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Quest 029: The Serpent's Tongue

Classification: B-Class
Type: Eliminate Target
Status: Open

Contract Summary

Benefactor: Temple Official (House of the Cerulean Storm)
Compensation: Modest (150 ceramic pieces + temple healing services)
Stated Danger: Dangerous (5)
Location: Trade roads near Kalidnay; target's camp location unknown

Mission Briefing

The Job

A temple official from the House of the Cerulean Storm (a minor Tyrian elemental cult) seeks the elimination of a dangerous heretic. A former priest named Kasseth has fled to the regions near Kalidnay and is reportedly preaching blasphemous doctrines to travelers and refugees.

According to the temple, Kasseth is teaching that Ka-Tet of Kalidnay is actually an elemental avatar—a claim that perverts both Tyrian elemental doctrine and offends Kalidnayan orthodoxy. More dangerously, he's gathering followers.

Target Profile

  • Name: Kasseth (formerly Brother Kasseth of the Cerulean Storm)
  • Race: Human male, early 50s
  • Description: Tall, gaunt, shaved head with ceremonial scarring, speaks with passionate intensity
  • Background: Former senior priest, excommunicated for doctrinal deviation
  • Threat Assessment: Powerful orator, some elemental magic, gathering armed followers

Objectives

  1. Primary: Eliminate Kasseth permanently
  2. Secondary: Disperse his followers
  3. Tertiary: Recover any stolen temple texts or relics

Client Terms

  • Kasseth must be killed—capture is not acceptable
  • His body should be burned (temple requirement)
  • Followers who surrender may be spared; those who fight may be killed
  • Do not pursue followers into Kalidnay proper

Known Complications

  • Kasseth may have 10-30 armed followers
  • His camp is mobile and location changes frequently
  • Kalidnayan patrols near the border might interfere
  • Assassination of a religious figure could have political implications

Guild Assessment

Recommended Team Size: 4-5 members
Required Skills: Combat, tracking, desert survival, religious knowledge helpful
Estimated Duration: 10-14 days

DM Notes (Hidden)

Benefactor True Nature: Religious extremist (the temple's concern isn't heresy—it's that Kasseth was right about something, and they can't let that spread)
Trustworthiness: Misleading framing (Kasseth isn't "gathering armed followers"—refugees are protecting him because he heals them for free)
Moral Axis: Harmful to innocents (indirect) / Modest pay
Actual Danger: −1 (Kasseth will not fight; his followers are poorly armed refugees)

The Truth: Kasseth discovered that Ka-Tet has been negotiating with elemental powers—genuine ones. He's not a heretic; he's a whistleblower. The temple is terrified of what this means.