Within a matter of minutes, the monks had reached the inside of the lavish temple, which was – in fact – even more ornate than the outside. The walls were practically lined with gold and jewels. Considering there had been no sign of any monks or guards and the doors were wide open, it was amazing that the place had not yet been pick clean by bandits and other such riff-raff.
The five stood at the beginning of a long room, plastered with tall windows and tapestries. As they walked, they took in the glorious surroundings.
"Hey look guys!" Kimiko called as she sprinted over to one of the tapestries. "Looks like they tell a story."
"Yes," Omi stated. "it would seem that this temple was built to honour the great Princess, Shen."
"Who now?" Rai questioned, tilting his head to one side.
"Shen was thought to be the source of most magic in the land." Omi recited, occasionally pointing to corresponding draperies to reference. "She was most powerful indeed, possessing the power to do almost anything she wanted. And she was as caring as she was impressive. As she grew, she noticed how much the people of her land were suffering. And so, with the help of her mentor, Master Dashi, she drained most of her powers into objects that the people could use in turn. Using her name, "Shen" and the name of one of her most trusted advisors, "Wu" and adding the word "Gong", she created the "Shen Gong Wu", or tool of God. "
"Now just hold up there partner." Clay interjected. "Now why was I here thinking that Dashi was the one that made up 'em Shen Gong Wu?"
"Technically, he did. Well, he assisted. And after Princess Shen's early passing, he took care of them."
Kimiko's face softened in premature empathy. "Early? What happened?"
"Ah. Shen fell in love with one of Dashi's friends, Jian. He was greatly intelligent, and was assisting in the creation of the Shen Gong Wu, thus spent most of his time with Shen. He was deemed unfit for her, however, as he was of common decent. They promised to be together forever, even meeting in secret late at night, but they were always found and reprimanded.
One night, Dashi was out, once again looking for Shen, when he found the truth. Jain stood over Shen's weak body, clutching a knife and Shen's coin purse. Shen lived, and though he claimed innocence, Jian was eventually put to death for trying to kill the princess. It is assumed the he was trying to steal from her, or hold her for a ransom.
Shen struggled on with her pain for a few months, then, no longer able to cope with the heartbreak, left all of her Shen Gong Wu to Dashi and killed herself at the age of nineteen."
"Oh no!" Kimiko cried, covering her mouth to silence her gasp. "What a sad story."
"So, that's it? She dies? Just like that?" Rai asked, looking over the last of the tapestries.
"Unfortunately so." Omi said, hanging his head. "She was buried in a secret location to preserve her. Perhaps this is it?"
The group walked on, taking in the opulence of the chamber. "Hey, Dojo?" Clay asked, breaking the silence. "iffin ya'll was friends with that there Dashi, wouldn't ya'll remember this princess? Did ya' know her?
Dojo froze. "Pft! Well now, er… that was uh, centuries ago, I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday!"
"You remember Dashi and Wu Ya okay." Rai added.
"Well that's- it's not really- Hey now!" He called, suddenly sounding much angrier than before. "Aren't you supposed to be finding a certain mystical object? Isn't that your job here, instead of playing detective?!"
"Yes." Omi replied, "Though it has been years since we last tracked down a Shen Gong Wu, we must recall our training, and remain vigilant."