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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ariakor" data-source="post: 2277257" data-attributes="member: 8473">WHile the other villagers mutter their agreement and begin to lead the oxen to the shallow river banks in order to water them in the meantime, Arishan Tüen Li elects to stay with them just in case something should happen. "Okay", says Kairan, "just follow me. It isn't very far."The path he leads you on follows the course of the small river for a few dozen steps before disappearing between two huge boulders that just seem to sit at the flank of the hill, surrounded by a few low-growing bushes. Behind the boulders a narrow and in part steep set of rough-hewn stairs, their edges well-worn by wind, weather and the feet of pilgrims and travellers alike, winds its way amid old gnarled trees and bushes like a snake up the hillside. Finally, after having passed a row of paired boulders at the top of the stairs the path opens up onto a clearing on top of the hill which is surrounded by pines and trees. Aside from your path the clearing has only one other Entrance on the north side: a large wooden gate without doors, carved and painted in formerly bright colors. From there, you can see a larger, gently downgoing pathway leading into the woods. To your left, a small pond stretches along the edge of the clearing, encircled by cherry trees in full bloom. On a small plattform made of stone, which edges into the pond and is surrounded by a ring of white water lilys, an open-walled shrine had been errected by the villagers. The building itself was small - just a roof of green tiles supported by four wooden posts and a knee-high wall, open to the clearing - and aside from the shrine itself there was not much to be seen there. But even from afar the shrine showes signs of the desecraption: the shrine itself seems to has been hacked apart by a weapon wielded with considerable strenght, the wood shows burn marks and there is a lot of blood smeared in a variety of patterns across the floor of the shrine and part of the clearing.Kairan hesitates at the edge of the clearing, as he sees the shrine itself, disbelief plainly visible on his face.</blockquote>

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