"An adult great worm. We killed her child." Luitwin heard his apprentice say. The room stayed silent for half a dozen seconds or so before the wizard spoke up.

“About how big around was this worm? And how long?”

“We never saw it’s length,” answered Liam, “but it was bigger around than the east tunnel. It dug a vertical shaft in front of us to trap us and it was over twenty-five feet across.”

Luitwin nodded and started to cast. His hands were blurs as they wove spell after spell. He was sending messages as quickly as he could to as many as he could. Then he stopped, slumping partly from the large amount of mana he had just spent and partly from the fear he felt.

Looking back at the three sitting and lying in his teleportation circle he spoke softly, "Orders have been sent. The city will prepare. We have wards that gently encourage worms to go around. They are all being checked as we speak to ensure the worm won’t push through them. The guards are sending pack animals out with wagons to try and reach the miners in time. Warnings are being sent to other towns in the area. Everything that can be done, is being done.”

Liam nodded his head before asking, “I get that worms can be a problem, but surely the guards could kill it if they needed to, right?”

“The question isn’t if they could kill it. It’s how many deaths would it cause and how much of the city would be destroyed before they could kill it. Kan Ladur is located in a massive cavern with magically reinforced support pillars throughout. If enough of those were taken out, there’s a good chance that the mountain above us would fall on our heads killing everyone here. With the risk being that high, it’s best to avoid fighting this worm if possible.”

Looking over the group, exhaustion clear in their faces, Luitwin continued, “I suggest you three retire to the Bloodbeard compound." Looking directly at Celeste, Luitwin added, "Do not try to cast any spells for at least a few days. Do not use any mana, give yourself time to heal."

The three stood a bit unsteadily. Miguel managed a few steps over to Celeste and wrapped her in a hug. "Let's go see our daughter."

Luitwin escorted the group to the door of his tower. As they left, he met Celeste's eyes and simply nodded and mouthed, "Well done" before starting to close the door.

"Wait," Liam said. "Master Luitwin, this worm swallowed Wendell and Dakota. What are the odds my brothers are still alive?"

Luitwin paused and looked back. "Odds?" He questioned before shaking his head. "Odds are they are very much alive. It'll take many hours, potentially days, for the worm's digestive tract to kill them. It's not a pleasant death, but it is a slow one. Perhaps your… peculiar heritage and blessings will give them a way to survive." With that, the mage closed the door.

Celeste started to cry again as the three Twiceborn walked back to the Bloodbeard estate.

⚴

Wendell woke up. Everything felt… weird… wrong. It was dark. His skin was tingling, hurting. It felt like something was pushing past him threatening to drag him off. And whatever he was lying next to was squishy… and moving? Freaked out, Wendell tried to move while yelling at the same time.

"Hey brother," a voice said. "Welcome back."

"Dakota?" Wendell said while turning to where the voice came from.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Am I... am I blind?"

"Ha! No, brother, there's just no light here. We've been eaten by a worm. Do you not remember?"

Wendell stayed quiet for so long that Dakota started to worry about him. "Wendell?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Fuck no! But I remember now. The movement I feel beside me, what is that?"

Stolen story; please report.

"Stone mostly. The worm is still digging. We're near a turn in the digestive tract. I've managed to stick an arrow in the wall, and I'm holding onto it and to your pack to keep us here. But I'm getting tired, so if you could find a way to help, I'd appreciate it."

"Shit! Sorry bro," Wendell said as he felt around until he found the arrow Dakota was holding onto. "What happens if you let go?"

"Well, when it first ate us, I had trouble breathing because of all the chunks of rock that buried me. And I think that is what knocked you out. Thought I lost you then. But suddenly I felt mana surge through you and you started breathing again.”

“That’s a class ability I got a while back. When I’m dying, my body will automatically stabilize itself. But I don’t think that would bring me back to consciousness.”

“Damn good ability. But you’re right. I’ve cast a healing spell on us twice now. I probably have enough in me to do it once more. But the acids in this worm are pretty corrosive so I’m not sure it’ll be enough. Now that you're awake, I was thinking you could use your psi blade to cut us a way out? Maybe you can touch her mind to see where we're heading?"

"Let's see," Wendell said as he reached a hand out to the wall of the digestive tract.

Wendell's magic allowed him to see flashes of emotion from the mother worm. Anger at the beings that dared fight back. A need for revenge. And some sort of vision… it was tracking something… the miners!

"It's following the miners that are running back. She knows the tunnels and is pacing herself to get to a bend in the tunnel just as they do."

"We can't let that happen! By now, Celeste, Miguel, and Liam should be with them."

"How do we stop her?"

"I don't know. Try to talk to her. Or start cutting?"

"Maybe both?" Wendell summoned his blade. The light from it allowed him to see a bit of his surroundings. Looking back at Dakota, he said, "I think I was better off not seeing where we were."

"Lucky you. I've been looking at this the whole time."

Wendell slid his other hand down the arrow until he was touching the worm again while holding on to the arrow. Focusing, he instructed the worm to stop. To leave the dwarves alone. In his mind, he felt a stubborn refusal. At this, he took his psi blade and stabbed up into the soft interior flesh of the digestive tract. A spike of pain raced through the worm's brain. Again, Wendell told it to turn. This time he was ignored. Wendell stabbed the worm again. Still, she ignored him, focusing on the fleeing ones responsible for the death of her child.

"It's not working," Wendell said. "She's just ignoring me and focusing on her revenge. Do you have any magic that could help?"

"Not really. I have a spell that could hurt it, but it'll probably hurt you as well."

"Yeah, let's hold off on that. Let me see if I can message Liam." Wendell started drawing in his magic, but the spell didn’t take hold. "That's odd. Liam is too far away."

"Maybe we're not as close to them as the worm thinks?"

"That doesn't seem right. Let me try Ehde." Wendell cast the message spell again, and this time it worked. As it did, Wendell also reached out to the worm's mind.

"This is Wendell; the mother worm is tracking you."

Sure enough, the worm sensed one of those running stumble and slow.

Reaching out to Ehde again, "The worm ate Dakota and me. Liam, Miguel, and Celeste escaped. Have they caught up with you? Please focus your thoughts back on me so that I may hear them."

Wendell was hit with a very strong, uncontrolled thought from Ehde, "No, we've not seen them. Thank you for all you've done. We will honor your sacrifice."

Wendell looked back to Dakota, "Are you sure the others weren't eaten? The miners say they're not with them. Oh, and they think we're going to die."

"Well, shit. No, they weren't eaten. Celeste probably saved the other two somehow. And if we're going to die, it won't be while sitting here doing nothing."

"What about the miners?"

"You warned them, right? There's nothing else we can do from here. Let's see if we can find a way to get out."

Figuring there wasn't a better option, Wendell cast one last message spell toward Ehde. "Thank you for the kind words. But it's you I'm worried about. The worm is planning to ambush you at a bend in the tunnel. Perhaps Tally can use his magic to hide you? Dakota and I are not giving up. I suggest you don't either."

Time passed as the duo tried to come up with a plan. Suddenly they felt the worm slow and eventually stop. As it did so, the speed of the stone coming into the digestive tract slowed greatly before eventually stopping as well.

"Did we make it a den or something?" Dakota asked

Wendell reached out to the worm before responding, "No. She's lost track of the miners near a cross tunnel. I told Ehde to have Tally hide them with his magic, and it looks like she listened. But the worm is waiting, refusing to be tricked into going the wrong direction."

"This thing is too smart for its size. It's unfair, really."

"Perhaps, but they've not chased the dwarves or other races to the surface, so they can't be too overpowered."

With that, Dakota let go of the arrow, got onto his hands and knees, and started to crawl further down the digestive tract.

Confused, Wendell called out, "Where are you going?"

Dakota laughed before responding, "I'm looking for the back door!"