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Tellerin follows after Pa Us and gives the hanging halfling as wide a berth as he can manage. His steps are far less boisterous than before and he glances worriedly down the corridors they walk through.
"Suddenly this place seems much scarier" he whispers.
He gives a start when they enter the living quarters and find people there. He stares at them for a few moments as if they might bite. While he's distracted, the tattoos on his right arm glimmer and twist, the ink seemingly bulging outward before an animal's head pops forth from his arm.
With a fluid burst, a tiny fox with bright scarlet fur kicks itself free of Tellerin and runs around his legs.
Cupper makes figure eights around Tellerin's legs for a few moments before coming to a stop in front of him.
YIP!
He darts in and delivers a series of quick nips to the gnome's ankles.
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Tellerin emits a squeak at the fox's treatment, but it quickly turns into a grin. "Hey Cups, what do you think? Want to play with those two guys?" He points at the two young halflings.
He looks back up at Liso and gives a small bow. "Nice to meet you, Liso, was it? Sorry to intrude in your place of rest. And I hope you don't mind the questions! We're just really curious about this place and Di Duang said we're free to walk around."
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While the boys play with Cupper, Liso talks to you and answers all your questions. "I was born in this temple, as were my parents and my grand parents. Also my boys were born here." she answers.
"First we do some meditation, followed by a sermon. After marking each other’s faces with symbols we wash them off at the end of the ritual. But you are welcome to participate in the activities."
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Tellerin peers at their faces, especially the kids as they chase Cupper, looking for any trace of the symbols. "What kind of symbols? Like the swirls on the floor all through this place? Or more like my tattoos?" He traces some of the tattoos on his arms, giving a wide berth to the now empty space where Cupper's tattoo was residing.
"We're looking forward to meeting Datang. He's your leader right, head priest or something? What is he like? Would he mind if we asked him a lot of questions?"
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"Hmm interesting, natives to the Tapestry? Is Dakang the current holy man here at the temple? I am a student of religion and history and I am fascinated by the temple you keep." Fialka replies after introductions and a warm smile to the two young boys. "I know Korada is the Empyreal Lord of Forgiveness, but little else I am afraid. Please can you enlighten me at all?"
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"Yes, Dakang is our leader. I guess he doesn't mind answering questions. From what I heard he's in the temple for generations already, but he does not get older or die. It's for sure the blessing of Korada that keeps him alive." the halfling woman answers.
"The ritual starts in a few minutes. Please follow us, I'm going to show you where we meet. I'll tell you more about Korada on the way."
And once you are on the way to the chapel Liso begins to explain. "Korada exists on the plane of Nirvana and he spends his time meditating. He teaches us the balance of mind, body and spirit in life. His holy symbol is the spiral. I'm sure you already spotted one in this temple."
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The chapel’s ceiling is 30 feet high. Tall windows look out into the riotous overgrowth of the garden. Several evenly spaced prayer mats cover the floor here. An elaborate stone font stands at one end of the chapel, although the font is empty. In the chapel’s farthest corner, a balcony 15 feet above the floor contains a podium.
You find the cultists gathering for one of their daily vespers. Once everyone is in place, an obese human man steps confidently to the podium on the high balcony in the chapel. He is draped in layers of cloth trimmed with small bells that jingle lightly as he moves. The man’s bald head is surrounded by a thin fringe of gray hair, but the lower half of his face is wrapped in a white silk scarf stitched with a line of unusual double-arrow symbols.
Dakang opens the service by welcoming you and leading his congregation in a few meditative stretches. Soon, Dakang launches into a lengthy sermon about Korada’s holy city of Vantian, City of Open Windows, whose sacred residents are eternally engaged in prayer and maintenance of the city.
Vantian is a city in the Abyss that is not connected with Korada at all.
Vantian is the realm of Sif kesh, a demon lord.
After his sermon, Dakang instructs his worshipers to 'assume the symbols of celestial silence and contemplation.' The worshipers produce vials of ink and begin marking each other’s faces with double-arrow symbols above and below the eyes and above and below the mouth. The worshipers attempt to do this in reverent silence. They gesture to you, offering to decorate your mouths and eyes as well.
The markings look much like stitches over the mouth and eyes.
The double-arrow symbol to be sacred to the demon lord Sif kesh.
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That's Dakang then? Not how I imagined him.
Tellerin watches the proceedings in silence. He bites his lip as Dakang speaks about the holy city, and frowns when the worshippers start applying the ink to their faces. When the followers silently offer to do the same for him, he puts hands up in silent protest and shakes his head in vigorous refusal. Its obvious that he's feeling anxious.
After after killing myself with that compulsion, everything these followers of Korada do seems sinister. Everything! Are these tattoos going to make me blind and mute if I take them? Probably!
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Tellerin looks a bit queasy as he watches three of their group accept the markings. When Cupper seems to want to bite the worshippers painting the markings, Tellerin puts a hand on the fox's head to stall him.
He watches his allies and the worshippers carefully for any sign of what the inking will do to them, but if nothing overt happens, he focuses his attention back on Dakang to see how he's behaving during the ritual.
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Following the Korada cultist and listening intently to her explanations about Korada, Fialka couldn't help but think about what they had seen so far and how the woman's idealisations of the God of Mercy seemed at odds with the temple. Nevertheless, the academian smiles politely during the ceremony, dearly wishing she had been given more time to research the Empyreal lord before they left on this strange assignment to an even stranger place.
As the rituals are conducted, Fialka takes a step back and smiles politely. "I thankyou for your kind geture, but I am not a devotee and am merely an observer here, i do not wish to interrupt your ceremony." she explains softly.
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You enter another room. This meditation room is a lofty, open space. The stone walls are carved with several figures in various meditative poses. A few large mats cover the stone floor. The only other furnishing is a rack containing a few wooden staves and several stacked glass spheres, each no bigger than a plum.
The indicated rites include a few gentle stretches, sitting in a lotus position, and spinning three glass spheres on the palm of one hand.
Zhuang, a Tian man with hazel eyes and a streak of white in his hair, provides instruction in this room. He encourages you to perform the meditation together as a group. Zhuang explains that meditation to Korada has two components: the physical exercises depicted in the wall carvings and the repetition of a short mantra.
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Tellerin is about to step forward to speak with Dakang when suddenly the rest of the group heads on out. He hurries to keep up with them, beckoning for Cupper to follow. The sight of the sermon and ritual, with the cult-like symbols drawn on everyone's faces, has clearly shaken him.
I'm not afraid of being alone here with that creepy guy and all his weird followers. The others just need my help. Mine and Cupper's. That's all. He swallows audibly and can't help but look back to see if Dakang is watching them leave.
In the meditation room, Tellerin hangs back near the doorway, peering at the corners of the room as if they're full of deadly beasts. Once Zhuang explains the meditations, Tellerin blinks a couple of times in surprise. With a surprised stare at his party, he whispers out "T-this is it right? We w-were supposed to learn how these meditations were done." He steels himself to respond to Zhuang directly.
"Um, you seem OK... D-do you think you could show us how the two parts are done? I uh, can't do it myself, but I want to learn about them." He pulls out his journal and inkpen, the productive action calming him down slightly.
This is crazy, they have a dead halfling in their kitchen, trapped with suicidal magic, and everything is just business as usual. And here I am jotting down notes about their rituals. Mad.
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"The mantra goes like this." Zhuang says and sings a short chant.
Light combined,
My peace find;
Calm my soul,
To control;
Woes I sift,
Catching gifts
"Oh, the fingers thing. The glass orbs are not responsible for loosing our fingers. One of our fingers gets cut off when we try to seek enlightenment with impure minds. It's a punishment." Zhuang answers.
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Tellerin jots down some diagrams and descriptions of the meditation ritual, adding his own notes ('Do those that fail get a punishment?'). He also writes down the mantra, though he doesn't repeat it himself.
"Very, uh, elegant mantra. What does that last part mean, the woe sifting and gift catching part? A-and what do you mean by seeking enlightenment with impure minds?" Is it just me that thinks that mantra doesn't sound right? And this thing about impure minds... seems off.
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Fialka looks at the meditation inscriptions with interest and takes out her sketch book and takes some basic drawings of the poses, preparing to paint them later. Meanwhile, she listens to the kindly gent as he explains the meditation technique and the mantra. On edge from what the had seen already, she ponders the meaning of the mantra and stops her allies repeating it should they try.
"Excuse me sir, what does the mantra mean to you? On a personal level?" she asks sweetly.
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"The mantra is an important component of meditation. I practice it often. Dakang has taught the mantra as the key part of the meditation ritual for longer than I have been alive. It helps me to concentrate during the meditation." Zhuang answers.
"Gastidem, the Pilgrim, cuts them off if we are not ready to receive enlightenment. His rite provides inspired visions to the pure of mind, but those with impure thoughts painlessly lose a finger as a penalty for seeking enlightenment while they are yet unclean." Zhuang answers to Vagantem's question.
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Tellerin closes his journal hurriedly, noticing that Pa Us seems ready to leave. The Zhuang he says "Thanks for the explanation. It was very, uh, eye opening. If we wanted to avoid- I mean, wanted to find Gastidem, where would we go?"
After the question is answered, he thanks Zhuang again and steps in behind Pa Us to follow to elsewhere in the complex. Once the party has closed the door to the meditation room, he mutters "That Gastidem character must be awful. Painless or not, losing a finger is a h-horrible punishment for something so vague."