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[Chiefwaffles]

You come from a... less-than-accepting city.
And until recently you lived there and had no aspirations of leaving; this changed when your father died. The two of you had a tenuous relationship and he got the last laugh. Asking questions about the strange item he gifted you made it only a matter of time before the Guard caught scent. While unable to find the gifted item, they found you. A lack of proof didn't stop them or your former friends from exiling you from the city. A "mercy", they called it.
It's been a few days since then and your supplies run low. But you spot through the heavy rain your destination: a small village. Far enough away to have no idea who you are or why you're there, but close enough for you to make it here alive.

A hovel on the verge of collapse lies on the outskirts of the village. With no signs of maintenance or any recent residents, it's clearly the best accommodation you'll get here. Inside the cramped space, assaulted by rain finding its way through the patchwork roof, you drop your pack onto the muddy floor.
You take out the thing that caused all of this. You want to be mad but instead you're just... curious. All your leads suggest that it could provide great power, at a cost. But what is it?
A.) An orb so black that looking at it feels like gazing into an unending void. Found scraps from a forgotten book suggest it to be capable of dominating and controlling others.
B.) A strange stone constantly crumbling to dust, yet always intact; it's warm to the touch. The apprentice of an eccentric mage believed it to hold immense and dangerous destructive forces.
C.) A glimmering purple shard of crystal -- if you hold it to your ear, you could swear you hear beating. A decrepit veteran of the lord's military swore to recognize it as an artifact capable of augmenting and empowering individuals to unheard-of heights.
But no matter what it is, you clearly won't be able to use it just on your own. You'll need others. Trusted allies, poor dupes, the skilled, the disposable -- as long as they can help, you're not sure you care. You suppose this could be the beginning of something greater.

[crazyabe]

A.

[VoidSlayer]

C Crystal powers!

[Glass]

I like C most.

[A_Curious_Cat]

B.  Specifically yellowcake.

[King Zultan]

C

[Mercur]

A

[chubby2man]

Will go with the Crystal shard.

[TricMagic]

Chief of Waffles has returned!

[BlackPaladin99]

c

[brewer bob]

C

[Chiefwaffles]

The dark of the night doesn't help with sight, but you turn the crystal over in your hands. It feels strange to touch, feeling as if it motionlessly crawls on your skin as you hold it. Pleasantly warm yet also freezing at the same time. Not something that feels great to hold, you conclude as you put it down.

Additional conclusions are made while you stand shivering in the cold. The man you had talked to before leaving implied the crystal directly "improves" people. He wasn't particularly enthused while saying this. Unless you're feeling extraordinarily lucky, testing it on yourself is most likely a path best left untouched. You'll need some other way of testing it.
Of course, to test it you need to figure out how to use it. Even if in a crude manner. You've heard of rituals employed to utilize magical items. Could that be the case for this one? Could be a good place to start. You'd have to make up one and provide reagents for the purpose of the ritual, but it's possible. Basic magic is famously an imprecise art defined by emotions and intent; you can only hope this applies to basic rituals as well.

The rest of the night was uneventful and afforded you a chance for sleep. Uncomfortable sleep, but enough to work with. The sun high in the now-cloudless sky presides over a bustling village. Farmers and craftsmen intermingle with one another in the heart of the settlement. Many congregate outside a building which you can only surmise to be what passes for an inn here. A solitary mill stands upon a small hill straddling the village. Thatched roof buildings in the rest of the place likely house shops and homes alike.

Learning how to take advantage of your artifact is critical, and this community will play an important role in this. Because you have nothing else left.

Spoiler: You (click to show/hide)

(For the time food and supplies are not an issue as you can just barely sustain yourself on the land and surrounding area. It's not fun, though.)
Residence
Abandoned Hovel
Possessions

• Strange Crystal - A small dark-green crystal said to be capable of enhancing and improving individuals. Uncomfortable to hold, and faint beating can be heard from within.

Knowledge

• Nothing; yet?

You have the whole day left. And the following night, if any of your activities may be... otherwise frowned upon. Time to roll up your metaphorical sleeves -- what now?

[King Zultan]

Why don't we search the abandoned building we're using as a house and see what if anything was left behind by the previous owners.

[chubby2man]

Hmm well we could go with the cover story of a travelling scholar, perhaps.

First Steps: We should mingle with the people, and lets start by looking for any outcasts or loners, they may be looking for a purpose that we can provide, by being our assistants and test subjects. Of course we promise vast benefits, and a place as our right hand. We may even be telling the truth.

-Ideas about crystal, maybe it amplifies or purifies traits already possessed by the user. Potentially like a crystal, refines a person into the best they can be at one thing at the cost of all else.

-Or perhaps its more like a channel, working to draw power from other things to improve the user. This might be easier to test, perhaps by sacrificing a bull or something and see if the beneficiary gets any stronger. 

[VoidSlayer]

Look for places that look spiritually important nearby in nature or a city to hold rituals.

Location location, location!