The creatures were small at first, but their original shape did not alter despite many subsequent growth spurts—again the result of devouring one another.

They were covered in brown hair, and each had six three-jointed, muscular legs. Their bodies were cylindrical and formed of three segments. From the first protruded what appeared to be a long, thin tusk; beneath this was a wide mouth. They did not have eyes or noses, and must have used other senses to locate their prey.

The first stage (devouring one another) continued until only five remained. At this point, each was about the height of a sheep, but perhaps three times as long.

Now they began to look elsewhere for sustenance.

The spell of menace should have driven off any creature that attempted to approach the outer rim of the pentacle. However, the creatures (which I have nicknamed stingers) somehow managed to summon their victims with an even more powerful force . The first of these were birds.

A large black crow landed on the pentacle where the stingers were confined. The first of the creatures darted forward and stabbed its tusk into the breast of the bird, which immediately collapsed, its legs twitching and its whole body suffering violent convulsions. Within seconds, the other four fierce entities had devoured it. Their wide mouths had double rows of needlelike teeth, which they used to tear the bird into small pieces.

Crows, wood pigeons, seagulls, geese, ducks, and magpies suffered a similar fate. They did not summon smaller birds. After that, it was the turn of rabbits, hares, and even a deer. All ignored the spell of menace and were drawn into the pentacle to their deaths.

Then, toward nightfall, the stingers became aware of me. They gathered on the edge of the pentacle, sharp tusks pointing toward me. I was filled with the urge to enter the pentacle. They were attempting to summon me to my death.

I was their new prey.

They did not get their wish. Only a fool enters a bear’s den when it can be killed from a distance. I countered their summoning spell, then used my throwing blades to slay all five of the creatures. They did not die easily.

My subsequent dissection of their bodies revealed the reason. Each segment had its own heart, lungs, stomach, and brain tissue.

Experiment Two

My findings prompted me to repeat the experiment. This time I caught one of the stingers early, when it was no bigger than a domestic cat. I removed and burned the foremost of its segments and waited for the result.

It was as I had predicted: the wound quickly ceased to bleed, and within forty-eight hours, the creature had regenerated its missing segment.

Once more I terminated the experiment.

The Third Animal Sample

I placed the third sample (labeled VARTEKI on the mage’s jar) in the same growth medium, and again used a pentacle for containment and spells of cloaking and menace to deter intrusion. But the containment was insufficient. From the very beginning, things did not go well.