The yellow door opened to a massive cavern. Cautiously, Chen advanced into the chamber. Inside, he saw a few white orbs, hovering high in the air. But he didn't need the white ones. The white orbs were not soul orbs, yet. They would have to undergo light transformation to become the golden soul orbs. This could take hundreds of years according to the chief priest. He didn't need to wait for that long. What he was looking for was somewhere around here. That much he could tell from the spell on his palm.

With the guidance of the helpful spell, Chen finally located the orb he was searching for. A round ball of golden light, hovering high in the air. He jumped up in joy before performing a small dance around. But soon, his happiness faded away when the height of the orb finally dawned on him. How was he going to reach that?

He was deeply thinking about it when the mutated scaven barged into the cavern. Two large red eyes blazing like two angry suns. The scaven was now many times as big as before, and darker. Its claws could easily rival that of any dragons. Without thinking, it rushed towards Chen. But before it could reach Chen, from below ground burst a massive worm-like head at the end of a sinewy neck. It was several times the length of a giant wereworm. A wyrm. The abomination's huge and oddly shaped mouth seized the mutated giant scaven at the midsection, and raised the scaven high. Its claws wildly scratching, the mutated scaven tried in vain to wriggle free from the deadly vice-like grip.

More and more of the burrowing monster emerged, showing numerous brown bumps and black spines on its pale tan body. Its fanged mouth takes up most of its front end, perfectly designed for ripping through dirt and rock. With the ease of biting into a piece of soft cheese, the serpentine giant bit through the giant scaven's muscular torso. The massive scaven's movement stopped. Parts of its tail and hind legs fell in one direction, the head and one foreleg another. With cherished enjoyment, the wyrm swallowed all that was left in its mouth. Down the wyrm's great gullet went nearly a third of its prey. Dropping its head down, the wyrm stuck its circular and powerful mouth under the giant scaven's tail and hind legs, clamping its jagged teeth around its hindquarter. The sweetest part. The wyrm raised its mouth skyward, tossed the bloody gobbet up, and let it fall into its gullet.

The burrower's eyes darted around in their sockets before falling on the extremely scared Chen. It let out a furious croaking roar, and was about to attack when five obsidian spears hit it on the side of the head. The burrower let out a louder croaking roar and turned in the direction where the spears came from. From behind the rocks, a pack of stocky, muscular trows attacked the wyrm. They were clad in ragged and thinly veiled clothes.

Chen had heard of the trow race before, but not the dark trows with grey stripes she was now looking at. The striped trows are one of the legends of the underground. Once, they were living above the ground before going underground. Just like the dark Scarans. Looking at them now, Chen understood why they called them the salient killers.

The wyrm stopped its attack and backed toward the hole from which it had sprung. It snapped at the first of the trows, almost biting off the anxious warrior's head. Luckily for him, quick reflexes sent the trow scrambling just out of reach. More than a dozen trows materialized to confront the giant beast. It snapped again at one thinly cladded attacker, tearing the spear from his hand spear that he was about to jab at its long neck. The weapon broke easily and, after being tasted, was spit out. In fury, the wyrm emerged from the hole in the ground. Its full size was exposed. The entire body was cylindrical, with its body ending in a short, pointed tail perhaps three feet in length. Seeing the full mass of the wyrm, Chen knew the lives of the trows and his were in mortal danger.

Another trow threw his spear. The point went into the side of the burrower's neck. It gave another croaking roar and shook the point free. Dark blood dribbled from the wound.

As six more trows joined those already attacking the wyrm, the massive reptile chose flight over food. It twisted its body around and began digging furiously at the soil with its well shaped mouth. Between strength and the sharp point, the reptile dug down almost as quickly as if it were diving into water. But as swift as the immense creature was, the trows were even quicker. They thrust spears into its side. The reptile roared in pain as it drew back up to confront its foes. Three trows with smaller spears moved in close. The heads of the spears were smaller and hooked at the end, making them difficult to remove from any target. On the other end of the spears had been attached long strands of rope made from a specialized plant known by others for its durability.

The first of the trio threw his spear. The small missile glanced off the upper edge of the beast's great neck and fell away. He scrambled after the spear as the second tossed. The next two spears sank deep enough to catch in the scaled hide. Both the spear throwers and another nearby trow immediately grabbed hold of the flexible rope and tugged. But as they did, the wyrm's head darted down. Before the pair could pull it away, it caught the head and arm of the trow chasing after the fallen spear. Although compared to the scaven's body, the trow's was thicker and difficult to bite through, the wyrm's teeth were up to the task. The bloody bits that remained of the trow twitched madly before thunking to the ground. The wyrm wasted no time in swallowing the trow's head and arm, its digestive system more than able to handle the bones.

Before long, a number of trows had died. But the time the wyrm took to make a meal of the trow proved costly. It gave the remaining trows the time needed for them to gather nearer and bring forward more warriors with short but deadly spears. Two hurled their weapons from the opposite side. Both spears struck home. A pair of warriors grabbed each attached rope and pulled. Another warrior threw a spear, followed by two more. With five hooked spears sticking into the body of the monster, the trows were able to drag its head closer to the ground.

Chen watched the burrower croaked its fury, and its paws scratched as wildly at the ground. Suddenly, its body whipped back and forth in a frenzy. The rapid movements caught some trows by surprise. Those clutching two of the ropes lost their grip, and a third rope was held desperately by only one trow. One of the two trows was scooped up by the wyrm.

The leader of the group, a giant of a trow, approaching with a spear was whacked by the beast's tail. And despite him being only a few feet long, its thickness and the speed with which it struck was enough to shatter the leader's rib cage. With their numbers depleted, they knew they could no longer defeat the wyrm. They resolved to give up their hold on the ropes holding the injured wyrm.

Understanding the fatality that would come with the wyrm being free, Chen rushed out from his hiding corner. Determinedly, he took the position of the fallen trow. Despite his small stature compared to the trows, he pulled the rope with his might. The other trow, holding the same rope as Chen, glanced at him curiously before giving a sharp nod.

With six ropes embedded, the trows managed to keep the reptile more at bay. They pulled its head closer and closer to the ground, though its snapping jaws prevented anyone getting near. The wyrm continued to writhe in an attempt to free itself. The wounded leader of the group had now regained himself. He moved in with a long spear. Wherever he found an open spot on the sinewy body, he thrust hard. The monster's roars became gasps. Its body grew sluggish. The trow leader brought out his massive axe and began hacking at the wyrm's head. Minutes later, the burrower's head rolled off its body.

"D'ar goi!" Roared the trow, brandishing his bloodied axe in the air.

The victory bellow was echoed by other trows who also, in celebration, shouted, "D'ar goi!"

Then, the trow leader turned to Chen and roared.