Turn 44

Hiro veers to and fro like a mongoose locked in deadly combat with a cobra. He trusts to senses beyond mere sight to keep him away from the lethal combination of talons and teeth and tail. Emmett can tell from his vantage point that Hiro is advancing into a position to strike the creature's exposed flesh in the hopes of putting the beast down quickly.
    Ibn Fadil somehow manages to both avoid the tail and stay more or less in place. "Too late, Val," he says tightly. "Take the keys topside and get our exit open. Hurry." As soon as Val starts moving, the half-elf backs up after him, until he is out of the creature's immediate range. Then he glances around to see where everyone else is and what they are doing.
    Val hesitates only a moment before he changes direction and heads up the stairs. He looks for Gorn and the way out, covering as much distance as his legs will allow. Maybe the dwarf could get over his cowardice long enough to point out the right key. Hopefully the correct key is here, since he neglected to retrieve his tools from ibn Fadil.
    "We have to g-g-get out of here!!" the dwarf wails.
    "Do you know which key it is?" Val demands, skidding to a halt at the doors on the top level.
    Gorn stares at them, paralyzed by terror. "T-t-t-try th-that one."
    It doesn't work. Neither does the next one. Val snarls and resigns himself to trying them all--as fast as he can.
    While Val races ahead, Emmett issues a few terse orders, bringing the rest of the group into a defensive U ready to retreat up the ramp.
    Hiro's expertly crafted katana sings as it slices through the air; dismayed, he once again has the impression that his stroke is guided, delivering a deep cut on one of the creature's arms. It screams in fury and hunger and leaps to retaliate. The horrific jaws close on nothing, the tail strikes air, but the claws bite--they are incredibly sharp.
    Alais walks cautiously down the broad passage, though his spells detect the presence of no intelligent life. Behind him there seems to be a lot of shrieking going on. Before him, the passage widens slightly and grows much taller--there's more to the back part of the citadel than they had realized--big enough to park the slender shape of a mosquito ship in with the wing-sails folded down. All good wizards keep an escape route handy.
    

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