Phin remains quiet, keeping his eyes open wide to see if he can spot anything that would provide insight into what's going on. If any of the roving children come close, he will break off from the others and see if he can engage them.

When the responses show that the group doesn't immediately have the answers they want, rather than engaging, the pitiful petitioner moves off again.  None of them respond with answers to questions directed at them.  They are single-minded in the quest for their own answers.

There don't seem to be any around the fit the bill of a 'guard', only the shanty town denizens and the thick trees up ahead that allegedly ring a crater.

Toben shrugs. "Doesn't look like they're going to be much help. Let's see if we can find this crater."

As Toben starts to walk towards the crater, he kneels down and places his hand upon the earth. He concentrates for a moment, and stands back up.

"There is something wrong with this place. It's different than the corruption we faced with Ceven, but it's definitely not natural."

"Let's continue on.  The center of the crater should be easy to find and i suspect it will have some answers."

The trees form a thin line, though they grow close to one another on the ridge surrounding the crater.  These trees are young, green wood, but twisted and forced into thick growth as if they were centuries old.  The leaves are disease-ridden, but thick and green otherwise.

In between the trees every so often is a man with metal protruding from his skin.  Portions of their armor is anchored in their very bones it seems.  Wild looks scan the crowd, for those who would pass into the crater or for someone to eat is anyone's guess.  They eye the group for a long time, but as you get close enough to engage one of them, he steps aside and nods you past.

Down below in the impact crater there is a caldera filled with steaming water.  The water has a distinct dark red tinge to it, but not of molten rock...more like blood.  There are a few people kneeling at the edge and even a couple across the way that seem to be wading or floating peacefully in the red waters.  The ones kneeling moan in ecstasy whenever they come up for a breath before leaning back over to drink.

There are other things floating in the water, which is no more than a few feet deep anywhere.  Pale white rocks cover an otherwise smooth, sandy floor.  Yellow or black fronds drift lazily up from a few of the smaller rocks.

No one stops you and none of those at or in the water even acknowledge your presence.

KKlale looks around, without much hope, for somebody who may have some common sense and a willingness to converse.

Only the guards at the tree-line seem coherent enough to converse.

"Those guards look like the same sorts of…people that we encountered in the wilds." Phineas keeps his shoulders squared, but stays well back from them. He examines the lake, focusing on the things floating in the water, trying to make out what they could be.

For the moment, Toben steers clear of the contents of the crater. "I think I'd like to find out a little more about this place before getting too close to that crater."

He walks over to the guards at the tree line and attempts to start a conversation. He tries to play a little more clueless than investigative. "Whew, finally made it to the blood pool. What's all the excitement about?"

I think Klale says slowly that this star is associated with water and that it's been wounded, maybe with something that's still present it its body...if body is the right word. If that's so, then our job is to remove what's wounding it. Or maybe there's something contaminating it, and the contamination is causing something like blood.

"Eh, wot's that?  Oh, you must be new 'ere.  You 'ad none o' the adornments of the Chosen."  He sniffs and wipes a forearm across his nose.  A bit of metal buried in his arm partway slices a thin line through his cheek and nostril.  It immediately wells with thick, red blood, but the man doesn't seem to even notice.  "Every one's come to drink of the water in the crater.  Says its got healin' powers and wot not.  We're jes 'ere t' make sure there ain't no fight, no unnecessary killin' and all."

His words are of the common folk, informal and uneducated and he seems not to be too bright.  Not an idiot or anything, just not the first to get jokes when told.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:33, Wed 23 Sept 2015.

"We need to leave.  Now."  The drakes speaks loud enough for those nearer to the water to hear, but not for Toben or the guard.

Another takes a long look at the so called 'life stew' and turns away when Konami speaks and speaks in the same low tones. "He is right.  We are in danger, let's make out way out to the west and I'll explain more when we are clear."

Toben nods. "Yep, just got here. With some friends", he says as he jerks his head slightly back toward the group. "What can you tell me about that pool?"

The trickle of blood running down the guards cheeks finally catches Toben's eye. "Umm, you alright there? Looks like you cut yourself."

Klale immediately starts waling west. This way he says.

Phineas, with a look of evident relief, quickly follows Klale.

Before following the others Ano makes his way back over to Toben.  As he nears he slips something into one of his pockets and flexes his hand gingerly.  "We are heading out, the others are already on there way.  I'll explain when we catch up"."

The guard raises an eyebrow as the group leaves, but no one tries to stop the group and there are fewer questions on the way out.  Saris has been quiet the whole time and looks ashen.  Minutes pass in silence, but soon the hills conceal the shanty town and the forest surrounding the caldera.

There is a small stand of trees a few more minutes away, a place to rest in the shade and to hide from the casual observer.

As they pass beyond the perimeter of the crater, Toben slides his hand into his pocket to see what Ano deposited, but does not pull anything out to visually examine.

Once the group reaches the shade, he hefts off his pack. "Well, that guard was pretty useless, but I think he was certainly hiding something." He looks over the group. "What did you all find out?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:45, Wed 23 Sept 2015.

Ano rests for a few moments thinking over the things that hey had seen before speaking up.  He had far less answers then he would have liked to have at this point but they would have to make do.  "There was something deeply wrong with that place, it was just as you said Toben.  Those people where not of their own minds, it was like they had an unnatural lust for whatever that 'life stew' in the center of the crater.  They seek healing but seem to get sicker the more they partake."

He takes a deep breath and pulls a small metal vial from his pocket and passes it to Toben.  His fingers of his right hand seem red and raw as he passes it over.  "This is a sample from the pool back there.  The water in the crater was extremely hot, and yet some how those people drank and bathed in it without effect.  I would assume this sample will retain the same heat, so I would be cautious.  Perhaps it contains the same kind of corruption we saw in the stone that held Kornari."

"The most troubling thing of all, was that all those people there are slowly being drained on a spiritual level.  It was happening to us as well, but on a much smaller level, that is why I pushed us to leave quickly." Ano turns to look out to the west "I think our next step should should be to continue west for a while, that is where all of that spiritual energy was being drawn to."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:13, Thu 24 Sept 2015.

Thank you, Ano and Komari. Let's head west...and hope and pray that we're able to follow the spiritual energy drain like hounds on the spoor.

Toben holds the vial to the light, and examines it for a moment. "It is definitely warm to the touch." He removes the top, places it under his nose briefly, then quickly closes the vial back. "You say you can see where their energy is being drawn to? Very interesting..."

Toben puts the vial into his pouch of holding. "Perhaps I'll have more time to analyze this sample once we get a little farther from here. West is it?"

"West is back the way we came, back toward Emyn Muil...back toward those cannibals."  Saris's hands visibly shake as she sits on a raised rock in the shade.

Toben nods. "It's a shame to have to back track a bit, but at least we'll have a little more context if we have to interact with that other group."