Unknown.

Since it's an unknown place they have to visit, and they have no idea what to expect, they decide that the best course of action will be to fly there on dragon. They don't know how far north-east from Zae the location Aventurine meant is, nor they know if it would even be safe to ask the locals about it, before knowing what it is. Plus, it will be surely easier to spot from above, even if it will take a little longer than going with portals.

Zae is among the hills and it's probably the biggest city in Lianxi, as it was the biggest feud before the unification. It's pretty far from Guyun, so it takes a few hours of flight, to finally spot the city.
Once reached it, they proceed in the direction indicated by Aventurine and keep flying for at least another hour, until they spot something like a "belt" of vegetation that surrounds a small valley, looking quite secluded thanks to the plants surrounding it all around.
At that sight, they start to soar down, to give a closer look to the ground, and a grim sight unfolds before their eyes: many skeletons. And nothing else. No villages nearby, no other settlement or ruins, just skeletons dumped all together and covering the ground.

They land nearby, moving cautiously as they approach the site. It's unlikely, but they can't fully exclude they could be undead, until they get close.
On top of the small hill, at the end of which is the open sky "graveyard", lies a single makeshift tomb, consisting of just a wooden stick with a shells necklace wrapped to it.b