Stratos grabs Jim's arm and shakes his head. They can't let themselves be cornered here, and the PINpoint is too precious to abandon. "Get ready to grab it!"

So saying, he throws a fireball into the reptilian maw below them. It snaps shut immediately-and painfully. The beast makes an unearthly sound, too human to be reptile and too feral to be human or even Gorn. It lets go the rope suddenly, head lowered and writhing in pain, jaws opening and closing, and Stratos throws himself off the branch over it's back. He can't clear its length, and the massive thrashing tail catches him midair, knocks him bodily to the ground. Winded, the mage nonetheless pushes himself up, ready to try and blast the monster back if Jim needs it. Creatures like that are resilient. The cursed, alas, often are.