Blue Spots' Warning

Summary

Before there was a city for them to live in, a band of Tieflings were hiding among the foothills in Greymantle Marsh, evading a group of paladins who had chased them from the plains in the north. The Tieflings were fast and clever and had quickly learned to scatter and hide in the swampy terrain any time the hunters would come near.
One of the reasons they had been so successful was the diligence of a scout named Blue Spots, because of his mottled skin. He searched for the paladins nearly as thoroughly as they searched for him, and he was unmatched in his speed and tenacity in outrunning them back to the camp to warn the others whenever he spotted them. Then, in early winter, he lost track of the paladins to such an extent that the Tieflings wondered if their hunters had finally given up. They loved the place that they had settled and wanted to stay there permanently, beginning to set up structures that might last through the winter instead of their usual bedrolls and lean-tos. It was against Blue Spots' nature to rest so easily, so on his next outing, he searched even farther from their for any sign of the hunters, until he exhausted himself and his rations, and so took a detour to an outpost in the north of the marsh to restock.
Disguising himself with magic, Blue Spots was able to replenish his supplies, but more importantly, he ran into the paladins as they moved through the outpost, quietly recruiting anyone willing to work as a mercenary. Blue Spots went with them, and he found out their plan to head to the Tiefling camp with reinforcements. They knew the Tieflings' location, and they drew out their plan to move with stealth and surround the valley that they hid in, and sweep in from all sides before their prey could escape. Blue Spots' magic wore off in the discussion, so he ran from the outpost and into the swamp, but one of the hunters' arrows caught him in the back on the way.
Blue Spots continued to run despite his injury, ignoring his pain, determined to return to his people with the message of the danger headed their way. He ran without rest until he came within site of the camp, where he finally was unable to take another step and fell down dead.
When he was found the next day, his people mourned but the diviner among them was not satisfied with accepting his death and leaving it at that. They knew he must have been carrying a message, so they cut off one of his hands and cleaned the bones.
The diviner had guided them well in the past, throwing animal bones to decide such things as which direction to travel to avoid hazards and bad weather, and so now used Blue Spots' fingerbones in their ritual, asking his spirit to finish the job and deliver his message. The bones told them to move immediately from danger and move to the east, into the mountains, and not stop moving for three days.
It was only by following these directions that the Tieflings were able to escape the hunters as they encircled the camp, being that the only side the hunters were not able to surround was the treacherous terrain to the east. They fled for three days, nearly falling from exhaustion and arrow wounds obtained as they escaped themselves, but every one of them survived, and the paladins finally gave up their hunt after losing their trail for a final time.

Historical Basis

The persecution of Tieflings in the early years is a real fact, and there were likely situations similar to this that were very true. It's difficult to tell if Blue Spots and this particular band of Tieflings were based in reality, but there are Tieflings in Lockhinge City who swear by it, and claim to be descendants of someone in the tale.
Some take the fact that "Blue Spots" is a character that occasionally shows up in other tales to be a sign that this story is entirely myth, while others claim that "Blue Spots" is merely an easy face to apply to someone whose real name has been lost to time, and some even claim that Blue Spots was a very real person who did actually star in at least some of these stories. Blue Spots is usually portrayed as a scout for a runaway band of Tieflings, and though he "dies" in more than one story, many of the others could theoretically have taken place in reality.

Spread

The tellings of this tale usually take place in Lockhinge City, Blindwater, and the smaller communities in that area of Greymantle Marsh, though it has begun to spread as Tieflings can finally disperse safely into the rest of the kingdom. Outside of Greymantle, the tale has recently become common knowledge among Tieflings, Dwarves, and Halflings in the city of Liyda.

Variations & Mutation

Blue Spots' tales are almost exclusively told to Tiefling children by their parents and teachers, and so are dressed up with details that couldn't have possibly been known to turn a vague tale into a vivid storytelling experience. Different variations occur with almost every teller, and how the tale is changed often depends on whether the goal of the story is to teach the value of diligence and determination, instill awe around the subject of spirits and traditional divining, or just to scare children around a campfire.