“It was early in the year when we lost thirty of our soldiers in a border war between Haallan and Eledus. We had been called to arms by King Dru himself to push the Dark Lord back into the Great Forest. We emerged victorious, but at tremendous cost.

Being thirty short of our usual hundred, our every day march became strenuous; having fewer squires, most of the soldiers had to carry their own tents and blankets in addition to armor and swords. Most ended up abandoning their tents, opting for the stars rather than breaking their backs.

I was squire to Cadfael’s son, Luke. In contrast to his father, Luke was brown of feather and robust in shoulders and muscles. He was a mighty warrior and loyal soldier to my brother, Sygdag, who at the time was King Kraat.

Our group being exhausted physically and still grieving our lost friends emotionally, we came into the vast desert of Umohaw, which you witnessed last year. We wanted to get through the sands quickly, as the city of Elf Port that lies beyond always has opportunities for recruitment into the patrol.

Now, as you may know, the desert of Umohaw is home to the worms—ferocious, long-lived dragon-like beasts with no arms or legs; their home is dirt and sand, into which they burrow. Though intelligent, most worms are no stranger to eating whatever may pass their treacherous warrens: humans, kraat, dwarfs, even each other if they’re hungry enough. 

One worm in particular makes passing through the borderlands of the desert difficult; he is named Scalifrax, and he bars the entrance to the Seaside Canyon Pass. The Pass, as suggested by its name, leads into a canyon which is easily traversed straight to Elf Port. Unfortunately, the kraat have not entered the pass for centuries on account of this one, evil worm.

Having been battered and worn by the year’s difficult march, some of our troops decided they’d had enough of Scalifrax. So, late at night, out of earshot of King Sygdag (who remained adamant about staying out of Scalifrax’s burrow), we began to scheme the worm’s demise.

Luke was the leader of the plan. He wanted nothing more than to bring morale and hope back to the patrol. I, being his squire, followed him dumbly. If I had only told my brother of the events that were about to take place, things would be much different now.

Under an open, starry sky, the moon led five soldiers, including me, to the Seaside Canyon Pass. Nothing could be heard but the wind scraping along sand and stone. Though nothing living made its presence known, we were aware, somehow, that Scalifrax was listening.

Beneath the stony arch that led into the canyon, we felt a shifting of earth beneath our feet. Already, our scheme was going awry; we had planned on ambushing the beast with oil and flint to set his warren ablaze, but the trap was sprung—and it was his, not ours.

Something began to unearth itself. We drew our weapons. As our eyes focused on the twisting sands ahead of us, we failed to notice something was rising from behind as well.

Worms can be twenty, thirty feet in length. Not only is Scalifrax a large beast, but he is a clever one—having guarded his pass jealously for hundreds of years. Ahead of us, finally, we saw a rusty-red tail flash into the night air. But where was the head?

Brom was the first to go. I was standing right beside him when massive jaws caught him by the shoulder from behind. So mighty were Scalifrax’s teeth that they pierced through his pauldron and into his flesh. He was then flung to the rocks that paralleled us. He did not move again.

The soldiers of the patrol are brave—many of us born on the march. But I was still only eight years old. Though I’d seen battles, frightful wounds and the death of friends, I had never seen anything as powerful and hideous as Scalifrax. When Brom hit the ground, I whirled about to see him rear up, his green eyes, long maw, untamed white hair and twisted horns highlighted by moonlight. My heart froze as if I was already dead.

Gunda leapt forward bravely, her spear aiming for the beast’s belly. But so thick were Scalifrax’s dirt-encrusted scales and skin that the spear’s metal head merely glanced the surface as if it had hit stone. The worm opened his maw, steam billowing forth. Gunda had no time to react before fire erupted from Scalifrax’s lungs. I did not see the burned flesh, but I heard a single cry of agony before she, too, hit the ground.

The three of us that remained: Luke, Ernust and I, stood side by side, waiting for Scalifrax’s next move, our weapons held forward.

Time stopped as we stood there in the deep night, Scalifrax’s eyes locked on us. Seconds stretched as if a bowstring was about to snap; I think some part of myself is still there, Belmardina, looking Death in the eye, waiting.

Finally, the moment fled like candlelight before breath and Scalifrax made his next cunning attack. His head darted forward again as if to strike, but he pulled back as we lunged forward to meet him. It was a decoy—as he moved his head, his tail, which he had re-buried in the loose sand came up below us, wrapping itself about Ernust’s talons.

Scalifrax pulled him down, twisting his coils about his chest and neck as we tried in vain to release him. We hacked at the sinuous worm body with dirk and sword, then tried to loose the tail from his neck with our straining fingers. At last, Scalifrax pulled him into the earth with a mighty pull, at once breaking his body and burying him alive in a convenient tomb.

When Ernust disappeared below the sand, I dropped my dirk. My hands had lost all strength.