Vashti had found their way to the earthen furnace at last. The plants that were so abundant on the upper levels had slowly disappeared. No ferns, no moss, and such vines as there were here hung short and unhealthy looking withered by the heat rising up from the earth.

It wasn’t as beautiful as the overgrown caverns above but it was fascinating. Vashti had already spotted several interesting rock formations.

A sound. Vashti’s ears flicked back and forth. Barking, far off, but closing. Not from the hounds of the surface though, this was deeper and almost hollow. Vashti picked up the pace on hopes of avoiding them.

It became clear that the hounds were on their scent when the baying followed them through several turns and choices of path.

In their peripheral vision the beasts approached, their coats black, eyes red, and bones burning with magic visible through their flesh. Their jaws were long and held low. No doubt that the pack hunted by the way they spread out and tried to flank the courser.

Vashti saw the cave ahead widen and stopped. Turned on their hind legs and reared, displaying their hooves. The hounds seemed unphased until Vashti charged at them, kicking one aside with a forehoof, biting deeply into another and flinging it aside. Then Vashti’s powerful hindquarters could come into play, a hound went flying with a wet cracking sound as the kick connected. Vashti pulled their hooves under them to leap off again. Behind them were yelps, snarls, and confused sounds

 The prey wasn’t supposed to turn and attack.

The courser came about for another charge, this time one hound was trampled but the rest turned and fled from them.

Vashti wasn’t sure if they were truly driven off or just regrouping, but they took a different path to the pack. Hopefully now they’d learned that Vashti was too much trouble to eat.