Relieved to have the elves behind them and having been given free passage to move through the life bloom, the group set out west under Vesra's guidance. By the time evening fell and Vesra began to look for a place to rest, the forest wouldn't let up and grant the group a safe place to rest [10 on Survival]. Roots continued to cover the ground, swallowing up sharp rocks beneath the thick underbrush that they waded through at knee's length. Continuing to push on, the group trekked into the night.

An hour or so after the suns had set, Vesra was at least able to find somewhere that offered some protection: a small cliff where the vegetation was a little clearer. There was little space, which would cause the group to squeeze together while they slept, and no place to light a fire comfortably. Vesra reasoned that the cliff would offer some protection, and without a fire, there was less of a chance of drawing wild animals or worse creatures to them.

Ato had remained quiet throughout the day, responding only when directly spoken to, and even then, as briefly as possible. His mind was a chaotic whirl and he was still trying to process what had happened to them in that hell pit.

The flight from the ruins had been a blur, he recalled dragging Vasha along with Veythe, fleeing an unseen but palpable danger, the screams of the nulls echoing in their ears. That had been bad enough, the sounds indicated there were far more of them than the party could handle, but once they'd cleared the ruin and scaled the walls...

Looking down at the sight of those abominations - it had shaken him to his very core. The vampire, Kayn, Veythe - all had spoken of some ancient evil trapped down there, but it was all talk. Stories and myth, meant to scare children into obedience, until it wasn't anymore, and they were staring, screaming, up at them out of that hole. He couldn't process what that meant. What if they broke free, overrunning Akoum? He shuddered as he imagined that.

They'd fled, met the elves and fulfilled their end of that bargain, gaining their freedom to traverse the life bloom without interference and kept moving, putting more distance between them and the sinkhole, thank the gods. Finally finding a spot to bed down, he curled up to try and find some peace in sleep, but it was long in coming as he stared off into the darkness,  seeing little but the same images of the horror at the bottom of that pit...

"I'm sorry, it's the best I could do," the druid said wearily, knowing their campsite was far from ideal. Vesra fed everyone with goodberries and magically produced water silently. "I'll be sleeping in that tree tonight," she announced. "Wake me when it's my turn for watch."

She climbed up into a solid tree and rested her head against the bark. The leaves seemed to curl around her in an embrace, although that was probably just her imagination. "At least I know you will always be there for me," Vesra murmured to the tree. "I wish I could be as strong as you. I tried this morning to be strong, and it hurt me. Worse still, I hurt my sister. I've never been so alone... But I have you, right? And I have you, Ember... Yes, you are my best friend... Of course!... Ember, you are a part of me... As long as you promise to do the same." The tiny fire elemental gave her a hug as they nestled in.

It was going to be a long night.

The group continued on after the meeting with the elves. Kayn hoped that they would be able to defeat those vampires. There would be casualties, but they were a strong and powerful folk so he decided to hold on to hope that they'd be victorious. The companions were all quiet during the last few hours of the trip, and when Vesra offered up more of her juicy berries, Kayn jumped at the chance to eat one and feed one to his gnarlid.

With both appetites sated, Kayn lit up the driftglobe on the lowest setting and pulled out the massive basilisk egg. He began licking it with his gnarlid to keep it moist and eventually curled up around it. It would take quite a bit of upkeep to keep the egg intact, but he planned on keeping this nightly ritual so as to keep the egg as healthy as possible. For now, the gnarlid would be the baby basilisk's wetnurse. 

Kayn then pulled his spellbook out and began his studies. There were a few spells he needed to perfect and scribe, and he still had a lot of work to do to get Sear's soul transferred to one of his spawn. He spent a couple hours doing this before finally dimming the driftglobe, summoning Sear for watch, and nodding off to sleep. 

Throughout the contact with the elves Veythe spent the meeting in silence. She kept as far away from the elves as she could. Normally she'd try and look intimidating by leaning against a tree or something else with her arms crossed at her front. The memory of Vesra being attacked by the tree from a day ago still stood fresh in her mind, so Veythe settled for her arms crossed and lips pressed thin as she kept her gaze almost exclusively focused on the elves in front of them.

With their dealings finished Veythe went back to carefully strumming out a series of notes on her lyre while the party traversed through the Life Bloom, and eventually to the camping spot Vesra thankfully put together for them. Veythe settled herself toward the back and continued to strum at her lyre experimentally, feeling the sounds and the music and the twist of something other in the air as she did so. She took a bite of the food Vesra offered with a nod of thanks before she went back to plucking at the strings, and eventually Veythe settled off to sleep.

The night passes on peacefully, save for some mild rumblings from the earth quaking. Light streams through the above foliage, waking the party up. As they arise, the eagerness and anticipation set in: they were going to reach the hedron today! Going through their individual morning routines, they break down camp and head out for the hedron.

As the minutes turn into the hours, they notice that the sounds of the life bloom: the constant buzzing, chirping of birds, and other more exotic calls, slowly begin to die out as they continue to push west. The bloom itself begins to thin, allowing the group to pick up their pace due to the underbrush gradually disappearing. By early afternoon, they break through the life bloom's forest to a vast and expansive sight.

Massive boulders, tethered by great vines to the ground below, float high in the sky, dangling over the precarious Cokatara Chasm. Off in the distance, the swampy expanse of Guul Draz lies in its festering filth. You can scarcely make out large, floating orbs hovering above the rotting ground below. Looking at your immediate vicinity, the hedron lies partially submerged into a large outcropping of rock which rests just above the great chasm as well. A deep ravine, perhaps one-hundred feet below, separates you from the hedron. Below you lies a rushing river, with boths ends swiftly carrying the water over the cliffs and down into the mist-filled chasm. You figure that there must be a waterfall nearby, feeding the chasm with its precious resource.

The site of the hedron was breathtaking. "We made it!" Kayn exclaims. "Remember, there may be others here already so we need to be cautious. Maybe they'll be friendly!" 

He smiles a Vasha and Vesra, "We need to find a good place to camp. Maybe a place near the hedron but out of sight. It might take days to pop this open!" 

Kayn continues forward on his gnarlid. He was excited to get started on researching this ancient contraption. Hedron vaults were known to carry loads of loot!

Veythe awakens as the morning dawns out to find something warm and cuddly curled up at her side. It takes her a moment of sleepy confusion to peer down for her to realize that at some point in the night Vasha had settled herself and curled up either next to, or on Veythe's own bedroll. The bard blinked, and then her lips curled in amusement and she poked Vasha in the forehead.

Good morning, beautiful, Veythe signed once she got Vasha's attention. Sleep well? She carefully pulled herself from beside Vasha and began to settle through her routine for the day.

--

As the hedron became more apparent in the distance, some of the excitement Veythe first felt back when she heard about Vielara's Expedition House began to settle back with her. She had a noticeable bounce to her step, and even if the comment about other parties there to seek the contents within was troubling, Veythe didn't even let it disturb her.

"We should definitely set up a base camp close to the hedron," Veythe agreed with Kayn. "Do you suggest we rotate the party between camp and the hedron in case of others seeking its contents? How difficult do you think it'd be to get inside?" Veythe practically skipped closer to Kayn, eyeing the vault with almost childlike glee.

In the middle of the night..

"Chiiild.. come to meee.. be one with meee..."  A voice spoke into her mind. No, not a voice, but nonetheless, it hung heavy on her brain. Over and over, it pulled at Rezivah in her sleep. An ancient calling, one that could not be resisted. The double doors. A staircase. Darkness. A hideous monument. The ancient. In her terror the faceless thing lurched forward and swallowed Rezivah, leaving her falling in emptiness.

"Hungerrr..."

Rezivah awoke, panicked, her breathing abrupt and labored. She looked around, frightened, hoping she wasn't in that place once again. Her palms stung deeply. Holes were pierced directly in the center of them. Blood had already begun to clot at the edges. Putting her knees together, laying on the ground, she held herself as she shook, not sure she wanted to fall asleep again.

The Next Day

The suns were bright as they struck through the canopy, signaling the group to begin their trek. Rezivah looked at her hands. The holes were gone. Was it.. all a dream?

The travel became easier and easier as the group got closer and closer to the edge of the Life Bloom. Eventually, it opened up to a great chasm. A river made its bed in the bottom of the trench. Guul Draz can be seen across it, reminding Rezivah that this was probably the closest she's been to home in a long time. The hedron the others spoke of can be seen in embedded in the face of a rock formation. What sort of things did this artifice hold that Vielara wanted? What does Vielara truly want? So much confused Rezivah lately. She decided it was best to take things one at a time until she sees Vielara again. She needed to speak to her.

Some of the group seemed highly enthusiastic about the find. She smiled at Veythe's lightheartedness. Maybe they could change the pace of current events. Rezivah hoped these competitors Kayn had mentioned weren't so friendly, however. It had been awhile since she'd partaken of.. intelligent vein. "The more hidden the better."

Ato awoke early, his head clearer, but not particularly refreshed. The night had been one filled with fitful sleep and strange and disturbing dreams. Images of the horde of null abominations had been prominent, of course, but that hadn't been all - there had been other things mixed in. Visions? Premonitions? He wasn't sure. The sense that there was a power within him that was slowly blossoming, and more potential as yet undiscovered and untapped. Had the exposure to that horrific evil allowed him to tap into something deep within himself?  As the day progressed and the group worked their way through and out of the life bloom, he pondered this new feeling he had and came to sense a deeper connection to the mana surrounding him, a deeper well to draw from in some new way.  The feeling grew throughout the day, perhaps masked by the verdant power of the bloom, but when they emerged to the sight of the massive hedron and the river flowing past, it seemed to clarify for him.

"Amazing." The sight of the hedron was something he'd never even imagined - a piece of a long-forgotten age. "A hidden and defensible camp seems wise. Who knows how long we'll be here. And then we have to figure out how to even get over to it." Scanning the skies, studied the floating boulders and their network of vines tying them to the surface.  Perhaps they could make there way from one to the next = up from this side of the chasm, across and back down to the island where the hedron lay partially buried? Fording the river, with the currents as they appeared even from up at this height, didn't seem particularly feasible.

Their new traveling companion woke Vesra for her watch. She tried to just sit and watch for a while, but the inferno of emotions burning within her was too strong to ignore. The druid and her elemental companion walked deeper into the woods, finding a small clearing.

They left behind a circle of charred earth. Vesra has tried to coax a few blades of grass and wildflowers to grow and replace what she had destroyed, but nothing would come. The outburst hadn’t helped her as much as she had hoped, so Vesra returned to her watch utterly heartbroken. Right before she went back to sleep, she placed a single wildflower next to Vasha’s sleeping form. The sight of her cuddling the bard made Vesra realize that perhaps her twin didn’t need her as much anymore.

The next day passed in robotic silence for the older Kor twin. The trees didn’t seem to sing like they used to. It wasn’t their fault, Vesra reasoned, she just guessed that she wasn’t in the place to properly listen. But it made her feel alone, even more so than she already felt.

Vesra wished she could appreciate the beauty of the hedron more. “Kayn, can you feather fall us down there?” She asked. “I see a stand of trees that would probably make a good camp, but I’d have to get down there to properly investigate.”

Ato examines this new find with curiosity as well as some small measure of trepidation, having never seen such a contraption before. "And you trust this to get you across without collapsing and sending you plunging to your death?" He shakes his head in wonder, but doesn't object if Vasha is determined to try it. They need to get across the river somehow, after all, and it seemed likely that he was the only one who would fare well in that current - and even that was questionable.

"How are we going to cross the river once we get down, Vessie?" Kayn asks. They all skirt around the cliff looking for the best way to approach going down. He could cast feather fall on them, but it drains a lot of his mana reserves when he does. And... the last time he cast the spell it was all for naught anyway. There might be an easier way down.

When Vasha pops up with her flying contraption, his eyes go wide. "Oh, oh, oh, can I try!?" He had no idea how to operate one of those things, but it looked fun!

"I-I could go across," Vesra stepped forward. They were the first words she had said to her sister since the incident. "I know a spell that would make it safer for me to be able to do it."

Kayn steps forward, "I can do it!  If I fall I can just float down." The grin across his face shows that he's more than willing to risk it just to try the kite out. 

"And look, my arms are long enough, I can do it!" He's hopping now in anticipation, his eyes following the flying contraption as Vasha moves it. He stretches his arms out to his sides to prove his point. 

The group members pitched in ideas on how to cross the chasm, and when Vasha and Veythe returned from scouting the area, bringing back a glider, the options grew. Establishing a zip-line could be safe. However, a new dilemma arose, evidently. Who was to glide over the gorge? The goblin was ecstatic ever since he laid his beady little eyes on it. The soft Kor had spoken up for what it seemed to be the first time today. To this, the bull Kor laid the contraption down and walked away, wanting no part of it, apparently. Rezivah wanted to speak to her again. She didn't know why, but she felt some curiosity to her. It probably wasn't the best idea, now, due to last night.

"I don't really think it should matter who uses it, but if it's held to a vote. I feel Vesra should do it."