The creature is coated with glitter and then pierced by Slitherbane!!
It’s body writhes and then stops moving.
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White Rose goes out onto the balcony to give the bittersweet news to the rest of the
"We have made a terrible discovery about Dakang..."
She lets the other Pathfinders handle the combat location while she announces to the Koradans that their leader was killed and replaced by a monster, and the terrible things the worm did. She wants to stress that their leader and those who were influenced by him were blameless.
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Valeros puts away his shortbow, a frown still showing on his face. ”Bah, humbug! Very disappointing; a cowardly end to a cowardly foe. My sword was denied its true purpose…”
Looking to Piotr with a wry grin, he deadpans, ”Mind if I swat you around with the flat of my sword again? That was about the only decent action it saw…”
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Piotr walks back into the room after drinking the stale and weak healing potion.
"I was getting quite frustrated with that Dakang."
He puts a foot on the fiend's corpse and gives it a nudge to make sure it's dead.
He turns to Valeros.
"Right? Same with my blade. Well, I did manage to do some damage on those undead monks of his."
He calls for the Aasimar guards and points with his blade at Dakang's corpse when they enter.
"Now do you believe that you were all being misled by an evil fiend? Hopefully, someone here can take over as high priest of Korada and lead you on the true path of enlightenment. However, if you'd like to hear a good sermon, I have a lot to teach you about Milani."
Short as the combat was, it was rather loud. While there's no way for the people to get into the hallway conveniently, the women who were guarding the hallway are easily able to come near Dakang's chambers.
"What happened? What did you do?!" the lead woman exclaims, more than a bit of accusation in her voice when she sees the deflated meat sack covered in Dakang's clothing on the floor next to the door.
~
After White Rose's explanations you see them look at each other in disbelief.
It ends up being easiest to gather everyone in the chapel as most of the residents of the temple were making their way there, anyway.
When you make your declarations, there is doubt and mistrust at first and then shock and horror followed by sorrow and anger.
The four halflings, four humans (including Zhuang and Miriya), three aasimar (the guards) and a gnome all speak over each other as they throw questions at both their fellow residents and you all.
Eventually, they settle down into a sort of calm order, breaking up into smaller groups.
Zhuang speaks up to you the Pathfinders.
"There is much for us to think about and deal with, strangers. It seems that some of us have spent most of our lives living a lie. But we have to thank you for exposing that lie to us. I don't know what brought you here, but any assistance we can give you is yours."
One of the Aasimaar shakes her head.
"We were fooled once so I hesitate to trust anyone, but perhaps I can put my faith in one who defied the deceiver. If you would be willing, many of us would appreciate any guidance you can provide on what needs to be done now."
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White Rose does her best to calm the crowd while the Pathfinders explain all that has happened here.
"It is a great loss that Dakang was defeated here. Know, however, that while his body was slain, his soul never wavered from the light of Korada, and is now receiving the proper reward for a man who defended his temple and his faithful until his very last breath."
I hope I got my religious platitudes right, she thinks as she takes a breath before continuing.
"Your home has been defiled, but this taint is only temporary if you are willing to work to restore this sacred ground. The items which have been corrupted, such as the table in your dining hall, will need to be repaired both physically and magically, and the garden and crypt will need to be cleaned. Then, when Korada's glory is properly reflected in the physical form of this place, it will need to be reconsecrated to the good works of Korada.
"Perhaps there is one of you willing and able to take up Dakang's mantle as leader of this community. If not, the Pathfinder Society will help you in locating one, in addition to providing what material aid it can."
The residents of the temple, at least those listening to the Pathfinders rather than arguing or mourning, listen closely to White Rose's comments.
They also talk about how to run the place.
Zhuang takes the lead.
"We have to run the Temple properly, of course!" he mentions.
"It is the least we can do to read all the texts that were hidden to lead us on the right path."
You find a magical quarterstaff in Dakang's quarters and after some discussion you are allowed to take it with you!
As the sad residents gather, you again notice that many of them attempted Korada's Kiss as their hands are scarred and some are even missing digits or entire fingers. The torture that they endured is visible in all their faces! They say goodbye to you!
~
Finally, your time at the Temple is through and you agents return to the basement under Absalom to report your findings and bring back the reports.
Zey looks at you with surprise.
"I am slightly saddened by the corruption you found at the Temple but I have to admit that it is quickly washed away under academic fervor! The information they've brought back will prove valuable. Not a grea job as the task was easy but an ok job I would say!" he says with a raised eyebrow.
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Elena agrees with WRD. "If we can find them a real priest or at least some uncorrupted holy text, I'm sure that should help me a great deal to clear out what things were true and what were lies... Also I think the gnome might need some assistance to come clean from flayleaf..." she adds at the end in low voice.
Elena will restock on silver/cold iron arrows and likely check for tools in case we ever need to deal with something similar again.