Ginjo and Sukh decided they would look for the needle in the Caves of Discord. Based on their experiences with the bakemono, they reasoned that it would most likely be found with the strongest bakemono, the bear-like "kidnapper gang" that had captured Shek. In their investigation, they learned that this group had only become bolder after the destruction of the Death Cult and the dispersion of the other bakemono groups. They were regularly attacking human villages to obtain captives. At least one village was offering a bounty. Ginjo and Sukh decided that they would leave this problem to other adventurers and maintained a focus on finding the magic needle, which the inscription on the carpet described as being made of silver.
They visited the "kidnapper" of "bear" bakemono and were welcomed gratefully. The kidnappers proclaimed that they had several humans to sell. And their price had only increased slightly since the last time. When Ginjo let it be known that they were more interested in a magic needle and that they had the carpet, the bear bakemono became talking over each other, some of them clamoring to see the carpet, with others shouting out prices to sell the needle, and one still threatening to sell the humans to another buyer who wanted to eat them. Sukh led the negotiation for the captives while Ginjo hinted that the magic needle looked like any other old needle. Together they came up with an offer for the humans and agreed that they would come back soon to buy the needle.
The captives were a man and wife who lived on the other side of Pasar. They required frequent rests and made repeated requests for "better food." As they reached their home village, they chided the party for ransoming them. "You know it only encourages them to raid us because they know they can get money. What you should do is go and kill them all."
Sukh and Ginjo decide to leave this ambiguous and returned to the bear bakemono cave. The needle presented was old and rusty. When Ginjo said he was looking for a silver needle, the bakemono tried to tell him it was silver, but needed to be polished. Sukh and Ginjo debated buying the rusty needle, but decided they could always return and buy it later. The references to people-eating monster who was also interested in buying captives made them wonder if this monster was the keeper of the needle. If they killed the monster and didn't find the needle, they would only be in a better position to bargain with the bakemono.
Based on conversations with their bakemono friends, Sukh and Ginjo deduced that the people eater lived in the labyrinth where Liu-Po had been killed by giant beetles. Ginjo warned that their foe would be a formidable one to live in such a strange place and share it with such hideous creatures. But Sukh avowed that he would face any dangers with his sword ready. Perhaps both thought of Gunjar, who had been Ginjo's first companion in exploring the Caves of Discord. Ginjo missed the holy man, but he appreciated Sukh's wisdom in battle and felt confident knowing that together they were leading a well-disciplined group of warriors.
On an auspicious day, at about mid-morning, they entered the maze of the monster, a creature described as a powerfully-built man with the head of a bull. Sukh did his best to map the narrow, twisty corridors, but soon found the effort made him dizzy. They pushed onward by trial-and-error, avoiding the tell-tale red glow of the giant beetles.
After at least an hour of walking in circles, they found themselves in large cavern. Their flickering torches created strange shadows that danced on the walls beside crude drawing of the foe they were hunting and the many victims he had hunted before them. A pungent, bestial scent hung in the air, soon broken by the sounds of aggressive snorting and stomping. Ginjo order the sohei and mercenary to spread out and find places to hide themselves. He and Sukh stepped boldly into the middle of the cavern and drew their swords.
From out of the darkness, the monster charged, wielding a thick-shafted spear with a blade nearly as long as a sword. Sukh whirled to miss the point of the spear whereupon the monster lowered its head and gored him with its horns. Sukh was knocked to the floor and struggled to get up as Ginjo closed, slashing at the monster's back, opening two great wounds. Bellowing in pain and rage, the monster turned. Sukh and Ginjo mastered their fear and flanked the monster, taking turns withstanding its powerful blows while the other slashed and stabbed, remaining close enough to prevent it from gathering speed to charge. Just as the monster was faltering, Ginjo was struck in the face with the butt of the spear and fell on his back. Sukh, fighting to stay on his own feet was slow to come to his aid, and this was the moment for Phru to shine. Chanting a prayer from the monastery of the two-fold path, he led the other sohei in a surprise charge against the monster. Dropping its spear, it thrashed and kick like a pure animal as the sohei's spear found its heart. The monster was dead.
They rested and explored the monster's lair, at last finding a boulder that concealed a cahce of strange treasures-- foreign coins, weird elixirs, and a small ebony box that held a silver needle with a thread of gold. Ginjo gratefully granted the monster's spear to Phru. Together, they collected all the coins they could carry and made their way of the labyrinth and back to Pasar. eager to test the needle.
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