Dark tales from the south
Dark tales from the south: Rumors have spread across the province of cult activity in the area around Hunter’s cradle. For a decade a rumor would appear every so often about the occasional traveler disappearing in the night, or a villager who was caught in dark dealings with a nameless cult. Very little is known about these cultists as they haven’t even chosen a name or declared allegiance to any of the dark gods, and the denizens of Hunter’s cradle have considered them to simply be a local myth made up by some loquacious drunk. Who do they serve and what is their purpose? The lack of answers to these questions further convinced people that their existence was just a made up excuse for unfortunate, but normal, disappearances. However, about a year ago, a villager reluctantly admitted his involvement with the cult. Before he could answer any additional questions however he curled up in a fetal position and began laughing maniacally, foaming slightly at the mouth. He screamed once; “He will set us free!” before succumbing to something and finally falling limp. Investigation by the local authorities revealed that the man may have been poisoned somehow, perhaps by a well placed dart or willing ingestion. His scriblings revealed a bit more information; that he was serving an “Ederic”, a being of great power who was a so called “planeswalker” who imparted upon them the knowledge of a ritual which would “set them free from the planar binds”.
The newfound evidence of the cult’s existence finally convinced the town’s mayor to take action, which he did by hiring a team of skilled young adventurers to look further into the matter and uncover the cult’s secrets..
Our operatives checked the town’s payment ledger and found out that the adventurers have indeed succeeded in their duty as they were paid out in full after the job was done. Their names: “Chen, Haaliryl, Anatoly, Reed”
Fight against Tibalt
How did Frederick keep Tibalt from planeswalking: Our operatives in the field were unable to unearth new information on this topic. Having heard the rumours about Frederick’s mystical ability to restrain planeswalkers our operatives were surprised to find no evidence of this even in the Brightstone citadel records which were left behind when the castle was overtaken by the Chrylarch authorities. Surely the blood hunters would have written records of such an important ability, which was according to the rumours, of great benefit to them. Our agents believe there are several different possible answers to this conundrum:
- The blood hunters purposely avoided noting down such information, perhaps as a security precaution.
- When they vacated the citadel they took with them the most important records, specifically ones with confidential information such as this.
- The initial rumors were false, or exaggerated.
From the information he (Oscar) gave you, a lot of it you already knew. How Tibalt started attacking them again, how they are faring, how they will have to fight the government to get their home back, etc.
But he also gives you a firsthand account of what transpired 10 years ago, at the end of their fight with Tibalt. You know a lot about the events that led to their final battle, how Tibalt’s interest in the region was already waning by the time the blood hunters began fighting him and how he started killing again in response to their pursuits. Here is what you didn’t know:
Frederick’s arrival
When Frederick first arrived to offer them their help he did so by taking over the body of a dying blood hunter, one dealt a severe unhealable wound by the fiend Tibalt. Initially the blood hunters refused his help as they didn’t trust him. Indeed he didn’t seem like the most wholesome fellow after he possessed their dying friend and his methods were most definitely questionable. It didn’t help that his method of magic was vile, he wielded powers granted to him by the “Periculo Arcanum”, an ancient tome of magic he unearthed somewhere in his own plane.
In the end, the blood hunters had little choice but to side with Frederick whom they saw as a lesser evil. There was no doubt that Frederick despised Tibalt, a fiend which to him represented everything that is wrong with the multiverse, however even the blood hunters knew that Frederick was doing this to get them in his debt perhaps to further some goal of his or simply to use as pawns later on.
Helping the Blood Hunters
Frederick gave the blood hunters knowledge about the planes, the Spark and beings who wielded it, so that they might understand that which they fought. With the Periculo Arcanum Frederick tutored the blood hunters in profane arts, helping them perfect their bloodcraft. He told them he would do everything in his power to bind Tibalt to this plane so that they could slay him. Some took this to mean Frederick has a magical method to prevent planeswalkers from vanishing in a split second to avoid defeat, but Oscar believes he merely meant that he will incapacitate him before he could do so.
The final battle
Oscar remembers the final battle with Tibalt well. Though he is a planeswalker the fiend isn’t unbeatable. Far from it, though he is extremely powerful, he can be defeated and killed and several times nearly was. When together they tricked Tibalt into a small hovel he scarcely had a chance against seven blood hunters and Frederick united. Frederick’s magic truly was a sight to behold and he did as he promised. Tibalt was forced to stay in the fight long enough to be badly wounded but in the end managed to slip away through the planes.
After the battle the hunters feared he wasn’t gone for good and that he would eventually return, but as time passed this fear had all but vanished. Now, finally, after a decade he returns.
Why Frederick couldn’t possess Tibalt
Oscar also says that he asked Frederick why wouldn’t he just possess Tibalt himself and destroy him by overtaking his body.
”He is a planeswalker. The spark inside him, a small part of the aether, is to me like an impassable wall which I couldn’t cross or break no matter how much I tried. Besides, a body is hardly willingly given. Each brave soul I approach becomes a part of me and together we pushed forward toward our common goal.”