I lay on the floor of the corridor, just outside the chamber. From where we lay, I could keep an eye on the sarcophagus but also had a handy escape route if we needed it. Cal was fast asleep, his head resting on my back. His warm breath tickled me as I smiled at him.
From within the chamber I could hear Ersatz and Mudguard excitedly chattering to each other. Mudguard was adamant that the contents of the Sarcophagus could be used for good, that the liquid was a potent ingredient, but I didn't trust it one bit. I'd had enough encounters with the sarcophagus to know that it was something awful. But Mudguard had insisted we make camp here for the night 3 ie in order for her to test out some ideas on the liquid, and I figured it was better to be here when she inevitably needed rescuing.
So here we lay, Cal fast asleep and I trying not to listen to what they were saying within the chamber. Not that that was hard, I barely understood half of the scientific things they were talking about. I knew that Mudguard had gotten her unusual colouring from a potion gone wrong, and that didn't fill me with great hope. And Ersatz I couldn't pin down, but I think that he doesn't really know who he is either.
My eyes were beginning to close despite my best efforts, the comfort and warmth of Cal lulling me into sleep, when I realised that something was weird. I raised my head and glanced around, not being able to place what had put me on edge. There was nothing odd, so far that I could see, though it was darker than it was before. Wait. That's what was wrong. It was silent.
"Mudguard? Ersatz? You guys okay?" I called out. Cal awoke next to me with a start, on his hooves before he could even blink, ready to run. "Easy Cal" I murmured. He nodded at me and adopted a more comfortable position.
I peered into the chamber with the sarcophagus, and heard a glugging noise.
"Ersatz?"
I heard a noise like a hoof scraping stone, and as I crossed the threshold of the room, the scene before me became clear as day. Mudguard and Ersatz were both stood next to the sarcophagus, their heads deep below the liquid. The liquid was so dark that I couldn't see even the slightest hint of them below the surface. I growled and ran into the room, reaching for the ropes I'd insisted we all wear. I gathered both their ropes between my teeth, and I threw all my body weight into tugging on them. I heard hoofbeats and felt Cal join me, adding his size and weight to the morbid tug-of-war we were playing. One tug, nothing. Two tugs, nothing. Three tugs- with a clatter of hoofbeats, Cal and I slipped as Mudguard and Ersatz both emerged from the liquid with a squelch, desperately gulping down air. Mudguard looked betrayed, of all things.
I barely held back a snarl as I turned to stare at her. "THIS is why I didn't want to mess around with this stuff."
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. I snorted and turned away, my distaste of the sarcophagus making me even more gruff than normal.