You figure that you would have better luck speaking to the local authorities over some random villagers, and ask Tsu-Ko about the town's officials.

Tsu-Ko: "No one's got any power over anyone else here, but I guess the monks are the closest thing to what you're asking for. You could say they're the eyes and ears of the Emperor, so they know more than your average Kirin."

Honourshine: "And these monks will speak to foreigners?"

Tsu-Ko: "With my magic, they will. Just remember your manners. Speaking of which, if you want to enter the temple — or any house, for that matter —, you'll have to take your clothes off at the entrance."

Moonflower: "All of 'em?"

Tsu-Ko: "You can keep your accessories, but nothing concealing. Hairpins and glasses stay on, mantles and bags come off. Makes sense?"

Moonflower: "Oh, got'cha."

Tsu-Ko: "Monks always wear prayer beads around their necks or legs, so they should be easy enough to recognize, even for you."

You nod, and begin to follow the road east to the town's temple grounds. Beyond a thicket of bamboo, you find a few Kirin cooling off in the shade, some of whom seem to be wearing large wooden bead necklaces or bracelets.

Scanning for someone who doesn't look too busy, your eyes land on the fiery colours of a large stallion slowly making his way toward the temple's open doors.

You seize the opportunity to speak to him outside and, following your sprite's earlier instructions, stand off to the side of the monk's path with a raised hoof. The Kirin's piercing gaze soon notices your party, and he stops to greet you.

Kirinese Monk: "Yes?"

You take a moment to introduce yourself and your friends to the monk, and ask if he has a moment to answer a few of your questions.

Kirinese Monk: "I am Vermillion Sear. And that will depend on the questions."

You nod, and decide to start with your most pressing concern. You ask Vermillion Sear whether he has heard anything about Dirt Flaxen, an Equestrian pop star who came to perform in a dozen towns along the coast of the Shi-Wan Sea about a moon ago. You tell him that you are looking for him.

Vermillion Sear: "A bard has recently come from overseas, of that I have heard. His songs of passion are said to have brought inspiration to all who heard them."

Yet you tell the monk that the singer's company bemoaned unsatisfactory attendances and revenue from the tour, and that he was mysteriously gone once they returned to Shui-Ti.

Vermillion Sear: "Do you believe that the two are related?"

You suppose that the former could be the cause of the latter.

Moonflower: "Ooh! What if he decided to stay and secretly make more money for the company to make up for it?"

Vermillion Sear: "Assumptions are bound to shine light into your eyes. You best cast them off before you begin your search, lest you grow blind to the truth."

Curious, you ask the monk if he knows something you don't.

Vermillion Sear: "I know that there is much we do not know. You were told that the bard's performances gathered neither enough coin nor crowd, but if so, from whose perspective does this ring true?"

You admit that those were the company's words.

Vermillion Sear: "If it was not the bard's own view, then it is irrelevant, is it not?"

Moonflower: "But then we don't got anythin' to go off of!"

Honourshine: "Better to start with nothing than with a false lead, I suppose."

Vermillion Sear: "Correct. I suggest you seek the bard not as a lost trinket to be found, but as a living creature with a mind of his own."