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Piotr the Wolf is quite shocked that the Priest of Korada is not frightened by the presence of a hulking wolf-man.
"I guess everyone is welcome here."
He thinks to himself.
"Are you not frightened of me, Mister Zhuang?"
He asks, sheathing his sword and appearing a bit puzzled.
Whatever the response, he holds his cupped hands out and nods. A playful smile curls on his jowls, excited to try the meditation spheres.
Zhuang is surprised about the wolf’s question.
“Of course not! Don’t you know that we welcome everyone? And don’t you know that there have been many guests here with different forms? It is just important that you meditate with us to be welcome and that you heal your heart!“ he says smiling.
“And don’t worry! Nothing can break!“
He offers sets to anyone else interested before beginning.
"Try it … yes … left hand goes a little higher." Zhuang provides guidance, hands on, if allowed though he does not press the issue for anyone who does not want to be touched as he leads the meditation by pointing at the wall.
"It is not on the walls but we use this mantra as well," he says.
"Light combined,
My peace find;
Calm my soul,
To control;
Woes I sift,
Catching gifts
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Being not very dextrous, Piotr welcomes any and all assistance offered.
His tongue sticks out of his mouth as he concentrates.
He slowly repeats the mantra and does find it quite soothing.
"Light... combined,
My peace... find;
Calm... my soul,
To control;
Woes... I sift,
Catching gifts!"
Did I say it right?"
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Valeros declines. ”I’m afraid juggling balls is not my thing…but you seem to be very good at it…”
Elena holds back a snort.
She clears her throat and listens to the explanation. Before she follows the instructions she regards the man carefully and see if what he says matches the depictions on the wall.
Sense Motive +6
Perception +8
The man is absolutely genuine with you and has no hidden agenda.
The descriptions on the wall match the physical guidance that he provides to go through the meditation.
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My meditations are normally in the form of martial katas. I doubt this would be effective for me. However, he does accept a set of the spheres. While mentally reviewing the book of Anubis to ensure he won't be doing anything that would be considered sacrilegious.
Unable to recall any reason he would be prohibited, Goe Lem attempts to spin the spheres as demonstrated.
It takes about 15 minutes to complete the full meditation process and, afterwards, everyone who participated is mildly relaxed by it.
You remember that you have to make notes that have to satisfy Zey’s curiosity regarding the meditation techniques of the temple. When you ask Zhuang he of course agrees.
"It is wonderful that you want to continue meditating! Thank you for your participation. Now, I believe that you should receive a tour. Follow me and I will show you around," Zhuang continues, leading the way to a long corridor.
He opens a door on the left into a spacious room.
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.
”And here is our library. Perhaps you can learn more about our faith here my brothers and sisters!” he offers you.
"Please, Brothers and Sisters, spend all the time here you need reading whatever you like. And of course we can help you! Knowledge is one of many paths to understanding and understanding is the greatest treasure."
He frowns at Piotr' words then looks around. "Is it so? I admit it is a bit sparse but that just means there is more room for more texts when we find them."
"Miriya? Miriya, are you here?" he calls out.
A serious looking woman peeks out from an inner office, a large tome still in her hands. She does not answer but simply looks at him expectantly.
"Do you know if there is a record of our texts?" he asks her.
She shrugs. "There might be one in here, somewhere," she quietly answers. She frowns as she sees you all. "Newcomers?"
"Oh yes! And they've already joined me for an excellent meditation sessions. And maybe they become fellow followers of Korada?"
She perks up a bit at that. "Really? Perhaps you can help me understand some of these text I'm reading?"
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Elena looks at Miriya strangely, a slight frown on her face.
"I wouldn't mind giving it a look. Sadly, I'm only versed in common a so if the texts are on another language I won't be of much help..."
"Also... I hope you don't mind me asking but, how long have you both been here? We were told the Temple was empty."
Elena looks at Miriya strangely, a slight frown on her face.
"I wouldn't mind giving it a look. Sadly, I'm only versed in common a so if the texts are on another language I won't be of much help..."
"Also... I hope you don't mind me asking but, how long have you both been here? We were told the Temple was empty."
The woman answers Elena.
"Oh, the books are in various languages but this one here is in Tien." she says looking at Zhuang who answers the other question.
"Well, we have lived here our entire life of course! Over the course of more than 3 centuries, our spiritual leader Dakang has preached the teachings of Korada and we are now over a dozen individuals, mostly descendants of those that were inspired by the preaching of Dakang, the benevolent priest. We are all completely devoted Korada — we seek enlightenment and peace!" Zhuang says.
I don't suppose you have duplicates of any volumes that we could purchase for later examination?
"Unfortunately not, but you can make copies of any book you want of course!" Zhuang answers.
[Dice=lingusitics if needed]1d20+8
Goe Lem begins walking down a row of documents. Writing down the titles of anything he can read. After we get a listing, we can decide what merits further study,
White Rose will look through the texts. She is well-versed in human languages, and hopes that her training will allow her to make some sense of them.
[dice="Linguistics"]1d20+10
Goe Lem receives some assistance by Serata and White Rose. You realize that the worshipers rarely use this library as the books are not really sorted but this is a treasure trove of knowledge about Korada’s worship. White Rose and Serata realize that to complete your assigned task of cataloging the library, you have to meticulously log each book and scroll here. Although several of the shelves are empty, thousands of items
remain, some nearly illegible due to age.This time-consuming task takes 40 person-hours of labor White Rose thinks.
"Well, we are here to learn all that we can about this place. I can help you with these books, Miss Miriya."
He shrugs, seeing that he's got nothing better to do.
"I may not be of much help, but, I'll try my best."
Miriya is a little afraid of the wolf form but she agrees to let Piotr take a look.
As the book Miriya is reading is written in Tien it is hard to read it Piotr.
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"Do not fear my appearance, Miss Miriya. I assure you that I am a gentle beast."
He says sincerely.
"Actually, my human form may make you feel more comfortable. The transformation may be frightening to witness, but, please, do not be afraid."
Piotr the Wolf goes through the painful process of transforming into human form. Bones snap, hairy skin stretches and bleeds while he groans in pain. Within a few moments, he reverts back to human form and also looks much less haggard and tired than he was at the beginning of the adventure.
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"Alright if you wish to start working on the catalog, I can help by moving things around. It certainly looks like it would take a while."
Elena turns to Zhuang. "Three hundred years? Whoa. Well... Would it be possible to stay a few days while we work on this? I don't want to intrude with you and your people."
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"I don't mind staying here for however long it takes us to complete our research."
Piotr then turns to Zhuang with a look of worry.
"We do not mean to impose on your hospitality. We will take our leave if we have overstayed our welcome. It's... It's just that... I really find it relaxing here. Calm and peaceful."
He turns back to the librarian.
"I'm sorry I cannot assist you with these tomes, Miriya. The writing just looks like dark brush strokes and squiggles to me."
Piotr rubs his tired eyes and looks closer at the text.
"That one looks like a house."
He says as he taps on the character.
And that one looks like... a wolf?"
He says as he taps on another character.
He shakes his head and throws his arms up in defeat.
"I'm sorry. I don't know."
Piotr shrugs with an embarrassed smile.
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"I will be happy to help with the cataloging," White Rose offers, "but perhaps we should finish the tour first, so that Zhuang may return to his meditations?"
She glances a the book Piotr was holding. She whispers to him, "And that second character you indicated was 'change', not 'wolf'. Interesting that you would pick that."
"Aaahhh."
He sighs in relief.
"Does this form make you feel more at ease?"
Astounded by the transformation the woman just nods.
"Ehh, yes, I .. I think so."
"Alright if you wish to start working on the catalog, I can help by moving things around. It certainly looks like it would take a while."
Elena turns to Zhuang. "Three hundred years? Whoa. Well... Would it be possible to stay a few days while we work on this? I don't want to intrude with you and your people."
"Of course you can join us! You can also eat with us. We have a joint meal once per day." Zhuang says with a smile.
Elena agrees with White Rose's suggestion. "If we are going to stay a bit, we should get to know the place better."
Zhuang nods but Miriya is a little concerned.
"Ok, you can look around but the crypts are off limits. The living leave the dead to their peace per the guidance of Dakang!" she says.
Zhuang nods and leads you to the main hall that you saw earlier.
"And please look at our spiral! It's called Spiral and Spheres: Contemplations on Balance," Zhuang says.
"Uh, I can take our new guests from here, Zhuang," Miriya says, "I'm sure you have important things to do an others are going to come for your guidance." she responds.
"No, no, no, you have your studies, Miriya," he answers.
A short debate between the two follows before it is agreed that Miriya will take over the tour.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, new friends?" Zhuang asks as he prepares to depart.
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Piotr finds the large spiral fascinating. His eyes swirl as he looks at the outer edge then follows the spiral towards its center. After several moments of repeating the process of focusing on the spiral and following the line to the center, he looks away and shakes his head to clear his mind.
"Ohhh. That made me very dizzy."
He stumbles into the nearby wall but is able to catch himself before falling.
"Well, every hour, the center of the spiral produces a weak mote of light that drifts up the ceiling and dissipates. This effect acts as a sort of clock, allowing the temple’s inhabitants to maintain a regular schedule!" Miriya explains.
"I understand that you have some uncertainty regarding the rules. It is important to first explain that Dakang is the immortal, enlightened master of our temple. It is he who has taught us the ways of Korada and given us the knowledge of his glory," Zhuang exclaims.
"Indeed. You will meet Dakang soon enough. He gives a sermon everyday but not for a while. In the meantime, I can show you around." Miriya says. "It seems that our new friends want to spend some time here, Zhuang. I can take them from here."
"As you wish, Miriya," the man says with a smile and bow.
"It was a pleasure to meet you all. I look forward to talking to you more."
Miriya waits until Zhuang has gone before addressing the group. "I have always found it a bit strange that we are not allowed to see the crypts. I won't go myself as I have promised not to, but they are easy enough to find. When you go out of the library turn left and you'll come to another chamber. There will be a single door and a set of double doors on one wall there. The double doors take you out into the garden. The single door takes you to a hallway that leads to the crypt. I would consider it a favor if you told me what you find there when you explore it."
She returns her attention to Goe Lem. "We have been told that saints are buried in the crypt, but none of us have ever seen it, except Dakang."