Byrt

Byrt was one of the intelligent speaking wombats, similar to an awakened animal, who alongside Lugg, was a friend and companion of Artus Cimber in the mid–14 century DR. "He [Lugg] can be terrible protective of his friends. And speaking of friends, did you know we are on quite good terms with the muckety-mucks of the fair city you just tried to renovate by uncontrolled fire?"

- Byrt to Queen M'bobo

Description
Byrt was a wombat, a small animal that resembled a pygmy bear or a "pig-bear," according to the Batiri. Byrt walked on all four stout legs and had a chubby body covered in fur. Both Byrt and Lugg were about half the size of an adult human male. Byrt's face had round ears, a flat nose, and bristling whiskers.

Out of the two, Byrt was the smaller one. His fur was gray. After his capture by the Batiri, the goblins ripped the magic earring off Byrt's ear along with a chunk of flesh.

Personality
Byrt was the complete opposite of his best friend, Lugg. He was extroverted, talkative, eloquent, and optimistic to a fault. Even though he annoyed his friend with his constant talking, which Lugg learned to channel out, Byrt was a loyal friend and Lugg was ready to charge into danger for his mate.

Possessions
Shortly before the Batiri siege of Mezro, Byrt wore a magical triangle earring that protected him from the effects of the wall of confusion surrounding the hidden city.

History
Both Byrt and Lugg hailed from a tiny island off the coast of Orlil, Lantan. Their home was a small and peaceful community of fifty wombats and an occasional odd platypus.

At some point earlier in his life, Byrt pursued his passion for the dramatic. The charismatic wombat attended and graduated from Orlil's College of Bards, in the Order of Fabulists. Upon finishing his bardic education, Byrt received the license to teach and lecture, sharing his rich knowledge of culture and lore. Like other fabulists, the wombat held vast book knowledge and was passionate about grammar.

After the bardic college, Byrt made a living as a "jack-of-all-trades" while his buddy Lugg served as a decent second-story man. Sometime in 1361 DR, the captain of a pirate vessel called the Rampage came across the eloquent wombat duo on the beach of their home island while burying their booty. The scoundrel had never seen talking animals and decided to snatch the wombats. The captain hoped to sell the duo to Waterdeep's zoo at the end of the ship's voyage. In some ways, the wombats had high hopes to see a big city and maybe have a career in show business. However, their hopes were shattered on the Rampage's next stop somewhere in Refugee Bay of Chult. There, the pirates decided to strand the wombats, unable and unwilling to listen to Byrt's unending theatrical soliloquy any longer.

Byrt and Lugg spent the next two years in the jungles of Chult, trying to avoid the hungry Batiri goblins until they ran across Artus Cimber in 1362 DR. The wombats accidentally burrowed into the lair of the Batiri "god" Grumog at the same time as the tribe tossed Artus, the explorer from Suzail, to be sacrificed to the monstrosity. Sticking close to each other, the wombats and the adventurer, with Tymora's grace, killed the giant centipede-lizard tentacled creature. Seeing no other way out, Byrt and Lugg dug them out of the "god's" lair and into a sprawling cave system underneath Chult. Eventually, the cavern led the trio to a shimmering yellow magical field. Both wombats became mentally lost and confused while Artus pushed through the magic, dragging the animals past the ensorcelled wall of light. Without knowing it, they'd breached the walls of Mezro, the hidden Tabaxi city, by passing under its magical walls.

Welcomed to Mezro by Dhalmass Rayburton, one of the city's barae, Artus and the wombats found a brief shelter from the dangers of the Chultan jungles. The safety was short-lived as a war with the Batiri was swelling outside the city's walls, goaded by Kaverin Ebonhand and his desire for the secrets of immortality hidden within the Temple of Ubtao. Byrt and Lugg accompanied Dhalmass Rayburton to Ras T'fima's hut outside the city walls. They never reached the destination and were ambushed by goblins. Byrt and Sir Rayburton were captured while Lugg fled to the city, pierced by a goblin arrow. While Artus and others were preparing for war, Byrt was kept by the Batiri as a future meal, feeding him well with onions, radishes, and koko-yams. During the imprisonment, Byrt revealed the origins of barae immortality to stop the heinous torture of Dhalmass Rayburton.

Once the assault on Mezro commenced, Byrt's cage was snatched by an opportunistic Batiri and stashed away with other food supplies to consume later. After the goblin army's defeat, Queen M'bobo nearly escaped the battlefield and was getting ready to retreat with several of her warriors, Byrt's cage, and other food supplies. However, Lugg came to the rescue. The wombat friends stood alone against trained goblin warriors until Artus Cimber arrived as he promised to rescue Byrt.

In the weeks that followed, Byrt and Lugg were nearly inseparable from Artus Cimber during the reconstruction of the city. Eventually, Artus was convinced that the wombats' skills were more helpful in taking care of the city's kids, a task that Byrt found absolutely delightful. Subsequently, the wombats accompanied Artus and his new wife Alisanda Rayburton to Cormyr, where the wombats got to experience the hustle of a big city and safety from goblins for the first time in years.

By the late 15 century DR, both Byrt and Lugg had died of old age. Artus Cimber had their names tattooed on his fingers above the knuckles as a tribute to his dear friends.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Tomb of Annihilation
 * Novels
 * The Ring of Winter
 * The Ring of Winter