Round Three
Against all odds--they had survived. The hum of the discs drove the Sandworms first into a frenzy--they lashed, they bit, some swallowed, even, the vibrating stones. -And moments later emerged again, thrashing to eject them back across the sands. At last they fled--diving down, far beneath the sands, sinking back into their deep hibernation. There were gaps--spaces the worms would find, or the shifting sands would eventually create--in that coverage. But by and large, the worms were driven deep.
Next: the Crucible. It was an hour or more of trudging trek through brutal heat and undying 'sun' before at last the yawning mouth of the ravines welcomed them. The Masked Merchant's pit-void gaze swept slowly, as though he could see the distant Gembound as they vanished into those canyons. It would be, he knew, a relief, at first: shade at last, the distant trickling of the creeks and river that wound down through here. But those shadowed corners hid deadly hunters: the blue-haired Spire Spiders whose hypnotic dance would entrance their prey for a deadly bite, or the Sand Scorpions that could thrust both tails from a hidden crevice and snag someone with their sting. Or more dangerous yet: the impersonal and treacherous climb to the plateau where the Eyehooks nested, where the Gembound were to ascend and plant their seeds. These paths were unmarked, and narrow, and often gave way underfoot, so that at least one deadly tumble was not only possible but likely.
Ahh--and here came Vargas, dutifully setting out across the sands, but there were yet no real stragglers to finish off. Instead, a cutting gaze would watch--warily--as Ruby-Beta fell behind with the rest. Would that it did not do so further. Killing one of his spawn-... well. It would be unpleasant. But his was a quick mercy that would be granted to those that fell too far behind: those that would not survive.
• Gembounds must roll to safely traverse the Crucible, making it safely to the edges of the plateau above. Any form of roll may be used so long as it makes sense (magic sense to avoid danger, other or physical to avoid or dodge attack, etc.).
• Upon a successful roll (Barely +), please specify in bold text underneath your post/posting table, whether your character chooses to move ahead of those who fail, or remains behind with the pack, or even deliberately falls back one place with the stragglers.
• Failing this roll may result in attack by Spire Spiders, Sand Scorpions or a bad fall off the high, narrow trails.
Placement:
First: Corsair, Hymn, Duck Duck, Fleas, Anselm, Aran, Spinnaker, Huntsman
Second: Warrior, Kaizer, Fiver, K'cil, Conleth, Ketur, Jim, Zhusha, Morpho, Ivory, Reverend, Star, Wisperia, Galleon, One, Glory
Third: Whistle, Captain, Ruby-Beta
The next post will take place on September 1st.
@Wisperia (Hymn, Star)
@Galleon (Fleas, Anselm)
@Ruby-Beta (Glory)
@Whistle (K'cil, Duck Duck)
@Ketur (Morpho, Aran)
@Zhusha (Captain, Jim)
@Conleth (Huntsman, One)
@Reverend (Spinnaker, Kaizer)
@Warrior (Corsair, Ivory)
@Fiver