The Merchant was silent for a moment. His hands loosely grasped one another where they hung before his robe. "Eighteen. None yet." His rasping voice was distant, and he paid no mind to Vargas at his shoulder. Instead, he watched the testing in the distance.

Out on the sand, two of them were tangling with sand worms. The Merchant wondered at the dragon's choice to go by foot; could she not fly? Now she writhed, sandworm jaws tearing at sensitive wing membrane as the sandworm tried to pull Asimona beneath the sands. A few other sandworms had erupted at the Gembounds' passage, jaws snapping--but only one other had found its mark. The cobra Naja was twisting round and round one, but Naja's sandworm was doing its utmost to twist around and use its many-toothed maw and powerful mandibles to cut away the cobra's head.

The gargoyle-creature Imp was tangling with a vulture--Imp was large, but not as large, if perhaps heavier in body. The vulture had pulled back, and was raking talons over his body, aiming to find a major vein or artery to sever. The vulture that had pinned Vinnie, though, wasn't bothering with any tactics--it had already used a taloned foot to rip out one of the gull's eyes, and was now bent over, wings mantled as it drove a hooked beak for the gull's heart.

The Merchant watched the events unfold, intent; it was too early to say what would happen to those who had gone down.

_________

Imp, Vinnie, Asimona, and Naja are under attack. They may attempt once more to defend themselves. Those who stayed behind (Styx, Mayngo and Quartz Five-Two-Four) may roll to attempt to aid them (without consequence on a failure, though a critical failure will cause the would-be rescuer to be injured and fall somewhat behind).

If any of the four Gembound under attack fail to escape the attack, and are not successfully aided by another, they will perish.

@Asimona @Naja @Imp @Quartz Five-Two-Four

VINNIE THE VOICE

He'd twisted his head to try and see, and the next thing he knew, he could see nothing from that eye. The absolute agony the vulture had inflicted with one quick rip of its talons was unbearable, and the gull trembled and shrieked weakly for a moment. He thrashed, ineffectively, beneath the far larger creature's weight.

Vinnie felt a second pain--a driving pain, sharp and at his chest, and he realized that he'd been flipped over without realizing it. The vulture, that fuckin' bird, it's tryin' ta KILL ME! Though generally gentle-hearted, Vincenzo was a gull at heart--tough, above all; aggressive when he had to be, and wholly undaunted by the size of his opponent. With a defiant seagull cry he summoned up his magicka--and then attempted to imbue his pure volume with it, to simply shout the vulture away.

Get over here, you PRICK--let me burst your fucking eardrums--

Despite his ear-splitting cries, the vulture didn't back away; if anything it seemed determined to finish the job faster, and Vinnie's thrashing grew more desperate.

________________

Imp wasn't far off the thrashing seagull, but he had problems of his own, thank you very much. Hooked talons were ripping over and over across his scutes, trying to find an unarmored spot to rip apart. So far they'd just been scratches--minor lacerations--but he could smell beads of his own blood, and this pissed him off.

He turned, heavy jaws snapping for the vulture's neck, fire in his eyes as he drew upon his own magicka. It was already so damn hot here--it would be easy to call on what little fire magic he knew, to intensify that heat further and blast this damn bird off him.

Imp wasn't all that concerned that he might die; the bird was scary, sure, but he was confident in his ability to destroy a measly vulture.

Ever-grinning jaws locked on the vulture--and he could feel it immediately thrashing beneath him--he exhaled a boiling gout of burning air. The vulture shrieked, and thrashed so powerfully that he was forced to let go, or be dragged face-first through the sand.

Imp turned, then, sporting only minor cuts--he could see two others battling sandworms not far off, and he wanted no part of that. The vultures seemed to be giving him a wide berth, now, so he was quick to take flight. He'd circle back and try to help the others, but by the sounds of things, he was already too late.

A shriek.

The Fossa dug in his heels, whirling about. "Vinnie!" The gull was on the ground, thrashing beneath a massive vulture. Mayngo saw red, baring his teeth beneath the skull, and began to run, sprinting as fast as he could. Like a furious ram, he lowered his head, aiming to slam head-first into the vulture.

But a dune, not big at all, shifted just enough, threw him out of his stride, and he went careening passed the tangle of feathers.

Death be my dignityExecute hemlock philosophyPoison fills the cup of the carpenter

The snake hissed, hood flaring as they twisted along the sands in a tangle of scales. He struck, again and again, but his fangs were blocked each time by rough scale and strong plates, keeping him from doing any damage.

He had never found something as lithe as him, and this was a true challenge. The sandworm lunged, attempting to bite off his head--Naja snapped, trying to sink his fangs into the weak flesh inside of its mouth, but was brought up short as he ran out of length, too many of his coils wrapped around the sandworm.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

As Asimoma scrambled back to her feet, she felt a tearing pain race through her wings. Roaring, she tried to twist and face her attacker. The giant worm was ripping at her wing membrane with horrible lamprey teeth, red already staining the inside of its disgusting mouth.

Horrified, she tore her wings away and her magic wildly sparjed through the air. She tried to leap to to the sky, using the winds she magically called as leverage, but the tear was too great and all it did was throw her back to the ground. She had no time to,react before the sandworm pounced.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags:
notes:

A brown blur raced passed him, and the dog turned to look. There was a tangle of feathers on the ground, a bird about to be eaten by a vulture. The animal with the skull on their head was charging towards them, and so he followed to provide his assitance; there was a Dragon who needed help, anyways, if the skull-thing could handle it, and a snake as well.

And the skull-beast did not have it handled, barreling passed it. The dog snarled, baring his teeth, and lunged forward, attempting to slam his shoulder into the vulture. But it moved at just the last moment, and he went flying over it, slamming into the sand and rolling before coming up onto his paws.

Speech. Thought.

Ru's gaze switched between the few gembound that had been attacked. The winged crocodilian was safe, atleast. It had managed to get free. Good. That left the seagull, the snake, and the dragon. It's eyes trailed over the three of them, almost disinterested. The seagull was small, weak.

From the scent of Vinnie's blood it caught in the wind, it could tell that the seagull was bleeding profusely. Injured in a way that would not heal kindly. Two others tried to help it, but could not seem to reach well enough. He felt disappointed. The snake fighting the sandworm was small as well. It could recall some information about snakes. It remembered one biting someone it knew, though its memories were still foggy and out of reach. They had succumbed to the venom and died. This one could posess venom, so it was not weak but it was small.

In Ru's eyes, leaving the seagull to die was a sort of mercy. It would not last long as wounded as it was, not in Hydra. Their thoughts briefly glossed over the snake. It was not worth saving. An ally like that, holding venom within its grasp could easily turn on him. Kill him quickly. It was not even a thought within Ru's mind to help Naja. The dragon, however. That was one worth saving.

Something as large as it would easily protect Ru. A good ally, it noted. It took it only a moment to decide. Ru sprinted towards the dragon, concentrated its magicka, still slippery and difficult within its grasp, willing the atmosphere surrounding the sandworm attacking Asimona to intensify. The sandworm struggles, nearly unstoppable. But, to its relief, the sandworm's movements, slowly but surely, stilled. Atleast the parts of it above the sand. It worried-no it knew that it would not be able to hold the sandworm for long.

"Move! While it's frozen!" It orders, low as to not attract the attention of incoming sandworms.

Warning: Gore & death.

VINNIE THE VOICE

Vinnie did not stop fighting. He was bloodied, his feathers soaked in it, hot and tattered--one eye a ruined hole. But he was no longer in pain, no longer thinking "I shouldn't be here." No, he hadn't wanted to be here--and he'd only come to try and help Mayngo.

That one thought--and the sight of the brown pelt racing just past--and Vinnie finally let go his hold on the vulture. He took a gasping breath, the adrenaline covering what would otherwise be agony as his chest was torn apart.

"Mayngo--I fuckin' TOLD you so--RUN! Run, don't fuckin' look back, get-... get outta here!" The last was strangled, a half-broken wheeze as the vulture hooked its beak into something vital, and tore.

The Great Black-Backed Gull had the unpleasant experience of hearing his own flesh tear, and then he struck out, driving his beak with savage retribution for the vulture's own eye. "Fuck--YOU-... fuck--..."

He struck again and again, pecking and tearing, but in seconds he was weakening, and stilling, his consciousness slipping away, his blood soaking the sand below.

His feathers ruffled, but he did not otherwise move; and the vulture began to feast.

________________

Vinnie has died.

It was pain and torment. The sand worm tore at her wings and her skin, spreading blood across the sand and staining it red. Asimona stopped roaring after a moment, waiting for it to drag her down into the sand and finish the job. She tried to imagine her childrens' faces, but all she could see was the figures of the others getting smaller in the distance.

But then ir suddenly stopped and someone was speaking, commanding her to move. She didnt hesitate. She scrambled to her feet and limped after her savior, who she realized was on of champions that haf hatched on front of her. She didnt stop to look back, only concerned about moving forward. "Thanks," she gasped. "I owe you my life."