"Yes I would like another go at the whole mediation sequence, please if you could help me so I get it correct."
Kyra spins the staff again
"I am afraid that it would take me many moons to even come close to mastering the sequence"
After about a half hour, during which the Pathfinders partake of the meditation techniques (with Kyra and Vlad performing them twice), both Gery and Regnum are delighted with themselves as they set the three spheres spinning quite nicely on the palms of their hands! Finnius manages to come very close, but just as the third one begins to spin they all three fall away.
Zhuang smiles serenely and nods. "Well done, well done!" His eyes meet Kyra's and he gestures. "We hope you will take the time to stay and master the sequence, and partake of Korada's teachings during your stay." To Vladamir he says. "The gift of Korada's teachings are open to all, you may certainly take notes of whatever you'd like."
At Finnius' words, the old monk rises to his feet, setting the spheres to one side along with the others. "Of course! It is nearing the midday meal. Come, I will lead you to the refectory."
With those words, Zhuang leads the way out through the door and down the hallway back to the entry hall, then moves to gently shut the front doors of the temple you left open. The monk then shuffles across the room toward the double doors opposite that stand closed. He opens them, then gestures for the party to enter with a gentle smile.
Beyond the open door, you can now hear sounds like that of plates, cups and cutlery being set upon a table - though from your angle you cannot see into the room itself.
Suddenly, the center of the spiral that decorates the floor of the entry hall produces a weak mote of light that drifts up lazily toward the ceiling and evaporates. Zhuang's smile widens, and you note that what teeth remain in his mouth are stained brown. "Ah! Lunchtime." He chuckles as the sudden pealing of a very loud bell rings forth from behind the door leading into the dining hall.
Though some of the Pathfinders enter the dining hall with trepidation, all seems quite normal. There is a single door on the far side of the room, and a red curtain to the left, behind which is glimpsed the corner of another door. A pleasant-looking woman with blond hair tied back into a bun and appearing to be somewhere in her mid to late twenties is just setting down the bell that the party heard ringing moments earlier. She is clad in identical fashion to Zhuang, a simple white tunic with several small bells sewn into the hems and sleeves, which tinkle lightly as she moves.
“Greetings Di, I have brought guests to join us in our midday repast.” The monk says as he approaches the table, then gestures toward the party. “The young lady is Di Duang, I will allow you each to introduce yourselves, as I have yet to learn your names myself. A grievous oversight of manners on my own part.”
Even as Zhuang speaks, others are filtering into the room, each of them smiling benevolently at the party members, all of them either waving in greeting or shaking your hands as they enter through the doors behind you or the one opposite, before sitting down at the table. Two are middle-aged humans, one man and one woman both with light brown hair, and a third is a very young human girl not yet in her teens with very dark hair, all of whom came in through the door behind you. A group of halflings also enter through the opposite door, a matronly female and three younglings that appear to be teenagers, though the youngest of them might be the same age as the pre-teen human girl. All are dressed in the same white tunics replete with tiny bells, and the air is filled with a musical tinkling as they arrange themselves for a meal. The only exception is the last to come in, a gnome with a green tunic that has the familiar tiny bells sewn into the material. He too comes through the double doors that you entered through, and he smells of fresh earth and grass, his skin tanned by the sun.
You notice that there is no food to be seen, nor is there any aroma of baked bread or stew or anything else for that matter. As the Pathfinders make their own introductions (or not, as they decide), Di Duang gestures as she seats herself. “Please honored guests, be seated and we will begin our meal.” Those at the table number ten in total, but there are eight spots still open and the waiting cultists gather forks and spoons in their hands, smiling at you as they wait patiently for you to approach the table and take your seats…
"Why do I feel that we are going to be the main course."
Whispers Kyra to the part before they enter the room
After she finds a seat
"Greetings, I am Kyra, priestesses of Sarenrae. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
As the Pathfinders take their seats, Zhuang smiles at Di and asks. "May I do the honors?" At a nod from the blonde woman, the old monk gazes at each of the adventurers with a twinkle in his eyes and speaks two words. "Autumnal Feast." In the space of a single heartbeat, the table is suddenly near to bursting with food. Fruits, grains, nuts and clay jugs of fresh juices - though sadly, no meat for those not inclined toward a vegetarian diet.
The cultists begin to fill their plates and cups eagerly, though there isn't much in the way of idle chit-chat going on. They do greet the adventurers warmly though, as each of them introduces themselves.
During the meal
"I am very surprised that the temple is in use. The information that we were told was that this temple was abandoned. How long have you all been here?"
The party finds that the temple worshipers are eager to describe their lives, explaining that they are all devotees of Korada, the Empyreal Lord of foresight, forgiveness, and peace. They lead simple communal lives of meditation and harmony in the temple; in fact, none of the worshipers have ever left the temple grounds in their lives. The head of the temple is the immortal human Dakang, who has led the church for generations. The worshipers describe Dakang as an obese middle-aged human and invite the Pathfinders to see Dakang speak at the upcoming service in the chapel a half hour after the meal. They aren't sure exactly how long the temple has been inhabited, and none can recall a time when it wasn't.
The young dark-haired girl offers to show the party where the library is, explaining that she loves books and spends much of her time there. In fact, she plans to head there directly after the midday vespers in the chapel.
Gery and Regnum find that the food tastes like scorched earth when they begin to eat, and the juice tastes sour (Gery and Regnum need to make a Fort Save or be 'sickened' for 1 minute when they eat.) The gunslinger is particularly upset, as he'd been looking forward to eating. But the other Pathfinders find that the food is quite tasty and nourishing. At one point, the oldest of the halfling boys piles three plates with food when he is finished with his own meal, taking it away through the northern door. Di inquires of the halfling woman if Wei will be joining them, and she shrugs, answering that she hasn't seen her husband since the night prior. It is odd to those that listen to the exchange that she doesn't seem particularly concerned, given the relatively small size of the building and the fact that none of them ever leave the temple grounds.
A few of the Pathfinders note that some of the worshipers carry the familiar small glass spheres, sometimes spinning them casually in an open palm after they've eaten. Most of the worshipers also appear to be missing fingers or sections of fingers, which doesn't appear to hinder their ability to perform the meditation technique.
As the meal ends, Zhuang stands and speaks to the Pathfinders. "I do hope to see you at the service in a half hour. If you would like, I could lead you through another meditation or two." Di begins gathering up plates and cups as the other cultists begin drifting away from the table, smiling at their guests and speaking in the same manner as the monk, hoping to see the Pathfinders at the midday prayers being held soon.
"Are you ok Sir Regnum? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Seeing him having a coughing fit
|
While avoiding the worst of the food effects, Gery finds his appetite has completely deserted him. He looks on with interest as he sees the other halflings able to devour the 'food' without consequence. "Regnum, are you OK?" he asks with a note of concern, "I found myself unable to eat any of the food here either, why do you think that is?"
"I am looking forward to the prayer service, it should be quite educational!" Gery nods, while trying to fight down an uneasy feeling creeping up his spine.
Regnum doesn't seem to be any worse for wear after he takes a few minutes to get his retching under control, though the gunslinger will have to bust into the rations provided them if he wants to eat - the same goes for Gery. The others are satisfied with the food, oddly enough.
The other worshippers seem quite anxious and upset at Regnum's reaction, several of them suggesting that Korada must be upset with the gunslinger for his past actions or thoughts, suggesting that he should meditate on his impurity prior to the upcoming service. They don't seem to have noticed that Gery had the same reaction to the food, since the halfling was able to control his bout of nausea.
The prayer service is about a half hour or so after the meal's end. The Pathfinders can easily find a way to distract themselves by helping clean up if they'd like in the meantime, or explore a bit more of the temple, as the inhabitants don't seem to mind. The young girl offered to show the way to the library, Finnius recalls.
The chapel is a large room with several evenly spaced prayer mats covering the floor with a ceiling that rises up to thirty feet or so. Tall windows look out into the riotous overgrowth of a garden, letting in the light, and an elaborate stone font stands at one end, its basin empty. In the northwest corner of the chapel is a balcony 15 feet above the floor with a podium place at the edge overlooking the chapel itself.
When the Pathfinders enter, more than half of those they met during the meal are already present, kneeling on the prayer mats and facing the podium. Catching the eye of the party members, they smile and motion for them to take up similar positions of obeisance. Three beautiful guardians stand along the west wall of the chapel, all are female with silver hair and clad in breastplate armor over their flowing robes, each of them armed with spears and looking both serene and alert.
In the next few minutes, the rest of those that the party met at the dining table are assembled and the trio of guards rap the butts of their spears against the stone floor in unison. Moments later, a curtain at the back of the balcony moves aside, revealing a staircase for a moment as a figure steps into view, then lets the tapestry fall back into place. As he was described during the meal earlier, Kadang is obese, dressed 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 the newcomers 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.
Vladamir's attention is caught by this particular sermon, and though it takes him a few minutes to pin down what troubles him, he realizes that based on his own knowledge of the planes, the city of Vantian lies in the Abyss, and is not connected to Korada in the slightest. As the sorcerer puzzles over this, Dakang ends his oration and 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 do this in reverent silence, several of them gesturing to the Pathfinders, offering to decorate their mouths and eyes as well. Dakang watches over the activities of his congregation with a peaceful expression, and the beautiful guardians likewise stand alert, their faces still serene and relaxed.
Player Map - Slide #1
The Pathfinders discuss this turn of events in whispers as the worshippers continue to draw the strange designs on each other's faces...
Kyra whispers "My knowledge of the planes is lacking, but I wonder if I gave a burst of positive energy if it would affect them? What do you think Vladamir?"
As she pulls her holy symbol to get ready, but not present her symbol.
Vladamir knows there are a myriad of demons, but can't recall if channeling positive energy would harm one. It seems possible, but he's just not sure one way or the other.
"I agree with Gery, Finnius please have a seat. Time may come soon for violence, just not right now."
Whispers Kyra
The Pathfinders receive a few warning glances as they whisper back and forth, Di even holds a finger to her mouth, as their conversation is on the cusp of interrupting this solemn service that is being observed in near-silence by the other worshippers. However, when Regnum offers to participate, Di smiles joyfully and takes on the task of painting the gunslinger's face. Though she has some difficulty with the beard, she does a fair job of it. Soon enough the rest of the suspicious party decides not to press their hunch at this moment, not knowing who might be at fault, or really even if there truly is something nefarious afoot. Perhaps the city named in the sermon was simply an accident borne of misinformation? It seems possible, but still… The face drawings that the others (including Regnum now) are engaged in sort of make their eyes and lips appear sewn shut in a very creepy way…
Suddenly, Dakang raises his hands as the cultists finish up their painting, gazing up at their leader with adulation in their eyes. The guards continue their solemn duty, but are a couple of them gazing rather firmly in your direction? “Wash the symbols from your face and enjoy the beautiful day Korada has provided.” Dakang intones in a cheerful voice, then he turns and moves through the curtain and back down the stairs, disappearing from view. The worshippers cheerfully wash the symbols from each other’s faces using cloths taken from their pockets, then shuffle out of the chapel to return to their normal business.
The young dark-haired girl approaches you though, and smiles shyly. “I can take you to the library, if you wish. You mentioned that you wanted to see it? My name is Miriya.” She leads the way out the door and to the left, away from the meditation chamber where you see Zhuang speaking with Di, the monk smiles at you and waves as you pass by, pausing in his conversation. Entering the hallway that runs to the north, the Pathfinders glimpse a room ahead that might be a sitting chamber or the like, then Miriya opens the doors on the left side of the corridor, revealing the library.
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 the tangled garden to the west. Giving you a parting smile, the young girl plucks a book that lies flat on a shelf on the far side of the room and curls up into one of the chairs, already reading before she even sits down. The task of cataloguing this library looks arduous indeed, for despite the amount of empty shelves there are a large number of books and scrolls they can see at a glance…
Player Map - Slide #1