Tengu are spirits who inhabit the mountains and forests in Japanese folklore. They have long red noses and fly from place to place like birds. Tengu are considered more mischief makers than evil. But they can still be a big problem.
A tengu took up residence in the canyons and hills above Agoura and Oak Park. The residents were very frightened of what the tengu might do. After all, there are many stories of tengu kidnapping children. The people of Oak Park tried to catch the tengu. But the tengu was too smart and eluded all the traps that were set. The city finally contacted a Buddhist priest from Japan who was famous for exorcising tengu and other demons.
The priest came to Los Angeles and hiked up into the canyons above Oak Park where he lived for 75 consecutive days, until one day the tengu appeared to him.
"How can I make you leave these hills?" he asked the tengu.
The tengu thought about it for a while and then replied, "If you can defeat me in a game of Go, I will leave and never bother the people of Oak Park again."
The tengu then produced a Go board and stones. The priest and the tengu played the game all afternoon, until it became too dark to see the board anymore. The priest did not trust the tengu, so he watched him into the night. But eventually the priest could not keep his eyes open any longer and he fell asleep.
When the priest woke in the morning the tengu was gone, but the stones on the Go board had been rearranged in a strange pattern. What could it mean?
This puzzle is a more difficult version of my Tengu cache in Antelope Valley. Because of this I am providing a hint to get you started.
When you have solved the puzzle you can go find a small pill bottle hidden under a SPOR a short distance from the trail.