2.0 - Lure of the Lost

Shortly after Dagger confidently strides around the bone pile to the left, the rest of the party in cautious tow, one of the small hillocks in the canyon shifts and grows. Dry, red dirt cascades down the hillock to reveal an extremely large mammal -- it must be four meters at the shoulders -- with a strange crested head and horns that peel back along its flank. It's quite far away -- but it looks unerringly in your direction and shakes -- sending a fussy cloud of dirt around it, obfuscating it for a moment just as it begins to paw the ground.

"We should probably run..." Heyop states outreaching a hand towards the beast about to charge.

Looking at the beast -- it appears well armored -- and quite huge. You're not convinced that your pistols will do much good against it. There's a puff from its mouth -- a warning, and it begins to get its speed going. Heyop reaches out with the Force -- but finds his ability to influence the beast at this distance significantly hampered. Ahead -- not too far away are the caves, which may offer some respite. There's a cave to the left (more towards the creature) and one to the right (more away from the creature).

As the beast breaks into a lumbering run that quickly gathers speed your options appear to be: stay and fight, run for a cave, or see if Heyop can convince the beast to play nice... when it gets much closer.

You make for the right-hand cave. It's the westernmost cave here -- and it has a wide scree of small rocks and dirt spilling out from it, as if the insides were cast out by a careless burrower. The going isn't particularly easy -- especially with a gajillion ton son-of-a-gundark on your tail.

As Dagger heads to the cave, he dodges around another pile of bones that sneak up on him. Quickly dancing out of the way as the sun glints off their bleached.. um.. boniness.. he blinks rapidly as he scurries up into the cave mouth. Dagger takes three strain. Turning back towards his colleagues, he sees Heyop stumble and scramble up the scree -- paying little attention to what is around him. Heyop -- seeing Dagger safe ahead of him feels somewhat inspired that his friend has made it to safety. Heyop restores 3 strain.

Kaveri very neatly bounds up the scree into the cave -- sliding to a stop. Her speed carries here into the side of the cave, oh so gently, and she bounces lightly off settling down next to Dagger. Kaveri also noticed the pile of bones that Heyop and Dagger (and herself) ran by and watches carefully as the remainder of the party streams in. Kaveri takes 1 strain from her bank shot with the side of the cave.

Urik makes his way up to the cave -- getting dust absolutely everywhere. It's like a little dust devil whirling up towards Kaveri and Dagger. He nonetheless makes it to his colleagues, coughing and batting away the fine red sand that seems to get everywhere. Urik suffers 2 strain.

Csillag and Heyop bring up the rear. The going is tougher for the two of them -- perhaps due to some of the extra excitement getting down into the canyon to begin with -- but they are able to pass the boundary of the additional pile of bones (which momentarily surprise Csillag on her way up into the cave). Dagger and Kaveri notice the large beast continue to drive forward. However once Csillag and Heyop pass the bones, the urgency in the animal seems to reduce -- and it comes to a stop, stomping the ground and tossing its head as Csillag and Heyop finally crawl into the cave -- winded, but safe. Csillag takes 2 strain.

"I don’t know if it’s a good thing he stopped or not… can.. whew… can we get some light in here? It’s dark. We still have our glow rods?" Heyop breathed out looking back out the way they had come.