vast cavern of machinery building hundreds of war machines and weapons for Queen Sleekrun and are able to destroy a few of them.

After leaving the dungeon, Bubo drops of his sentient sword at Klaxxon's shop, asking for a new one. Klaxxon is suspicious of the group's activities, but agrees. Bubo joins the rest of the party as they restore Kord in the Peak, investigate the Royal Library, and then meet with the Queen to get a reward for saving Iris. Bubo is granted a residence next to the Tequila Mockingbird. As the decide what to do next, he and Nitsuj agree to a protection job with the mercenary guild.

Bubo spends the next several days drunk and barely arrives on time to join Wisp Walker's caravan. As it departs Copperforge, it is almost immediately attacked by an orc raiding party. Bubo is able to kill two monsters, but is almost eaten by a giant lizard. After another battle with orcs and a cyclops, Bubo learns about Nitsuj's deal with the demon Kelrek and agrees to help him gather his three remaining souls.

Returning to Copperforge, Bubo receives his reward for completing the contract from Snips Cutlass: a portrait of himself. He join Nitsuj in taking out assassination contracts from Hush on Carrib Black and Snips Cutlass. He also gets his swords repaired by Klaxxon.

Bubo attends the war council and later that night, smokes a pipe while the others kill Snips Cutlass, who was a member of the cult of Kloht. On his body they find a scroll with the location of the severed arm of the Copperforge Sahlite.

The next day, Bubo and the others find Jerrot Valmir in Copperforge and agree to help him find silverblood ore to assist with his healing. Notified by Jerrot of the assassination of Governor Urit Syle, Ora and Bubo help Starheart sneak into the mercenary's guild to find proof of who paid for the job. When the city is rocked by several bombings, he goes with a guard and Ora to Residential level, only to be attacked by a doppelganger and a five-armed monster. Although he goes down twice, he is able to slay the doppelganger.

After the battle, the party rests at the Tequila Mockingbird. When Nitsuj returns and tells them what happened with Kelrek, Starheart is upset and leaves, but Bubo convinces her to stay. Before the party leaves the city to retrieve the silverblood for Jerrot Valmir, Bask finds another painting for Bubo that turns out to be friendly mimic. Outside the city, they find a stone giant attacking the wagon and Bubo's bow breaks when he tries to attack it. Ora convinces it to stand down.

As they return to Copperforge, the orc army approaches. Ora rejects their demands for surrender and battle begins. Bubo joins the battle from the outcropping above the Main Gate. When the odds turn against them, Bubo contemplates abandoning the battle, but is convinces to stay by Ora. As their position is overrun and the orcs enter the city, Bubo hides in Nitsuj's conjured hiding spot with the others. From his hidey-hole, Bubo rains fiery arrows down on the orcs while arguing that the party should reenter the city to save his portrait.

Having been overrun by wraiths, orcs, and elementals, Bubo retreats into the mountain. He considers trying to save his portrait, but, seeing many demons in the lower levels, choose to flee to Peak instead. There he takes two books, one each for the temples of Hortiel and Luidwyn. He also claims to the others to have rescued his portrait, but it is just his mimic.

Bubo reluctantly reenters the mountain to help try to banish Thaul Alhoon. After a brief battle with the demon that does not go well, the party flees out the Peak Gate. Arguing about which way to go, the group agrees to travel north to rest. Along the way they discover the bodies dead gnomes, drained of blood by the vampires. In the night, Greyflower and Iron Horn bandits attempt to rob the party, but cease when they recognize Starheart. There is a happy reunion as both groups agree to travel north together.

## Traveling North

After resting and bathing in a mountain lake, the party investigates a cave full of treasure. Bubo and Andre leave for a bit to meet some southern dwarves and sell them mooncatch ore. That ore turns out to be the key to unlocking the Tomb of the First Quai-Lem. At that moment, Eldin and the vampires attack but are defeated with the help of an angel of Gurnal. After swiftly defeating a mist dragon with the help of the dwarves, the party rests for the night.

The next day, the party returns to the tomb and witnesses Nitsuj reanimate one of the dead Quai, Ulnas, "The Willing." Ulnas explains that the Quai-Lem were banished from the Green Isles and are compelled to travel north to the Glasslands to their death, but he discovered a way for them to sacrifice another soul to gain extra life and resist the deadly cold. He will travel north once again to help his people and rally them against the recently freed Kelrek.

As the party travels north again, they are meet by Klaxxon Carbal and Fizz Binkle, who inform them of the fall of Copperforge. The party travels to Thatchweed to attend a dwarven festival of the moon. Bubo has another painting done which turns out to be a masterpiece.

The festival is interrupted by an attack by cultists and the theft of the town's central crystal that provides it with its power for the year. The cultists are quickly dealt with and the party learns that they have captured the Sahlite on their black ship and are sailing west with her. The party also recovers the mooncatch stone. It had been stolen by Jerrot Valmir to heal the injured gnomes. Starheart is able to recharge the gem. The festival resumes and Bubo asks practically all the women of the town for a dance, finding a partner only as the festival comes to a close.

After the festival, Bubo receives a vial of poison, his repaired bow (now named the Devil's tongue), and an enchanted quiver. Along with the party, the Iron Horn, Klaxxon, Fizz Binkle, Klack Flintborne, the Tinytoes, three dwarves, and the injured gnomes, he travel north toward the Steamfang Mountains.

Along the way, the party is attacked by two giant salamanders and survives an avalanche. Bubo meets with Hank and Barry, the Presidents of his fan club, and receives his portrait that was left in Copperforge. Realizing the mountain in lost, Ora finally decides to blow it up, but not before Kurluk and Thaul Alhoon merge into a singe demonic form.

## The Steamfangs

After another day of travel, the party arrives at Gilborn, but are attacked by a massive dire troll. It is killed with considerable effort, but the party retreats inside the city as more trolls approach. Once inside the city, Bubo reunites with an old mercenary partner, Parn Ellos. The party is able to destroy the trolls and Morthos, the bard who was controlling them. Now free to explore the city, they meet with Hortiel before staying the night at Phineas Quartz' inn.

The next morning, Bubo awakens to discover Dumeril is missing. The party quickly interrogates Phineas Quartz, who reveals he was hired by an unknown client to capture the bird and take him into the old mines. Traveling to the mines, along with Jeb the skeleton and his friend Dureck the Dragonheart, the party rescues Dumeril and many other trapped animals destined for luxury restaurants. On their way out, they are accused of being animal snatchers by Captain Stem Barrow.