To say that all three of them were lost was an understatement, even though Pheobe swore that she knew where they were going. Mare knew the dungeon, even if this one moved, the exit from this particular corridor shouldn't be far, just around this bend... Damn it! An irritated stomp could be heard that echoed off the walls.

- I told you that this part moved like two days ago... - The mumbling came from Fetch... Who was immediately met with a narrowed gaze from the golden mare, which caused the gray one to fall silent with a click of her tongue. Normally, Phoebe almost radiated with a calm aura, but now? Probably if she was capable of it, instead of three lost divers there would be only two of them. That wasn't surprising, anyone who would be stuck who knows where in the dungeon would get anxious

- Must I remind you, that YOU wanted us go to deeper? - Her yellow ears laid along her skull. 

- Yeah, but you wanted to lead us... 

- So you knew how to not get lost here? -  It was only met with a silence and guilty look on the hooves. Perhaps if they hadn't been wandering back and forth, Fetch would have been able to lead them to the starting point... 

- Maggie leave it! - Moritz, who was also with them, only shook their head as Courser jumped toward the phantom hand that was digging in the rubble a few meters behind them. By the way, they wonder where Mina went. If there was no red eyeball in that blind turn, there must have been another branch somewhere.

They looked back at the blue-eyed one as she tried to reason with her companion, they could even swear that the phantom hand looked like a scolded child for a moment before it simply decided to throw the rock it was holding between fingers... at the wall.

Instead of bouncing off the stone surface as it should have... the pebble simply flew through it. The silence that followed could have been cut with a butter knife. Moritz seemed to have just gotten his answer as to where their own companion had gone.

All their ears were pricked forward as they looked at each other, approaching the, apparently, camouflaged passageway. They nodded to each other.

- Careful. - This time it was Moritz who spoke, deciding to try and first swing their leg towards the supposed passageway and without meeting the solid structure of the wall, they took a deep breath as they moved through the curtain.

At first glance, it seemed that no one had been here for a long... long time. The ground was covered in a carpet of dust, and ribbons with small mushrooms growing at the end of them illuminated the ceiling and the entire room. Only after taking a closer look did they notice sharp indentations in the gray, dusty cover on the floor. Hoofprints. Someone must have been here, and recently, literally dancing around the room, standing just before the exit to the corridor and deciding that no, they weren't going in that direction - instead, they turned into the next branch. Mortiz could have sworn that whoever that person was, they were either dragging some kind of sheet on the ground or had an unusually long tail. From the strange, shiny red specks, he wasn't sure which option was correct.

- It should be safe. - They looked behind, toward the entrance, noticing a rock leaning against the wall and another streak on the ground, as if someone had pushed the boulder. Or it had moved itself. In the dungeon, anything was possible. They watched as the rest of the group, which wasn't that big, passed through the wall to join them. Even with the three of them, there was still plenty of space here, few more groups like theirs could fit in. Pheobe and Fetch immediately started looking around the room, leaving the chestnut on watch duty, which suited them quite well, all they had to do was look at both entrances leading further and listen from the side they came from. 

Pheobe was sitting on the ground and had a notebook out, probably writing something in it about the discovery, and Fetch? Fetch, together with Maggie, were looking curiously at one of the plants hanging from the ceiling. Her dark nose gently nudged a mushroom growing there, and it made a sound as if indignant at the touch. High, ringing shriek enough that it ringed in their ears. The whole room shook, and the stone that had been just by the wall moved. Quickly. So much so that they didn't even have time to shake off the sudden sound and it cut off their way back to the corridor.

- What was THAT? - Phoebe shook her head, looking from Mortiz to Fetch. Apparently, she didn't even notice what the bluish mare was doing.. who stood stunned and blinking rapidly. Oh yeah. She was the closest to that thing.

- I think those mushrooms were part of some mechanism - Mortiz said quietly, still trying to get rid of ringing in their ears - And it was holding that rock. 

Phoebe gave them a look, that was the most they said in one go through all of this unfortunate adventure... but she didn't say anything about it. Just groaned. 

- So, we are EVEN MORE LOST. - She hid her face in front legs, and frustration about this situation was getting to her especially now. 

- We can follow the track, it’s fresh. - Chestnut courser moved toward the path that led to the one who was here before them. Maybe they will also find the answer to why they choose not to go through the wall they unlocked. 

- Track? - Fetch shaked her head hard, looking at them surprised. She looked down, widening their eyes as they landed on the hoof marks. They both, Mortiz and Pheobe could hear a loud gasp - Come on! 

She trotted excited, this time leading the group. 

- Hopefully that someone here knows the way back... - Pheobe sighed, getting up on her legs and following the others. 

Hearing other things then soft chirping fairies was even weird. Seeing other horses was even weirder. Looking at them from behind the curtain of hair wasn't the most comfortable, but it was downright stiff from... whatever it was he woke up in, who knows how long ago. As soon as he managed to find something deeper than the water that reached just to his feetlocks - he'd probably have to dive in it to wash off the hardened crust that had formed on himself. The water here was not usable anyway.

When the three strangers entered the cistern, he froze in place, staring at them. They probably didn't notice him right away, because the one covered in shades of blue and gray pricked up her ears at the sight of the water. Was she happy? Excited? He couldn't tell. The other two moved a little deeper, looking literally everywhere but in his direction. Maybe if he stayed still, quietly, they would just pass by.

And he probably would, especially that any fairy who decided to follow him, after he accidentally destroyed their home - Hid itself and their light in his mane for protection, not really sure what to do, so it was just an easy waiting game. Or at least it would be if not the impulse that took over his body when his eyes landed on the blueish mare, who lowered her head to drink water. The same stagnant, nasty water they stood in might seem clear at the edges, where its level was lower - but even he, someone who didn't know much about life and in its entire existence - knew only the walls of the dungeon, were aware that this water was not fit for drinking. It could even be poisonous if ingested.

She just wanted to drink something that wasn't out of the canteen they all carried. So as soon as she brought her muzzle close to the surface of the water, a sudden squeal echoed throughout the room... and even if she would like to deny it - she flinched. Not just by the presence of the sound, no, that wasn't just it. It was a rough, warning sound, sharp around the edges; as if someone had never used that particular volume with that accompaniment of a splash. Both of those sounds made her head snap up, staring at the figure standing in one of the darkest parts of the giant room, just behind a pillar. She could have sworn that under the mane, which was matted with something... strange, she could see eyes staring at her intensely like it was daring her to go try and drink that water again. From this distance and due to the lack of light she couldn't see exactly who or what was standing there, she knew that the entire dark brown horse silhouette was covered in a crust of something. Blood? Mud? Some other unknown dried goo? She didn't know. The long mane and tail fell down to the floor in a stiff wave, where it was only in the water that it seemed that whatever had held them in that state - let go, leaving behind an unpleasant oily shine. Fetch could also swear that somewhere there she could see some weird dim glowing, but when they tried to focus on it - it was gone. Just as they should have been gone from here the moment that echo from the sound that horse made stopped and they heard sliding something along the stone walls. 

The water moved, not because any of her party members moved. No. Something big was moving in the darkness, like a snake, hiding from their eyes, until they all met what was watching them. 

Just behind their new companion was a snake-like shape, big dark scales covering a head that was rising higher and higher, towering over them. She could hear Mortiz scream to watch out and be ready to run. Only by the corner of her eye she could see that now they had that red eyeball floating by their side. Oh. If they will run, they will need all the strength in their legs to outrun that thing... If she's lucky enough, she might be able to knock this out a bit with her back legs if it will be needed. Or just throw Maggie at it, to poke out its big yellow glowing eyes.