“Ahh.. so it is the Braid you seek. I know of it, and its story." There is a sense, like that of an ocean tide gathering before the voice continues.
"Long ago, a petulant student believed he knew better than his master. The student proclaimed that the master unfairly gained power from the Braid of a Hundred Masters, cheapening the path to self-perfection. He challenged the master to remove the braid and compete against him without its power. The master did so and, in the process, defeated the student. Once the master had proven himself to the student, the master left the braid at the student’s feet, then turned away, leaving the monastery, never to return. The master took one student with him that day, the young disciple, Ying Pei, while the remaining students squabbled and fought over the braid. None could call upon the power of the braid and so they left the monastery, one by one, once again seeking their true paths to perfection. Eventually, only the petulant student and the braid remained. Here he stayed, until the day he died, contemplating the significance behind his master’s actions. I have sensed no others since, and so I believe the relic is still within the monastery somewhere. Should you find it, perhaps you should search for the master and his last disciple. Through them you might uncover the answer to the mystery of the Braid of a Hundred Masters.”
"The last master was named Li Yao."
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"Well, then. Should we learn whatever became of Master Li and Disciple Ying, we can send word here, if you would like. Fare well." The bard executes a Taldan bow without a hint of the self-mockery he usually shows, then turns to depart.
"There's one area we haven't yet searched." Chamius makes his way to the northern door off of the courtyard and prepares to open it once everyone else is ready.
"Pin Che..."
The petrified monk has nothing more to offer, and so the group soon follows Chamius to the last chamber of the Monastery.
The yeti had made his nest in this room and a pile of filth covers the once-fine mats laid upon the floor. Among the various sticks and animal bones of the nest there are a number of fragile items of value, including an antique Iroran silver holy symbol worth, four jade gemstones, a magnifying glass, a set of silvered armbands depicting pouncing tigers, and a bejeweled ceremonial masterwork temple sword.
Also within the nest, seemingly made from hundreds of different strands of hair, lies a length of braid about long enough to be worn comfortably around the neck - the Braid of a Hundred Masters.
The Braid has a strong transmutation aura, but it grants no power or effects when worn. Even identification magics prove unable to determine its abilities. Apparently Jiang Dan was correct when he claimed that only the masters of the monastery were privy to the secrets of the braid’s power, and without their knowledge the relic lies dormant.
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Gurau, a medium to the spirits martial training, admires The Braid with a voice of wonder, "A magic relic that all students would yearn, yet only through training and devotion would they be worthy to earn."
She readies The Braid for its transport down the mountain and whispers to the spirits thanking them for granting her the opportunity of this pilgrimage.
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By the time the treasure is all gathered, Chamius is panting with the strain of exertion in the excessively thin air. "Be a good thing to get back to the Two Brothers, what? I'm afraid we'll have to find ourselves a larger town to learn more about the master and disciple. Unless any of you are actually martial arts historians moonlighting as novice Pathfinders?"
Traveling back down the mountain is a simple matter, as the slope works in your favor and all threats along the way were cleared on the ascent. Venture-Captain Amara Li personally thanks you for the recovery of the Braid of a Thousand Masters and the Pathfinder Society immediately begins organizing a search for the last master and the young student that followed him.
END OF PART I