THE SCALED CLERIC
☾ In a beautifully carved cave of marble, your eyes open. You find yourself inside a whirling storm of violet fire. There are others with you all laying on obsidian slabs decorated with ornate patterns of inlaid rubies.
☾ The manner of the flames puzzles you. They don’t destroy. They’re don’t consume.
☾ Instead, they fill you with strength and a newfound resolve.
☾ Emboldened, you sit up and force your way through the storm towards the others.
☾ As you traverse the terrible scene, you realize that not everyone laying on the obsidian slabs was as lucky as yourself.
☾ Yet hope remains in the few you manage to wake, as they appear unharmed as well.
☾ As you shake the last survivor awake, you recoil in horror at the sight of your forearm.
☾ Something has been grafted onto your arm. A vambrace of silvered reptilian scales has somehow become part of you. Magic, likely.
☾ You hear muffled voices call out rhythmically while noticing the violet flames reduce to blue sparks and reddish smoke. A deep voice cuts through the others.
☾ “Your children are born! The bodies graced by your divine message arise to carry out your will, under my guidance.”
☾ A cleric, wrapped in violet and silver threads, stands at the head of the chamber, surrounded by what appear to be his followers.
☾ It is made perfectly clear that he grafted the scales onto you through ritual and prayer. He himself is a patchwork of silver scales, with little skin left to show his previous humanity.
☾ So, how will you proceed?
Listen to what the Scaled Cleric has to say.
Attempt to rally your comrades for an unarmed attack on the Scaled Cleric and his nine followers.
Try to take cover and disappear in the chamber. Stealth check required.
Head straight through them, making for the exit.
Leave.
These short stories are meant to be used by you in homebrew ttrpg campaigns. They were originally written as Instagram posts and may be edited a bit from their original form. Eventually they’ll be collected in a book and released at least digitally, and if we can swing a critical hit they’ll manifest into their physical book form.