Chapter 3.5: The Temple of Merikka

While Chase confirms that the front doors are still barred, Myrtha and Aanbo sneak over to the open western door. Peering through the opening, they see a lush carpet in the middle of the floor, and a wooden case with abnormally-large crop harvest items displayed like trophies.

Ferranzo peers behind the tapestry in the northeast of the sanctuary; behind the woven fabric is flat granite blocks like the rest of the walls.

Arya and Morton wait patiently for the others.

---

Aanbo (19/27)
Acolyte Hog-tied
Arya (5/19)
Chase (12/17)
Ember (7/12)
Eugenios (8/8)
Ferranzo (8/8)
Lyrel (2/13) Mage armor
Morton (8/15)
Myrtha (23/30)

Eugenios replaces the gag with the ease of one who has spent long days interrogating captives in the Niole Dra guard dungeons. Then the gnome Special Investigator dusts off his hands and joins Aanbo and Myrtha at the door. Though Myrtha was prepared to close the door, Eugenios and the Earthshaker monk step through to take a closer look.

A closed door leads off to the south, the display case in on the western wall, and to the north the room wraps around a corner behind the sanctuary to the east. There stands a large dining table with chairs; a lamp or some other steady light must be sitting on the table, for it is well-lit.

Lyrel wonders if the Temple has any healing potions hidden away somewhere.

---

Aanbo (19/27)
Acolyte Hog-tied, gagged
Arya (5/19)
Chase (12/17)
Ember (7/12)
Eugenios (8/8)
Ferranzo (8/8)
Lyrel (2/13) Mage armor
Morton (8/15)
Myrtha (23/30)

Ferranzo joins Morton and Arya in the hallway of golden statues.

Aanbo moves over the thick carpet and peers around the corner: the dining table continues for most of the length of the room. A lamp provides illumination from near the center of the table. Another closed door leads east from the far wall of the room, some 60 paces from the monk. Chase enters the room behind him next to Eugenios.

Lyrel opens the nearest door and looks inside. She is relieved to not be attacked immediately; though she has her magical protection, she is very aware of how hurt she is. The room is not lit, but her elven eyes see three plain wooden benches in the space. The room may continue further west, but the view is blocked by a curtain of heavy, rich blue fabric.

Ember stands there next to the struggling acolyte writhing on the floor, trying not to think about how much money that jade statue would be worth.

---

Aanbo (19/27)
Acolyte Hog-tied, gagged
Arya (5/19)
Chase (12/17)
Ember (7/12)
Eugenios (8/8)
Ferranzo (8/8)
Lyrel (2/13) Mage armor
Morton (8/15)
Myrtha (23/30)

Ember enters the dining room, joining Myrtha, Chase, Eugenios, and Aanbo.

"Not to be Captain Obvious, but we will walk into the others if we head around that way Aanbo. So we maybe herding anyone back here towards them." Eugenios hazards his guess regarding the interior layout of the Temple. Myrtha nods in agreement, stepping into the room to look around. She peers suspiciously at the door leading south from the dining room.
Eugenios moves to the display case, reassures himself that there are no traps, and opens it to examine the trophies. There is a bottle of wine, and a collection of the largest produce he has ever seen: a carrot larger than his leg, an ear of corn that is nearly the same size as his torso, and a sheaf of tall wheatstalks the length of Myrtha's spear with grains as large as grapes. During the last few days at the Inn of the Slumbering Serpent, Eugenios had heard farmers boast of their crops, but he had dismissed their accounts as the usual tall tales that one gets in rustic backwaters like this. But these items that he's handling now? They are real produce, and lend a great deal of credence to the farmers' claims. Whatever else is going on here, this community does seem to be blessed by Merikka, the goddess of the harvest, after all.

Chase sneaks up to the southern door that is the object of Myrtha's scrutiny and listens at it. He hears no sound from the other side.

"We should stay together," Aanbo affirms, stepping back to keep an eye on both arms of the L-shaped dining room. "Perhaps the risk of someone sneaking up behind us can be mitigated if we have the numbers. And if a wayward priest escapes to sound the alarm... well, we're already trying to push through to the source of the evil. I'd rather be in a larger group than get separated and isolated."

Lyrel peers behind the blue curtain cautiously at first, but, seeing no one there, takes a more detailed look. The other half of the room is lushly decorated, with a rich woven carpet, three comfortable chairs placed around a low table, and a sideboard with six crystal glasses and a wine rack holding several wine bottles. It's a space designed for comfort: probably either intended for serious meetings with village officials or just luxurious breaks for the Temple staff. There are no other obvious exits.



Left behind in the Temple sanctuary, the acolyte struggles in vain against his bonds.

Willing to take it slow, Morton watches Arya as she begins to move north, her shield casting Light to augment the dim magical lighting that is causing the golden statues to glitter in their alcoves. The long corridor with the gleaming white floor and the ten black-velvet-lined alcoves containing those golden statues stretches before them. The closed door stands at the end of the hall to the south. Arya begins making her way north, away from Morton and Ferranzo and toward where the passage turns west around the corner. "If we're looking for a secret door, it has to be this way," she reasons, "...if what that guy said is true."