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There was no
time to lose. While the creatures were finishing their battle to the
death, Zigny and his men had to make it to the breaches. He signalled a
full run at the breaches and hoped that the large worm would be tired
or bored with thrashing his rival by the time they reached the opposite
side.
Zigny wasn't sure if he was happy to get his way, when the
smaller worm was forced headlong into one of the breaches, widening it
only slightly. The larger worm slowly wandered around the edges of the
Cavern seeking for any sign of a female. It's huge bulk missed the
presence of the running gnomes. Once it travelled the full perimeter of
the chamber, it grew bored at the lack of a female and turned to leave
down the same tunnel it had come from.
The Master, unlike his gnomes, didn't slow when the
creatured departed. Though the gnomes defending the wall knew what was
transpiring outside in the Cavern, they had no way to know in what
danger they found themselves. The breaches were rather long tunnels due
to the great depth to the Cavern Wall, the gnomes might have no idea
the purple worm stood ready to reap his dying revenge.
Zigny wasn't sure he could make it in time. The great
beast could be breathing it's last any moment. He continued to run
through the stitch growing in his side and reached the breaches before
he heard the purple worm's dying moan. The low rumble was an unfamiliar
noise to most denizens of the Deepndark, but Zigny knew it could spell
doom for the unprepared defenders.
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"HOLD YER
NOSE!" he yelled, rushing past unsuspecting defenders as he burst
through the city side of the Wall. The gnomes defending the wall knew
Zigny and to a man they covered their noses and closed their eyes.
Zigny took several deep breaths to recover from his sprint and did the
same.
A rolling green fog wafted through the tunnel where the
purple worm died. The fog coated the gnomes and tunnels in a thin
sludge as it passed down the halls and out into the Cavern, thinning as
it went. The sludge burned only slightly to the skin.
The gnomes, a moment later when they uncovered their faces
and opened their eyes, looked at each other in relief. Silent for a
moment, then they began to cheer, thanking Zigny for his timely
warning. They had realized if they had ingested or breathed the foul
gas the acidic slime would be eating them from the inside out.
The remainder of his party joined them a moment later
hurried by the loud cheers. They all looked out at the ruins of the
Cavern and the sealed tunnels and knew they had nearly been destroyed.
C'Mander Derviskopal walked up to Zigny a proud look on his face. He
grasped the young gnome's wrists and gave one loud cheer.
"You have defeated a great enemy today. You are a hero,
Master Zigny," he said loudly over the loud conversations of the
surviving defenders. They hushed as the older gnome raised his arms and
continued to speak.
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