Cassian picked her way through the spikey death trap they found themself in. Little light made its way down into the pit, making it difficult to see. Still, the Courser pressed forward. Were they really going to let a fungus creature and a death pit stop their adventuring? No way. 

They circled around, hoping that a door would appear. It seemed like she was going in circles. Was she going to die down here? They only had a few rations of food left. If she couldn’t find a way out, the goddess of death would be slow to find them. And what would happen to the farm? To Florrick? 

As soon as those troubling thoughts came into her head, they came across a door. Cassian huffed a huge sigh of relief. Florrick and the farm would be okay. Now all she had to do was manage to reach the surface again. Shouldn’t be too hard. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of entrances to the dungeon. They’d be extremely unlucky to not find one soon enough. 

They stepped through the threshold of the door and carried onwards. Hoofbeats reverberated against the walls. As they were walking, they arched their neck back to check their packs. Cassian had successfully gathered several herbs and roots. They’d even come across a few monster parts. Those would fetch a lovely price on the surface, she reckoned. 

As they continued, Cass began to notice a change in temperature. Curiously, it appeared to be getting warmer. But, shouldn’t the dungeon be colder as they go deeper? Maybe she was approaching the surface again! At that idea, they picked up their pace. Dungeoneering was fun and all, but it really was about time she had gotten back to the homestead. 

Sweat lathered on their blue roan coat. Cassian started panting a little. It shouldn’t be much farther to the surface, right? Their one-track mind was so focused on getting home that they didn’t realize there was another Courser in their path. Suddenly, there was a large rump in her face. 

They bumped into it and it startled her. She shook her head and stepped back in surprise and embarrassment. The Courser didn’t seem similarly shocked, like this was a common occurrence and should be treated the same as seeing a fish in a pond. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to run into you like that,” Cassian spoke. 

“It’s okay! I like meeting other Coursers, especially ones that haven’t been down here a lot,” the Courser replied, a peppiness in her voice. How did she know they were new to dungeoneering? 

“Ah, well, I really have to get back to the surface, got some loot to sell! You know how it is,” Cassian said, glancing off to the side. The word ‘surface’ puts a nasty look on the stranger’s face. Like it was physically repulsive to her. Odd. 

“Oh no, I don’t know how it is actually. I hate going up to the surface. If it were up to me, I’d just stay down here all the time. Hey! Wouldn’t you like to travel with me? Go deeper into the dungeon?” the stranger said with renewed enthusiasm. She seemed friendly enough, but… 

“No, I really must be going. I appreciate the offer,” Cassian answered. They began to walk again, moving past the Courser. Instead of staying put, the stranger followed Cass. 

“Aw, c’mon, it’ll be fun! I know you really wanna go deeper. Besides, I can lead you to the best looting spots! I’m Fetch, by the way. What’s your name?” 

“I’m Cassian, and no, I don’t really wanna go deeper. My loot is fine, trust me.” 

The two Coursers kept moving down the endless tunnel. 

“You know, birds aren’t real.” Fetch said. 

“Is water even wet? I feel like it’s not. What do you think, Cassian?”

“I love it down in the dungeon. I don’t understand how other Coursers hate it here. It’s so amazing!” 

After several minutes of this, it appeared that Fetch wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Cassian relented. “Okay. Fine. If I let you take me deeper into the dungeon, will you shut up?” 

“I was hoping you’d say that! C’mon, let’s go!” With that, Fetch was off; racing into the fiery depths. Cass sighed and galloped to catch up with her. 

Eventually, the pair came across a room. It was like any old room that you’d come to find in your time in the dungeon. Except for one thing. In the middle of the room was a brazier. Flames licked the air around the brazier. The two Coursers stepped closer. Instead of creating even more warmth, there was a peculiar chill that surrounded the flame. It was definitely one of the weirder things Cassian had come across. 

“Should we take it, do you think?” Fetch’s voice spooked Cassian. 

“I don’t know. It seems weird. Like why is it cold instead of warm?” Who knows what other odd properties the thing possessed. Cass didn’t know if she wanted to find out. All she wanted was to get back to the surface and their brother. 

“It’s always good to have a light source when adventuring. And look, the coals aren’t even burning. It’s like, everlasting!” Cassian still wasn’t sure. 

“Well, if you don’t want it…” Fetch leaned down as if to nab the brazier and put it onto her back. 

“No, wait! I-I’ll take it,” Cassian said. Fetch laughed and put the brazier along Cassian’s back instead. 

“That’s what I thought.” And with that the pair continued forth with their new prize.