The thousand drums

You push forward, skittering across the ice. The worm returns the force hungrily and barrels towards you. Even before you make contact, you realize you are no match. You see a blur of your guide as she attempts to intercept, but then everything goes black.

You awaken out by the lake, battered and beaten and so. so cold. A familiar form kneels beside you, tending your wounds. It takes several blurry moments to realize this is not your guide, but a cluster of fireflies in a cloak the same color as your guide's fur. Your injuries ache, but you will heal fine; you can tell somehow by the way the fireflies buzz around you.

You realize loosely how little sense that makes and you wonder if this is real, but a warm force closes your eyes and bids you to think of home, of safety. When you awake next, you are in a safe place, one which you might have imagined.

You've made it out alive, though not without injury. You notice a deep wound on the outer side of your back left leg, which will no doubt turn into a noticeable scar (about 6 inches long). Likewise you feel you've lost some knowledge along the way, losing 28 intellect skill points. Any items you've found lay beside you, and will be revealed later.