Sword Quest XII - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Is it within stabbing range?
> Are any of the stab or slash wounds we have inflicted visible?

>Not quite.
>You can see the one you inflicted on its lower neck, and the one you put on its nose is still there.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Aim some knives at the neck wound.

[Hello Purvis]

> Aim some knives at the neck wound.

>You aim a stream of knives at the neck wound, as the behemoth twists to face you again. A couple of them hit home, makign the wound brighter, while others hit its scales and the effect, if any, is harder to observe.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are both we and it upright, or is it appreciably below us?
> Has it resumed its pursuit of us?

[Hello Purvis]

> Are both we and it upright, or is it appreciably below us?
> Has it resumed its pursuit of us?

>It is still a bit below you, but it is rising up.
>It is just resuming.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are any of our companions in our field of vision?

[Hello Purvis]

> Are any of our companions in our field of vision?

>Not in your very immediate field of vision, but you are aware that they are somewhere around, probably further down the Behemoth's length.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Fire off a horizontal wave of knives at the behemoth's mouth, one that cuts across the length of said mouth.

[Hello Purvis]

> Fire off a horizontal wave of knives at the behemoth's mouth, one that cuts across the length of said mouth.

>The behemoth stops rising, and snakes under the line of knives. It begins to extend its wings.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> If we backed up, would we eventually collide with the behemoth's body? Or is all of it more or less in front of (and below) us?

[Hello Purvis]

> If we backed up, would we eventually collide with the behemoth's body? Or is all of it more or less in front of (and below) us?

>It is mostly in front of and below you right now.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Back up a little bit.

[Hello Purvis]

> Back up a little bit.

>You back away from the behemoth. It holds its wings outward as it continues to snake its head toward you.
>You can see some danmaku hitting around its wings, though you can't really make out the source. It seems to be trying to ignore this, and you don't really have time to assess if that's working or not.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we tell to whom the danmaku belongs?

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we tell to whom the danmaku belongs?

>Not at a glance, its winds obscure any immediate clues. You expect they are behind the behemoth, though.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is the source of the danmaku at least within shouting distance?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is the source of the danmaku at least within shouting distance?

>You think so.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Excellent! Keep it up!"
> Fire a circle of exploding bullets, with a diameter that is roughly our height (if we can get it that large), in the direction of the behemoth's head as we continue to back away.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Excellent! Keep it up!"
> Fire a circle of exploding bullets, with a diameter that is roughly our height (if we can get it that large), in the direction of the behemoth's head as we continue to back away.

>You send more exploding bullets toward the behemoth. It backs away a little. Then suddenly its wings swing inward, closing in on you!

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Which part of the wings are going to slam into us first?
> How thick is the webbing of the wings?

[Hello Purvis]

> Which part of the wings are going to slam into us first?
> How thick is the webbing of the wings?

>The bony arm-like parts, by the look of it. Or whatever passes for bones, at least.
>It's hard to tell, but it has to be reasonably strong to propel the behemoth as it has.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is the webbing part of each wing trailing behind the the bony arm part? Or is it above or below, as if to clap the webbings together?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is the webbing part of each wing trailing behind the the bony arm part? Or is it above or below, as if to clap the webbings together?

>They seem to be trailing mostly behind and slightly below.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Down!
> Hold our sword pointed out to our right side, using both hands to steady it. If the webbing of the wing runs into it, it'll skewer itself before it can get to us.

[Hello Purvis]

> Down!
> Hold our sword pointed out to our right side, using both hands to steady it. If the webbing of the wing runs into it, it'll skewer itself before it can get to us.

>You dive down! Its wings collide together with a loud scaly clack just above you.  Its wings remain folded back, so you are safe from being swatted. But it seems to be trying to fold them around you now.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Head right, pulling our sword back a bit in preparation for a stab (with the sharp edge of the blade pointed downward), and then launching that stab once we get into a range such that a stab will actually sink into the wing properly instead of simply breaking the skin.

[Hello Purvis]

> Head right, pulling our sword back a bit in preparation for a stab (with the sharp edge of the blade pointed downward), and then launching that stab once we get into a range such that a stab will actually sink into the wing properly instead of simply breaking the skin.

>You prepare to stab as its wings close around you. The behemoth seems to be intending to trap you in place for now. Then the fingers in its leathery wings start to constrict around you.
>You aim at one of its scaly fingers, and your blade sinks between the scales, with the sensation of cutting through cords again.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Slash downward to cut through the wing and possibly make a hole in it.

[Hello Purvis]

> Slash downward to cut through the wing and possibly make a hole in it.

>You try to slash through the wing, and find that it is rather tough and resists such efforts. With some time, you may have more luck.
>The fingers of its other wing wrap around your legs and waist.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> While we hold our sword lodged in the behemoth's wing, spawn a whole bunch of exploding bullets all around us, making sure to produce at least a couple right next to the fingers that are wrapped around us.
> Once this is done, resume trying to cut through the stabbed wing with our sword.