Gondon actually seemed relieved when the first group of morlocks tried to swarm us. We had actually sighted a small rock worm, about half a torso wide and gods only know how long.
Many ignorant people use the term "simple earthworms", but they are actually quite complex creatures, and incredibly durable for their size. Their larger cousins, based on a sampling of remains from some sort of worm-on-worm fratricide, turned up...
Well, you may not remember when I said last book that cricket legs don't quite scale up. But they don't, and neither do normal earthworms. But if I ever wanted to get along without eyes or a face to put them in, I had THOSE evolutions ready to crank into high gear.
Just... you know, I had better things to do than unlock rock worm transformation.
Still not a proper endcap, but I've gotten used to enough of the new job that I'm not arriving home utterly exhausted. Don't get me wrong, I could collapse from fatigue, but I don't actually need to any more.
Also, have a lead on a rental room in a house. Access to a kitchen and refrigerator space... It seems like so long to have only been a few weeks.
Tomorrow, I attempt for a proper endcap.
As always, thank you for sticking with the story. Your readership means more to me that I have the words to express.