The two women look at each other and shrug.
“Well, if you can convince Weiß wife I’m sure that would be possible. We will speak with her first. Come to her quarters in 10 minutes? The sermon starts in an hour or so I believe so we have to be quick anyway I assume!“
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Piotr is fed up with all the procrastinating. He transforms into wolf-form and glares at his companions.
"We take this treacherous Dakang down now! He has deceived his followers for far too long. Allow me to strike him down with the power of Milani and let his soul be judged by Pharasma."
The beast gives a nod to Valeros.
"It's time to pass judgement unto him."
Snarling menacingly, he unsheathes his razor-edged nodachi.
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"Piotr, I want to stop him as much as you do but we don't want misguided innocents getting hurt trying to protect him if we attack him suddenly. Would Milani be ok with that? We should just wait for White Rose and Serata a bit longer to tell us if it's possible to see him alone. Please." Elena tries to calm him down while the others come back.
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"Piotr, I want to stop him as much as you do but we don't want misguided innocents getting hurt trying to protect him if we attack him suddenly. Would Milani be ok with that? We should just wait for White Rose and Serata a bit longer to tell us if it's possible to see him alone. Please." Elena tries to calm him down while the others come back.
"I'm sure Milani would be more than pleased to see the destruction of a tyrannical false prophet who is poisoning his worshippers with lies."
He snarls in rage."Just like the civil unrest in Galt, or any war, innocent folk can become casualties. I will do my best to make sure none of his worshippers are injured, however, this Dakang must be taken down."
Valeros nods in agreement with Piotr. ”I’m with the Wolfman…the only thing my sword has smacked in the last hour is…him. Enough with the tip-toeing around…let’s send this Dakang to his maker! If we kill Dakang quickly, his ‘followers’ won’t have anyone to protect.”
"Wait... What? Was it you that gave me this huge bump on my head?"
He rubs the knot on is head and can't remember what happened while he was possessed."Not only will his followers have anyone to protect, but, they will realize that they followed a false prophet after given proof and they will regain their own free will."
"We need to talk to his widow and get her to agree to let us take her husband not them, and we need to be quick about it"
The Beast throws his arms up in frustration.
"Let's be quick about it! There have been too many distractions. We can't wait any longer or there may be more fatalities... I'm sorry."He looks down at the halfling's corpse with sorrow.
"Like this one. The unfortunate boy."
The beast waves his hand over the corpse and offers a solemn blessing. He leans over and stares into the dead halfling's eyes.
"Dakang will get what he deserves. Be at peace now."
He uses two fingers to close the halfling's eyes.
You wait for a moment until the acolytes guide you to Wei`s family.
Before you arrive, you already hear the crying and sobbing of kids.
The sight of the halfling woman that is looking at the broken body of her husband is heartbreaking.
The acolytes are just about to wrap Wei`s frail body into white cloth.
Liso, Wei`s wife, obviously has heard about your request from the men you talked to.
She looks at you after White Rose speaks to her.
"I do not know you! Pulao, Xifen, and Tamtei and I deserve the peace of Koroda and we deserve to bring Wei to Dakang personally with our fellow companions. You are not even acolytes of Koroda! Wei gave his whole life to Koroda! It is ... " she says and suddenyl cannot continue and starts to cry again. Her children gather around her and hug her.
The two human men look at you and ask you to move out of the room.
"Wait another 5 minutes and we will bring the body to Dakang. Maybe you can just accompany us?" one of them says to White Rose as he is still impressed by her.
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"A moment with my colleagues, please," White Rose says. She then moves toward the other Pathfinders and whispers, "We may not get a better opportunity than this, but this is still more innocents than I prefer to have around. We need to look for ways to separate Dakang from his followers or protect them when hostilities arise."
After discussing with her team, White Rose returns to the widow. "We would be honored to accompany you. And perhaps you would be willing to accept a blessing from my god, that they join Korada in guiding your husband to his eternal reward?"
If yes, .
You see as the followers of Koroda start to move to the room of Dakang with Wei's corpse. His family is crying!
You all face a closed door. Though as soon as one of the humans knocks on it, it is opened.
"How can we help ...oh...strangers," a faintly otherworldly woman with blonde hair and beautiful features stands on the other side.
"What are these people doing here!? Can anyone vouch for them?" she asks the others.
A woman in the group that is carrying one of the halfling kids shakes her head. "I do not know them." she says.
One of the men that White Rose talked to answers.
"Well, yes, they want to get to know us better." he says.
The blonde woman shakes her head.
"What they want can be discussed later. You have a body? Bring it in but you stay out!" she says directed towards the team.
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"Honored Dakang?" White Rose says as reverently as possible. "It is true that we are new here, but we have already spoken to many of the residents of this temple, seen many of its wonders and are impressed by the glory of Korada. We simply wish to learn more about your ways. It is not our intent to interfere with your customs, merely observe them.
"Also, since we were the first to see poor Wei after his accident, it would do me honor to be able to finish escorting him to his final reward."
The closest woman looks aghast and disgusted when White Rose mentions that she wants to join.
The other women's expressions on the other hand soften when White Rose makes her demands.
"Lord Dakang is in contemplation and in preparation for delivering his sermon. He cannot be disturbed. Especially by strangers." the lead woman says.
The last woman joins in.
"During services, we bodyguards stand inside the chapel to keep Dakang in sight on the balcony. We do not grant visitors entry to
Dakang’s chambers for any reason. When Dakang wants to meet with one of the worshipers, he sends us bodyguard to escort the worshiper to his chambers. The worshipers consider these requests a high honor. So why should we let you in? You are not even a worshiper based on your looks!"
The first woman looks at you.
"We will notify him of your concerns and he will speak with you when he likes."
~
They are probably willing to lay down their lives for Dakang, as they believe he represents the pinnacle of devotion to Korada.
They seem naive and almost indoctrinated but these are good people.
The bodyguards will allow you to pass only if the you can convince them that Dakang is not what they believe.
The aasimar bodyguards are probably willing to listen to you, but they do not suffer fools.
If you press the issue and do not convince the bodyguards to step aside, they will surely attack.
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Serata will tell them very briefly about the crypts, the kiss of korada, the haunting, and the false scriptures in the library, however if they disbelieve her, she will push her way passed with attacking if necessary
Failing to convince she will move her scarf down along her arms "Piotr, Valeros, you ready?"
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White Rose turns to the bodyguards and gives further detail about the incidents they observed that would seem to indicate that Dakang is no longer following Korada's decrees. "The people here are good," she concludes, "but are being led astray by Dakang. Korada would want this false prophet stopped and the temple re-consecrated to the good works of your proper deity."
Miriya steps forward.
"They ... they received an admission from Gastidem that Dakang is aware of drug use and the dire nature of the Kiss of Korada in the garden. It is all a lie!!" she shouts.
The Aasimar look at each other and then at White Rose and nod.
The woman in the back steps forward.
"You have convinced us bodyguards that there could be heresy. I am an aasimar and I offer to activate the fountain in the chapel. The fountain flows with blessed water and if you are really correct then Korada will aid you in your confrontation."
They guide you to the chapel.
~
A10. Chapel
This is where Dakang’s followers meet several times each day for religious services. Unlike the other rooms in the temple, 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 are told that Dakang presents truths about Korada to his flock.
One of the Aasimar ladies steps forward.
"Once per day, this font fills with flowers when commanded by a creature with celestial blood, such as us Aasimar." she says and says the command word.
The fountain in the room’s southwest corner is beautiful.
When activated by the Aasimar, the fountain fills with divine water from which blossom several perfect lotuses, seemingly out of nowhere.
"You can drink the water and also cover your weapons with the water."
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"We thank you for your trust. It saddens us to find things in such a state, but we will do all we can to make holy this temple once more."
White Rose magically examines the water.
"This will convey a blessing upon us. I suggest we all partake."
She will take a graceful sip of the water, then reverently lowers her rapier into it.
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The beast steps forward and gently places his hands on the rim of the font. He mutters a small blessing. He then thrusts forward and dunks his entire head in the blessed water. He pulls his head out and excessively shakes off the water, splashing those all around.
"Ahhhhh!!! Much better."
He growls in relief. He then dips his nodachi in the water.
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Piotr the Wolf first casts Bless on himself.
He then whips out a wand.
"Before we confront Dakang, would anyone like a bit of protection?"
He taps himself with his wand of protection from evil and holds it out for anyone else wanting a tap.
His companions surge forward.
"Woah, Woah! Slow down! Don't be pushy. Everyone get in line..."
"Valeros, *tap*. White Rose, *tap*. Serata, *tap*. Elena, *tap*. Aaannnd, *tap* Goe.
There. You're all set."
The firm scowls of obstinate suspicion slowly fade from the women's faces when they see that you truly seem to have the right motives.
It is as though you have been sent to this place for this very purpose.
A look of dismay comes over their faces as they begin to doubt what they have dedicated their lives to.
"Come we lead you to Dakang so that you can talk." the first one says in little more than a whisper.
"Those are his chambers there."
She points to a door on a wall by itself. Then, she and the other woman as well as a third, retreat to their own chambers.
~
A voice reaches you!
"I know who you are, Brothers and Sisters. Please, there is no need to stand on such formality with me. I know that you have many questions and that there is much that you don't understand. Come in and let us discuss things," a calm voice calls from the other side of the door.
Once you open the door, you see a spacious chamber that contains a simple bed, a writing desk, and an enormous armoire.
Dakang is obese, so the bed is large and the desk chair is very sturdy.
The massive armoire is open and contains clothes suitable for Dakang’s prodigious girth.
A Spiral of Korada is drawn along the north wall, but the drawing is made up of several small marks resembling double-headed arrows.
A short stairway leads up to an archway blocked with a heavy curtain.
The lone inhabitant of the room is a man in his early elderly years, still spry and with clever eyes despite his notable obesity.
He shows no fear or anger about this intrusion into his meditations but rather seems ready for kindly religious discussion.
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White Rose glances at her companions. "We can discuss on the trip out of the Tapestry, if you surrender peacefully in less time than it takes my companions to cross the room."
Those of you who have worked closely with the Duelist have never seen her so vehement. It is not the burning rage of Piotr, but it is clearly different from her normal placating attitude. You figure that the offer of surrender was only meant to satisfy her own obligations and that she has neither the expectation nor desire for it to work.
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Serata looks at WRD with a grin on her face and goes over to the side of Dakang before shooting a look at Piotr then looking back at Dakang "you will be leaving just one is more peaceful then the other, and I know for me I would love to knock your ass out" serata with her scarf will strike at him to prove a point
Dakang looks at White Rose and seems at ease.
dim light higher by 2
]
Serate does not wait and immediately steps forward and attacks Dakang with her scarf that almost cuts his abdomen open ... but suddenly something stops her. A divine power pulls her arm away in the last moment!
Initiative
Serata
Elena
Piotr
Dakang
White Rose
Geo
Valeros
BOLD is up.
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Elena's eyes go wide seeing Serata stopped her attack midway. "Eyes up! Something weird is happening!" Elena will issue a challenge to Dakang.
"Dakang! We have witnessed and have proof of your corrupted teachings! You will answer for your crimes against the faithful of Korada!" then moves to flank with Serata.
Swift: Challenge (Elena has +1 attack/+1 damage/+1 AC vs Dakang/-2 AC vs any other enemy and Allies +1 circumstance vs Dakang)
Move: Flank with Serata
Standard: Tactician (Precision strike +1d6 dmg on flanking for 4 rounds)
She motions everyone to surround Dakang.
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The beast snarls menacingly at Dakang and swiftly blesses himself with divine favor.
"While we're killing you, demon, explain why you mislead these people!"
He rushes in, past Serata, and slashes at Dakang.
Fervor: 2/3
Blessed Nodachi: ???
Divine Favor: 10/10 rnds.
Prot/Evil (+2AC & Saves): 9/10 rnds.
Piotr rushes forward and is clearly about to strike the priest of Koroda but again something inside him stops the weapon before it can hit!
Dakang cocks his corpulent head to the side with a bemused grin.
"I'll admit, I have not reviewed every book in the temple and certainly do not make it a habit of re-reading each one. Perhaps there is a text or two that has crept in that isn't entirely canonical, but are you so certain? Though I can see that you are dedicated to Korada's light, I also sense that you are somewhat new to it, whereas I have been following him for decades." he says while fighting you all.
He steps back and casts a spell.
He looks at your weapons with patent disappointment and disapproval and suddenly starts laughing. "And you come in with ... some accusations. Perhaps there is heresy in my temple but I begin to suspect it is fresh ... it is you! And my minions will kill you for that!"
Suddenly, four walking corpses that wear only a few soiled rags, have flesh rotting off their bones, stumble forward, arms outstretched.
They all attack Piotr but none of them can really connect!
Initiative
Dakang
Undead, orange
Undead, blue
Undead, brown
Undead, yello
White Rose
Geo
Valeros
Serata, heresy
Elena
Piotr, heresy
BOLD is up.