The horrid imagery of the party's ancient relatives rotting away in strange prisons had not scared the wits out of them, and so they pushed forward.

Faisal trotted at the head of the rest of them–despite Pancake's insistence to take the lead. Faisal She swore that she had great knowledge of the dungeons–and the lantern! But the blacksmith seemed to disregard such information, ensuring her that he had even more experience than what Pancake could’ve had. He could handle himself, even if the bay Courser thought that his height made him as inept as the foal she thought he was.

Pancake flicked an ear back as she processed what he said, then pouted, huffing that Faisal had insinuated such a thing of his character.

“I–I don’t think of you like that, Faisal,” Pancake said rather bluntly, only stuttering because of the shock of what he had said.

Faisal, inexpressive as always, replied with a rather monotone,”It was a joke, don’t take it too seriously,” keeping his eyes forward.

Pancake raised his brows, glancing back at Strawberry Parfait–the witch being much more experienced with social interactions–before looking back forward. Hm, it felt as if a burden had been lifted, if only still a smidge upset by Faisal thinking joking in such a manner was fun.

However, his thoughts were pulled away from the matter as the hallway they were in opened into a grand chamber. Faisal, too, slowed down to process the sight before them… It was a garden! If one could even call it that, it was beautiful as if it had once been created through conscious decisions, but lush and crowded as if it were a thousand-year old field. Bioluminescent plants illuminated the entire chamber.

“I wouldn’t linger in there,” Kimana suddenly spoke up from the back, usually quiet and in a world of her own.

“The flora does not have a kind history.” Despite the ominous warning, the pink Courser wore a pleasant smile.

Faisal flicked an ear back, as if considering what she said, before taking a step forward, and then another… entering the garden on his own. Pancake stood alert, not wanting him to go in on his own. She glanced back at Parfait and Kimana.

“Right, we’ll try to keep it brief then. Nothing in the dungeon has ever truly had a ‘kind history,’ so better to push forward than to turn back at every unkind corner.” Pancake hummed, her gaze lingering on the other two for a moment to recieve their input. Parfait nodded, and then too did Kimana. The three of them trotting forward to follow Faisal.