I have seen 3 of these things so far. Great big statues , each one the same: Tall, golden, unmarked by the passage of time, with an arm out raised. I found one whilst fleeing a manticore, who when they came close fled, screaming like a kicked pup...the silence around them is almost deafening...
The Golden Statues of Oong are named after the first person believed to have discovered them,
Sellianous Oong , a female
Orc explorer down on their luck. The story goes that she found the first statue deep within a jungle and that led her to the second and so on. Sadly the location where she discovered the statue is not important, due to the fact that they move once a certain condition has been met.
The 12 statues are modeled after the 12 main gods, with each being as their most common/known avatar or form. Apart from that, each of the statues share the following common properties:
- Is made of gold (or at least a gold looking substance)
- Cannot be damaged
- Cannot be moved
- Each one is 10 feet tall
- Has a limb or item or something pointing clearly in a direction
- Only sentient creatures can approach within 10 meters
- Never seen in areas with a high population
- Always in areas that can be reached without magical assistance, never burried etc - just hard to get to
- Will move once the condition (see below) has met
The Path
As mentioned above, all of the statues will move to a new location once a condition has been met. Starting with the first statue you encounter, and stories say it doesn't matter which one (but that it seems to be the one you are most associated with for whatever reason), you must follow the path set out for you and find the next statue in the "chain". The general direction of the next statue is indicated by the limb/item of the statue. Something to bear in mind is that if two or more statues are close to each other you must pick the right one. All you have to do is simply touch the statue for it to be recorded as a success on The Path. What many people don't know is that you have only 120 days to complete the path once you find whatever statue is your first.
The Reward
Once you are back again at your starting statue and touch it, they glow and pulse with a faint hum. The statue becomes a conduit directly to the god it is based on and their will, generally, grant any wish within their domains and purview. The deity of life may bring back someone from the dead (if the spirit is willing), the deity of creation will help you forge an item of great power to defeat an evil and so on.
But be warned, if you ask for something that is the antithesis of the deitys realm of power you will be punished, quite severely. The statues are believed to be a form of pilgrimage and using them to ask for something the gods cannot do or that goes against their dogma will result in a "bad time".
The Reset
Regardless of if the reward is given or not, once the conduit to the deity closes (it only stays open for a max of 20 mins), the Path resets. When it resets, the statues glow intensifies and there is what can be described as either an almost angelic and beautiful choir like noises (if the path was successful) or a clash of discordant sound (if the path was done in the "wrong" order). This is loud and bright enough that those within 10 meters are deafened and blinded for a brief moment. Anyone outside this range doesn't hear or see a thing however. After a min or so and sight and hearing returns, the statues have moved to a new location in the world. These locations are, as mentioned above, in areas that can be reached by non-magical means, just not easy to get to. Some may be within The Bleed , others on extremely remote islands. One was once found and spotted on a precarious cliff edge.
The cycle then begins again, waiting for the next pilgrim to find them and begin the path.
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