Silent Ones Monastery

The Silent Ones Monastery was a small, walled complex built into the side of a hill, easily overlooked. Devoted to Tsugumu, the Fortune of Secrets, was hidden near the City of Lies. Scorpions with secrets weighing heavy on their minds went there to unburden themselves, bringing messages and journal pages containing their secrets to alleviate the isolation of hidden knowledge. The monks did not burn the secrets they received; they hid them inside their monastery, stuffing the statues of the Fortune with them.

Tradition
The monks were completely silent: they never spoke because they did not have tongues; they cut them out when they were initiated into the order. Then, they burned them as an offering to Tsugumu. Most of the monks wore black and tied a black cloth over their mouth. The head monk was identifiable by his scarlet robes, which distinguished him from the others.

Appearance
The interior of the monastery was seemingly much larger than the outside, with concealed passages and secret rooms, entire stories hidden under the ground or between floors, and puzzles and traps to confuse and disorient. The many statues of the Fortune were identical, so that many rooms appeared the same as many others. Any rooms in which the monks might sleep, train, or eat are hidden, further isolating visitors. Visitors waited in comfort in small chambers containing thick tatami and shōji screens in Scorpion colors, until a single monk eventually arrived, leading them to a statue to confess their secrets.