The being seemed to frown. He repeated his question in a more louder and angrier tone. "Why are you here and what is your business?" He said business in a tone that Lief didn't like. This being seemed to get annoyed easily. Lief cleared his voice and felt for the rush of courage as he fingered for the diamond on his belt. "We need to get to that mountain." Lief emphasised 'that' and at the same time pointed to the mountain behind one of the tunneling worms. A growl escaped the being's mouth. "No one gets to MY MOUNTAIN!" He yelled, raising his arms as if to squish Lief. Lief watched, wide-eyed in horror as the being scooped them up and dangled them above the swarming worms - who seemed to be eager to eat. Jasmine shrieked and tried to get a better grip on the monster's scaly hand. "Plan, Lief?" Barda asked Lief, his face as terrified as Jasmine's. "Try to avoid the teeth..." Lief bit his lip, not knowing if that would even help. "That's all you have?! Do you even expect us to live the drop?" She shrieked at Lief, waving her arms about like a madwoman. Lief felt the grip loosen as the being got ready to watch them fall. "No one crosses my land and survives!" He shrieked in delight as he watched them struggle. Then suddenly, they all slipped through his hands and fell. Plummeted to their doom. Waited for the horrible crunching of bones.
Falling seemed to take forever. Lief could see Barda and Jasmine, as helpless as he, as they fell beside him. He frowned as he tried to remember what his mother had said. As the worm's open mouths rushed up to greet them, Lief braced himself for the impact.
The worm's stomach was damp and musty. Barda's hand clamped tight on his own nose as he struggled to stand up. "It stinks down here." He groaned, sounding funny because he was holding his seemed as though he was going to pass out. Lief tried not to breathe in the rotten stench of worm. Barda looked around him then quickly grabbed Lief's shoulder. He let go of his nose to talk properly. "Where's Jasmine? She was quite far from me when we fell." Lief frowned. Was it possible that she had fallen farther than them? Could they take the risk to go look for her? Or was she in one of those other worms? Lief and Barda tumbled back onto the squishy worm's stomach as they felt the worm start to dive back down into the sand. A heap of dull quicksand landed on a heap beside them. Lief got back up quickly to avoid the smell of the stomach. Suddenly, a familiar voice seemed to echo in his mind. he tried to make out the words. If you call the opal dragon using the opal, the opal dragon will come to help you. Lief turned to Barda. "Are you sure about that?" He asked him. "Sure about what, Lief?" Barda looked puzzled as he tried to remember what L:ief was talking about. Lief bit his lip. Was that Barda talking? His fingers trembled as he held the opal on the belt under his shirt. This better work... Lief thought.