Aria had just sheathed her kukris when the approaching<em>something</em>moved into her darkvision range, on the far side of the wall of thorns: a long wormlike thing as wide around as a great redwood tree, its head essentially all mouth - an almost circular mouth, with smaller side jaws folding within the upper and lower, and rings of teeth within that.<br/><br/>A short ways down its length, gold stakes had been nailed in two circle around it. Two half-dragonesses "rode" the worm, each with her back against its body. They wore the same jewelry as those slain, a circlet and amulet connected behind the neck by a chain, and these two rode the worm in this way; their chains were looped around the two of the first ring's adjacent stakes embedded in its hide, and with their thighs they each clasped one of the second ring of stakes.<br/><br/>The face of one of the half-dragonesses became all at once wracked with fury as she spied the floating bodies of her kin. Spellcasting syllables echoed through the water, and at a clap of her hands, electricity raced back and forth between Kass and Aria.<br/><br/>Aria kicked and curled her body into a C shape, watching the lightning pass right in front of her belly and between her forearms and calves. Her attention on the enormous worm, she was grateful for the gone dragoness's ironically fated wall of thorns spell...<br/><br/>...until the other half-dragoness placed per palms against the lightning-evoker and the worm itself, and all three of them vanished, reappearing a moment later on the opposite side of herself and Kass, now putting<em>them</em>between the worm and the thorn wall.<br/><br/>The worm must've been at least a hundred feet long, but seeming to be aware of the proximity of prey, it contracted and coiled, forming a spiral of rings nearly as wide around as the tunnel itself. The tail end moved forward within the spiral of its body, and Aria couldn't help noticing an almost stingray-like barb tipping it.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Aria: sheathe kukris<br/>Worm: 'run' action into view<br/>Half-dragoness: arc of lightning at Aria and Kass, 36 elec dmg, reflex DC 24 half<br/>Aria: r19, evasion<br/>Other HD: DD self, other HD, worm<br/>(Kass's turn next, then Aria's, then the NPCs' next)<br/><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: courier;"><br/>A = Aria<br/>H = other half-dragons (beyond Kass's blindsight range but pointed to by Aria. In other words she doesn't have line of sight from her present location, but knows their squares.)<br/>K = Kass<br/>W = worm<br/><br/>. . . . . . . . . w w . . .<br/>W W W W W W . . . w w . . .<br/>W W W W W W . . . w w . . .<br/>W W W W W W K . . w w . . .<br/>W W W W W W A . . w w . . .<br/>W W W W W W . . . w w . . .<br/>W W W W W W . . . w w . . .<br/>. . . . . . . . . w w . . .</span>