caught in the rain, no piña coladas

You desperately try to reason with the worm, but it seems he either has little patience for words, or he simply isn't convinced by yours. Just as you finish speaking you hear your guide begin to weep even louder beside you, nearly drowning out the sound of the worm's shriek as its mouth opens and it strikes, hard and fast. You have no time to react, the world around you growing suddenly dark.

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 left back paw, 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 29 Intellect skill points. Any items you've found lay beside you, and will be revealed later.