Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Play by Post
Everything D&D Ever - Chapter 1: Temple of the Frog
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Shayuri" data-source="post: 6390246" data-attributes="member: 4936"><p>Kestrel sat alone at a table at a remove from the others. The light seemed dimmer there, though it wasn't fair to call it shadowy. She'd avoided the shadows quite deliberately, even though her back and scalp itched to be sitting so openly. She was a slim, somewhat small woman; not far past the point where 'girl' would have been a better term for her. Her skin was a little pale, with her eyes as dark as polished onyx. Her hair was boyishly short and as dark as her eyes. Her clothes were ordinary enough; simple peasant garb in earthtone tan and green. A sharp eye might have noted a little black poking out from under her tunic's sleeve, but it was easy to miss. The same was true of how her twilight grey cloak hung a little oddly, concealing the scabbard she'd belted at her back. She'd lowered her backpack to the floor by her chair, and it at least was just as it seemed.</p><p></p><p>She scanned the crowd every so often, paying the insipid music of the bard no mind. Kestrel was not here to lose herself in song and drink. She was here to meet someone.</p><p></p><p>[sblock=Some time ago, in the Quiet Tabernacle]"...and therefore, against my better judgment, I have decided that you will be tested."</p><p></p><p>Kestrel waited silently. The man before her was older, but not quite 'elderly,' with a tall and thin build and a pinched, narrow face. His eyes were deeply lined, and the bags under them spoke of someone who did not sleep well. He was Minister of Whispers; the official spymaster for the Shade Council, though it was an open secret that each of the Ministers had their own sources of intelligence as well.</p><p></p><p>In short, he was a man who could end her with considerably less effort than a snap of his fingers. While terrifying, two things kept Kestrel's fear in check. Firstly, that description applied to a great many people in the Tabernacle and the shock value had largely worn off during her time there. Secondly, she had learned a mental trick to help keep fear at bay. As she studied him, she catalogued vulnerable points, crafting an imaginary scenario where she could exploit them each in turn, and destroy him.</p><p></p><p>He noted her appraisal and while his lips smiled a little, his eyes hardened. "Do you hate me, child?"</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #A9A9A9">"No,"</span> Kestrel said immediately. <em>Feint for the carotid artery in the throat; force him to defend. Sidestep with his block and use boot knife to open femoral.</em></p><p></p><p>The Minister's eyes glittered with private amusement at how her answer came without hesitation. "Why not?"</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #A9A9A9">"Because hate is weakness,"</span> she replied. <em>Steal a sock of his and drop it into the Retriever's cell...</em> </p><p></p><p>The amusement faded from the Minister's expression and he stiffly handed a roll of vellum to Kestrel. "You can speak the words. Let us see how you act on them." </p><p></p><p>She unrolled the vellum, thinking. To get the mission directly from the Minister, as just an Initiate, implied things about the assignment that were almost certainly bad. First, it was so secret that he didn't trust a subordinate, like her instructor, to give it to her. Second, it was a test. The Council's tests were notoriously lethal. The barracks had been full of horrible stories that all started with, '...he got a test from the Council.' Third...she had no idea what it meant.</p><p></p><p>Temple of the Frog.</p><p></p><p>Kestrel looked up from the vellum. <span style="color: #A9A9A9">"It doesn't say what I'm supposed to do."</span></p><p></p><p>The minister smiled his oily smile. "Consider that the first problem. You are free to leave the Tabernacle. When you have completed your assignment to your satisfaction, return to us here. If you take too long, or if you seem to be making efforts to evade observation, you will be judged disobedient."</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #A9A9A9">"How long is too lo..."</span></p><p></p><p>"Lets just say, the sooner you stop whining questions and begin your task, the better. For you."</p><p></p><p>Kestrel stared at the Minister of Whispers for a long moment. <em>I've heard he's afraid of the undead. Hang a skeleton in his room connected by a line to his doorknob. Hide behind dresser. He comes in, the skeleton 'attacks' him, distracting him long enough for me to get in behind him and kill him.</em></p><p></p><p>Finally she nodded, turned and walked out. She dropped the vellum over one of the torch-sconces outside his door as she passed by it. It burst into a puff of flame and smoke, and was gone.[/sblock]</p><p></p><p>It had taken her the better part of two days of poking around to learn what the Temple of the Frog was, and where to go to learn more. She learned a few other things as well. For one, she'd been trapped in that damned Tabernacle for over two years. It was all sealed off inside, with no sunlight allowed to enter. Keeping track of days quickly became impossible. For another, she'd grown rather accustomed to operating in the dark. Her first few hours in the sun were physically painful to her eyes...and her skin had lost some color.</p><p></p><p>It had been very hard not to just run. Take her chances and flee. Even knowing about the Retriever, and even knowing the Council wouldn't ever let anyone escape. There was a part of her that wanted freedom enough to die for it.</p><p></p><p>But another part, a bigger part, felt that freedom to die wasn't freedom at all. It thought she wasn't done with them yet. Not by even a little.</p><p></p><p>So for now, she had to be good.</p><p></p><p>The man that Jenny Tickles called The Librarian had been very concise in his assessment of the Temple of the Frog. There was someone who could help her find it, and he would be here. But since she'd only been able to pay for one answer, and didn't have time to get enough for more, he refused to tell her anything else.</p><p></p><p>That was how Kestrel found herself in an inn she didn't want to be in, waiting for a man she didn't know how to identify to tell her how to find a temple she'd never heard of on the behalf of an organization she wanted nothing to do with.</p><p></p><p>...what a night.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shayuri, post: 6390246, member: 4936"] Kestrel sat alone at a table at a remove from the others. The light seemed dimmer there, though it wasn't fair to call it shadowy. She'd avoided the shadows quite deliberately, even though her back and scalp itched to be sitting so openly. She was a slim, somewhat small woman; not far past the point where 'girl' would have been a better term for her. Her skin was a little pale, with her eyes as dark as polished onyx. Her hair was boyishly short and as dark as her eyes. Her clothes were ordinary enough; simple peasant garb in earthtone tan and green. A sharp eye might have noted a little black poking out from under her tunic's sleeve, but it was easy to miss. The same was true of how her twilight grey cloak hung a little oddly, concealing the scabbard she'd belted at her back. She'd lowered her backpack to the floor by her chair, and it at least was just as it seemed. She scanned the crowd every so often, paying the insipid music of the bard no mind. Kestrel was not here to lose herself in song and drink. She was here to meet someone. [sblock=Some time ago, in the Quiet Tabernacle]"...and therefore, against my better judgment, I have decided that you will be tested." Kestrel waited silently. The man before her was older, but not quite 'elderly,' with a tall and thin build and a pinched, narrow face. His eyes were deeply lined, and the bags under them spoke of someone who did not sleep well. He was Minister of Whispers; the official spymaster for the Shade Council, though it was an open secret that each of the Ministers had their own sources of intelligence as well. In short, he was a man who could end her with considerably less effort than a snap of his fingers. While terrifying, two things kept Kestrel's fear in check. Firstly, that description applied to a great many people in the Tabernacle and the shock value had largely worn off during her time there. Secondly, she had learned a mental trick to help keep fear at bay. As she studied him, she catalogued vulnerable points, crafting an imaginary scenario where she could exploit them each in turn, and destroy him. He noted her appraisal and while his lips smiled a little, his eyes hardened. "Do you hate me, child?" [COLOR="#A9A9A9"]"No,"[/COLOR] Kestrel said immediately. [i]Feint for the carotid artery in the throat; force him to defend. Sidestep with his block and use boot knife to open femoral.[/i] The Minister's eyes glittered with private amusement at how her answer came without hesitation. "Why not?" [COLOR="#A9A9A9"]"Because hate is weakness,"[/COLOR] she replied. [i]Steal a sock of his and drop it into the Retriever's cell...[/i] The amusement faded from the Minister's expression and he stiffly handed a roll of vellum to Kestrel. "You can speak the words. Let us see how you act on them." She unrolled the vellum, thinking. To get the mission directly from the Minister, as just an Initiate, implied things about the assignment that were almost certainly bad. First, it was so secret that he didn't trust a subordinate, like her instructor, to give it to her. Second, it was a test. The Council's tests were notoriously lethal. The barracks had been full of horrible stories that all started with, '...he got a test from the Council.' Third...she had no idea what it meant. Temple of the Frog. Kestrel looked up from the vellum. [COLOR="#A9A9A9"]"It doesn't say what I'm supposed to do."[/COLOR] The minister smiled his oily smile. "Consider that the first problem. You are free to leave the Tabernacle. When you have completed your assignment to your satisfaction, return to us here. If you take too long, or if you seem to be making efforts to evade observation, you will be judged disobedient." [COLOR="#A9A9A9"]"How long is too lo..."[/COLOR] "Lets just say, the sooner you stop whining questions and begin your task, the better. For you." Kestrel stared at the Minister of Whispers for a long moment. [i]I've heard he's afraid of the undead. Hang a skeleton in his room connected by a line to his doorknob. Hide behind dresser. He comes in, the skeleton 'attacks' him, distracting him long enough for me to get in behind him and kill him.[/i] Finally she nodded, turned and walked out. She dropped the vellum over one of the torch-sconces outside his door as she passed by it. It burst into a puff of flame and smoke, and was gone.[/sblock] It had taken her the better part of two days of poking around to learn what the Temple of the Frog was, and where to go to learn more. She learned a few other things as well. For one, she'd been trapped in that damned Tabernacle for over two years. It was all sealed off inside, with no sunlight allowed to enter. Keeping track of days quickly became impossible. For another, she'd grown rather accustomed to operating in the dark. Her first few hours in the sun were physically painful to her eyes...and her skin had lost some color. It had been very hard not to just run. Take her chances and flee. Even knowing about the Retriever, and even knowing the Council wouldn't ever let anyone escape. There was a part of her that wanted freedom enough to die for it. But another part, a bigger part, felt that freedom to die wasn't freedom at all. It thought she wasn't done with them yet. Not by even a little. So for now, she had to be good. The man that Jenny Tickles called The Librarian had been very concise in his assessment of the Temple of the Frog. There was someone who could help her find it, and he would be here. But since she'd only been able to pay for one answer, and didn't have time to get enough for more, he refused to tell her anything else. That was how Kestrel found herself in an inn she didn't want to be in, waiting for a man she didn't know how to identify to tell her how to find a temple she'd never heard of on the behalf of an organization she wanted nothing to do with. ...what a night. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Play by Post
Everything D&D Ever - Chapter 1: Temple of the Frog
Top