James Simpson has been infected by a parasite, currently living in his gut. The parasite is meta-dimensional, winking in and out of this plane; as it feeds and grows stronger, it becomes more anchored in this plane. Simpson conversely becomes weaker as the parasite grows stronger.
Conventional medical procedures (purges, emetics, even surgery) have no effect, as the parasite flicks between dimensions until the danger to it passes. Ultimately, the parasite becomes strong enough to be permanently anchored in this plane. When this happens, Simpson is dying and the parasite (about two feet long and an inch in diameter) can be felt under his abdomen.
The parasite possesses one other unusual feature – It can compress its circumference until it is able to pass through the smallest of holes (although it is later able to tear its way through bone, plaster, and light brickwork). This means that it can exit Simpson at any time through his ears, tear ducts, nose, mouth, penis, or anus, should it be provoked.
Possibilities
1 Simpson, formerly an explorer and anthropologist, was captured and tortured by the Tcho-Tcho people in south-east Asia who tattooed on his belly summoning and binding rituals. Rapid research might reveal a dismissal spell but unless the investigators can remove the tattoos the worm will be summoned back into its host.
2 Simpson is the victim of a summoning spell cast by a hostile sorcerer. An Elder Sign pressed against his abdomen causes the parasite to erupt violently from Simpson, killing him. The worm is ‘anchored’ in front of the Elder Sign and can then be dealt with relatively easily.
3 The parasite is a servitor of Crom Cruach, the great worm god. It consumes Simpson entirely, before moving on. Once Simpson is consumed, the worm is larger and can enter and internally consume one more human-sized body, after which it reaches anaconda-sized proportions. Any further attempts to enter a human body results in the host’s immediate and messy destruction, unable to accommodate the creature’s increased size.
© Charles Ross
Conventional medical procedures (purges, emetics, even surgery) have no effect, as the parasite flicks between dimensions until the danger to it passes. Ultimately, the parasite becomes strong enough to be permanently anchored in this plane. When this happens, Simpson is dying and the parasite (about two feet long and an inch in diameter) can be felt under his abdomen.
The parasite possesses one other unusual feature – It can compress its circumference until it is able to pass through the smallest of holes (although it is later able to tear its way through bone, plaster, and light brickwork). This means that it can exit Simpson at any time through his ears, tear ducts, nose, mouth, penis, or anus, should it be provoked.
Possibilities
1 Simpson, formerly an explorer and anthropologist, was captured and tortured by the Tcho-Tcho people in south-east Asia who tattooed on his belly summoning and binding rituals. Rapid research might reveal a dismissal spell but unless the investigators can remove the tattoos the worm will be summoned back into its host.
2 Simpson is the victim of a summoning spell cast by a hostile sorcerer. An Elder Sign pressed against his abdomen causes the parasite to erupt violently from Simpson, killing him. The worm is ‘anchored’ in front of the Elder Sign and can then be dealt with relatively easily.
3 The parasite is a servitor of Crom Cruach, the great worm god. It consumes Simpson entirely, before moving on. Once Simpson is consumed, the worm is larger and can enter and internally consume one more human-sized body, after which it reaches anaconda-sized proportions. Any further attempts to enter a human body results in the host’s immediate and messy destruction, unable to accommodate the creature’s increased size.
© Charles Ross
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