Tiep

Tiep was a young horse groom and pickpocket that grew up in various towns and settlements across the Western Heartlands during the mid–14 century DR. While he was an orphan for much of his childhood, Tiep was taken in by Florozt'a and Galimer, a married couple that traveled town-to-town. He earned his keep with some honest work, along with some other less-than-legitimate activities. While honing his skills as a thief impressionable youth found himself an unwitting asset of the Zhentarim, a fact that threatened the lives and wellbeing of himself and his family.

Description
Tiep was a good looking and charismatic young man, with dark tan skin, short curly black hair and arresting blue eyes. While he filled out more in his teenage years, Tiep was quite thin growing up, making him appear years younger than his actual age.

Personality
"Speaking of trouble, Roz, where is Tiep."

- Druhallen asking about his adoptive nephew.

Due to his years living in the streets of Berdusk, Tiep had an extremely difficult time trusting others, and was nearly as suspicious of arcane magic, despite the profession of his foster father Galimer. Because of the traumas he suffered while an orphan, Tiep lashed out when his feelings were hurt, especially against those few people in whom he placed his trust. When caught in a lie or when he otherwise found himself in trouble, Tiep became sullen, deflected blame to others, outright lied, or otherwise shirked responsibility for his actions.

Despite these tendencies, Tiep often demonstrated consideration for others in his own unique way, especially when caring for animals. His sense of morality was not firmly rooted in his character, and often faltered, especially when he was tempted by an easier path in life or promises of getting more out of life for himself. He found excitement and even fun during times of danger, until he was confronted with the stark consequences that arose from such events.

Abilities
Tiep was a skilled thief and pickpocket, but was also adept at charming people and talking his way out of difficult situations, usually of his own making.

He also had an impeccable sense of direction and rarely if ever got lost out in the wilderness.

Activities
When Tiep traveled across the Heartlands with his foster parents and the mage Druhallen, Tiep took on the responsibility of the camp's cook and tended to their mounts. He truly cared for their horses and demonstrated his more nurturing side in his work.

While he took great care with animals, Tiep was held few scruples when spending time with folk of the towns his family traveled through. Always the opportunist, the young rogue spent much of his time gambling, or coming up with schemes to make some extra gold pieces off of traveling traders. He was a compulsive thief, and always took the opportunity to take a little more if he thought it could do so without consequences.

Befitting a scoundrel and a gambler, Tiep regularly paid tribute to Tymora, the goddess of luck.

Relationships
While Tiep spent much of his youth alone and fending for himself, he was taken in by a couple that earned their living as travelers-for-hire, the charming mage Galimer, who unbeknownst to both of them was his biological brother, and his newlywed wife Rozt'a. Tiep's foster parents raised him with kindness and the goodly values they had developed in life, which were bolstered by the influence of Galimer's own foster brother Druhallen. He grew closest with Rozt'a, feeling deep down that she truly was his mother, and followed her lead when life on the road became too stressful, overwhelming, or outright dangerous.

He was very popular among the young women he met in his travels, and seemed to have a different paramour in each town and village he traveled through.

Tiep was however immediately distrustful of and antagonistic towards the goblin Sheemzher that his family encountered, and subsequently accompanied on a week-long expedition.

History
"I don't want you to betray your foster parents, Tiep–and I warn you the day you betray them will be your last. From time to time, the Zhentarim have need of men and women whose hearts are good and who do not know our faces. (Your family) are such folk, but you're not like them, are you, Tiep?"

- Sememmon.

Tiep was believed to have been born in the, to Ansoain, a knowledgeable mage from Scornubel. Tiep never knew his mother's identity, growing up among the orphans on the streets of Berdusk. He survived by stealing for himself or by the generosity of others, such as when the local baker's daughter would offer him bread crusts from her family's shop. At the age of six, the High Sun riot broke out in the city due to food shortages and Tiep was traumatized when he witnessed the young girl's death. Tiep's life turned around one day the following year when he made his way into the temple of Chauntea. As the ailing guardswoman Rozt'a was recovering from losing her daughter before childbirth, she encountered the young unfortunate Tiep, and saw it as something of a sign. Rozt'a and her newlywed husband Galimer soon took in the orphan Tiep as their own.

During the, Tied inadvertently picked the pocket of Sememmon, the Lord of Darkhold, while the Zhent wizard was passing through the streets of Scornubel in disguise. The Dark Lord manipulated Tiep into becoming an asset of the Zhentarim, in order for the Black Network to keep tabs on Druhallen, his foster-uncle and Galimer's best friend, and reclaim an item of great value to his organization.

A few years later, Tiep's foster parents and his adoptive uncle Dru decided they would finally make the trip to Dekanter they had been planning for years. The Zhent Lord Amarandaris of Parnast gave Tiep instructions to observe all the actions Druhallen took while within the ruined mines, recover a small black iron box could be found near a ruined Zhent outpost found within, and bring its contents to a contact at the Black Buck Inn in Yarthrain.

The family's journey was a tumultuous one. After the goblin Sheemzher beckoned the family to accompany him to Weathercote Wood and visit his mistress Lady Wyndyfarh, Tiep stole from the forest and needlessly killed some of its intelligent wildlife. In response, the enigmatic Lady Wyndyfarh temporarily abducted Galimer, and directed everyone else to continue to Dekanter on her behalf, and recover one of the lost Nether Scrolls.

While Dru and Rozt'a were distraught over their dearest friend, Tiep blamed himself and worried he would be kicked out from their group and left behind. They left the forest and continued through the treacherous Greypeak Mountains towards Dekanter. When they lost one of their horses Cardinal while traveling through their, and Tiep took out his anger and frustration out on the goblin Sheemzher. After being injured by a falling rock, Tiep had to be cared for by Roz and Dru, and the group was forced to make camp within a secluded cave. After the night's rest they finally made their way to Dekanter.

While in Dekanter Tiep proved himself to Rozt'a and Druhallen. He wielded a sword like his foster mother, used his keen sense of direction to help them navigate the mines, and even demonstrated enough maturity to work with Sheemzher to recover the Nether Scroll from the weird device in which it was kept by the undead Beast Lord. When Roz and Dru were left before the Beast Lord alone, Tiep was presented with a moment where he could leave the mines and return the scroll to Amarandaris' contact in Yarthrain; he chose to rush after his family and risk his life for theirs. While Tiep was overpowered by the Beast Lord, he distracted it long enough to be surprised by living mind flayers that were hunting it down, and his family was given enough time to leave the mines together.

Once they safely made camp in the mountains, Tiep revealed his history with Amarandaris to Druhallen, but could not bring himself to tell Rozt'a at first. After a few more days he mustered the courage to tell her as well, and was met with absolute silence. Rozt'a shunned the boy, believing him to be entirely loyal to the Zhentarim and giving Dru the ultimatum that she would leave if Tiep did not. Believing that Tiep was not truly lost to them yet, Druhallen had a plan that would give their family the best chance to help Tiep stay on the right path in life. After they returned the scroll to Lady Wyndyfarh and welcomed back Galimer into their lives, Druhallen offered up one final deal to which Amarandaris accepted: take the group's rubbing of the first section of the Nether Scroll they recovered and ensure that, Sememmon, and the rest of the Zhentarim acted as if they never had any interaction with Tiep whatsoever. The young boy was given a new life free from the Black Network.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Nether Scroll