Meanwhile.. Rezivah joins Vesra and Veythe to make camp.

Rezivah continues moving forward. As she makes her way through the dense foliage, she asks Vesra. "Are you doing alright? You've seemed troubled for a little while."

"You don’t exactly know me, how are you sure that this isn’t just my normal?”

Hm. Fair enough, Kor. "What do you think of your current task, of the hedron?"

“The forest hates it.”

"Right. Do you share the same feelings as the forest?"

Vesra druidcrafts a few small vines that snake their way up her hand. “Ember especially hates it, and he is a part of me,” the flame on her shoulder nodded emphatically. “It makes me want to vomit, you?”

"I've never been so close to one. I've always stayed away from them. Now that I can touch this giant thing if I wished, I know why. There is something occult about them. I don't believe I've been introduced to Ember."

“He is... pleased to meet you,” the little flame does not look pleased to meet Rezivah.

Time quickly passes for the group as part of them sets up camp, the others look around at the surroundings, and the rest begin working on the hedron, trying to find a way in. As the afternoon passes, a dozen or so figures rise from the mist of the chasm, slowly gaining altitude. As they part from the mist, the group is able to get a better look at them. Large creatures with smooth skin, they appear to be giant manta rays, flying through the sky. Dozens of twisted fangs protrude from their frontal maws, with several loose appendages, like tentacles, streaming behind them. They continue to climb higher and higher into the sky until they pass over the edge of the cliff and begin making their way toward Guul Draz.

The evening comes and goes, with nightfall rapidly approaching. Setting up an order of watch, they take their turns, peering out into the darkness all around them. Strange noises, akin to wailing, echo from out of the chasm and across the nearby land. But other than that, the night is still and silent for the group. The suns rise in the morning from the south, awakening everyone for the second day of trying to crack open the hedron.

Kayn wakes late, having worked deep into the night. The going was slow, but he began to recognize a few patterns and reoccurring runes in the hedron. When he sees everyone up, he suggests, "We need to look around the area a bit today. See what else is around. I will stay and continue my research. This whole area needs to be explored, I think." 

He brushes some foliage off of his clothing. It looks as though he changed out of his tattered and burnt clothes sometime last night. The gnarlid yawns, its eyes bloodshot from staring at the hedron and its shifting runes for eight hours straight. Watching the runes as the goblin researched helped him recognize the patterns he saw. The gnarlid will need to do the same thing again today. "I can have Sear watch over me," he adds. In response, Sear lands on the goblin's headplate. If the day is calm, the goblin might even be able to get a sixteen hour research block finished before nightfall. 

Rezivah wakes from her slumber. Her throat ached, and a pit grew in her body. Ugh. Another day without feeding.. Thank the suns I still don't feel so terrible. It's a damn miracle. Rezivah rubs her face, her red decorative face paint crumbling off from the friction of her hands. Nothing eventful happened the previous day, asides from a somewhat pleasant conversation with Vesra. Veythe was there, too, but she seemed deeply fixated on something. Once camp was set, she simply played on her lyre.

Today, Rezivah felt she should try her hand at the hedron. As much as she preferred to stay away from these things, Vielara wanted whatever this stonework held. Vielara hadn't succeeded her own tasking, perhaps she can assist in this one. Kayn was already up and scouring away at the great artifact, his bonded gnarlid standing sentinel near him. "Morning, Kayn, do you mind if I study the hedron as well? It won't be for all day, mind you. What do you know of it as of yesterday?"

Kayn glances up from the tome that currently occupied his time. He sees the vampire, much paler with her eyes weary from hunger. "You will not be any help in that condition," he says. He gestures behind him and the gnarlid turns to face her. It walks over and rolls on its back exposing its neck. "Feed... then you can help. But not too much. I need the gnarlid to be awake longer yet."  He wasn't sure how vampires did the feeding. He just hoped they didn't kill everything they fed on. Anyway, he felt the gnarlid should have plenty of blood to share. 

Rezivah cracked a half-smile at the gobin's offer. What a curious little thing, he is. "Tragically, Kayn. To not lose your pet, I will have to be restrained, someone will have to cut the gnarlid, and let it bleed over my mouth. If I feed directly, only one of two things will happen: One- if I manage to stop feeding, he will become a null. Two- I kill it."

With that, Rezivah put her hand to the giant hedron. As Rezivah's touch lingers on it, a chill runs down her spine, causing her to shudder, accompanied by a disgusting feeling in her gut. She intuits to push mana into the stone and does so, pouring both black and white mana. The hedron seems to absorb the mana, though besides that, nothing else occurs. Rezivah's face furrowed in frustration. She's not sure why it so readily accepted her mana, even though nothing appeared to happen.

"Kayn, have you tried shunting your mana into the hedron? I did, and though nothing appeared to have happened, perhaps it's like a bottle that needs to be filled before it can be opened."

Rezivah wasn't certain about her idea. Perhaps the hedron has an insatiable hunger for mana. Nothing she's read which she can recall tells her outright. The nature of this hedron was easier to judge. It is certainly a vault hedron. Whether it's a vault of treasure, monsters, knowledge, or some combination of all three, was hard to tell.

It was still quite early in the day. Though Kayn had looked briefly into hedron/mana relationships, it had not been the focus of his study. The gnarlid saw everything the Vampire did at the hedron, and through its eyes Kayn saw a change in the hedron's pattern. "Interesting," he said. "I think you might be on to something there. I need to research some more to be sure." Kayn thought a moment about Rezivah's predicament. "I can set my traps and snares tonight," he says. "We may catch something with those..." 

He then begins flipping through a new book. The vampire might be on to something. 

Veythe frowned and looked between the twins, brow furrowed. Honestly she felt they should just talk but there was nothing more she could do aside from assist them both the best she was able. It was no good, for the group dynamic and because--Veythe shunted the thought immediately. Instead she laid a hand on Vesra's shoulder and gave the girl a smile, a slight squeeze meant to convey reassurance, and then followed after Vasha. There had to be some way she could be useful, right?

When Vasha went to fall into whatever meditative state that she could achieve Veythe pulled out her lyre. She strummed at the cords for a minute, and then picked upa soft sort of rhythmic beat meant to calm and assist in focusing. She looked to Rezivah and Kayn curiously as she did so.

"That sounds dangerous," Veythe pointed out cautiously.

Veythe stopped her music the minute Vasha tilted over completely unconscious. She drops to her knees immediately, sets the lyre down on the ground, and shakes at Vasha's shoulder.

"Vasha? Vasha?"

When Veythe get's no response she pinches at the Kor's cheek. Nothing. Veythe bites her lip and begins to lightly slap at Vasha's cheek. Come on you beautiful, frustrating impulsive woman. Wake up.

Kayn's gnarlid turns its attention from the hedron to Vasha as she slumps down to the ground. When Veythe rushes over, the gnarlid steps closer to the Kor as well. It sniffs her once and looks over at Veythe. "Will she be ok?" Kayn asks. He finally turns around to look as well.

There wasn't very much he could do to help her, but it didn't mean he wasn't concerned. Since the main camp was nearby, Kayn calls out, "Something happened to Vasha!"

He then stands and approaches the unconscious Kor. "Is she breathing?" He asks Veythe. 

Kayn's gnarlid rushes after the Kor. He'd have gone himself, but he couldn't leave all of his notes and books unattended. They'd all be scattered in the wind by the time he got back! He summons Sear to keep watch over him as he continues his studies. The gnarlid will have to be his eyes and ears for whatever it is Vasha felt she needed to run off for. 

Veythe stared as Vasha bolted, and then her brain kicked into gear. She dashed after the panicked kor, hand tight around the neck of her lyre as she raced. **** but were Kor fast.

"Vasha?" Veythe called. "Vasha, wait!" Veythe skidded to a halt at the camp and fumbled for her balance for a second. She missed the most of the shoveling of the earth into her face, but when she did catch the last bit Veythe paled. This is not a normal reaction, right? She looked to the Gnarlid. Would it know?

What was she thinking of course it wouldn't know!

When Vasha took off again, Veythe took off after her without a second thought. She needed to get the girl to calm down--this frantic racing was going to lead to trouble. It always led to trouble. It always--

"Oh shit," Veythe whispered. "Shit, shit, shit."

This was not good. Veythe swallowed, but before the woman could dash off again she reached out and grabbed Vasha by the arm. Perhaps not the wisest move, but it was all she could think about right now.

"Vasha, Vasha!" Veythe said quickly. "What--" Veythe swallowed. "What...happened?"

Gnarlid-Kayn bursts past Vasha and into the scorched area, sniffing wildly for a scent. It leads them toward the edge of the cliff. As it rounds the rock formation, they all see her: Vesra, horribly burned on all visible portions of skin with her hair completely missing, and totally unconscious. The gnarlid howls loudly.

Kayn stands from his research and turns in the direction of the howl. "Vessie... she's... she's..." He drops his book and begins running in that direction.