Well, it's not like they had a choice. An enormous ghoulish face rose above them, carved into the rock by years of weathering. It had to be a coincidence that there was a waterfall of lava behind two unfortunately symmetrical holes that seemed to form eyes, and a terrible event of chance that there was a large, gaping mouth below it. The effect was a massive, looming, screaming face- and going through the mouth seemed to be their only option.

They stood now on the bridge between the Overgrown Caverns and the Earthen Furnace, a structure that looked a lot like magma had dripped from above and frozen into massive stalagtites. A constant roaring sound rang in their ears; the heat of the lava rising created a constant updraft. Freja circled overhead, coasting on the warm air, and Cairn wished she'd come down.

They'd been lucky to find a natural bridge like this one; all too often, getting to the next section of the dungeon involved far too much magma-island-hopping or goatlike wall-scaling. That said, they didn't feel lucky right now. A crack had opened in a rock beside them, and magma coursed steadily down the rocks towards them. It moved faster than he'd thought it would, to be honest, and pooled in sinister puddles at the foot of the enormous boulders. Cairn felt the temperature beneath his hooves rising by the second. He'd never felt such intense heat, and hadn't ever thought that he'd be at risk of getting his fetlocks burned, of all things.

Polaris turned to him. "We have to risk it. The path will be cut off, and it took us ages to find a crossing point like this."

"I don't know," Cairn said worriedly. "What if there's nothing more beyond that mouth and we're trapped in a dead end?"

"We have to take that risk. Maybe if we run now, we can have a look and make it back before the magma fully takes the path out," Polaris replied with more confidence than he felt.

Cairn flicked his tail anxiously. "I don't think we'll be able to get back." He looked longingly at the now-familiar green glow of the cavern behind him. "I kind of think we should stick to th-"

"Look out!" Polaris' body slammed into Cairn's as a large chunk of obsidian fell from higher up on the wall. The rock fell just inches from where Cairn had been stood. "We have to go!"

Cairn could argue no longer. "Freja!" he called, panic straining his voice. The falling rocks posed even more of a threat to her fragile wings. The hawk dove towards the mouth, and he sprung into a fast trot, careful not to let himself skid across the coarse surface. The last thing they needed now was for either of them to fall off the open side of the bridge. Polaris matched him, moving with a surefootedness that came with experience. The older Courser had been here before.

The magma behind them had now poured over the stone where they'd stood, and larger rocks were falling at greater speed. The two Coursers, hurried as they were, both paused at the base of the gaping mouth, looking up at the enormous face. They stood frozen for a moment before glancing at each other. In unspoken agreement, they moved forward into the mouth.