Aurelie had returned to the base, the two assassins in tow. Mora stored her recent prizes in her room and disappeared just as quickly as she'd returned. The summoner was glad to do some research for her friend and clan leader and soon lost herself in her search. Cecelia entertained herself outside with some target practice.
Several hours later she was sure she'd found the answer. Some species of bugs, especially ants and beetles, produce acids for defensive, offensive and other purposes. One species in particular, the red striped ant lion native to Roda Volcano, stores especially strong acids in its abdomen for dissolving rock. And crystal, magickal or no, is just a different type of mineral and thus should be dissolvable by the juices it secretes.
She and Cecelia had another mission to attend to so they did not join Jeris in her search for one, but she had expected as much. It was a simple enough matter to track one's habitat down, but since it is a being that lives mostly underground it would be a tedious task to find the actual insect. Erté accompanied her as usual and the two left astride their two twintania mounts. Kaikura had been grumpy towards the bangaa recently so Jeris rode it to the site.
It took some time to get there since because it was in the Roda Volcano there could be latent Myst deposit deep below its faults and Jeris was taking no chances. It was a harsh enough environment to be in without added surprises. The twintania, though evolved to be more suited to cold environs, were still beetles and not bothered too much by the heat. They soared around the landscape for a while searching for clues, but to no avail. So they set down on a plateau that appeared to have loosened soil and searched on foot.
Jeris and Erté quickly grew fatigued walking around in the heat so took to riding the twintania as they searched themselves. The insects were especially sensitive to vibrations and seemed to sense something, so they just let them wander. Something was nagging at the back of Jeris' mind though, something like caution about their quarry that she had failed to take into consideration. It didn't bother her enough to really care since she was so confident in her abilities, but there's a reason that arrogance has a price... Still, she also prided herself in her ability to know this sort of thing, how to bring down any mob, the elemental weaknesses of any prey, and most importantly how to approach them without being killed in the process.
THAT. That was it. The approach to the kill. That was what she had not bothered to consider before setting out, before landing and taking to foot in possibly dangerous and most certainly unfamiliar territory. It was as she was realizing this that she also became aware that the twin's had stopped. They stood with their feathers raised to sense the air, heads lifted higher than normal in case of attack... Something was near. How do you approach an antlion? Ant lion, ant lion... Wait, ant lion? You don't! Most assuredly not on foot! That's how the damn things hunt, they attack from below or catch you in a sink hole.
"Take off! Get off the ground! NOW!" Too late had she realized the dilemma. A gigantic segmented head burst from the ground and clacked its jaws insidiously. Kaikura leapt into the air not a moment too soon, but Vahe recoiled and hesitated before spreading its wings and crouching to leap. The ant lion took advantage of this and snapped forward, crushing the twintania's legs in its mandibles. What a fool she had been to come so unprepared! Twas the folly of all adventurers who became too arrogant in their skills and thus their downfall. But there was no time for cursing her idiocy, they were under attack!