Warrior studied the key for the brief moment it was visible. "That looks like the Crucible. That's this way," he offered. He shook himself, puzzled, and turned to show the others. Though some of them--Desert Rose, in particular--already seemed familiar with the cave.

Warrior's trot, floating as it was, still struggled in the deep snow. Steam came off his shaggy hide in plumes, and large eyes blinked away the onslaught of driving flakes.

"Follow me," he called back; "and try to keep close!" He cast out his magic, seeking guidance--if they just kept the Sand Worms to the left, he knew, they'd be okay. And then he glanced behind him, to make sure the rest were keeping up.

Who's that falling behind..? The horse faltered, squinting back against the blizzard, quickly losing sight of shapes in the storm. But-... He could see them, if barely, with his magic. And he could see-... something else, something massive, coming up behind them all. "We're losing people!" he cried out, in warning. And then, to those who had fallen behind, he called out--"IT'S THIS WAY!"

But his words were lost to the storm.

Warrior will be staying with the group.

Kalama felt satisfaction seeing the eyehook vulture go down. She'd done that--it was her first victory! She'd killed it on her own, though maybe that horse with the spikes helped. But mainly her! "I killed it! I killed the vulture!" She screamed, to all that would hear her. The worm following from behind had quickly left her memory. She bent down and took its talon into her mouth, tearing back and forth until it ripped off. The first of many trophies she'd earn from this trial. Pride swelled in her chest. And then, the nigh non existent taste of the talon morphed into something absolutely vile. Like bitter, rotting mush. She spat, and some fowl black sludge came out. She made a noise of disgust, hacking until she couldn't taste it. A quick glance at the carcass confirmed that the rest of the vulture was the same sludge.

Well, at least there was that shiny bit in the middle of the goo. She could take that back to the Bonebound. It wasn't a bone, but a shiny bit from Hydra was way cooler. She'd be the most respected Gembound in the whole crew. She trudged through the snow towards the hissing sludge, and then a grey blur picked up her trophy, speeding away with it. "Hey!" She squawked. "I earned that!" It was Kalama's trophy--it was made for her! Kalama sprinted after the fox. She plowed through the snow. She was sinking in the snow, nearly up to her wings in it. She keep going using her sheer momentum and willpower to keep from getting stuck. The snow and chill of Hydra stuck to her feathers as she brute forced her way through. But Kalama was determined. She would get her trophy back, and she would return a hero to the Bonebound.

think "speak"

[Kalama is staying with the group]

Gatto certainly had no way of knowing that there was a key; they could hear the squabbling, but they really only kept their ear out for Desert's call: "I'm fine!" Feathers fluffing up against the cold, they nodded and pressed on ahead, trusting their instinct and memory in the blinding blizzard. They had traveled to the Crucible so many times in the past, what was one more time?

Like a bird flying home to roost, (haha, maybe they were?) the cockatrice flew through the storm on track to reach the Crucible. There was no slowing down now, after all, they had a race to win, and they didn't plan on losing. Considering last time they had basically landed in last, now was the time to show just what they were capable.

And maybe it was just the brisk, icy wind waking them up, but they felt so much more alive than they had in Cycles. What, like the Winter Trial was supposed to be hard, or something?


Agate will be moving ahead!

Wynter was glad for the company, and also glad that the storm was taking up most of everyone's attention. As long as he stuck with the pack, he could get through this.. And help everyone else survive. Already, his nose was starting to sting with the biting cold, and he knew that others weren't as lucky to have a woolly vest on.

Warrior, the Hydra expert, called out saying that they were losing people, and Wynter's ears pricked with worry. He swung his head this way and that, trying to see who was lagging behind... He was completely unaware that he was one of those who was falling behind.

"Hey! We're over here!" Wynter called out, "Everyone, try to stick together-- is anyone having trouble getting through the snow? Hello?" The wind was roaring in his ears, and when he looked ahead, he realized with a jolt that he couldn't spot much of anything through the sheets of white.

WYNTER HASIRA
Like walking in the rain and the snow
When there's nowhere to go
And you're feelin' like a part of you is dying

Right. No way in hell or Hydra was Fisher going to get his eyes snatched away by some lunatic divebombing bird in the snow. Fur bristling, he trudged through the snow, gem sparking with energy. He needed to keep focused on the group as a whole, but he also didn't want to lose contact with the massive thing under foot or the risk of eyehooks attacking from above.

One of the gembounds-- the white one, that was definitely hard to spot in the snow flurries-- was calling out for directions and conveniently carving a path, so Fisher tagged along behind her, ears pricking as he tried to keep tabs on the whole group. The horse that supposedly lived here knew which way to go, so every once and while Fisher would bark, "Little to the left-- hey, barkfriend, on your right-- OI, can we hurry up!" This all was definitely helpful to the group as a whole, and certainly not confusing.

It wasn't Fisher's fault he didn't know everyone's names. Not everyone had bothered introducing themselves. He was doing his best! ... And even then, some of them were starting to lag behind, and he wasn't sure it was a good idea to stop and wait for them to catch up. He... Uh... He wasn't sure he was ready to risk his tail like that, not when safety seemed miles away still.

fisher is staying with the group!

Lyra watched the vulture go down, but otherwise...she wasn't concerned. No, instead she held on tight to the bison, watching their back, but still keeping her eyes on the group. The wind was whipping, the snow getting in her eyes and she found herself losing track of where they were. She whimpered and held tighter. She just had to trust Virgil to get them through.

Palefur started forward, intending on inspecting the fallen body of the vulture when one of the others picked up what was left behind. Her eyes narrowed, a little infuriated, but she didn't care. Whatever. If it died, she'd just take it from them. Watch them carefully. Or maybe just let them be the one to carry it wherever they needed to take it.

For now, though, the Desert Rose was getting ahead. She felt a flash of competition - she wasn't going to settle for less then him, so she pushed onwawrds, intending on staying ahead of the rest. Perhaps it didn't make as much sense for survival but perhaps she was just growing arrogant.

Palefur is moving ahead.

Shida also peered down at the thing left behind by the vulture, but she got about as much time to look at it as Ivory. Her eyes followed the kid that grabbed it, letting out a grumble. "Hey, at least lemme look at it first." But, whatever. That wasn't as important right now.

She kept herself close to her sister, trailing along just behind her, but her white body was hard to see in the blizzard. She squinted and put all of her focus into following her. "Jeez, does it gotta be so hard to see?!"

Oleander

Melt all your art and drink the paint

Oleander panicked a little at the mention of the Crucible. "W-we're going to the Crucible? All the way over there, in this snow? She moaned. Why on earth had she stepped into Hydra!? And after she'd thought she was finally free from it! "Well, at least we're not going to the swamp. Don't think that'd be fun in snow."

Not that the Crucible would be much better.

She trailed after Warrior, shivering in the cold, glancing back at the ones getting lost, nervous that she'd meet that same fate too. No, no, just stick with Warrior. That's right, he knew where they were going. He'd know what to do.

Oleander is staying with the group.

As Desert Rose, Agate, and Palefur vanished ahead into the white, most of the rest of the group trailed along. Some followed others, others forged their own paths, but for the most part, the Gembound could spot one another through the sifting flakes.

Behind, however, Virgil and her two passengers--Imp and Lyra--had fallen behind. They were, though they did not know it, arching out over the Dunes southwest, while the rest were moving vaguely northwest toward the Crucible. They were not, however, so far apart that a cry would not be heard... or so far that the rumble behind would not be noticed. And Wynter--on his own--might perhaps find the group in time, if he were lucky.

But the ground beneath his hooves, too, rumbled.

With an explosion of sound and crushing snow, a leviathan erupted from beneath the stragglers. It was large enough to swallow the entire group in a single bite, and its jaws gaped as it swept up from behind, and beneath, Virgil and her pair. And then, it would leap for Wynter. There was no time to look back, to see what was coming--only the surge of pale, ice-toned muscle and flesh, the glint of bone-horns past the sheets of snow.

Should they fail to avoid it--or should the others fail to somehow save them from its jaws--they would be consumed and swallowed whole, torn to shreds by the rows of ravenous teeth that awaited them.



The Ice Worm has awakened. At two hundred feet long, and massively muscled, it is nearly impossible to fight or kill. Instead, it is pursuing the Gembound. Those who have already succeeded this round do not need to roll, and placements may not be further changed this round. However, Virgil, Imp, Lyra, and Wynter must roll to save themselves, or be consumed.

Others in the nearby group (everyone except for Desert Rose, Agate, and Palefur) may also roll to attempt to save them, without consequences on a failure. However, a critical failure will result in a severe injury, and a loss of placement. Anyone attempting to physically attack the worm may die regardless of roll.

The Ice Worm may attempt to devour those in the last placement at any time.

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five (Null) @Imp (Ivory, Warrior) @Agate Two-Three-Six (Wynter, Fisher) @Virgil (Vinea, Hargrave) @Shida (Palefur, Lyra, Oleander) @Kalama