Tyrius

The Old Apothecary
Race	Human
Age	61
Height	5'8
Weight	165 lbs.
Class	Blood Hunter
Level	2
Alignment	Lawful Good
Status	4
Condition	Dead

Tyrius Smith was an apothecary who turned himself into a Blood Hunter through alchemical experimentation. His purpose for doing so was simple - he was old, and had lived a fulfilling life. His only wish was to spare younger adventurers from cutting their own lives short. He would ultimately give his own life to fulfil that wish, dying in the attempt to free his fellow adventurers from the clutches of the terrible 'Beast' in a cultists' lair near Jokari.

Background

A young man enters an apothecary as night sets in. He is dressed in dark leathers, with a longsword slung across his back - and his hooded cloak pulled up. Peering through the hood are amber-glowing eyes. It is quite apparent that this man is an adventurer, indeed the man is currently on an adventure. He has been called upon to slay a vicious troll terrorizing a nearby village. He comes to this apothecary because he needs supplies to help him combat the troll’s weaknesses.

But this tale is not about this young man.

Rather, it is about the apothecary the young man came to see. Tyrius Smith is, by contrast, no adventurer. He is a sharp mind, and runs his business well, but it is a very simple and monotonous life. And that does very fine by him.

Tyrius has enjoyed over fifty years of living, and spent most of it working in his apothecary. Prior to that, it was studying. Prior to that, it was apprenticing. He had no immediate relatives, for his parents had peacefully passed on, and he never wed or had children of his own. He had few friends, but they were good friends. And he had worked long and hard with little complaint, as he found his work rewarding.

But he was troubled when the young man entered his shop. Not because it was of late hour - Tyrius would often work well into the night preparing various solutions - and not because of the usual bothers that gossipy people have with adventurers and monster slayers. No, Tyrius was troubled by the young man’s eyes. Not the glowing amber that marked the young man as different - changed - from a regular person, no, no, that was the sort of thing those gossipy people would whisper and murmur about. It was the look in those eyes, and the bags underneath - this young man had eyes that seemed as old as Tyrius’ own. If not older.

No man so young should have a look in his eyes so old.

At any rate, Tyrius supplies the young man with the fire and acid he needs. He requests the young man bring back some samples of the troll for him to study - but part of that is that he just wants to see the young man return here alive. The young man does succeed, and he returns - albeit wounded, but Tyrius is able to tend his wounds.

The young man moves on to other prey. When he needs alchemical assistance, he comes back to Tyrius - whose expertise has been quite reliable. Over time, Tyrius learns more of the monsters that the young man must fight - as he helps the young man figure out their strengths and weaknesses - and learns more of the young man and his esoteric abilities. The young man is part of an order that utilizes blood magic, honed for the purpose of destroying monsters. The young man is careful not to say too much, as his order is secretive, but not careful enough. A sharp mind like Tyrius is able to piece together a lot from the snippets he is told and what he has seen.

Tyrius remains troubled. Despite an appearance that would make those gossipy people afraid, the young man was polite enough. Friendly, even, to an extent. And Tyrius had come to know him well through their dealings. But the look in his eyes remained. The more Tyrius learned of the order, or of the quests this young man had undertaken, the more he understood the cause of such a tired, haunted look.

Adventuring is no business for young people. And yet, it is so commonly young people who strike out as adventurers. Most adventurers have relatively short careers, ended by death or injury. The rest simply gained more scars as they continued.

Eventually, the young man stops coming to Tyrius’ apothecary. Tyrius recalls that the man mentioned being stationed in the area by his order, and that one day he would be deployed elsewhere. Tyrius hopes this was the case, but believes it is just as likely that the young man left on a quest that he did not return from.

Years pass. As a man in his sixties, Tyrius is about ready to close up his apothecary for good. But he does not intend to live out the rest of his days in peaceful retirement. No, it is time he sets out on his own adventure. The young man had kept his order secret as best he could. He would not tell Tyrius much about how his blood magic worked. However, he could not keep everything hidden. Tyrius has studied samples of monsters, the alchemical ingredients needed to combat them, the rare components needed for the young man’s magic. He has even studied the young man’s bloodwork, having gathered many samples while tending to the young man’s wounds.

Through his own devices, he is able to unlock the secrets of the young man’s abilities. The blood magic is called hemocraft. Tyrius does not learn everything, as he pieces what he does know together by putting incomplete fragments into an incomplete picture. He does not know what method the secretive order uses to bestow Hemocraft on its initiates. Something horrible, no doubt, from the order that gives young men such an old look in their eyes.

But Tyrius finds his own way to replicate the hemocraft. Through mixing alchemical concoctions of the various materials he had gathered, and extracting certain substances from the young man’s blood, Tyrius slowly begins to modify his own body over time, bolstering his physical strength. He drinks an elixir that infuses him with alchemicals, honing his senses.

A stroke of red on a canvas of flesh. He mixes the young man’s blood into his own. One last cut finishes his masterpiece, as he successfully channels hemocraft for the first time. Tyrius closes his shop, and sells most of his worldly possessions. He keeps his most important alchemical equipment, and purchases a trusty weapon and armor.

Tyrius has enjoyed over sixty years of living. It was a fulfilling life, with no regrets of his own. No, his only regret was that such a life was taken from those who took up adventuring at a young age. That should not be so, but it was.

Rather than sending the young to fight, die or be mentally scared, it seemed more fitting to Tyrius to send someone like himself. Someone who had already lived their life. Tyrius was not throwing his life away. He’d already had it.

Now, if he were to take up this mantle, he might just spare another young man from this fate.

Arrival in Jokari

Tyrius arrived in Jokari during week 59, and ventured to the Tower of Abadeus with Scrang, Agarwaen, Abrax and Quibble. Seeing Agarwaen wielding the power of hemocraft seemed to cause Tyrius some manner of distress...

Final Delve

Tyrius ventured forth into the Beast's Lair with Agarwaen, Bentley, Magnus and Toki. The party found a large pile of treasure, but also the eponymous beast - eating some captive peasants. Bentley could not stand by and allow this to go on, so he lead the party into battle with the creature. Though the beast's physical form was slain, it rose as a monstrous blood-creature and snared Agarwaen and Toki in its grasp. Tyrius managed to free Agarwaen before becoming ensnared in the beast's tendrils, where he was slain.