Relief was not the only thing to flood through Smudge’s mind as the four of them each escaped the noxious gas that seemed to be determined to follow him throughout the dungeon. There was a resigned sort of malaise that he didn’t quite recognize, the complacency that he had always been certain to push aside whenever it dare rear its ugly head.   And why?   ...

A clicking sound had Monaco's ears flicking. Coleo's quiet little rustling of his elytra that clued Monaco a sense of something different, if he hadn't already tasted it in the air. Both of them were creatures of the dungeon, beetle and courser both part of the vast network that spread underground.   Coleo could not talk. Was not alerting Monaco in the way some well-trained dog would, he was yet a beetle. He was merely unsettled, and that was something to noti...

Of all the company to keep, Illene supposed this particular set of Coursers could have rounded up worse. The ranger was competent and virtually silent. The latter trait Illene almost preferred in a companion. He reminded her of Marshal. The hound at her hocks looked up at her, as if he could hear the direction of her thoughts. A younger Marshal, perhaps, not quite so grizzled by age, although the Courser’s hide seemed to hint just on the edge of grey. Not quit...

Nesaku regarded the entryway to the Earthern Furnace steadily, mismatched eyes drifting over the portal in the rock. Coursers that had tried here before him had left their mark on the stone. The passageways before this had been clearly signposted for those who would come next. Even if that signposting was without language much of the time, one only had to take the time to look, in order to know.   The most obvious were the symbols or language. Arrows pointing the way one should...

"Thank God, Logue. Please, take them," Monaco groaned, grabbing Tamsin by the shoulders and shoving them towards the newcomer. The ranger turned and strode away without looking back, although he did wave a hand over his head in acknowledgement, as Tamsin cheerily called out a goodbye.   Monaco was away and around the corner in a heartbeat, his footsteps already a whisper, disappearing long before that.   Nudging Tamsin with an elbow, Logue asked,...

You enter a room in the Caverns full of massive, dangling pillars of silk. Upon further inspection, they are cocoons; in the light, you can see various giant caterpillars and moths in various stages of transformation. These vulnerable creatures could be valuable, but you’re not sure what dangers they may pose if disturbed. What do you do?   Monaco entered the next chamber on soft, booted feet, little more than a whisper as he assessed the occupants from just inside the thresh...