[Ursa Assault] Cry Havoc... - Printable Version

Despite the distinct feeling of exposure--of being out in the open, with no cover at all--the group pressed on. Despite the evidence that Mother knew they were coming, they pressed on.

Nemo's blast of air swept several Mountain Sparrows, tumbling, into the group's path. The rest could deal with these as they so chose--if they had the time...

Those watching closely from the air--Draconua, Nidhogg and Zhusha--would see it first: a massive plume of snow, like a geyser, in the distance. It seemed to plow along the ground, arrowing toward the group, then vanish some fifty yards away; what could cause such a thing?

Those watching magically from the ground--Tahi-shei with his Grey Sense, Pride with Gem Sense--would note something deep below the ground streaking toward them at high speed. Pride would sense only a living gemstone; Tahi-shei would sense something enormous, something clotted and webbed with fungus. Twisted would feel it: a faint vibration, growing rapidly stronger, beneath her cat's paws.

There were only seconds to react: the creature, whatever it was, crossed the distance in a flash. It aimed for the largest vibration sense in the ground: Wyvern, trudging through the snow.

The ground erupted beneath the parrot-dragon, the earth shattering and snow pluming up in blinding clouds. Mandibles clamped into her body, and only briefly visible was the deadly beak and steely skin. Then it was sinking back away, dragging its hapless prey straight back down with it.

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Wyvern is the target of the attacking Ice Worm, and is severely wounded in the initial attack; however, given her large size, she may roll to free herself and escape its grasp. Should she fail, she will be dragged back into the hole the Ice Worm has formed, gripped in its beak and mandibles.

The following Gembound have rolled successful Perception and may notice the Ice Worm incoming with seconds to spare. They are out of danger, and can move away from the incoming attack and make any attack they choose on the Ice Worm as it erupts: Tahi-shei, Twisted, Pride, Draconua, Nidhogg, and Zhusha. Marshmallow may also take any action, being safe on Tahi-shei's back.

All others present must roll to avoid being tumbled down the Ice Worm's hole as it drops back beneath the ground, except Nemo, who is safe by virtue of being in the air, and may take any action chosen.

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Given the results of the post timing Poll here, the next GM post to this thread will be posted in four days (March 4th).

Tahi-shei was well aware that they were out in the open. As far as he was concerned, this was their only real option. Danger was just part of the equation.

He had not been expecting a giant worm to come at them from the bottom. He sensed it, first -- something big and filled with fungus. "BELOW--!" Tahi-shei shouted, already scrambling away from its path. "SCATTER!" he roared, just a beat too late for anyone to properly react. Split-second calculations filled his mind -- will this work? will I hear her? can I maintain it? would something else be better? before he reacted.

And yet, no spores came to meet him. He let out a cry of frustration, his head whipping around wildly -- he was blind. He couldn't see, he didn't know if anyone was okay, if Madhukar was okay, if--

FOCUS, snapped a voice in his mind, and he let a shiver run through him. "COUNT OFF!" he demanded, a tinge of desperation in his voice. "WHAT HAPPENED?" In all honestly, Tahi-shei... barely knew. He was panicking, just barely, and couldn't help himself from calling out, "MADHUKAR?"

He couldn't lose her. He couldn't. Suddenly, he was struck by how foolish he'd been to bring her here -- risking his own life was one thing, but risking hers, well, that was another. He needed her, in combat and in his own life -- destroying this infection meant the world to him, but what was the world without the ones he loved in it? His first friend, the parent of one of his children? What about my children?

He breathed out sharply through his nose. "Marshmallow -- help me, what happened?"

The wind and the snow obscured Sora's echolocation enough that it was useless here -- as much as anyone else's hearing, certainly, but being partially deaf certainly didn't help. Her ears strained towards Tahi-shei's panicked calls, her head snapping up towards him -- right as the snow was pulled out from under her hooves. It was the quicksand all over again, wasn't it--? Instinct came to her, blood rushing in her ears -- she could hear her own heartbeat, now. Pounding in her skull.

Her hooves scraped at the snow as she fought with everything in her, trying to heave herself back up onto solid ground. Desperation tinged her scent as she felt herself losing traction and beginning to fall. Was this how her brothers felt when they looked Death in the face? Frigid and terrified? She supposed it suited her, dying in a frozen wasteland -- so much like that other Trial, especially knowing now that the creature might be hunting them anyway, that the Merchant might unleash it, that-- that--

That Annie might grow up without both of us? That Orenstein will be forgotten and alone, stone rotting in your den? Stupid. You had a choice, Sora. You made your choice.

He spotted it from the air: a plume of snow driving toward the group, bigger than anything he had ever seen. No enemies were visible from behind its cover, but it must have been an entire army to create such a—

It disappeared beneath the snow. Equal parts dread and contempt boiled up Zhusha's throat. Some sort of stealth maneuver—? Was the enemy a coward too? But then the deer was calling out a warning, and the snow beneath the group moved. He barely had a second to honk out an alarm cry before the bird-dragon was caught in its jaws.

The glimpse he had gotten of the beast told him that it was massive, perhaps ten times his length if its proportions were that of a typical worm. Real fear spiked through his blood, but Wyvern's cry of pain cut through all else. She might die, Zhusha realized with horror, and though they were all total strangers to him, his decision was already made.

With another piercing honk, he dove at the ice worm's receding form. It was a struggle to keep on course once he left the lammergeier's jetstream, and he had to fight just to avoid being tossed off target by the wind. So focused was Zhusha on his self-appointed task that he barely noticed Esther taking to the sky, or Tahi-shei's command to scatter—though if he had, rash and fresh to the world of battle as he was, he might have called the maned wolf a coward.

But there was no time for that now. No time for anything but Wyvern and the worm. Zhusha reached it just as it began to sink away, knife-like beak first. If he could drive it into a gap in its carapace, or even just be enough of a nuisance that it was distracted from its target—hopefully that would be enough to give the bird-dragon an opportunity to make her escape.

It all happened so fast.

Squinting through the blinding snow, she saw something. A cloud? No, it was a plume of snow, shooting out of the field. What the... A few others saw it too, and grew restless, but it was only when the ground started shaking beneath her paws she realized she had to run.

The earth erupted into a blindingly fast explosion of snow, but Twisted was faster. The siamese bolted away, yowling, wheeling back around to watch the titanic worm strike at a gembound. "Fucker!" she caterwauled. What the hell was that thing?!

"MADHUKAR?" Oh, "Shit..."

What happened next Twisted will always, from then till forever, insist was a dumb reflex. Maybe it was, or maybe it was guilt, a change of heart, or simply wanting to prolong the health of her childhood rival so she could torment her more-- frankly she wasn't sure herself. Whatever the case, the feline suddenly reared back into the fray on a split second notice, claws out, hoping to grab onto something and drag her back to safety.

He saw the distant churn of snow, and all his eyes widened. "THERE'S A THING-" he shrieked to Draconua, over the roar of the storm, squirming as if to get free. Not that he wanted to be freed, at this height.

But the enormous Valkhound was already veering off, and Nidhogg fell still, watching rapt as she did so. When the plume of snow vanished, he hissed; when it erupted beneath them once again his head swung down to face it.

Then--abruptly--Draconua dove.

Nidhogg squealed, the feeling of his stomach dropping an unfamiliar, unpleasant, and distinctly unwelcome one--and then she'd let him go. He had a split second to flail midair, for his magic to lash out. A faint coil of air rose up beneath him--right as he plunged through it, hitting the snow heavily with a splat--and then formed a neat dust devil overhead, swirling and ready to catch him.

After he'd already fallen through.

It twirled there, looking pretty, as he groaned from where he'd punched several feet into a snowbank. Everything hurt... but he wasn't returning to his chrysalis, at least.