Since Hsang has gone and looked at the maps, only Vashon is currently standing outside, though he is joined a moment later by Lucien.

As they both look up at the slowly diminishing gray-white plume of smoke and ash to the north, the ground trembles beneath their feet, signaling another quake.

"If you will give me a moment I will get a good look at our destination. After that I can save us the long walk." Lucien spends a moment adjusting the torso area of his armor before a set of feathered wings comes out of his back. He smiles and takes off. After a moment he returns less of a smile, but pleased none the less.

"The volcano is roughly 60 miles to the north at that end of the range. Now getting there is the easy part. Finding anything once there might be interesting. You ready? If so take my hand."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:57, Wed 07 Oct 2020.

Aniyu excused himself from the Citadel as the groups split up. There was very little done to plan how they might coordinate, but hopefully the others would use the Citadel, and those involved, to share information.

He offered another polite smile and bow to those together, expression dropping and glancing off into the distance as he felt the rumble through his feet. He turned back to the rest, "I can fly fine, and if everybody else can fly or be helped further, I can teleport us to a general spot up in the air over the mountain to save more time. Otherwise, it'll take me about 6 hours to get there."

"We can all teleport," Vashon says. "At least, that's what I was understanding Lucien could do."

"He just got a bird's eye view of the volcano, so he can teleport both of us there with him. Then you or I, Aniyu, can teleport us back."

"Is that the way you see it, Lucien?"

"Did you see anything we should be aware of?"

Aniyu gives a polite, apologetic waist bow and nod in quiet agreement.

  "That is the long and short of it yeah." he says offering them both a hand"As I said if your ready we can go."

Vashon, of course, knew how Teleport worked, so he grabbed hold of Lucien's hand.

"I was hoping a few more might join us, but I guess this is it. I'm ready; let's go."

Aniyu took the offered hand and relented to the teleportation effect.

  "And away we go." he says as he mutters the incantation and makes the appropriate sign to transport the three of them to a volcano.

 They arrive on a fairly stable area of the rock face. With a plume of grey-white above them and heat all around.

OOC: Figure that much I can say. Past that I leave it up to the GM to describe.

Lucien had been able to spot a suitable place to teleport, which wasn't too close to the huge pool of lava. It was a rocky ledge on the southeast side of the lava pit, probably some 300 feet above and 500-600 feet away.

Apparently, when the volcano erupted, it didn't actually destroy much of the surrounding mountains.

As soon as everyone reorients themselves after the teleport, they can look around.

While Lucien has already seen this, it didn't quite register until he got here: there's no volcano. Actually, no volcanic cone. The eruption came right up out of the ground. A cone should eventually form by the deposit of alternating layers of ash and lava.

That doesn't seem to be happening here--there's just a lake of magma. If it's orange-red, it's magma. If it's gray, it's lava because the surface has cooled.

You can spot a number of different creatures moving around the perimeter of the lake. It even looks like something is 'swimming' in the magma.

Although the plume has diminished, it's still being fed by the lake of water to the north of the magma lake. It appears as if the magma is slowly eroding/melting the ground at the southern end of the lake and then the water spills over into the magma, instantly vaporizing it.

Aniyu glanced around to take in the scene, "I would like to get closer; survey the outside and that creature before checking underneath." He dipped his head before reaching his foot out, drawing a crude symbol in the ash. He stomped his foot down onto the mark, putting his weight into it, and lifting up into the air as if the mark was rejecting him from the ground itself.

He reached into his Haversack to pull out three small vials. A moment of focus and they filled with clean, clear water. He then spit into each of them, the tiny amount of spittle hitting the water and turning it a dark amber, almost brown.

He offered a vial to each of them, the contents smelling like a strong alcohol, "For focus.". He raised his own up for a swig, wincing at the burn, before shaking his head to compose himself. Those who drank it found a comfortable warmth through their system, but their minds sharpened.

He let them decide what to do with the vials, muttering a new spell before he could address any questions they had. A few intricate, geometric hand symbols in the air before a deep inhale, letting the land itself tell him about the area around them.

Casting:
- Overland Flight (Fly Speed 40' for 10 Hours)
- Create Water (into the vials)
- Tears to Wine (Turn three vials into 'alcohol' that give +5 Enhancement to Intelligence Checks for 100 Mins.)
- Lay of the Land (Gain +5 Insight on Geography/Survival -- also learn about the geography within a 5 miles radius).

  "Well I'm going down there to talk to them. Likely folks from the Plane of Fire." he says as he gets ready to move again. "It's the big one swimming that worries me the most to be honest."

There's not much Lay of the Land will tell Aniyu that he doesn't already know from mere observation.

He's high up in the mountains, and most of these mountain peaks soar up to 4 miles high. The volcano seems to have erupted from one of the high valleys between two peaks. That's why the magma hasn't gone anywhere--it's trapped between the surrounding peaks.

To the northwest, at the other end of the lake, a glacier covers the mountains there, a spur that runs north.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:11, Wed 14 Oct 2020.

Vashon eyes the vial Aniyu a bit suspiciously, but decides that they are all in this together even if it wasn't his choice, and the best and fastest way out of it was to go along instead of trying to fight it.

He takes the vial and drinks it.

"Do you really think it's necessary to go down there?" he questions the others. "I think it's a better than even chance that those creatures are hostile. Are you prepared to do battle with all of them? And what happens if we beat them? Do you really think they'll talk... assuming they even know anything?"

Aniyu nodded at Lucien's suggestion; Lucien seemed the best to speak to them if they were willing to speak, and also the best to have in front if they decided they didn't want to speak.

He floats backwards towards the center, smiling back to Vashon, "You are making a lot of assumptions, some of which are very insightful. We are simply gathering more information."

  "Honestly I have no clue what their intent would be. It's a chance we would need to take. Either we talk to them or we attack them. Those are the only options. I try to preserve life when possible. Since Kossuth is more often than not a being of law I am guessing they are as well." he says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Besides getting in and out is a cinch."

Aniyu continues towards the largest magma lake, floating above the ground and looking for more detail to help him identify the creatures.

  Lucien shrugs "Gotta at least try to be peaceful first." he chants and makes a few arcane gestures and a door shows in the air for a moment. "It's now or never buddy. I'm going through." Lucien waits a moment to see what Vashon will do and then steps through himself directly to the ledge above the lava pool.

OOC:Taking you up on offer for languages Ignan seems most appropriate here.

In Ignan he says "I come in peace. I and my companions seek for my this lava up welling occurred and who you all might be."

OOC: I'm confused. I thought we were already on the ledge?


Vashon's eyes widen as Lucien creates some sort of door, but steps through with him.

Wherever they are, he gives a quick glance around to see if there are any creatures nearby that might be threatening them. If he spots any of them, he'll try to figure out what they are.

21:36, Today: Vashon the Vigilant rolled 18 using 1d20+4 ((14)).

He has no relevant skill, so it's just an Intelligence check.

In reply to Vashon the Vigilant (msg # 19):

OOC: We are on one ledge and several hundred feet away is another which the Fire things are on.