Chapter 3.5: The Temple of Merikka

The statue is solid green jade, carved into the likeness of a beautiful matronly woman holding a sheaf of grain stalks in one arm and a sickle in the other. She has been fashioned to be about the size of an adult elf, perhaps two paces tall. She may once have been painted, but now she's just smooth green jade. Luckily, the sculptor exaggerated her feminine features so that she reads as a mother rather than a green blob even without contrasting colors. There's plenty of handholds making it an easy climb for Ferranzo to clamber up and tie the torn sleeve around the head of the statue. Morton can't help but assess the resale value of such a piece of art.

The open door to the west is the one the acolyte used; the open door to the east is the one the monks used. Chase gestures to the eastern door as he rummages in the monks' blood-stained robes: "Should we go through where the monks came from?" These were apparently ascetics with no earthly attachments, as their bodies have nothing on them other than the clothes they wore, not even weapons. Either they were ascetics, or they left in a hurry and their belongings are someplace else.

It is not obvious at first, because they are not branded or tattooed, but the dead monks DO bear scabbed wounds that, if you squint just right, might resemble the familiar spiral. It seems someone with an unsteady hand cut them. Did they do it to themselves? Why weren't they branded or given pendants like the others?

Aanbo walks past the badly-injured Lyrel and kneels by the fallen Arya Arkon. The dwarven monk feels around under the chain mail and stimulates Arya's chi, prompting accelerated healing.
Mother Arkon regains 5 HP.
As she regains consciousness and sits up, the heroes can see that her latest near-death experience has left Arya somewhat wall-eyed. This, the crooked head, the broken nose, and the livid scar on her neck: all together they are common signs of an experienced adventurer. "Thank you," she breathes to the dwarf, one eye looking at him. She climbs unsteadily to her feet. "Pelor still has need of me, I see."

Ember does some quick calculation in her head, based on past experiences with fencing art. With time to find a buyer in a large metropolitan area like Hookhill, she figures she could probably clear more cash than she's ever seen on one sale. The acolyte has taken a fatalistic view of his situation: these murderers are surely going to kill him, but they themselves will someday soon become allies. Eugenios has seen this with interrogations in the past: a scared captive is unreliable, but a resigned captive tends to be honest.
So when Myrtha asks "Not a sound until you are told to answer a question, understood?" the acolyte nods.
Myrtha asks, "Who engraved Her symbol in their flesh? You?"
"No!" the temple functionary responds, seemingly genuinely shocked. "Each person chooses for themselves. I'm happy to craft a sign of dedication for anyone, but these three? They marked themselves."

Myrtha asks her next question: "Where is your superior? She came out earlier. Is she here," (pointing west) "or there?" (pointing east)
The junior cleric would have shrugged if his arms weren't pulled painfully back to his feet behind him. "She came in there," he says, flicking his eyes to the west door, "and told me to greet you adventurers. Then she continued on to the monks' cells. They probably came through the hidden door in the hall of statues." He flicks his eyes and jerks his chin toward the east door.

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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)

As the others are observing Myrtha's questions and the acolyte's answers, Arya follows the suggestion that Eugenios made (Chase, too, though she wasn't conscious to hear that) and walks through the eastern door. She calls back to the others: "It's a long hall of...uh, let's see...plants, I guess? Or maybe artwork of plants?? They're all along one wall. There's a door at the end of the hall on my right, and the passage goes around the corner on my left."

---

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)

Morton dogs Arya's heels, following her through the doorway. Just as she's describing it to the others, he sees it for himself. It is a long corridor with a gleaming white tiled floor that seems to stretch the whole length of the Temple. The long wall facing them is lined with ten black-velvet-lined alcoves; each alcove has a shelf also lined with black velvet. Magical light illuminates the contents of these shelves: gold items fashioned to resemble different plants or plant products (seeds, roots, and fruit). A closed door stands at the end of the hall to the south. To the north, the passage turns west around a corner.

"I would consider taking a moment." Morton advises, and Arya stops, nodding. She turns to look at him, her head slightly tilted as if listening to something, one almond-shaped eye gazing deeply into his, the other looking to the side. "Yes, let's wait 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)