After the harrowing events that led to the grievous wounding of his protege, Kosuira, Tenith'oru abandoned his ancient home in search of sanctuary to the north. Peace, however, was not to be found by the wayward Tsol'teth and his young charge.

The Tide would not be denied, seeking out and nearly destroying his former lair in their relentless search for clues to the whereabouts of the fleeing fugitives.

Agith'tai took up the search himself, picking up the trail at the previous residence and setting a seething, hungering mass of tracking beetles on the scent of the pair.

Though many adventurers sought to delay or otherwise interfere with his hunt, they served as little more than nuisances for his determined self. Slowly, meticulously he followed the trail north, casting out his minions to scour the frozen wastelands for some sign of the fleeing miscreants.

Many a village was terrorised by the hulking ogre destroyers that came asking questions the doomed locals had no hope of answering. A trail of corpses soon formed but the pathway to the prey they sought was not so easily realised.

Adventurers, desperate to find this grim renegade and protect the meagre spark of hope he had ignited, used their familiarity with the terrain to track him far more quickly than the invaders might. Upon finding him in his new refuge, they pleaded to provide safer accommodations. However, he would have none of it, employing a sharp tongue and disdainful attitude to drive out those who would intrude upon his privacy and reveal his refuge to the Blue Fang.

Day by day, the hunters drew closer to Tenith'oru's lair and day by day his certainty in his and his apprentice's security grew less and less. Finally, realising it was only a matter of time before they would be upon him, he yielded his pride ever so slightly to reach out to those who might provide the equipment he needed to heal his student. Leaning heavily on the goodwill secured with his assistance in the matter of the meld shrines, the Tsol'teth summoned representatives of each city to attend him and hear a proposal.

Eager Ashtan came first, followed closely by the wary Targossians. The Cyrenians arrived slightly later, once a few bureaucratic hurdles had been cleared and Mhaldor straggled in much later, long after the conversation had begun in earnest. Hashan showed no inclination to involve themselves in the matter.

A day or more was spent negotiating. The willingness of several of the representatives to meet his requests with nothing asked in return garnered little but suspicion and distrust from the paranoid man. He offered unique recompense with the clear understanding that he would provide nothing more than this. In the end, he agreed to visit two of the cities, Ashtan and Cyrene, to see if they suited his purposes.

Cyrene impressed Tenith'oru with a vigorous showing of their strength in pushing back the tide far, far from their walls, causing him to choose them over the interested, but less dedicated Ashtani.

He and Kosuira soon moved in and he quickly set up shop. Impatient to begin paying his debt, the Tsol'teth provided his hosts the information they needed to begin creating the talismans he had offered in exchange for his hospitality - talismans that could protect an area against the Tide and provide much needed respite to push back against the invaders.

Armed with the information, the Cyrenians shared it with their coalition allies and they all set about their work with renewed vigour, the small spark of hope growing slightly brighter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Summary: The Tsol'teth pursued Tenith'oru and Kosuira north, eventually driving Tenith'oru to seek sanctuary and resources from one of the city states in return for providing them with a method of protecting an area against the tide for a limited period of time. He eventually chose Cyrene and the Cyrenians and their allies are vigorously working to obtain the protections.

Penned by My hand on the 7th of Phaestian, in the year 726 AF.