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'How's the mapping coming along?' asked Ulric while Valdys added another piece to the map of the tunnels She had spent time on it in the kitchen since the first reports came in from the spirits exploring the underground.

She looked up at him. 'The chamber we found is probably the centre of a maze of tunnels.' She pointed at several open endings in a tangle of parallel lines on the paper. 'This is as far as our friends could go without losing orientation. There might be a huge maze underneath our feet but we have no way to tell right now. Also, it might have been unintended by the ones who built it in the first place. I would've placed the entrance we found a lot further from the chamber if the entire maze was meant for keeping the ring piece safe.'

Ulric nodded. 'Those things must have burrowed more tunnels through the years.'

'Indeed. And another question that poses, is just how many of those worrisome worms are in there.'

'I don't mind if there are hundreds, as long as they stay away.'

Valdys chuckled. 'Agreed.'

Ulric stretched, and looked at Valdys and Kaui. 'Ready to descend into wormness?'

Kaui chuckled and pat her satchel. 'I packed everything I might think is useful, Master.'

Valdys stood up. 'I went over the books from the tower again, so I hope I have everything I need in my head.'

***

'Are we safe to go?' asked Ulric as he looked left and right into the tunnel where the passage down at the stairs linked up to. Two golem spiders hung a little farther on either side to illuminate the tunnel.

Trixy chittered her affirmation after receiving the all clear from the spirit guarding the passage.

'Let's go.' he said over the link to Kaui and Valdys, and Elzbieta nodded.

They followed one more spirit who acted as their guide, even if Ulric and Elzbieta already knew the way. It floated at a short distance in front of them, and the two spiders followed closely behind it to provide light again.

A shiver went down Kaui's spine. 'I really don't like this place.' she said. 'Cold and dark gives me a sense of dread.'

Ulric rubbed her back. 'I can imagine, cutie. I think you'll feel a little better when we reach the chamber. where Iphi is waiting for us.'

Inside the chamber, she did feel a little better but the sense of dread still hinted at its presence in the back of her mind. The puzzle of the cube helped to distract her though. 'It does look like the material I've seen before.' she said while she used her flashlight to illuminate the inside. 'It's not as pure because there are specks of dust or grains of sand in it. It was likely made in haste.'

She pulled back from the cube and Valdys held her hands close to it while closing her eyes. 'I sense similar magic as there was on the tower's front door. I should be able to unlock the cube from the pedestal.'

Kaui pulled out flasks, jars, and alchemy tools from her satchel. 'I think I can make something to dissolve the cube without damaging the piece inside.'

'I have every faith you two can do it, my dears.' said Ulric. 'Just let me know if we can do anything.'

Valdys sensed the magic embedded in the cube as a twirling aura in colours matching the type of magic used. Not the same colours that she saw every day with her eyes, nor alive in rainbows. There were no words to describe the them, but she understood them, and better with each boost to her tallies and addition to the knowledge of her library. She picked one colour, traced it back to its origin, and mixed it with the colour she conjured to neutralise it. One by one, she matched the strands of colour with their opposites, turning each into not black nor white, but into the colour of void. She had to make sure the colour matched perfectly, because she sensed the powerful spell underneath, and one mismatch would trigger its destructive force.

Her whole body quivered as the last strand dissolved, and she could see the spell in full, shaped as a layered sphere with many symbols in it. She had to disassemble the spell in the correct order in order to disarm it, and searched for the symbol she could pry loose first. Many of them were interlocked, but she found the symbol she needed hidden in another. With a mental tweezer, she retrieved it from the sphere, and it vanished. From there on out, she picked the whole thing apart, and when the last piece vanished she opened her eyes.

'Careful!' said Ulric and caught her before she collapsed onto the floor. He sat her down on his lap and wiped cold sweat from her brow with the back of his paw. 'Are you all right, my love?'

She gave him a tired but satisfied smile. 'I undid the the spell. Didn't realise how much effort it took until now.'

Kaui handed Ulric a clean cloth and he dabbed away the sweat in Valdys's face. 'You did a great job.' he said and kissed her forehead.

She looked at Kaui. 'The cube is safe to be handled now.'

'Thank you.' Kaui said, and began by pouring a red liquid she'd composed over the cube. After a short while, red strands as thin as hair grew through the transparent material, and traced a path as erratic as a butterfly in a tornado.

'That actually looks very pretty.' said Ulric. 'Does that mean the cube isn't perfectly solid?'

'Indeed, Master.' Kaui said, and poured a milky substance on the cube. 'The red liquid finds any opening and penetrates all the way inside, and this second liquid mixes with it to create a volatile solution, which I can ignite to crack the cube open.'

'Won't that damage the piece inside?'

Kaui smiled slightly. 'It's only powerful enough to do minute damage.' She took a step back and held up a small wooden device with a stone and metal top, which reminded Ulric of a lighter. 'Stand back, Master.'

He stepped back, she pressed the top of the device with her thumb, and sparks flew in a tight beam from it to the liquid on top of the cube. Ulric expected to see a big flame bursting, but instead the strands inside the cube flashed bright as lightning but in less time than one.

Ulric tilted his head. 'Nothing happened?'

Kaui giggled. 'Give it a knock, Master.'

He knocked it casually on the top, and with the sound of a pile of glass shards falling apart, the cube crumbled into pieces. He chuckled once. 'Damn, that's pretty impressive on a small scale.' he said, and pulled out the ring piece.

It began as a small tremble, then grew as Trixy bolted into the chamber, chittering in terror. 'Seriously!?' said Iphigenia. 'The worms are coming here!?'

'We need to run!' said Ulric. 'Now!'

A loud rumble and crack came from the back of the chamber and the wall burst open, hurling rocks all over the chamber. The mouth of the worm opened and closed as it wriggled in the opening, its teeth grinding.

Iphigenia and Elzbieta rushed to Kaui and Valdys to help pick up Kaui's items and support Valdys when another thrust by the worm cracked open the ceiling, and the pieces rained down.

'Girls!' roared Ulric and stood up over them, spreading his armoured arms to cover them despite knowing how futile it was.

The girls ducked and huddled together as the ceiling crashed down on them.

Iphigenia looked up to see why they weren't hit as expected, and gasped at the huge black wings with red streaks covering them. 'Wolfie..'

Ulric groaned at the weight pressing down on him but rose his wings and rolled the layer of rock on top aside. 'So I did gain wings.' he said in astonishment.

Another shudder through the chamber turned their focus on their highest priority again. 'Iphi, Elz! Take point!' Ulric said as he helped Kaui and Valdys up. 'I'll take the rear!'

Elzbieta rushed into the tunnel and halted in front of a couple of spirits who fluttered nervously. 'I think they want us to follow them.'

'They'll know how to take us out of here safely.' said Iphigenia.

'Then go!' said Ulric as he rushed into the short corridor and looked back at the rest of the chamber's ceiling crashing down, and his wings vanishing. He only spent a brief thought about finding out why they emerged when they were safe again.

'All right.' said Elzbieta, and the party ran after the guiding spirits and the spider golems.

The girls and Ulric ran as fast as they could while the tunnels trembled. 'Honey? What's going on?' asked Conchim. 'The ground is shaking and Isa has no idea why.'

'It's the worms!' said Ulric and turned his ears back when rumbling and the crash of rock sounded close behind him. 'They're attacking us! We're running towards the exit right now!'

'Hurry!' said Elzbieta. 'There's one coming towards us from the front but we can still make it to the side tunnel!'

They rounded the corner into the side tunnel spurred on by the view of a worm undulating forward with its mouth opening wide. With only survival in mind, they ran faster than they'd ever done before and entered the short passage to the stairs when another worm came up from the other end of the tunnel.

Using the wall for stability, they ran up the cold stone stairs without looking back, even when they trembled at the pounding and cracking sound coming up from below.

'We're going up the stairs now!' said Ulric to Conchim. 'We have the ring piece!'

Conchim hurried through Cat's central corridor. 'That's good news, but seeing you safe and sound up here is better.' she said and stepped out of Cat.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw the four strangers standing outside.

***

'Isn't this overkill? The four of us?'

Tarrence sighed internally, but he had no choice other than to become used to working with the team he had formed, and put up with asinine questions. He glanced at Elyta, the succubus and one of the best hunters he knew, even if her damaged wings caused her to fly just as well as the black bird she rode on. The nasr's vestigial wings were just as useless at flight. 'You'll find out once you've seen them, and then I hope you're right.'

'I know you well enough to think they're trouble when you need us to help out.' said Muni, one of the beast folk Ulric would describe as a black panther.

Tarrence nodded and glanced at the lich riding at the rear. He was glad Gigacks only talked when necessary. He was never quite sure whether his voice originated in the skeleton's mouth or where his throat used to be. 'I underestimated their strength. So far they eliminated an orc bandit party and a lord with enough golems to keep tight control of his little country. I advice you not to do the same.'

'You mean that shitty little walled in country we're headed towards?' asked Elyta. 'Why would you leave it to that windbag?'

'I had no other means available. It took the failure here to convince Kullek that I needed people with skills.'

Muni knew fully well how stubborn their superior was. 'What's the deal with them anyway, that you had us join you in such a hurry?'

'The bloodwolf was part of an experiment to make them intelligent enough for use as fighters in the army. I believe the human or elf interrupted whatever the sorcerer did, killed him, and recruited the wolf. They killed a necromancer a while ago and probably took a piece of an artefact with them. And now they're trying to find the other pieces.'

'What's the artefact for?' asked Elyta.

'Opening a portal to the demon lord's residence. It is only to be used in an emergency.'

Muni's laugh mixed with a roar in his throat. 'They'd die the moment they arrive in our territory. Why not let them kill themselves by trying?'

Tarrence frowned. 'Enlightened doesn't want to take a chance of anyone strong enough gaining access to the portal. First priority is stopping them and returning the pieces they have, second is bringing back that bloodwolf and examine him. Preferably alive.'

Muni bared his fangs in a grin. 'Meaning, let's not quite kill him.'

Elyta pointed at the top of a tower sticking barely out between the trees. 'Something's up ahead.'

'Dismount.' said Tarrence. 'There's a good chance we'll find our target there.'

The four moved cautiously through the trees and undergrowth until they laid eyes on the tower and the strange wagons close to it. 'What's that?' asked Muni. 'Some sort of long shed?'

Tarrence frowned when he suspected what it could be. 'I think it's their transport.'

'But it doesn't have wheels.'

'Maybe it can fly with magic, but who cares?.' said Elyta. 'We'll smash it to pieces if they try to flee.'

Tarrence checked for movement behind the windows. 'Muni, see if they're inside the tower. Stay out of sight.'

'Right.' he said, and slipped from cover to cover using his ability of obfuscation to remain undetected from most people and animals, until he reached the base of the tower and peeked inside through a dusty window. He picked up the scent of several people, but no sign of them nor sound. He sneaked back to his party. 'They were in there but I saw or heard nothing.'

'Then they're likely in that weird thing.' said Elyta and looked at Tarrence. 'Attack them there?'

He saw no benefit in waiting for anything to happen and nodded.

They kept to the trees as long as possible, then moved slowly towards an opening at the side of the first wagon.

The sudden appearance of a harpy startled them.

***

Tarrence pulled his daggers. 'Grab her!'

Conchim stepped back the moment the four lunged towards her. 'Four attackers outside!'

Muni reached the doorway first where Conchim had disappeared into but all he saw was a dark void. 'Hold up! Something's not right here.'

Isazea hurried to Conchim after hitting the button that activated another dimensional spell in the doorway. 'They can't come inside now.'

Ulric clenched his jaw as he ran up the stairs. 'Are you girls all right?'

'We'll be safe in here.' said Conchim. 'Be careful when you come out of the tower, I noticed one is a succubus and another is a skeleton.'

"And another obligatory fantasy race showed up." thought Ulric. "I will no doubt see the whole cast in the end."

Terrance sensed a tremble in the ground. 'Fall back! I don't trust what's going on here!'

Iphigenia and Elzbieta appeared first from the tower and took defensive positions in front of the door, Kaui and Valdys came after them, prepared to support them, and Ulric ran out in front of them and halted for a moment to check the situation.

The scent of one of the four strangers moving backwards seemed familiar but there was no time to think about it, the ground trembled harder. There was no damage to Cat or the surroundings, and the four seemed to withdraw from the scene. 'To Cat, all of you!' he said over the link. The girls hurried towards their transport while Conchim stepped out to assist if needed, and he ran after them.

The trembling became quaking, and in a loud cacophony of cracking stone, the tower exploded with a worm shooting upwards.

Everyone dropped down onto the ground and Ulric unfurled his giant wings once more to protect his girls from the flying debris.

Conchim gasped at her lover's wingspan. 'Honey? How?'

Ulric stood straight after the last rock hit his wings and looked back over his shoulder at the worm. Its breath rumbled loud. 'I'll tell you later! You all need to move now!'

The girls hurried again to Cat while the worm turned and locked onto the vibrations heading towards the transport. 'Shit!' said Ulric. 'Isa! Drive away as soon as everyone's inside! It's aiming for Cat!'

'What about you, darling!?' said Elzbieta.

'I'll distract it!' he said and raised his wings as he faced the monster and stomped hard on the ground. 'Over here you oversized fish bait!' he roared.

The worm turned its head towards the source of the loud sound, and reared back.

'Darling! Take this!'

He glanced at Elzbieta, and she threw her sword at him. With a swift turn he caught it. 'Thank you, my dear!' He turned back to the worm, which crawled further out of the remains of the tower. 'Shit. It'll go on a rampage if it's free.'

He bolted towards the crumbled base of the tower, jumped up on the rubble in front of the broken wall, and hew at the thick skin of the worm.

The worm took no notice of the slight cut, and thrust its head at the noisy creature at its side.

Ulric jumped away just in time to avoid becoming worm food and grumbled. 'Its skin is too thick to do any real damage.'

'You don't see any soft tissue?' asked Iphigenia, looking at the scene from the driver's cabin while Isazea backed away Cat.

Ulric looked over the length of the worm. 'I can't see anything.'

The worm opened its mouth to try and catch the elusive prey again.

Ulric looked up and an idea hit him. 'I might have found something.'

The girls cried out when the worm thrust its head down and devoured him.

***

'There goes our target.' said Muni. 'Unless you want to take on that thing and make it spit out the wolf.'

Tarrence frowned. He didn't look forward to relaying the loss of the wolf and failing his mission again.

'Hold on, what's that thing doing?' said Elyta.

The worm convulsed and retched, then gurgled up blood in sickly shades of yellow. It jerked back into the ground, then spewed out a large chunk of blood and sank into the hole.

The chunk rose from the ground and shook itself.

'What the..' said Muni.

Cat returned to the tower, the girls rushed out with buckets of water, and poured them over Ulric as he coughed and spit.

'Did he really just kill that worm from the inside?' asked Elyta as she shuddered her wings in disgust.

'Shall we grab them now?' asked Muni.

Tarrence nodded once. 'Attack.'