Your trek to the temple is rather uneventful - you pass by several late-arriving spectators on their way to the Tournament grounds on your way back to the crossroads, and they greet you as you pass. Many offer words of encouragement - a select few, however, scowl at you as you pass, but make no overt signs of malice. Once you reach the crossroads at Yun Chomo's foot, you follow the path southwards towards the temple. Foot traffic becomes virtually non-existent as you head in this direction.
After about an hour's travel, you arrive at the Temple of the Rose Shell. The outer walls of the temple are indeed a soft rose color, and it is settled atop a hill a short distance from the beach. Several cave entrances dot the hill on the side opposite the sea, and as you approach the hill, movement from one of them draws your eye. A monk in well-worn and unadorned robes approaches, and bows low to you all. "Welcome, honored travelers, and may the Rose's peace be upon you all. How may I assist you today?"
Asha smiles broadly, bowig back. "Hello, brother. I am Asha Ghadvhi, and I too have taken oaths to the Rose. I am pleased to be back among my fellows. Please, allow me to introduce my companions." She does so, but omits their group's name for the moment.
The monk bows his head in deference to each of Asha's companions. "I welcome you and your companions to the Temple, Sister Ghadvhi. If you would care to pray within its walls, then I would be glad to assist you. You step foot on holy ground, and I will need to collect your weapons. Instruments of war are not permitted within the Temple walls."
"Good monk," Simon says, bowing, "I beg your indulgence. This" - he holds up his cane - "is not only my weapon, it also helps me walk. More important even than that, it is my only inheritence from my fallen ancestors. I do not exaggerate when I say this has at times been my only friend, and I would not abandon him for all the gold in the world. Might he be peace-bonded, instead? Or will you accept my oath not to do harm here unless I am attacked"
Zarina listens to the old timer's argument. She wasn't concerned with giving up her weapons. A creature such as she was never really without her most dangerous attacks, thankfully. "With all the trickery that has gone on at this tournament, perhaps it would be for the best for me at least to remain outside. I'm not much on prayer. I can hold the weapons if that would be preferable."
Asha doesn't hesitate to set aside her glaive - indeed, she was already reaching for it when the monk asked - but she looks slightly disappointed when Zarina announces plans to stay outside.
Zak also passes his weapons to Zarina, then follows Asha into the temple.
"Poog am dangerous, like an instrument of war. Am he allowed in temple?" the goblin says with his customary scowl.
He shrugs and hands over his sword without any concern. He's yet to draw it on the island and he knows he's no less dangerous with out.
"It you am having to leave your teeth out here..." he tells the little terrier. "If am you not, you am having to stay with Zarina."
"Stay out here with me, It. Keep me company while the others occupy themselves."
The monk bows his head in apology to Simon. "I am afraid it is not. The Rose's peace watches over the temple, and as a result it is the most holy place on Xielan Island. To bring a weapon into the temple would bring the goddess's disfavor. If you cannot bring yourself to part with your blade, then you will have to remain out here."
It yaps at Zarina as the arcane warrior speaks to him, running away from her then looking over his shoulder, glancing back with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Are you wanting me to follow you, It, Zarina wonders as she watches the little dog's strange reactions. "Hold on, pup, she adds, waiting to see how the negotiations with Simon and his cane progressed.
"I shall, with regret, wait here," Simon says.
The old man seems to shrivel a bit as he leans on his cane.
"Be well inside, my friends," he adds.
If the monk is disappointed by Simon's response, he does not show it, and instead turns to those who wish to pay homage to the Rose. "Please, follow me," he says, entering the Temple.
The interior is unsurprisingly beautiful, curved to resemble the interior of a multihued conch shell. The monk begins to light some incense to assist in your meditations, and chants some quiet prayers as you approach the altar.
It runs back to Zarina, then away from her again, circling around the draconic woman, enjoying a game of keep away with her.
Poog wrinkles his nose at the strange smells in the temple.
"Look at It, Simon! Such a sweet puppy. Poog isn't nice enough to her. I suppose he hasn't lost all his goblinish issues with dogs."
"I note he has refrained from killing and eating her, though," Simon says, chuckling. "which is remarkable restraint for a Goblin."
Asha breathes deeply of the incense, feeling an intense sense of homecoming, and kneels before the altar to begin her prayers.
"Am she just talking to gods? Poog am thinking she am coming here to talk to priests."
Asha grins over her shoulder at the goblin. "Goddess first, then priests, Poog," she says. "There are proprieties to observe."
Zak waits quietly while the prayers continue, staying vigilant of their surroundings.
Half an hour of prayer passes, and nothing unusual happens, inside or outside of the temple.
Poog sighs. "This talking to the goddess am no very exciting," the goblin mutters.
Outside, It realizes Zarina called him a girl. He casually walks up to the barbarian and lifts his leg.
"Oh, not a girl, I suppose are you, It?" She laughs and mutters,"Maybe Poog is not mean enough to you..."
Once Asha finishes her prayers - or perhaps her meditations, it's hard to tell - she rises and returns to Poog's side. "So," she asks the goblin, "other than burn the place down - which I have to tell you now, I'm not going to let you do - what would you like to do here? Should we talk to the monks, or see if we can find some neat statues?" She tosses Zak a wink over the goblin's head, but seems genuinely interested in Poog's reply.
Zak stands motionless, not responding at all to the wink. On closer inspection, he's fallen asleep on his feet, the serenity of the temple allowing slumber to overtake consciousness by utilizing an old trick from his days guarding caravans.
Poog looks at Asha and blinks. Twice. "Poog no care!" the goblins says in exasperation! "Poog am only coming here to make sure you am not getting killed before Poog am winning tournament and becoming fearsome fire witch!"
"Do Goblins not carve statues, friend Poog?" Simon asks with mild curiosity.
"Goblins am no having time to carve statues," Poog calls out to Simon.
Asha chuckles. "Fine then. On with the day. And I will try very hard not to die." If one of the monks agrees, Asha asks for a tour of the site and - assuming nothing else happens - she agrees to head back to town afterward.
The monk escorts the Warriors around the temple, which is filled with lovingly handpainted frescoes that reinforce the illusion that the temple itself is one giant conch shell. The alabaster-painted walls show signs of constant upkeep, and indeed you occasionally see one of the monks repainting an area where the old paint has fallen away.
"My brothers and I work to keep up the vision that the Rose gave to Kun Pho Li, the man who helped create this temple. He was a moneylender from elsewhere in Tian Xia who had attracted the wrong sort of attention with his trade. He fled here and hid in the caves, living as a hermit to avoid revealing himself to the cruel men who he had evaded. As he lived in isolation, he received a vision one night of Shelyn, washing ashore in a massive conch, and she tasked him to create a likeness of it in this world. He dismissed this as nothing more than a dream at first, but the visions began coming to him during his wakeful hours, and he could no longer deny that some other agency was working through him.
"And so he built, first digging the foundation, then spending time cutting stone to creatre the spiraling interior and the spiny exterior. It took him years, but he eventually finished it, and set to painting it to match the brilliant otherworldly colors he saw in Shelyn's vision.
"It was a marvel to behold, and word spread of the beauty just off the coast from Goka. This was problematic for Kun Pho Li, and the men he had angered heard of the mysterious hermit who had built a shrine to Shelyn. They hired ten men, led by the assassin Rohaido, to confront Kun Pho Li and make an example of him. Rohaido and his men sailed to Xielan, and approached Kun Pho Li. It was dark, but the aging man was painting by candlelight. Rohaido shouted for the man to come forward and face his doom, but Kun Pho Li refused. 'I cannot do so, assassin. The work is not yet done.' It was at that moment the sun began to crest the horizon, and the light played off the brilliantly colored spines of the temple. Rohaido's eyes were opened then, and faltered in his grim task. The blade dropped from his hands, and he fell to his knees in humility and supplication. Eight of his men did as well, but two of them, the most stone-hearted amongst them, moved forward and painted the exterior walls of the temple with Kun Pho Li's blood. It is not said exactly what happened to these two men, whether Rohaido killed them himself, or if the Rose struck them down for their blasphemy, but in the end, it did not matter, for their lives were forfeit for killing one so favored of the goddess.
"Rohaido only took up a blade once more, and that was to shave his head before becoming the second abbot of this temple. His first action was to bury his predecessor, then pick up the paints and get back to painting the temple. That is our mantra here, friends. 'The work is not yet done.' Nor shall it ever be. If you would care to return at a time when you have several hours, I would be glad to assist you in this moving meditation. The Rose looks favorably on those who help keep up her shrine."
Meanwhile, outside the temple, It continues to play with Zarina, yapping excitedly and rolling around in the grass. He ends up finding a particularly stinky patch of mud nearby, and rolls around in it, matting his fur with the foul-smelling soil.
"Dear, oh dear," Simon sighs, shaking his head. "I can not say this side of dogs appeals to me, my dear."
Asha all but beams. "I have tournament obligations for the next few days," she replies, "but I wouldn't miss this for the world. I'll be back once the tournament has ended and my... other business... is taken care of. Thank you for this blessing, brother." She offers the monk a bow, and is almost skipping as she returns to the front of the shrine and re-collects her glaive with the others.
"Wait, why am we coming here if it am just to talk to god. Zarongel talk to goblins everywhere. That must be why he am better than other gods; they am needing special rooms for talking..."
Zarina hands off the weaponry to the others. "Are we finished here, or are we ready to head back to prepare for battle?"
Your trip back to the tournament grounds is unremarkable. The day remains gloomy and overcast, and while the rain continues to drizzle from the sky, it has not progressed into anything more than a nuisance. You head back north and rejoin the road that leads to the tournament grounds, and the spectators again greet you as you pass. You can hear the shouts and cheers of the crowd within - a bout is taking place as you approach. You are only a few hundred yards away from the pavilion when you hear a loud crack from within, and a terrible noise like thunder issues forth. The shouts of the crowd turn from cheers and jeers to cries of shock and alarm. Several monk assistants nearby begin to race towards the pavilion entrances, moving at top speed to find out what has happened within.
"Pick up the pace!" Simon says, his eyebrows lowering. "If there has been more sabotage, I for one would see it stopped!"
The old man starts to run, displaying a fine turn of speed for one his age...
If everyone else am running away, why am we running forward?" Poog asks.
They am going to get themselves killed, he thinks with a sigh as he jogs forward, It nipping at his heels. Then Poog am never going to become powerful fire witch.
Asha does not need Simon's encouragement to hurry - with audience members potentially in danger, she hurls herself forward with the fantastic speed monks are known for, readying her glaive as she goes.
Zarina follows the others, hustling along to check for more sabatoge. It's probably time for this tournament to end. Too many care too much for the valuable treasure at the end.
After snoozing lightly back in the temple, Zak awakes to find himself alone. "Dang it, where did everyone go?" As he makes his way back to the tournament grounds, a loud crack rings out and people start running towards the tournament, among them his companions. Zak rushes to join them.
You follow the monks into the pavilion, and find many of the crowd on their feet in shock. One glance to the fight stage reveals the cause - the three towers you fought Ganyavesha on have collapsed, and a quartet of red-robed monks work quickly to move the wreckage. Off to the side stands a man dressed entirely in black, including a headwrap that only leaves his eyes and the bridge of his nose visible. The monks appear to be examining him for injuries. Atop the ziggurat, Marythsan and Kiang Zhen confer with the Emissary, no doubt about the tragedy that has just unfolded.
"What am happened?" Poog asks no one in particular.
He looks around, to see if he notices anything else out of the usual, a quick cantrip letting him see any additional magic that may be in use.
Simon runs over to the red-robed monks. An odd glint passes from his cane to his arm, if anyone takes the time to notice, and then the old man is helping them shift wreckage with great vigour.
You sense the auras of magic all around you - not surprising, given the gathering of powerful and successful warriors competing for this prize. You concentrate, and don't find any auras that seem out of place, however.
Simon rushes to assist the monks, as do a few other contestants, Ganyavesha and Chung Po first among them. Alas, it is too late, as the still form of an Avistani woman dressed in leathers and carrying a pair of flintlocks lies twisted beneath the timbers, her hazel eyes staring unblinkingly up towards the heavens.
"Clerics!" Simon roars as he scoops the dead woman up in his arms, brushing the debris off of her as best he can. "Get the Clerics! This woman needs to be raised! Hurry!"
Poog comes over and looks, giving Simon a shrug.
"Poog am doing it tomorrow if you want."
Perception
Zarina scans the crowd, looking for anything unusual.