Kestrel

Kestrel was a rogue, accidentally involved with the suicide mission to the ruins of Myth Drannor alongside other Veiled Ones, and later becoming the group's de facto leader in 1369 DR.

Description
Kestrel was a petite, slender, but toned woman of only. The rogue's most notable feature was her penetrating green eyes, the intensity of which was reminiscent that of a falcon, earning her the name "Kestrel." Her hair was chestnut-colored and cropped short in a boyish fashion.

Kestrel's left wrist had a long scar left there by an incident that involved a magically trapped lock.

In 1369 DR, she was only 22 years old. However, she looked more like a woman in her early 30s due to her tough life and upbringing. For the same reason, her body's muscles seldom relaxed, ready to spring to action at a moment's notice.

Personality
Kestrel was slow to trust others and did not like trusting in anyone but herself. She especially disliked fellow rogues and arcane spellcasters. Rogues knew too much about how Kestrel worked, while wizards workings were almost complete mystery to her. As a rule, Kestrel trusted her senses, instincts, and she was a utilitarian person. Curiously, Kestrel had an odd tingling sensation in her collarbone that often was a telltale sign of serious danger.

When Kestrel met the delicately graceful and beautiful spirit of Anorrweyn Evensong, she was mesmerized by the elf's beauty and felt insecure about her own rugged looks and short boyish hair.

Abilities
Kestrel was a skilled thief and a rogue. She was proficient in stealth, subterfuge, climbing, dealing with traps, pickpocketing, and others of the illicit vocation. In battle, she was exceptionally nimble and swift, quickly moving around her opponents and numbing out of the way of danger. She was ambidextrous, especially when handing her throwing daggers. Kestrel usually used daggers and clubs in combat.

She could speak Common, Dwarven, Halfling, and Orcish languages.

Possessions
Kestrel best set of armor was a gift from Harldain Ironbar, an enchanted +3 set of leathers that gave the wearer full unrestricted freedom as if she were wearing a light silk shirt. She wore two mantle rings that kept her protected from many of the dreaded spells.

In battle, Kestrel was armed with three mundane daggers that she swiftly pulled from both of her boots and from her belt. In Myth Drannor, she recovered an enchanted blade off the corpse of Loren, killed by the Cult of the Dragon. The so-called Loren's blade possessed +1 enchantment and always returned into the hands of the thrower. And lastly, she found a powerful artifact, Borea's Blood, in the depths of the Dwarven Dungeons. The dagger was a shard of magical ice that had +2 enchantment and could discharge a wave of powerful cone of cold like energy.

She also carried a collapsible telescoping steel club, thieves' tools, a grappling hook, and two weighted dice.

Relationships
Impatient in groups, Kestrel often cut straight to the chase with complete disregard of diplomacy. This quality often brought her to head-butt with other, especially paladin Corran D'Arcey, who did not trust rogues and Kestrel especially. The paladin often overturned her discussion to Kestrel's frustration. These decisions often led the party head-first into danger.

Durwyn, the fighter of the Veiled Ones, was intimidated and impressed by Kestrel's skills and cunning, which eventually grew into respect and admiration. Ghleanna Stormlake and Kestrel quickly established unspoken kinship, recognizing the similar fates of being orphans and experiencing hardships in their youth.

History
Kestrel was orphaned barely a year old, circa 1348 DR, when bandits raided her family's cottage. Even though Kestrel's mother managed to hide the child in the root cellar, both parents were slain, and the cottage was ransacked and burned to the ground. Just several hours later, an aging thief named Quinn came across the smoldering wreck and heard a child's cry. Since then, Quinn treated Kestrel as his own daughter. Eventually, despite trying to shelter his daughter from the illicit profession, Quinn taught the young girl everything he knew, and Kestrel proved to be a talented pupil. The old rogue taught his new protege that there was no honor among thieves.

When Kestrel was twelve winters old, circa 1359 DR, Quinn was killed in a tavern brawl, living the young thief to fend for herself. Kestrel had to grow up quickly, surviving on her own. Kestrel moved from city to city through her roguish career, only staying in each for a short period of time. Even though her adoptive father was dead, Kestrel still cherished their common dream of accumulating wealth and retiring into carefree life. With years passing, her treasure stash grew. At the age of sixteen, circa 1363 DR, Kestrel got together with a rogue and forger named Eaden who, after earning her trust, framed the young woman for one of his jobs and fled, leaving Kestrel alone, dealing with consequences. This incident taught her to value Quinn's teaching, not to trust others, and she worked on her own until 1369 DR.

By 1369 DR, Kestrel relocated to the city of Phlan on the shored of the great Moonsea where she intended to spend several months and move on. During that time, she established a stash of "acquired" valuables hidden within the abandoned Valjevo Castle. During one of the strips into the underground chamber, she witnessed the resurgence of the dreaded pool of radiance. Unsure of what to do, Kestrel imbibed some Nat Wyler's Bell's cheap firewine, and emboldened, decided to warn Elminster of the pool's resurgent danger. Waking up with a hangover, Kestrel was shocked to remember that she drunkenly volunteered to guard the pool on behalf of the Sage of Shadowdale as he assembled a group of adventurers to investigate its origins. The threat came from the ruins of Myth Drannor as an unknown force reawakened the pools and started draining the Moonsea's cities.

Along with Kestrel, other heroes were tasked with guarding the pool: Ghleanna Stormlake - a wizard and Elminster's apprentice; Durwyn - a city guard from Phlan, Corran D'Arcey - a nobleman paladin of Tyr. Once the guardians of the pool assembled in the pool chamber underneath Valjevo Castle, a gate opened, showing Athan, the leader of the group sent to Myth Drannor, and his band being massacred. Ghleanna rushed through without second thought. Overly zealous, Corran grabbed Kestrel by the hand to stop a thief from escaping and forced her and himself through the gate to attempt and aid the adventurers in trouble. As the duo was moving within the gate, its magic became unstable. Kestrel used her grappling hook to pull them to the safety of the other side, and Durwyn trapped the rope the last moment and followed them.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor