Before once again stepping back into the tunnel, Jenny looked at where she had fallen at the start of all this when she’d first entered the dungeon. From a distance, illuminated by the faint sunlight, she saw a few branches and bushes moving. Probably the burrower; Good thing they didn’t go pick more berries, even if they could use a bit more magic right now.

Jenny ventured toward the forge, leading the way with Biscuit right behind.

“Eehny, ooise.” Biscuit rasped.

Jenny stopped walking and focused on listening. Soon after, the wet slapping noise of the worm moving reached her ears. She placed the torch by the wall and gripped the spear, taking a stance.

The slithering slapping sound got closer and closer, and when the pallid, glowing fleshy worm turned the corner, Jenny lunged. The burrower was smaller than the others she’d faced. Even so, it sensed the movement and reared its head, feelers weaving in her direction. The speartip hit one of the malformed eyes with a grotesque squelch and pierced through the creature’s head. The many segments of the monster kept moving, and the mouth opened and closed, trying to bite at the air.

Behind Jenny, Biscuit whined. A new parchment appeared, informing the creature’s death.

Jenny chanced a glance back toward the rabbit. “What is it, Biscuit?”

“Iell, ooud.”

Jenny looked at the silent monster in its death throes. She hadn’t heard a thing. The same happened back in the room with the pillars. What did Biscuit hear? Jenny pulled the spear out of the creature, picked up the torch, and ran toward the forge. The last time this happened, they were besieged by monsters, and she didn’t want to be trapped again.

They hadn’t even made it to the forge before their path was barred by the next worm. This one was more aware and pounced at Jenny as soon as she turned through a twist in the path.

Jenny ducked low, releasing the spear and in the same movement pulled out her dagger, the monster too close to use the cumbersome polearm.

The burrower’s maw, already open, came down on Jenny. The blonde waved the torch in front of the monster, but even before the fire reached the thing, it recoiled as if it had been burnt. Jenny pressed forward, shoving the torch into the creature's face while simultaneously stabbing with the dagger in her other hand. The blade sunk to the hilt with no resistance, the red gem at its hilt glinting in the darkness. Glowing blood flowed freely from the injury.

However, it wasn’t enough to stop the burrower. The monster recoiled, twisting around itself faster than Jenny could react, flinging its spiked tail at her.

The spiked tail lashed out, and Jenny tried to parry but neither of her weapons had enough mass to intercept the attack. Jenny succeeded in partially deflecting the spike, her dagger cutting a thin furrow into the tail. It was not quite enough, the monster still pierced the armor and clothes, slicing into her flesh just below her breast.

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Biscuit squealed, and started to cast magic.

“No!” Jenny yelled without looking back. The image of her rabbit with blood leaking from its every orifice popped unbidden into Jenny’s mind. She remembered what had happened the last time Biscuit tried magic against these things. Ignoring the pain, Jenny stepped closer to the monster, waving the torch with one hand and stabbing with the other.

There was something strange about the dagger. It cut too easily; each stab sunk to the hilt, and she barely had to put any effort into it, a thought for later. From this close, Jenny could prevent the beast from bringing its spiked tail to bear, limiting its avenues of attack. The burrower tried to maneuver around her again, maw open and ready to bite, but Jenny had already managed to stab it many times over, each new puncture spilling even more glowing sticky blueish blood.

A new parchment appeared, and Jenny didn’t wait. She tied the dagger to her belt and retrieved the spear. “We need to run.” She said to Biscuit before escaping down the passage.

Biscuit followed, right on the blonde heels. “Eeehny, eehind, oonster!”

That was easy to understand. The creature in the overgrown orchard had heard the commotion. Good thing the battle didn’t last long, even if her injured side still hurt a lot. Jenny put aside her pain, just like she did back when she was a kid, training with Father. Pain was a construct of the mind, and she could ignore it.

Jenny arrived at the forge hall to see one of the other worms moving toward the orchard passage. She didn’t wait. Releasing the torch, she gripped the spear with both hands and lunged.

The spear tip punched through the creature in a single strike, skewering it before it even had a chance to do anything. Jenny didn’t stop; she swung to her left, inertia pulling away body impaled on her spear, and then charged the second monster in the hall.

This was a larger specimen than the previous one but not as large as the burrower she’d fled from in the pillar room. It didn’t have feelers; instead it’s malformed eyes glinted black in the torchlit room. The beast reared back, and instead of opening its maw like all the others she’d faced before had done, it pointed in Jenny’s direction with its spiked tail.

Jenny looked on, trying to understand what the creature intended when, with a wet popping sound, the beast shot out its tail spike. The spike flew toward Jenny, missing her by a hair’s breadth. She hadn’t even seen the spike move, let alone been able to dodge it.

Spurred on by the dangerous attack, Jenny lunged at the monster, aiming for its head. The spear struck the hard, leathery flesh, piercing it. Jenny jumped to the side, avoiding the retaliatory tail slap from the creature, pulling the spear free with the same movement. She thrust again, ripping another hole into the creature’s head.

The burrower’s tail lashed out in a horizontal sweep, hitting Jenny’s stomach and throwing her away.

Jenny still held onto the spear, the metal tip tearing a chunk out of the monster. Jenny got up to her feet and lunged again. The burrower tried to slap her away one more time, but Jenny used the spear to stop the attack before bringing the weapon down, perforating the monster.

“Eehny, ee neeed unn!” Biscuit warned.

Jenny chanced a quick glance down the path they’d come from. She saw a bluish glowing light approaching from the passage. The blonde stabbed the dying monster in a parting blow; and when a new parchment appeared, Jenny turned around and dashed for the passage opposite to the pillar room, ignoring the discarded torch and looting a new one from the wall near the passage. She hoped the exit would be there.