Matthew Miller Stories

“I’m telling you, it doesn’t matter how old a body is, dragging it around isn’t going to make a trail of slime like that.”

“Roy.”

“I don’t think there’s even enough mass in a person’s body to liquify like that — forget whatever the worms get to.”

“Roy!” Dannie jabbed Roy with his elbow. “Smell that?”

“Gross!” Roy sneered. “Don’t look so proud of it!”

“Wha— No, you ape. It’s being picked up by the wind. It’s coming from over there. I think we’re getting close to whatever we’re looking for.”

“Right…”

“Quiet down.” Dannie lowered his profile. His knuckles were white around the hilt of his blade. “Be ready for anything.”

Roy started to say something but thought better of it. He fiddled with a latch on his scabbard so that he could draw his blade. “Damn it,” he muttered. It was hard to see much of anything under the canopy of trees. By the time his blade was drawn, Dannie was up thirty paces. “Could you slow down for a second?”

Dannie pretended not to hear Roy speaking. No— he blocked Roy out. He needed to direct his focus towards his environment, looking for clues and movement.

And there was movement. The ground cover just a meter in front of Dan throbbed and then exploded as a creature erupted from the ground. Its skin crawled across its body like a maggot’s, its many arms and slimy tentacles writhing, flailing in Dan’s direction. He was dwarfed before it.

Dan stumbled, then dove backwards just before the creature collapsed. “Fuck.” He grunted and jumped to his feet. Something blared in his ears.

Roy charged in with a battle cry, sword held high. He went to stab the monster, but dragged his blade through its skin as it wormed. It let out a hissing shriek as it shifted and slammed the ground. Its tentacles lashed towards Roy, breaking skin on his face and shoulder.

Dan saw his opportunity. As the creature faced off with Roy, he leapt on its back and drove his dagger into one of its eyes. Hot, black liquid swelled and squirted across his arms. The creature reeled and hurled Dan back to the ground.

After landing his attack, Roy faltered. His own wounds stung maliciously. His movement became sluggish. His legs were giving out. “Dannie…” He tried to yell, but could scarcely manage to speak. “I can’t… move…”

Dan’s head spun from his impact. He couldn’t process what he was hearing. A sharp pain shot through his shoulder as he stood. He sucked in air through his clenched jaw. By the time he turned, the creature had snaked its way around Roy. It was trying to swallow him whole.

Dannie roared and charged back into the creature, climbing it, plunging his dagger repeatedly into its flesh, bearing through his own pain — through the creature’s agony. Its soft body shifted and buckled. The creature raised its head — Roy held firmly in its mandibles — and tried to swallow its last meal. But Dannie’s dagger was unceasing. In a moment, as the creature bathed in its own dark blood, it gurgled and collapsed. Dead.

His body still throbbing, Dan dismounted from the creature and pulled Roy’s still-visible foot, peeking out of its maw. He dragged the boy free and lay him out on the ground.

Roy, still struggling to move, cussed.

Something overcame Dannie. He chortled.

“Don’t laugh…” Roy said sluggishly.

And with that, Dannie kicked his head back and howled with laughter.

“I said don’t…” Roy moved his arm to sit up slightly. His feeling was coming back slowly.

“Ah, well that’s that, then. Mission accomplished, I think.” He patted Roy on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

This model is the official WizKids Carrion Crawler mini for D&D, in the Nozlur’s Marvelous Unpainted Miniatures line. It’s one of the larger models that I’ve painted, but the whole process was a joy. The model has plenty of smooth surfaces that are great for layering, and I especially adored all of its nubby legs, which reminded me a bit of human thumbs.

Carrion Crawlers are lovely, if simple. They’re 9-12 foot-long amalgams of maggots, caterpillars, and NOPE, and they sustain themselves on freshly paralyzed foes or humanoid corpses.

I’ve not really tried my hand too much at action scenes, so this piece was an attempt to branch out. Carrion Crawlers seemed like a natural fit for a focus on such a story because they’re suitably grotesque and their monstrous nature makes it easier for me to grasp the mindset of the other characters in the story. My main goal in this text was the pick up on some of the chaos of a battle while keeping specific events and actions clear to a reader. I hope I managed!