#94 Smoldering Bay

Age: 400 Years

Hidden or Lost?: No

History: It's uncertain whether the obsidian orb that created Smoldering Bay landed in that spot at random or by design, but there it remains. For hundreds of years it has floated above the crater created by its impact, causing the waters below to emit a strange steam which grants those who inhale it the ability to see deep into the past.

The black orb, sometimes called the ‘Titan’s Eye,’ fell from the heavens around 400 years ago, destroying the ancient city of Bauma in the process. Its fall created a deep impact crater, allowing the waters of the sea to rush in and create what is now known as Smoldering Bay.

The orb is cool to the touch, and completely free from marks or blemishes. Many have tried to crack it open and discover its secrets, but it seems to be totally impenetrable. Despite its chilly surface temperature, the Titan’s Eye seems to cause the water in the bay to simmer and produce the odd vapors the bay is known for.

The influence of the orb has also had a de-evolutionary effect on the wildlife in and around the bay, filling it with huge Devonian horrors that don't survive long outside of the altered atmosphere around the bay. Much of the area reverted to a hostile primordial state with plant and animal life growing large and deadly, and dinosaurs roaming the chores.

Despite the dangers, many travelers have made the dangerous trek to Smoldering Bay where two groups have established a tenuous foothold among the overgrown ruins of Bauma. One group of researchers established a small outpost known as Fort Yesterday from which they can study the Titan’s Eye, safe from the hostile wildlife (or hunt it). Then there is the Order of the Memory Seekers, a religious sect obsessed with using the orb’s mists to grant them visions of the past. They are constantly searching for ancient secrets, and even the origins of life itself. The Order is often petitioned by those seeking to explore their own pasts or recover lost memories.

The Memory Seekers and the researchers of Fort Yesterday are often at odds, with one looking to exploit the orb’s powers and the other devoted to understanding it. But both are tied to Smoldering Bay and the secrets that the Titan’s Eye may one day divulge.

1. Smoldering Bay

2. The Titan’s Eye

3. The Windless Gyre

4. Inlet of Regret

5. Inlet of Once

6. The Killing Beach

7. Church of the Memory Seekers

8. Carnivore’s Clutch

9. Ruins of Bauma

10. Fort Yesterday

11. Smuggler’s Caves

12. Dead Queen’s Waters

13. Bauma Observatory

14. Hunter’s Clearing