Professor Charles Birchwood

Prof. Birchwood, a scholar of some note at the Fairhaven University in the Realm of the Albi, specialized in the study of the newly discovered peoples native to Gethen, particularly the orcs and goblins. In possession of the recent travelogue penned by Ser Abbicus Redforth, he has come to Saltmarsh to study native customs, and to prove that the separation imposed by the treaty that ended the Goblin Wars stifled the growth and prosperity of peoples on both sides of the Pale.
After arriving in Saltmarsh, the professor took up residence at the Scale and Tail, as he waited for an opportunity to meet people who might accompany him on a research trip beyond the city walls, and, if he was lucky, into native territory. He interacted with a native lizardman named Bork, who also resided at the Scale and Tail. Bork was initially taken with Birchwood, believing the scholar to be the mysterious Moon, who sent him mystical messages through his book. After learning that Birchwood was not Moon, and after Birchwood ascertained that Bork knew very little about goblins and orcs, the two lost interest in one another.
The professor's luck changed when he was summoned by the City Watch to ascertain if a creature that arrived at the gates was indeed a firbold from Ulthos, and not a native (who would not have been allowed into town). As the messenger accompanied him to the gates, he met Bork, exiting the notary's office with some companions. Exchanging a few words with the group, he was able to entice some of them to follow him to the gate. There, he ascertained that Tycho was indeed a firbolg, and upon his testimony, the creature was allowed to enter. He immediately began to beg for people to accompany him to his village, which lay a day and a half away, because it was under attack by orcs and dire beavers.
Birchwood saw his chance, and enticed Tycho and the others back to the Scale and Tail, where they plied the firbolg with drink, and promised to accompany him to his village. They left the following day, and after an encounter with gnolls and a black bear, and a night layover in Sanctuary, came to the firbolg village and found it destroyed. They spent the night after wandering whether they should follow the tracks of the orc marauders likely responsible. The carnage attracted scavengers - first a bear, which Drazer  and Kray  dispatched while the professor slept, and then, a landshark, which killed Tycho, and dragged his corpse underground as the panicked explorers fled. They traveled back to Sanctuary for help, and informed the local authorities about the orc marauders. They then continued on back to Saltmarsh, and summoned the Town Council to give them the news. The Council seemed reluctant to go to war with the orcs, especially given the paucity of evidence, and its interest in continuing to engage in trade with the natives. This made the professor exasperated, and he retired back to the Scale and Tail, to wait for other opportunities.
The professor is exceptionally feeble and not suited for travel in the Gethen wilderness, which is why he needs sturdy companions to accompany him. With the disappearance of Bork and the demise of Tycho, he is a fish out of water in Saltmarsh, which has no educational establishment or library to attract the attention of an erudite man.