Loot: The Eternity Dungeon

[Marvelous Miscreant]

But it was already too late.

The horrendous crack of a snapping truck pierced the clearing, it was quickly followed by a sound much like a very deep sigh as one of the massive jungle trees arced across the clearing from somewhere in the jungle's gloom and collided with the closest tunnel sealing it with several tons of splintered green leafy wood.

Something in the gloom moved. Nobody saw it, but they could feel it. Every sense but sight  told them something very big, very fast and very hungry was no circling them, just out of sight.

Something growled, it was deep, terrifying noise that vibrated the ground. It wasn't an angry or hateful noise. It the sound of hunger.

Suddenly there was a flash of something green, the crack of another tree breaking and the loud thunderous hiss of a massive body coiling over loose dirt and grass.

The group turned as one to face the massive horrible creature that slithered out of the murk and reared back before them...

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Star hardly has time to leap back before the tree crashes into the ground, landing awkwardly on his back and scrambling to his feet as the creature snakes out of the forest and rears up over them. He hastily puts himself between the rest of the party and the monster, for all the good it would do. With a whip of it's tail this thing could pitch him across the room, and he couldn't protect anyone if it slid back into the jungle.

Things would be easier if they made it back to the other tunnel, where it could only come at them from one direction. But it was between them and it. It had to be made to move.

"Go away, monster!" he yelled, swinging Luck 2 over his head and charging. "I won't spend another minute under this wicked false sky!"

He jumped forward and sliced at one of its legs.

[Philote]

Willow watched as the creature surged in to block their path. There was something strange about the way the creature moved and how it had kept to the shadows until it was safe to cut off the only path of retreat.

"Star! Be careful, I believe that the creature may be blind. Your charge may be your doom!"

Willow begins to strafe around the creature, moving slowly and only taking light steps through the grass.

[Smackgiver]

EDIT - changed my response to fit tha actuality of our situation,  since I missed the description.

/Praosk looses a bullet from his sling, aiming at the eye of the beast, hoping to hit a soft, gooey target, or at least divide its attention among the party/

"HUUUUUUAAAAAAHHHHH, beast!  Your mother was used as the mulch in our abbey's garden!"

/Praosk reloads his sling and takes a handful of bullets in his off hand for rapid reloading/

[Zaleramancer]

Funny thing about the paranoid ones. They never panic when the Bad Thing happens, because they're too busy gloating.

Name smiles and pulls back his bowstring..

Now, this was more like it. Nice traditional monster thing. Too many legs to make it worthwhile taking them out, it could probably compensate for at least four losses. Eyes are likely hardened because they're such an obvious target. However, necessary organs, if any existed, would likely be hidden in the torso.

Eyes it is then.  

..and lets an arrow fly.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The creature made a noise like nails on a chalkboard and twisted its body to the side with blinding speed. Praosk's stone missed its target and cracked loudly off one of the large boney spines on the creature's frill. Name's arrow also missed the eye, instead lodging itself in the thick folds of the creatures strong neck. The creature made a small noise of annoyance as the arrow and stone struck but showed no sign of pain.

It's massive head swiveled to face the general direction of Name and Praosk...

...distracting it just long enough for Star to close the distance between him and the creature's legs.

The creature wailed and coiled its long serpentine body backwards as Star's blade bit into one of it's many legs. White sticky fluid gushed from the wound onto Luck 2 and down the creature's leg. The leg was quickly withdrawn and folded under the creatures body to protect it. The other feet began to stamp the ground rhythmically, vibrating the ground and raising a cloud of dirt. The creature practically slid along the ground, its feet a blur of movement, as it spun about. It's tail followed it's revolution, swinging in low to ground like a wrecking ball towards Star.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Pain.

Real pain. Not "burned yourself on the stove" pain. Not "brother pushed me down and I skinned my knee" pain. "Not even "I got stung by a bug" pain. Real pain.

"Brush with death" pain.

"Something is trying to kill you" pain.

"Why am I still alive?" pain.

Star blinked open his eyes to see that he was now among the treeline, laying on the scattered bones. He tried to push himself up, but a sudden flair in his shoulder put hm back on the ground. He glanced over at his unarmored shoulder and, for just a moment, didn't understand what he was seeing. That long black spike, dripping gooey white out of a ragged end.  He pushed himself back up with his non-injured arm and glanced over to see the end sticking out the other way. That explained the pain.

Dad had his own name for this. "You got lucky" pain. The pain of being alive when you very well should be dead. If this had been a real injury, he would have died. No question, no bargaining, no lying to himself, he would have been crushed by this. If his looter wasn't made of sturdier stuff, the adventure would have ended here. Room 4, resting place of Star Platinum.

But he wasn't in his own body. This was a looter, this was his birthday, and the adventure continues. He reached for his sword and-

No sword. The beat let out a guttural yell and he saw, with no small bit of pride, that the sword was lodged in the creatures tail. He smiled, pulled the hatchet from his best, and beat his chest to signal the beast.

"Chlorofiend!" he called out, giving his chest two more percussive whacks. "Do think you'll get rid of me that easily. You face Star Platinum, The Greatest Hero, and his trusty axe, Luck!" He flourishes the small, ordinary weapon out in front of him, pointing it at the creature lie a batter signalling a home run.

"Give me back my sword!"

[Smackgiver]

Praosk's heart sank when he saw Star flung across the room, landing in the treeline.  "My distraction was fruitless.  Star took the brunt of the assault thst should've been aimed at me.  He faced, alone, a threat that was beyond him, yet he faced it with unflinching honor.  I can do no less."

/Praosk, eyeing the gleaming blade stuck in the fell beast's tail, steeled himself for his next move/  "That sword's song shall not be silenced yet".  /He moved toward it, hoping to finish its verse and add his own chorus.  As he got within arm's reach he hoped, silently to himself, that the beast's pain response might buy him a respite... one, final, deft move.  Praosk reached for the blade, hoping to dislodge it and strike downward, relieving the coniferous behir of its tail./

[Philote]

Willow kept watching the creature. A fascination predator but still an oddity compared with his natural association with animals.

It would do no good to simply keep watching the creature though, one of his companions had already been struck.

Running at the creature from behind, Willow uses his staff to vault onto the creature's back.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

What happened next seemed almost to happen in slow motion, each combatant moved in their own little worlds that suddenly collided in a flash of events.

The Creature, still writhing in pain from the blade in its tail, turns angrily towards Star. An evil glint of semi-intelligence flashes menacingly in its dull eyes as it drops low to the ground, ready to sprint towards Star. It's feet began to stamp quickly as it prepared to charge.

At the same moment, Willow vaulted through the air in a graceful arc behind the creature and Praosk leaped for Star's blade.

The beast charged forwards.

Praosk grabbed a hold of the Blade and pulled hard.

The creature's charge is halted as it's tail blooms with pain.

Willow lands on the rearing creature's back and latches on.

The creature's forward momentum carries it forward giving Prasok just enough leverage to cleave it's massive tail by pulling the sharp blade through the thick flesh.

White liquid explodes from the wound.

A bloodcurdling, bone-wrenching, heart-piercing screech drowns out all sound as the creature writhes in pain, bucking and rolling with frightening speed. It's limbs flailing out dangerously. All the while Willow clings to its back.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Xlprq counted himself fortunate for his momentary lapse of cowardice. If his allies were so easily daunted by the foe that lay before him, then surely his own half-hearted attempted at heroics would prove less than sufficient. He wasn't nearly as skilled as any of the present company--not yet. And so, his quick backslide into wimpiness would give him time to do what he was slightly better at; scheming.

As the others rushed forward to do battle with the reptilian-insect-mutant-looking-plant-beasty-thing, Xlprq's retreat found him behind the largest rock his Looter legs would carry him toward.

He pulled out his daggers. Two plain, one that could let him see bones and one that could cancel immunities. He peered up from behind the rock, to watch his comrades in the fray.

Didn't look like the creature had very many bones to speak of.

And he couldn't risk that the creature could rapidly recover from ordinary weapon damage.

Perhaps some combination of an ordinary dagger, and the immunity negator--ah, yes, he had it!

Filled at once with confidence anew, Xlprq headed out from behind his rocky refuge. He called out to his friends, "Keep the monster engaged! Keep its attention on any one of you! Just don't let it turn back on me! I have a plan!"

And as best he could, he traced the monster's steps, his daggers raised, in hopes of getting closer and closer, while avoiding sight out of even the corner of the monster's eye...

[Philote]

Willow digs his fingers into the creature to maintain his grip while he pulls out the info tag from his iron bangle with his teeth.

Reaching over, Willow attempts to hook the tag onto one of the nubs on the creature's leg and gain a glimpse of what the tag says.

(The tag is still looped around Willow's arm, but pulled out of the bangle so that the loop of the tag can also be placed around an object)

[Smackgiver]

Praosk does a double-take, being both astonished and elated that not only is he still alive, his long shot worked!  Not wanting to miss this unlikely opportunity,  he moves closer to the beast, evading flailing limbs as best he can and arcs the sword at its nearest arm.

"YAAAAAAAAH, monster!  THAT'S for Star Platinum!!"

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"THIS IS FOR ME TOOOOOO!" Star says, rearing back and throwing the hatchet at the other arm.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The tag produces nothing more than illegible gibberish, it would have been impossible to read let alone understand even if it wasn’t dangling off a flailing monster that was bucking like a rodeo horse. The tag is torn from Willow’s wrist as the creature makes a swift twist. The tag flaps about where it is still attached to the creature.

The creature’s wild movements catch Praosk off guard as one of its many stamping legs kicks out viciously. It catches Praosk in the side and knocks him off balance, sending him sprawling into the grass. He is winded, but the leg only grazed him, saving him from serious harm.

The axe soars through the air and connects with one of the creature’s smaller arms, severing the stumpy appendage and spraying white liquid on the grass. The beast rears back, nearly tossing Willow and begin to crawl quickly about the clearing as it thrashes and squirms on what could only be described as its last legs.

The creature’s breath is heavy and it’s movements slowing.

[Smackgiver]

"AAAAAARRRRGH!"  

/Praosk winces in pain as he clutches his throbbing side, trying to regain his feet.  That is going to leave more than a bruise, he thinks to himself.  His respirations are more labored and painful than they should be./  

"I'm going to have to attend to that delicately, and soon."

/He quickly notices the monster's thrashings and flailing about and, for the second time in the past few seconds, feels a surge of hope.  Aches and pains don't matter - or even a broken rib - the beast is wounded!  Action must occur poste haste if we're ever to survive.  He moves to reclaim Star's sword and, having found it, moves toward the Greenpeace Goliath/

"He's faltering!!  If anyone has any brilliant ideas, NOW is the time."  

"Star!  Your sword is inbound!"  /Praosk chucks the sword in Star's direction, hilt first, and fixes his gaze on the beast.  If he can tie up one of his larger arms, perhaps he can buy the others a clear shot at a vital spot/

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Star had starting running toward the beast himself, intent of retrieving at least one of his weapons, and is alongside Praosk when the sword comes flying at him. He catches it and, in the brief moment he feels the weight start to settle into his hand,  realizes that there's no way he'd be swinging it around with only one good arm. But the creature was moving now, both towards him and to death, rapidly.

As the hilt settled into his hand and the monster screamed toward him, he gripped it and let the weight of the weapon and the force of Praosk's toss swing the sword for him. He spun on his heel, letting the weight spin him a full 360 degrees, only guiding the sword into the charging monster.

[Philote]

Willow leaps for the tag, his highest priority suddenly turning to its recovery, despite the danger.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The sword cleaves into the oncoming monster's face with a sickening smack, slashing across one of its eyes. The force of the swing is just enough to deflect the monster's momentum into the nearby trees. The creature bellows in pain and smashes into the thick trunk of of a tree headfirst. For a moment it wobbles on its legs, unsure if it was ready to die or not, then, it collapsed with a heavy thud. The tree in front of it creaked, slowly tilted backwards then fell with a mighty crack followed by silence.

Somewhere in that silence our heroes realized they had survived.

[Philote]

Willow grabs for the tag mid leap as the creature bellows and collapses. The next moment, Willow hits the ground and begins tumbling over it, hitting rocks and sticks along the way. In the end, Willow lays face down on the ground, his body aching and the tag clutched firmly in his hand.