Tybus Elhezen's page

About Tybus Elhezen

Cutlass +4 attack, 1d6+3 (18-20/x2)
Song of Sparrows +5 attack, 1d8+5 (18-20/x2)
Composite longbow +2 attack, 1d8+3 (x3)

Spells:
4 0-level spells (unlimited)
3 1-level spells/day

Combat Options:
Arcane Strike (swift action, +1 to weapon damage)
Arcane Pool (swift action, spend 1 point, +1 enhancement to weapon)
Spell Combat (full-round action, cast spell and attack, -2 penalty to both attacks)
Concentration: +4 (+8 when casting defensively)
Spellstrike (deliver "touch" spell through weapon)

Languages: Common (Taldane), Varisian, Elven

Tybus spent his youth in and around the docks of Riddleport learning the sailing trade and staying out of the way of the various crime boss's squabbles. Though not a thief at heart, the hard life of Riddleport has made him something of an opportunist. His greatest day in his young life was when he happened upon a drunken lout with a spellbook ripe for the taking. Studying the tome became an obsession, and eventually he figured out ways of unlocking the secrets within.
His small skill at the weaker spells got him a job with the crew of the Flying Cloud, captained by Josper Creesy. For several years he sailed up and down the Varisian coastline, where he learned to fight by necessity and continued to practice his spellcasting, eventually developing a method of wielding both in close-quarters.
One day he was picked for a salvage mission, to loot an old derelict that the Cloud located near the Sodden Lands. The only body they found in the ancient and rotting husk was a dessicated corpse with a basket-hilt cutlass buried in its chest. Tybus drew the weapon from the corpse and kept it, even though the other superstitious crewmen feared to touch it.
Tybus is convinced that the blade is mundane, even though at times he could swear he hears whispering when he wields it, or believes it moves after he has set it down. But that's merely the rolling of the waves, and the trick of the mind too long at sea. Right?

>After Burnt Offerings<

Tybus remained in Sandpoint for the rest of the season. He lived quietly, assisting in the patrols around the walls occasionally, and meeting often with the sheriff, mayor and Ameiko. He accepted drinks bought for him, but he rarely spoke of his experiences with the goblin attacks.

At the change of the seasons, just as folk started whispering about Tybus's behavior, he abruptly rode southwest, with his new horse. He moved to Magnimar and acquired an interest in a small cutter. For a few years, Tybus sailed out of Magnimar on the ship he eventually rechristened the Lina.

Every few months, he would meet with Shalelu at Old Fang, a Dockway watering hole. At first, those meetings would be filled with hope for word from Shalelu about a certain water Oracle. As they continued meeting, however, and as new word never arose, Tybus and Shalelu would simply raise a glass to the "good old times" and reminisce.

Tybus eventually came to the realization that he had to bury what was merely a possibility and move on. While not easy, and not quick, it was inevitable, and he found a measure of peace.

Then Shalelu came to Tybus with a request. She had been asked to travel upriver from Magnimar to a place called Turtleback Ferry with a group of mercenaries. Tybus's vessel was shallow-drafted enough to make the voyage upriver -- indeed, he'd made that voyage every so often. Shalelu also confided in him that she'd heard that a human she'd once thought of as a father figure was at a fort upriver.

Tybus, of course, was glad to help, though she declined his offer of traveling further inland to explore the fort. Instead, she continued to escort the mercenaries as he moored in Turtleback Ferry and awaited her return.

A week later, Shalelu returned to the village, having found her step-father and made a tentative reconciliation with him. With the mercenaries moving on to retake a fort lost to ogres, Shalelu boarded the Lina and made ready to return to the coastline.

However, before they were able to launch, a massive lake monster attacked the town. Tybus piloted his ship out to allow Shalelu to rain arrows on it. It was a desperate fight, and the relentless ranged attack finally drew the monster away from the village. In its throws to escape, the creature rushed past the Lina, pitching Tybus overboard into Claybottom Lake. Shalelu grabbed him and hauled him to shore.

In the aftermath of the monster's attack, Tybus and Shalelu traveled back to Magnimar. For a couple more years, Tybus continued to ply the waterways of the Lost Coast with his ship. Again, Shalelu came to him for travel, this time north to his old home Riddleport, so she could visit an elven village inland from there. Again, Tybus was happy to help out his friend.

Upon arrival at the seedy docks, Shalelu bid him farewell, not needing him for the "elf business" that called her to Crying Leaf. As he made ready for sail back to Magnimar, a falling star streaked down from the sky, striking a nearby island with devastating force. The tidal wave it produced crashed into Riddleport, throwing all ships in the harbor against the docks, including the Lina. She smashed into a dockside warehouse, rending her in two. Fortunately, the remains of the cutter hung up on the wreckage and resisted being washed back out to sea, saving Tybus's life. He recovered and helped a number of drowning sailors and dock workers in the aftermath.

The Lina was a total loss, however. He recovered his meager belongings from his cabin, before the warehouse owner claimed them. Riddleport began its recovery by being as ruthless as ever. Though the Lina's loss hurt him deeply, something in him told him this sentiment was holding him back, and he truly needed to let go. With little left to his name but a horse, a cutlass and a spellbook, Tybus eventually made his way back to Sandpoint, four years older and surprisingly little to show for it.

Walking into the Rusty Dragon, Ameiko first smiles to see him, then sadly shakes her head. He shrugs at that, and takes a seat. In a symbolic gesture, he asks for the letter he left with Ameiko, and tosses it into the fireplace. They stand together and watch the parchment curl and blacken, the last of the burnt offerings.