Palefur did not even glance behind her - what concern could she have for those that were straggling behind? All that mattered was that she survived. That's what these Trials were about. She'd figured out quickly that staying with them would only mean getting held back, back with that horrible worm thing that they were now all dealing with. Foolish. Even Desert-Rose was stopping, probably to regain his strength.

To be honest, she wasn't exactly feeling in top shape - her fur certainly helped against the cold, but it wasn't a perfect solution. It was starting to penetrate her skin and her legs were tired and sore from so much treading through snow. But still, she continued on, head held eye, eyes narrowed slightly in concentration as she focused on herself.

Palefur is still going on ahead towards the crucible

Lyra squeezed her eyes shut, as if this was all a nightmare. It was so cold, the ice worm was still behind...she could hear shrieking in the distance as others tried to call to each other, to warn each other of danger, and still the blizzard raged around her.

It took a moment for her to remember, though, that she still had a job to do. She was still here to help Virgil keep a lookout. So she forced her eyes to open and held on tight to Virgil's course hair and continued watching for dangers, for anyone else that needed help. Hopefully...they would all make it.

Staying with Virgil

Oleander

Melt all your art and drink the paint

Oleander heard him through the snow and followed his voice, panting, eyes popping with terror. Oh caves why did she do this? Why did she come back?! This was why she'd left in the first place - she'd only wanted to escape, to live a worthy life, and she'd already put herself in more danger then she'd ever wanted in a lifetime.

She saw him, through the snow, and her heart latched onto his dark hide against the blinding white. "Warrior! Thank you...thank you, I'm here! Thank you..." It came spilling out of her mouth, blabbing through her fear, and she looked behind her, snorting as the ice worm continued to approach. At Warrior's call, she turned and continued on, glancing behind every so often, hoping that he'd make it to safety as well.

Oleander is staying with the group towards the crucible

And here they came, a snarl of bodies half-tangled in the snowy dark: Palefur first, her cream form a mere flash as she passed into the sudden stillness, the powder-soft quiet, of the Crucible. It was darker, here; strangely silent, the small cat's each step a gentle crunch of snow. Every sound was muffled. The air tasted of metal: that tang of bitter cold.

Behind her came Desert Rose: neither pushing ahead, nor falling behind. And behind him-... Empty space. Dim light, and howling snow. Where was Agate-? Lost, it seemed, stumbled off the path and vanished into the consuming white.

Far behind, the bristling, stiff white hide of the Ice Worm glided smoothly, like a shark in water, past Kalama and Imp--vanishing into the ground below. It left nothing but eerie silence and falling snow in its wake. It was Vinea who it came for next: implacable white death, surging up with unsettling elegance with open maw of razor teeth, to grip the lone Gembound and swallow it away. But even if it succeeded, one small Gembound would not be enough. Indeed, nothing would, for the Ice Worm had been created to consume, a destroyer of worlds, a reset button for a hell all its own, and it would not stop here.

It came next for the rest who had gone astray: for Ivory, for Wynter; Fisher, and for Shida. And this time there was no mercy to be found. To turn back, to try and save these Gembound from the rising maw that eclipsed the very earth beneath it, was to face death oneself. Indeed its first breach of the snow caught Null: flinging him into the air hard enough to break bones.

It seemed that the winter, or its harbinger, might be the death of them after all.

_________

Palefur and Desert Rose, though now separated, have both safely reached the Crucible. It is eerily dim and quiet. They do not need to roll.

Agate has become lost in the blizzard, and must roll to find their way to the Crucible, or they will succumb to the cold, and die.

Vinea is being directly targetted by the Ice Worm, and must roll to escape it; if successful, he may rejoin the main group. If he fails, he will be consumed.

Null will have at least one limb's bones shattered by the Ice Worm's abrupt ascent. He and Ivory, Wynter, Fisher and Shida must all roll to save themselves. Failure will result in their deaths. Virgil, Hargrave, Warrior, Lyra and Oleander may choose to flee for safety, or risk their own safety and stay behind to attempt to aid them, but a failure will result in their own, critical injury, which may in the long term cause death. Any would-be rescue attempt or escape attempt which rolls a critical fail will be consumed. The exception is Warrior, who, on a critical fail, will suffer a critical injury.

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

She was still trundling on, heavily, her sides heaving and steam billowing forth from her nostrils, when the ground again rumbled underfoot. She wasn't certain, this time, whether it was the strange horse's magic, or whether the creature from below had come back for them.

By the time she scrambled to one side, by the time she realized which it was, it was too late: the ground was churning away beneath her, the snow collapsing into the hole of a maw, which rose, about to swallow her whole...

The hybrid let out a frightened bellow of fear, scrambling at the edges of the widening pit for desperate purchase.

The ground suddenly rumbled beneath Shida's feet - more violent then before and her heart leaped. It could have been one of the others - there'd been a quaking earlier not accompanied by the worm, but no, this felt different.

She leaped forward. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for that thing to devour her. Back claws scrabbled furiously at the snow beneath while hooves pushed off the ground to get her forward. She could feel death so close behind, if she wasn't fast enough...

The ground started heaving behind her and she found her balance thrown off as the ice worm began to emerge from the ground. She let out a terrified screech as she began to lose her footing.

bad mouth mustelid

Fisher could really do only one thing: panic. He needed to move, and only a jolt of magic would really save his hide. Bristling from head to toe, the furry mustelid sank his claws through the ice and snow, and willed his body to move.

As the worm breached the surface, Fisher felt a surge of adrenaline rush through his senses. Everything was too loud, but like the squirmy noodle he was, he flung himself out into the snow, scrambling away at top speed. Even then, the noodle was knocked aside by the shock wave, thrown head over tail. He managed to get on his feet and keep running, though, and sure enough managed to pelt his way far, far from the actual danger zone.

He didn't feel anything, not the cold, not the sting of the scrapes on his pawpads. If he had fucked up a leg in the scramble, he certainly couldn't tell. Only time would tell how bad his injuries actually were-- right now, he was running on pure adrenaline.

Warrior wheeled, brown eyes springing wide. The Ice Worm was coming for them, again, he thought--and this time fast. They'd have to scatter, he realized... and hope it didn't kill too many of them.

"SPREAD OUT!" he cried, in warning, lurching into a gallop back toward the rising maw. Terror pounded in his chest, even as hooves thundered through the snow. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he could do. Distract it again, for even a second-? Eyes shot to Fisher--no; the little one was escaping. Ivory-... and horror flickered through him. She wouldn't make it. He couldn't help someone so large--even Wynter was a little too heavy, if it came to it. Shida-... He might he able to help Shida along. But no sooner had he decided to try and help her (a snap decision, mid-run) then he realized he didn't have to pick them up. And how could he-? He had no arms, he couldn't squeeze beneath her and anyway, it wasn't her legs that had anything wrong with them. But he was closest to her, now, and he swung wide, neighing a loud "KEEP RUNNING!" as he swept past.

Neck arched, tail flagged high behind him, and the loud susurrus of his hooves roar-whispering through the snow played an urgent background to the thundering of his own heart.

Warrior bolted around Shida, curving off toward where he knew the Sand Dunes lay, out toward their center--only a few yards past. But he knew these things went on vibration. If he could draw it out just a little further, just off from her location-...

...Its maw was already breaching. It would be close.

It would be damn close. Fear rolled his eyes to whites as he glanced back behind him, saw it turn fractionally as his magicka lashed out, as the ground shook not beneath his hooves, but with his magic... with any luck, its sweeping charge might miss at least one of them.

Warrior is attempting to save Shida

Gatto was hopelessly lost. There was no hope of aid coming to their rescue. They would either live or die by their own actions, and ironically, wasn't that the siren song of being a Champion? To rise above the challenge, and live with all odds against your back, with nothing-- and no one-- to blame but yourself?

They were in fate's hands, now. Agate had never believed in fate, or luck, but they also did not have the luxury to consider anything more than their next, aimless step. Exhaustion plagued them, and yet...

Step, by step, by step, the cockatrice proved why they were a Champion. They had no reason to continue, they had lost all will to fight, and their body toiled onward like a machine. The Crucible rose above them, and for a split moment, the winds were no longer assaulting their feathers.

"Desert Rose!" They called out, "Yet again, you best me!" They did not actually know if the dragon had made it to the Crucible-- they had lost sight of him a long time ago. Still, it was the only thing that made sense. "I thought I had you, that time!" They crowed, a preening laugh rising from their raw throat, and they spread their wings and flapped their way up into the cliffside.

SURGE AHEAD INTO DANGER OR PERISH

The earth was shaking again - and not from the horse's magic this time. It was the familiar earth-shattering rumble of that hunter surging right for the straggling Ivory. Virgil bellowed, "c'mon, 'ol girl! We gotta - !" The pale ungulate started to disappear beneath the snowdrifts.

Virgil thundered back, seemingly uncaring about her own wellbeing as she stood at the precarious edge of the hole. She bowed down, offering her own legs as purchase for Ivory, as well as throwing her head to and fro to hook curved horns beneath spiralling ones and hoisting the big gal up.

Virgil is attempting to rescue Ivory!