Tamsin

Tamsin turned wide eyes towards Smudge. They’d been here before. That echoing scream was too familiar. It hadn’t been what it seemed last time. When they’d barrelled ahead, they hadn’t found a Courser in agony. Someone to save.

Instead, a creature had awaited them. Some twisted, macabre monstrosity that seemed to have been made with bits of the dungeon itself. A mass of moss, rock, bone, sinew, stitched together to create a mockery of a Courser. Stitched. As if someone had done so. But perhaps that dungeon itself was merely alive enough to do such things.

Tamsin had always thought that the walls seemed to have eyes.

But what if?

What if just down that hall was a Courser they could save? A Courser that was in so much pain that their screams sounded like it was tearing apart their throat just to do so. Better to hurt there than to hurt anywhere else.

Another scream, bouncing off the walls in a way that seemed to amplify the sound, ringing in their ears.

Tamsin almost repeated the same words as last time but caught them before they could stumble out. Last time, before they’d met the creature, Tamsin had been sure of their action. This time… Tamsin was a little less so.

Shaking his head, causing his jagged mane to flop a little bit from side to side, Tamsin finally dragged his gaze away from the side passage. “Wait,” they said urgently, trying to get the words out quickly, to make sure they could make a decision before it was too late. Before the screaming stopped. “We’ve heard this before and it weren’t a Courser.”

He shivered at the memory, whites of his eyes flaring wider. “It was some… thing. And it really messed us up. I… I dunno, Smudge. Is this the same? What if it ain’t? What if it – they – need our help?”

Frel

Tamsin hadn’t asked their opinion, but Frel gave it anyway.

“Everything in the dungeon is a thing,” they said, without any of the trepidation of either of the other Coursers, looking instead to Bug, “What if it needed help? Do your morals only extend to those who look like you?” Frel shook their head, their curly forelock bouncing with the movement as they took a joyful step towards the sound, flicking their ears forward to better hone in on what it was attempting to communicate.

“Nothing makes that sound for fun.” 

It was a horrible groaning scream, the kind that came from real discomfort. Even if it wasn’t a Courser, it wouldn’t make such a horrible sound if nothing were the matter. They turned towards the toad splayed out on their flank, “Little man,” their voice wasn’t questioning, “You hungry?” 

The toad gave a soft croak, blinking one wet eye and then the other, before settling into his common loaf. 

“Little man is not hungry.” 

They announced as if that was that. 

Smudge

“Thank you for … sharing?” 

Smudge still wasn’t quite sure what to make of Bug’s friend, but he knew better than to challenge them outright. A leader didn’t earn that position by throwing his weight around, that just made you a bully. He sighed, looking from Tamsin with dismay as out of the corner of his eye he saw the wiggle of movement.

“Hold on,” he said, nipping at Frel’s flank as they began to attempt to skip down the hallway. The puck shot him a look of indignance and he offered a magnanimous smile, “We should talk about how best to help them, don’t you think?” 

He wasn’t sure if it would work, or if Frel might scoff at him and continue on their way. 

Mercifully, they took pause, turning again to Bug with a tilt of their head.

Smudge released a breath, the movement of his shoulder against Tamsin’s the only betrayal that he hadn’t been quite sure it would work. 

“The thing before,” he said softly, remembering how they’d barely escaped with their lives form the yawning jaws of the thing that was a blur of teeth and the smell of copper in his hazy memory. He wasn’t sure he could describe it if he had to, it felt like it was someone else who had been nearly ripped to shreds by the monstrous skeletal thing. 

“It was quick. Didn’t take time to ask questions. Do you think you can talk with it, if it’s the same thing?” 

His eyes leveled at Bug, eyebrows raising just a hair. 

The real question: If it was a monster, would Frel lead them to their doom? Or could they be convinced to leave it be. 

Bug 

“I…I think Frel may be right here…” Bug muttered quietly, glancing between the three. “But I do think we should be cautious in our approach. I’ve seen far too many things in this place that can mimic sounds of distress….” He frowned a bit, ears flicking back slightly. 

“Still I think we should at least go see what is happening. If I were the one in need, I would hope someone would come help me too.” Bug pawed at the ground gently, ears swiveling back around.

“Besides, if Little Man isn’t hungry, that doesn’t leave us with much choice, right?”