You easily purify the tree statue. The ghost of Zhi Hui manifests again, sighing in relief. "Thank you. You are making good strides towards cleansing this place. Two more statues remain to be purified. I have enough strength to answer two more of your questions now."
"What can you tell us of this fiend, Kugaptee, who appears to be behind trapping us in this cursed cycle?"
"Kugaptee is a nindoru fiend whose existence stands in opposition to the philosophy of Sangpotshi. Nearly a thousand years ago, he was defeated by Tan Sui-Jing. She perished in the fight as well, but her soul reincarnated as a towering sugi tree that grew over Kugaptee’s remains, serving as a seal that would keep his soul trapped. The central sugi tree in this monastery is that very tree. But it has sickened, for Kugaptee strives for rebirth.
"His influence is the source of the monstrosities you’ve been facing. This monastery was once a sacred place, with monks who cared for the land, the animals, and the spirits. At the same time, and even before the monastery, it has been a site that kept Kugaptee’s immense evil sealed away beneath the surface. I had hoped that this monastery would stand guard over Kugaptee’s grave for many generations to come, but I failed to see how my own death would affect my followers.
"No one was ready to take my place. Worse, one of my students, Xin Yue, became corrupted by Kugaptee, and even now toils below in his grave to see the fiend’s soul reborn. Now, the fiends who have gathered here have been desecrating the statues scattered throughout the monastery to amplify Kugaptee’s influence."
Xiung-Lau listens intently, then glances around, not wanting to hog all the questions.
Li Jie Qiang takes in the information with aplomb. The Nagaji seems to have expected such deviation from the lands normalcy.
Ssso thisss isss the place to ssstop him? I am prepared to put an end to thisss corruption.
So long as we can find the other statues, these need not be the last questions we ask. Kwan Tai thinks to himself. However, the idea of somehow indicating a question in the Tien language, which still comes to him with thought rather than instinct impels him to still his tongue until all questions are answered.
Xiung-Lau nods to Li Jie's question. "Yes, is this where we can confront him and stop Kugaptee's villainy then?"
"You cannot stop Kugaptee completely yet, but you can diminish his influence. Find Xin Yue below and stop her foul ritual, and you will have taken the first steps to breaking free of this cycling mindscape," Zhi Hui says.
The ghost groans and gasps as her spectral form is ripped apart once more!
"We have purified the entrance courtyard and this room. I say we go back and explore that front part of the temple building, to be sure there are no threats behind us, then push beyond this room." He motions down a hallway to the west.
The bulky Nagaji Alchemist nods enthusiastically at Xiung-Lau's suggested route, as he begins heading front part of the temple building...
You head to the western part of the monastery and into a large room here. A large hole has been torn into this room’s northern door. Shredded cots, ruined chairs and tables, and other debris adorn the floor, and deep, long gashes have been carved into the walls. A thick rancid smell permeates the chamber, while battered shelves lie in a heap against the western wall.
Two undead monks lurch toward you as you enter but don’t attack at once. Instead, they rasp out in unison, “Have you come to join Kugaptee? Are you here to escape the prison of life?”
The Nagaji hisses (sounds like laughter)
That sssoundsss terrible...
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Xiung-Lau raises his hand. Though he's cast bless from the prayer beads once today, this time he draws on his innate power to cast bless from his divine heritage. "No, we have come here to protect life and to stand against Kugaptee."
Hooli is uncertain what these undead are, besides hostile! They sneer at Xiung-Lau's response, black smoke pouring from their mouths and empty eye sockets.
Before you can react, they have speedily closed the distance to Kwan Tai, attacking with their fists!
Xiung-Lau continues to extend his divine power over the area, providing guidance to the strikes of his allies.
As the spell extends, Xiung-Lau glances down at the egg swaddled in his robes. the egg vibrates and then shatters ... and a bird, a tiny whippoorwill, flutters out, landing on the ground. Except that the whippoorwill is clearly an incoporporeal spirit of some kind. It chirps ... and then vanishes.
He then reaches out and grants a portion of his power to Kwan Tai, who becomes empowered by the web of shadows creeping over him.
Li Jie take a look at the black smoke pouring from their mouths and empty eye sockets, shakes his head, and sighs.
I really appreciate if they washed firssst.
The Alchemist Commands Blue to pour a Combined Elixir of delicious Beastial Mutagen and Numbing Tonic!
The beefy Nagaji then Strides into a Flank with Kwan and....
He doesn't seem that disappointed....
Kwan Tai grunts in pain and surprise, smashing around himself with his hammer to try to gain some distance.
[ooc]You said 'before they could react' when they moved up close to Kwan Tai, but just in case that was poetic license...
Xiung-Lau recognizes the undead as kurobozus. A monk who violated their monastic vows in life might arise after death as one of these foul creatures. These predators feast upon the breath of mortals, creeping on twisted limbs into bedrooms to steal the life from sleeping victims. This act of feeding leaves its mark on the victim in the form of a vile scent of rot on the victim's breath and a debilitating disease that eventually results in exhaustion and finally death. They have no particular weaknesses or resistances other than the standard undead immunities.
Li Jie misses with his attack, but Hooli successfully feints and hits with both of her sneak attacks. Kwan Tai connects with his hammer but fails to shove the monks away. The first monk pummels him with a critical strike and a follow-up blow that takes the hobgoblin down! It then leans over and inhales deeply, attempting to suck the breath out of the dying fighter! The second monk whirls on Hooli, scoring two powerful blows!
Critical Success: The creature is unaffected.
Success: The creature can't speak for 1 minute.
Failure: The creature becomes sickened 2 and can't speak for 1 minute.
Critical Failure: As failure, plus the creature falls unconscious and begins suffocating.
Xiung-Lau whistles. Though unseen, the invisible whippoorwill flies across the room and hovers near both the undead (if able). Xiung-Lau then hurls a stream of shadows toward the nearest undead.
Xiung-Lau backs away, so he is about 30 feet from both of the undead.
Seeing his Flanking partner taking a nap, the Alchemist Strides around to him.
He then Commands Blue to brew an Elixir of Life and pour it down the Hobgoblins throat!
The Nagaji then Strikes!
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HP 20/68
AC 23
Fort +10, Ref +14, Will +11
Hero points: 3
Seasonal Boon: summer []; fall []; winter []; spring []
Spells: 1st []
Effects:
"I don't think he's consenting to that!" Hooli objects, wheezing as the breath leaves her body.
Blinking back tears, she slashes again with her daggers to little avail.
Tai, hauls himself back to his feet, moving by reflex before his mind catches up to his revivified frame. Rather than stoop towards his polearm, he heft's Ugly Cute's Gift before him, covering while he swigs down another potion.
Fortunately, Kwan Tai resists having his breath stolen from him. With Lie Jie's healing helping him, he gets back to his feet and drinks another healing potion. The nagaji sinks his fangs into the undead monk that dropped the hobgoblin, then Hooli manages to take it down with a sneak attack.
The second monk continues to pummel Hooli, hitting her twice.
Oriented so that the zombie should be 30 feet away from him, Xiung-Lau holds up the holy prayer beads and uses them to cast a heal spell, with healing energy radiating out in all directions.
He glances down at the beads, frowning, and taps them. "Perhaps they are not fully invested to me yet ..."
Li Jie examines the most current patient falling down.
Am I getting mileage?
The Doctor Strides around to Hooli (returning to a Melee position to the Rogue's assailant).
He then Commands Blue to brew an Elixir of Life and pour it down the Rogue's throat!
The Nagaji then Strikes!
Kwan Tai snatches up his hammer, strides over to flank the abhorrent thing and swings the spike of his polearm into the zombie with all his might!
Hooli peppers the undead monk with needle darts as she crawls away. Kwan Tai bashes it with his hammer, then Lie Jei scores a critical hit with his fangs!
The monk whirls on the nagaji, pummeling him with crushing blows!
With the beads having proven less than effective, Xiung-Lau raises a hand and hurls binding shadows toward the face of the remaining undead monk.
His shadows then reach out for Kwan Tai, helping animate him and give him additional speed.
The Alchemist looks Slow!
Surprisingly he doesn't appear to be Stunned about it.
He then Commands Blue to brew an Elixir of Life and pour it down the Alchemist's throat!
The Nagaji then Strikes!
With a snort at the monk's choice to ignore him, Kwan Tai hastens to correct its mistake, swinging his polearm in a brutally swift orbit to hammer the flailing corpse over and over, battering it back from Li Jie!
Between Lie Jie's fangs and Kwan Tai's critical hammer strikes, the second undead monk goes down!
The cabinets and shelves in the chamber are in tatters, but two moderate healing potions, a set of expanded healer’s tools, and a pair of healer’s gloves can be found in the debris.
"I think Kwan and Hooli should have these healing potions. Although Li Jie's abilities are far superior to mine, I can make use of the healer's toolkit. It's craftsmanship is good enough to offset the benefit from the gloves, so I think one of you two should take them so that you have a healing option." Assuming no objection, he collects together the expanded healing tools and puts them on his belt.
As he does so, he glances over at Kwan Tai. "Actually ... would you be able to carry my repair kit, by any chance? The amount of supplies are becoming a bit much for me."
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He whistles, and the incorporeal ghost whippoorwill appears, flying toward Xiung-Lau and landing on his shoulder. "Greetings, old friend," Xiung-Lau says. "You did not have to hide in the form of a spider. I am glad to see you again, in your true form." The whippoorwill tweets in response.
Kwan Tai nods curtly. "I do not fear such burdens."
Xiung-Lau listens at the southern door to see if there is any sound from that direction, while Li Jie focuses on healing the injured.
Li Jie examines the wounds of his peers, while the others discussed the found booty.
The Alchemist also hands the Rogue 2 Elixir of life to drink while he patches him up.
The Alchemist also hands the Fighter 2 Elixir of life to drink while he patches him up.
The Alchemist also hands the himself 2 Elixir of life to drink while he patches him up.
He smiles.
Xiung-Lau can't hear much beyond the door. After healing up, you move into the next room. A wooden statue of Pharasma sits in a meditative pose atop a low dais to the south of this otherwise empty room. Bones, dead leaves, and chunks of mummified flesh lie in heaps around the statue, whose missing head appears to have been hewn off by a single blow. Bloodstained, moldy ropes have been wrapped tightly around the statue, amid which many more old bones with bits of dried meat have been affixed.
The nature of the statue’s defiling is meant to represent a fundamental rejection of the goddess' power over life and death, indicating that she’s blind to the truth of it and powerless to change her ways.
When you enter the room, you see what looks like three robed monks kneeling before the statue, as if in prayer. But as they turn to face you, you see that these humanoid creatures' mouths are stitched shut with lengths of their own hair. Their arms are long and broken-looking, while their chests are little more than rib cages filled with red wet butterflies that crawl through and cling to the creatures' ribs and organs.
The being's stitched mouths twitch unnervingly as they greet you. Despite the stitching, the creatures speak freely, their hollow-sounding voices issuing clearly from their sealed lips. "Welcome to the shrine of the Pretender. Do not bother to offer her your prayers, as she will not hear them."
The Nagaji stares pointedly at the statue as the Monks of the Mouth greet them disturbing and such....
Being spoken to by Monks with no mouths seems to be a bit disorienting, discombobulateding, doing double duty to his tummy...
Hello?
"It is foolish to blaspheme so. Divine wrath may fall upon you in any number of forms."
Lie Jie recognizes the defiled statue as one of Pharasma.
Hooli recognize these fiends as nindorus, evil beings that rise from corruptions to the cycle of reincarnating souls and live on the Material Plane. These particular nindorus are called sojiurhs. A sojiruh comes into existence when a creature who has dedicated multiple lives to achieving enlightenment turns their back on these goals and deliberately tears themselves away from the cycle of reincarnation before their death. These monstrous creatures are the most common nindoru and are also the most hated by followers of Sangpotshi, since so many of these fiends rise from fallen members of that very philosophy.
"If this false goddess wanted to strike us down, she would have done so already," the sojiruh replies to Kwan Tai. "She has no true power, for she sits on a throne of lies. The idea of life after death is but a myth. After death, there is only us! We can prove it, if you'll allow us the pleasure of killing you..."
Xiung-Lau considers whether he knows anything about these creatures, pulling a potion from his belt.
Xiung-Lau glances at his companions, then replies, "While you get points for one of the more polite offers of death we've received on this journey, I fear that our response must be no." He holds his staff at the ready.
The Nagaji Alchemist sadly shakes his serpentine head at the mistaken mouth less monks mostly mindful of their manners.
Ssad. Ssso Ssad.