Aria found it refreshing (and a welcome rest for her burning legs and shoulders) to ride upon the massive scaly back of the dragon, and certainly it proved a much swifter and more natural swimmer; its locomotion reminded her of nothing so much as a crocodile's, its tail snaking side to side ominously, although it also used its wings almost like fins (although in the tunnel it couldn't even fully extend them).<br/><br/>In several hundred more feet they passed a Y junction as the dragon had foretold, one branch leading back sharply (to the other entrance from the lake), and the other continuing on west, gradually angling downward. Presumably, somewhere above their heads, the land was also sloping upward away from the lakeshore.<br/><br/>As the tunnel deepened, it also widened, and its floor became carpeted with kelp-like plane life; strands which extended up from the floor and waved back and forth subtly in the dark water.<br/><br/>The strands lengthened and thicked as they continued on; a man could've stood hidden on the tunnel floor, as one might in forest ferns aboveground. Eventually Aria realized the chamber had widened enough that the plants extended to the edge of her darkvision range left and right, the tunnel walls beyond sight.<br/><br/>As they swam, the gentle sussurations of the kelp-like plants ahead were disrupted by a fanning cloud of particles. Thousands and thousands - maybe millions - of tiny floral or fungal particles surged through the water from up ahead, as if propelled by a current unseen. Many attached themselves to the black scales of the dragon - and immediatley burrowed in, vibrating disturbingly, every speck a relentess parasite. The dragon roared crazily, the horrible pain causing its voice to resonate like cathedral bells crashing down stone stairs, while Aria momentarily tucked herself behind one of its folded wings to cover herself from the carnivorous current.<br/><br/><br/><br/>95 damage, reflex DC 50 half<br/>Aria: reflex 62, evasion<br/>dragon: fails<br/><br/>Initiative<br/>Aria 38<br/>Kass 28<br/>dragon 24<br/>?? 21<br/><br/>Aria - delay 'til dragon's turn