Something touched his leg. Jig screamed and barely stopped himself from squashing Smudge. He stroked Smudge for reassurance, and the fire-spider’s head immediately set fire to the film of oil on Jig’s fingers. He jammed his fingers into his mouth. The fire died, though Jig would have a blister on his tongue. Not to mention the awful taste of lantern oil.

What if he deliberately set his fingers on fire and used them to light the lantern? If it weren’t for the intense pain, it would have been a perfect plan. Having had more than his share of pain lately, Jig doubted he could do it. But his smarting fingers had given him another idea.

“Sorry about this,” he muttered, scooping Smudge up with his uninjured hand. He stuffed the fire-spider into the lantern and snapped the glass pane back into place.

The wick blazed to life, and Jig got one glimpse of Smudge tapping indignantly at the glass before he was forced to look away. The afterimage of the lantern obscured the center of his vision. They had light, and he still couldn’t see.

“What are they?” he yelled.

“By Earthmaker’s Black Anvil,” Darnak swore. Behind him, Jig heard Ryslind muttering a spell.

Jig set the lantern on the ground and rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, he saw what had frightened the others. “I didn’t know they grew that big,” he said.

Two carrion-worms circled the party. They could be nothing else, but Jig had never seen worms of such length. Their bodies were at least twenty feet long, and each segment was the size of a goblin’s head. The mouths were big enough to take a chunk of flesh large as Jig’s two fists together, and black, curved teeth surrounded each mouth. If these were normal worms, they would have a second, sharper row tucked inside and out of sight.

Strangely, Jig seemed the least afraid. This was something familiar, albeit much larger than he was used to. “They’re only carrion-worms,” he said. “They don’t attack living things.”

Almost before he had finished speaking, one of the worms lunged toward Darnak, who scrambled backward. “And mighty glad I am to be knowing that,” he shouted angrily. He backed himself against a wall and stood with his war club ready. Barius joined him there, guarding his left side.

The worm that had attacked began to circle, long antennae flicking at the dwarf. The other hesitated, then turned toward Riana, who backed away as quickly as she could.

The second worm reared, displaying six mouths in its bellies. The undulating teeth pointed outward, ready to rip the elf apart. Jig couldn’t understand it. These were carrion-worms. They wouldn’t eat anything live unless they were starving, and even then they limited themselves to rats and bugs.