Cynical and crudely charming Cugel again ventures back to Almery, after his spell misfires against nemesis Iucounu the Laughing Magician. He connives out of wage-slavery, in debt to the company refectory, as he dredges for a disassembled demiurge's scales in a slime pit. He and a co-worker sabotage each other scrubbing disease off huge worms that power ship Galante.