Victory in the Ruby Phoenix Tournament earned the Pathfinder Society a pick of the legendary treasures of the Tian sorceress Hao Jin, and the Decemvirate knew just what item to select: a frayed and dirty tapestry hidden deep in Hao Jin’s vault. This unassuming tapestry acts as a doorway to another dimension in which Hao Jin stored her most massive items, including entire buildings, battlefields, and the ruins of ancient civilizations. The Pathfinder Society is now methodically exploring and cataloging the diverse locales tucked within this extradimensional space.
Deep beneath Absalom’s Grand Lodge, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Spells, Aram Zey, gestures at the tapestry hung on the wall, surrounded by ladders and scaffolds. Scholars and diviners scurry around the tapestry, analyzing its abstract patterns and comparing insights.
Zey snaps his finger to quiet the room and speaks rapidly. “The aasimar nation of Tianjing contains a handful of temples to Korada, Empyreal Lord of forgiveness and foresight. The Pathfinder Society is interested in exploring these holy sites, but the aasimar disciples in Tianjing are reluctant to grant the Pathfinder Society full access to their faith’s secrets. Fortunately, the custodian council of Tianjing gifted one such temple to Hao Jin centuries ago. This temple — the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment—now sits vacant within the museum demiplane of the Hao Jin Tapestry. We need well-trained explorers to survey the isolated and abandoned site."
“We will transport you to the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment within the Hao Jin Tapestry and provide you with a small cache of supplies. We need a complete report on the temple with a focus on four key locations. First, locate the temple’s meditation room, find evidence of any meditative techniques described there, and record any effects of performing those techniques. Second, prepare a comprehensive catalog of all works in the temple library."
"Third, find the temple gardens and draft a detailed plan of the garden’s layout. Finally, enter the temple’s crypt and take rubbings of the carvings on each sarcophagus."
“You will enter the tapestry within the hour. Any questions?”
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"Just a couple, sir."
One of the four Pathfinders summoned here today steps forward and bows deeply to Aram Zey, flipping her feather-trimmed cavalier hat off her head as she does so in one smooth gesture. The elfin woman is dressed in a gaudy and expensive musketeer outfit in blue with white and gold trimmings and an assortment of glittering jewels and gems. Her hair is a dark blue, oddly enough, while her eyes shine bright like sapphires. It's clear even from the slightest glance that there's something otherworldly about her.
She straightens up and sets her hat back on her head. "A pleasure to be of service. I'm sure you're aware, sir, but for the sake of my compatriots, my name is Liadain Serelion."
"Now, my questions! Should we be expecting any trouble in the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment? Guards that might not appreciate our intrusion? Protective traps and wards meant to keep thieves out?"
"Also, may I ask what is in the cache of supplies we are being provided? Presumedly the materials we need to take the reports, but is there anything special we should be aware of or need to purchase before we set out?"
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Terrill listens to Zey's rapid-fire monologue with a skeptical cast to his eye. Terrill is a half-elf, a bit on the short side for his race, though his arms and shoulders are corded with muscle. He wears a beautifully crafted breastplate of blackened steel, and a graceful curving blade runs across his back. He is young, but serious and intent in his demeanor. When the Master of Spells has finished speaking, Terrill asks, "How sure are you it's vacant, this temple? It sounds like no one's been there for a long time. So we likely have some surprises waiting for us, right? Ah, well, it's why we joined the Society, to see what's around the next bend in the road. Or through the next centuries-old, mostly unexplored, extradimensional portal, I guess."
He ponders their instructions a moment, then turns to his colleagues and asks, "Hello all, I'm Terrill Mayern. Anyone know anything about meditation? Desna's practice isn't a very meditative one, at least for me. I'm more about her love of freedom, travel and luck than her contemplation and communication through dreams. Which also means I haven't spent a lot of time in libraries, or gardens for that matter. Crypts I've seen a few of, unfortunately."
Gesturing with his chin and smiling at Castien, he says, "No offense, but you look like you might have seen the inside of a lbrary or two. Is that so?"
“We have no reason to believe the temple is occupied. The temple is likely uninhabited except by ancient guardians or traps that might have survived the ravages of time, although I suppose some scavengers may have found their way into the structure”, Aram Zey answers.
“You shouldn't need any special equipment to survive within the tapestry. Hao Jin created her museum demiplane with an environment identical to Golarion’s. It has air, weather, and gravity just as you’d expect. However, in the centuries since Hao Jin’s disappearance, the weather patterns within much of the tapestry demiplane have shifted, so we’re uncertain of the precise environment around the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment.”
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"I suppose from that," Liadain says with a bemused grin, "we should assume there are ancient guardians, horrible traps, and good-for-nothing scavengers awaiting us at the temple. Excellent, excellent. It has been far too long since my last duel!" She pats her rapier, hanging sheathed upon her belt, fondly.
"Terrill, I have never once heard of this Korada, and the only meditation I've done is pondering beautiful... flowers, shall we say, over a couple of sweet cocktails. Libraries are fine, but not my forte, and I do try to avoid crypts if at all possible. Gardens, though; those I can certainly handle. A shame that there would be no beer and pleasant music awaiting us there..."
Liadain briefly checks her gear and then nods to her companions. "I am ready to set out to the temple whenever you are."
Terril's actually read a little bit about Korada.
Korada is the Empyreal Lord of foresight, forgiveness, and peace. He is a force of good, dedicated to peace and contemplation. Korada spends his time meditating in the Dream Lotus on the plane of Nirvana, balancing the spheres of existence in his mind and conversing with other enlightened beings.
Devotees of Korada are scholars and mystics who are often contemplative pacifists. Korada’s worshipers meditate by spinning small glass spheres in their palms. Practiced disciples spin three glass spheres in each hand simultaneously while meditating.
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Castien nods and smiles awkwardly at Terrill's comment. "None taken, for I have been known to open a book on occasion. More to the point, though, I strive to do what I can to preserve knowledge, protect it from harm. It seems, in fact, that I will have a chance to do just that on this mission."
He begins to ready his gear when he seems to remember something. "Ah, sorry. My name's Castien Galondiir. I expect I was chosen for this mission because of my thirst for knowledge as well as my martial prowess." He closes his mouth with a sense of finality...then promptly opens it a few seconds later. "Speaking of which, while I prefer to work with this bow," he pats the longbow strapped across his back, "I am also fairly capable with my sword, so don't worry if anything gets too close."
This time, he really does close his mouth - and keep it closed - for anyone else to finish up. While he waits, he finishes packing up his things, his questions already asked and answered by the others.
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Through all of this, a young, muscular dwarf stands quietly in the back of the group. He's adorned in a typical set of scale mail with a waraxe strapped to his belt and a spiked shield slung on top of his backpack. The only thing that truly makes him stand out from any other dwarf is his hair, which is cut in a mohawk. When he finally speaks, he asks
So once we be gettin ourselves inside, how we be gettin ourselves back out? Unless ye be leavin the door open for us o'course.
“A creature entering the tapestry leaves a planar eddy in its wake. It looks like a ball of light about two feet across. The planar eddy is visible and usable only by that creature as long as it remains alive. Enter your planar eddy to return here”, Zey explains.
With the group ready to proceed, Aram Zey escorts each member of the party one by one onto the scaffold and instructs them to place their fingers upon a symbol of three linked circles on the tapestry’s weave. The Master of Spells utters a trigger word and party member touching the tapestry disappears from view, whisked into Hao Jin’s demiplane. He repeats the process three more times.
The party arrive in the Hao Jin Tapestry instantaneously, finding themselves standing atop a forested hill in front of a large, wide building of burnished white stone. The sky above is bright and the air smells clean and fresh. Behind each arriving creature floats a 2-foot-diameter sphere of pulsing blue light, each visible only to the creature whose journey to the tapestry created it.
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Terrill looks around, taking in the pleasant air of the place and the strange, glowing ball behind him, and draws his blade from over his shoulder. ”Empyreal Lord of Peace or no, Korada’s people probably didn’t want anyone just waltzing in and walking off with their stuff.”
He begins to walk toward the temple, saying, ”Okay, meditation room, library, gardens, crypt. So we start inside, then head outside, and we’ll probably find a way down to the crypts in the process, if we’re unlucky enough.”
Traversing the short distance to the destination is uneventful.
The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment is a wide structure atop a forested hill. The graceful building has no sharp corners; the white marble walls are carved with soft, round edges. The edifice appears well-scrubbed, but despite this obvious care black flecks of mold cover its surface. A gravel path leads into an airy courtyard and up to a pair of large wooden double doors. The doors are closed and carved with an image of four spheres resting inside an open lotus flower.
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Liadain moves with purpose, hand floating over her rapier should there be trouble awaiting them.
"Pretty," she murmurs approvingly, following Terrill and Taklinn towards the temple. She moves up to the doors, briefly listening for anything beyond (not for long though - she's honestly not expecting danger in such a peaceful place) and then attempts to open them.
Liadain hears nothing through the heavy doors. When she opens them she’s greeted by a wave of comforting warmth and gentle fragrance.
The floor of this entry room contains an engraved Spiral of Korada, but the spiral is badly scuffed from centuries of traffic. Surprisingly, movement and softly spoken voices can be heard from deeper within the temple.
The passageway north leads to a long hall lined with doors. One of those doors is open a few inches. Voices can be heard from within.
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Liadain slowly and quietly draws her rapier before drawing the others close. "I'll go check it out," she whispers. "Be ready to charge in if we need to."
She then slowly yet surely inches her way up the passageway towards the partially-opened doorway. If she can see through the doorway, she'll peek through as best she can; otherwise she'll simply listen to the voices and try to gauge what they are saying and how many people are present.
Peering through the crack in the door, Liadain sees what appears to be shelves covered in books. The voice sounds like a young woman muttering to herself.
This spacious room is crammed with narrow bookshelves and large tables. Many shelves are empty and the remaining scrolls and tomes seem tattered and sagging. A small open door looks into a tidy office. The room is clean and bright despite a general atmosphere of abandonment. Several windows look into a garden to the west.
A mousy young taldan woman is seated at one of the tables, eagerly studying a heavy tome and muttering to herself. The party's entrance startles her.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't hear you approach. Are you here to study? I like to talk to myself when I'm reading, it helps me retain the information. I can try to keep quiet if it will distract you."
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Liadain arches an eyebrow, shooting a look back at her companions, but steps forward to greet the woman with a flowing bow. Seeing somebody studying away in a supposedly ancient, forgotten, and abandoned temple was nothing short of bizarre.
"Madam, we are here from the Pathfinder Society to conduct a thorough investigation of this temple. My name is Liadain Serelion, of Oppara. May I ask who I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
She pauses a moment, hesitating. "We... We were not expecting anyone to be here, though. Do you... live here?"
The young woman repeats the name aloud. ”Pathfinder Society? I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of you. My name is Miriya. It’s nice to meet you Liadain.”
She curtsies briefly to the group.
”Yes, I live here. My parents brought me here when I was very young. You’re here for an investigation? I’m not sure what that means but you’re welcome to join me. The library is open to all that wish to learn.”
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Never heard of the Pathfinder Society...? Liadain's brow arches further. Unless she's lived her entire life in this library... this is very odd indeed.
"The Pathfinder Society is, essentially, a large guild of adventurers, archaeologists, and investigators. We seek knowledge of the unknown: of ancient history, exotic cultures, and places and people yet unseen. We're simply having a look around the temple and recording what we find."
"On that note..." Liadain clears her throat politely as Castien begins investigating the library. "Would you be able to provide us with some assistance? We must catalogue every tome in this library, but there are so many books, the task is likely to take all day - perhaps you know of such a document already in existence?"
Liadain surmises it would take many man hours to catalogue the entire library and Miriya quickly deduces the same thing.
”Your Society sounds very nice. I’m sorry, I’d like to help but I have my own studies to see to.”
Besides a great deal of books and a young woman studying, nobody finds anything of interest or value in the library.