Underground
The company verily leap from the wrecked hull of the skiff as it fills with sand, and into the beckoning underworld with a tide of sand avalanching down the worm-tunnel-canyon after them. Thoughts of assisting the wounded are hastily abandoned in the effort to avoid being buried alive, and everyone runs at top speed for the safety of the darkened catacombs, with the canyon filling like an hour-glass.
Directly ahead are what appears to be a deep, 30ft broad chamber with a 15ft ceiling that is supported by parallel runs of columns. To the left of this chamber is a much narrower stone passage that seems to run parallel but angle downward... It's not obvious where "Dieter's worm" has got to, but surely it can't be far behind?
Above Ground
Meanwhile, upon the sand-blasted surface beyond the rim of the ring crater, Highbough tries in vain to shake the dual worm pursuit, but the pair are canny hunters in their native environs and, if anything, seem to be herding the old elf at their leisure. After a brief respite the pair burst through a dune simultaneously from either flank and would easily engulf Highbough in either of their gigantic maws were it not for Godehard's Ire Spear and its preternatural ability to teleport him out of harm's way. But how long can its enchantment hold out?
Far away on the other side of the Ring crater Wen has better luck. He ducks and rolls, and doubles back behind a high dune and manages at last to elude his worm to find himself all alone on a baking red desert pan in a blasting sand storm. He is completely out of sight of anything familiar, and all he hears is the howling, scathing wind...
Will Highbough out-distance his pair of worms this turn? 1d6=2, so no. Thus the two worms are able to attack.
2d20=17,16 @-4 assuming Highbough is acting purely defensively (meaning both worms would hit and swallow AC2)!
The ref decides to roll individual initiative for the worms Ay and Beh (in the foul worm-grunt); Ay=5, Beh=6, so worm Beh snaps up the prize first! (if it has been simultaneous initiative they would have torn Highbough in half which would have been a legendary way to go). As it is Ay is prevented from getting to the food.
Highbough would take 2d6=7 hit points in the swallowing, but the ref assumes he will employ the Ire Spear a second time to save himself being swallowed. The pursuit will continue next turn...
Meanwhile, will Wen get ahead of his (un-named) worm? 1d6=3, so yes.
Will the worm keep up? 1d6=3, so no!
Wen has managed to loose his worm after two turns of pursuit. Wen's normal outdoor movement rate is 12", but through sand dunes it's rearer 9" = 90 yards per move. Pursuit turns are at quadruple moves, so 360 yards per turn.
Thus Wen has covered about 600-ish yards before outpacing the worm.
What now people?
[f=32]
Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak,
lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges;
torch[/f]