[Perception] You roll a 9 (required 10). Partial success.

Given the distance and scale of the mountain, you suggest that your friends stay put while you and Tsu-Ko scout ahead. Your party agrees, and you take flight sunward once more.

Lens of honesty in hoof, you begin to scan the area for anything that might resemble an entrance, concealed or otherwise. Alas, at first glance, you spot nothing out of the ordinary, save for the bell tower from which you've been advised to stay away.

As you circle around the great mountain, you find yourself haunted by the emptiness of the landscape surrounding it. As far as the eye can see, earthen peaks jut out from lush river valleys, like a choppy sea of greens and browns — yet in all of this expanse, there is neither a house nor a road to be seen.

Tsu-Ko: "And no gates, either."

Indeed; the better part of an hour is spent searching for so much as a hole in the ground, to no avail. But then, something much farther away from the foot of the mountain scintillates through your lens of honesty.

Tsu-Ko: "I think I see it too — some kind of magic."

Curious, you decide to investigate. You follow the lens southwest in the direction of the light, and as you fly toward it, it grows blindingly bright. Once close enough, however, the source of magic becomes visible to the naked eye: a white crow, perched atop a bamboo culm.

Tsu-Ko: "That must be one of Ryokasei's crows."

Beneath the canopy, you spot something else: a lone elderly stallion in dark robes and an old bamboo hat, and a simple wooden cart behind him. He appears to be resting in the shade, under the crow's watch.