You now all hear a voice in your native tongue
"You should search for secrets in your own heart, not go out to find them. The path to enlightenment lies within, not without."
"Do not take me for the master of masters, I am just a student"
"I am Jiang Dan, a simple servant of the Master of Masters." the voice replies to Modekai's question.
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Aurum responds, "When you learn the Master of Masters' wisdom, you become a vessel for his voice."
He waves a gloved hand dismissively. "Yet as much as your words hold truth, Student Jiang Dan, we are not here on the basis of a secret, but an artifact. And yet..." He looks toward the door for a moment.
"We will also need to find a place to rest for the night and recuperate. Or is it even that? A method to bring us down from the mountain and return to Goku, along with the Braid?"
Aurum laughs and sits in the corner. "A bit of thought in this thin air has made me realize that I do not truly know what I am seeking. I shall meditate on this. Clear my mind of impurity, only allow my situation to be understood."
Wearily, he closes his eyes and concentrates on his breathing.
"Feel free to rest here, the Yetis find my voice.... disconcerting. As for the braid, I feel it's nearness. One of you surely has it."
Darkness has fallen over the monastery and this room seems save enough to rest in. You search the rest of the building and find no more threats and also no secret tunnel.
“I do not know how to activate it. Only the master of the monastery would know how the Braid of a Hundred Masters functions. The last master, Li Yao, left the monastery and the braid here many, many years ago.”
"Thank you young Zobmaggle, I am fine here, I contemplate and search for wisdom. This monastery is a good place to do that, although I would love to see a master take up residence here again."
The voice is silent for a bit and then continues "It is a long path to enlightenment, I still wish for things to happen. No, just leave me here, my wisdom is my own to find."
Two large, corroded cooking pots dominate the center of this otherwise unadorned, long, tiered room.
"Oh no, I am no master, a master would know how to activate the braid of a hundred masters. I do not, therefore I am no master."
"I do not know what makes a master, it is one of the many pieces of wisdom I try to gain. Although I do know how one does not become master."
The voice is again silent for a bit. Just when you want to ask for the that information it starts again.
“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, thinking it would make them master.
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. Perhaps, through searching for the master and his last disciple, you may uncover the answer to the Braid of a Hundred Masters.”
"No, I would not. This place needs someone to watch over it, and I am content to do that."
After that you schedule a watch pattern and rest easy for the night.
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.
The Lantern Lodge venture-captain immediately begins organizing a search for the last master and the young student that followed him.
“No time to rest, Pathfinders!” Venture-Captain Amara Li, exclaims late one night a few days after your return to Goka. She barges into the bedroom of the ramshackle tavern where you are staying “I’ve looked into the situation surrounding the relic you found, the Braid of a Hundred Masters. As you may have noticed, the artifact appears to have been dormant for many years now, and in this state it’s essentially worthless to us. Fortunately, it can be reactivated, but only by the descendant of the braid’s last master, who, as you may know, was the master of the Clouded Path Monastery many years ago, a man by the name of Li Yao. I’ve discovered the whereabouts of his final living descendant—a woman by the name of Je Tsuin—but she now resides in the nation of Shokuro to the east, far from where her ancestor taught in his monastery in the Wall of Heaven. In order to reactivate the sacred relic, you’ll need to travel to the village of Nesting Swallow in Shokuro and find Je Tsuin to perform the necessary ritual.
“Unfortunately,” she continues, “we’re not the only group interested in Iroran artifacts. Our operatives claim that Lingshen, the Successor State to the southeast, is after the relic as well. Since Lingshen’s armies have a stranglehold on the overland routes from here to Shokuro, you’ll have to travel by river. Riding the Tuunma is faster anyway, though you might run into some hostile Mutabi-qi or goblinoids along the way. The river empties into the Sea of Eels—cross it and you’re in Shokuro, and from there you can follow the map I’ve provided to reach Nesting Swallow. "
“Ah, before I forget, you’ll also need you to make a quick stop along the way. The ritual requires a large amount of rare incense—more than I could easily procure from any of my local suppliers—so I’ve contacted a nomadic tribe in Shaguang, the Jhemulit, and they have agreed to provide you with the prepared herbs. I’ve already paid their shaman, a man named Ogokai, and I’ve marked their approximate location on your map, so it’s simply a matter of picking up the incense on your way to Shokuro.”
"The Laughing Crow is waiting for you at the docks, get going!"
"As far as I know Irori does not believe in getting a title because your father or mother held it. You have to earn it for yourself."
"Because that is what my diviners have told me."
She seems to be annoyed "If you happen to know that the Clouded Path Monastery has a master, please tell me. So far you only reported that the Monastery is deserted safe for a sentient statue and some yeti corpses."
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Aurum calmly replies, "We have no evidence that the Clouded Path monastery has a master. However, we are aware of a student who left with Li Yao, and appeared to be groomed for further training. It would imply that this student, Ying Pei, has the potential for becoming the next master. I would consider Ying Pei to be someone worth tracking down, as well as Je Tsuin."
"Thank you for suggesting that. We will do so. Now would you be so kind to follow my orders?"