Madness was never a historian, but he knew what it looked like when someone was loved.

He knew not the value of gemstones, but he knew that to take the time to place them so purposefully across the room, a lot of care would have to be put into it. More care than he could ever personally imagine for himself.

Madness' normally heavy footsteps seemed to lighten as he entered the tomb, as if to show respect for the spirit of the courser that the skull belonged to. He looked at the bridle, a fantastic accessory that he could imagine on many a courser that he had seen on the surface.

His mind wandered to the sight of beautiful melancholic coursers decorated with similar decor, oh how their manes would flow so beautifully over gemstones and decorated leather. The sad eyes of the most mysterious of them would no doubt rival the beauty of the gemstones. Before his mind got too focused on the topic of beautiful coursers, a glint of light caught his attention. He spotted the metal device lodged in the skull's mouth, and he immediately felt his body react just looking at it.

He gave an instinctive huff as he looked at it, his eyes narrowing. Some sort of torture device? No, it would be rather hypocritical for someone so adored to be tortured even in death. Clearly this would have to be put on after death for one reason or another, right?

It was curious for sure, and perhaps the meaning of it could be figured out by a courser smarter than he, but Madness had his own theories. He at least knew what metal devices were used for often- locks. Things to keep coursers out... or to keep monsters in.

Were those who loved this courser so possessive over them that they might lock away their very soul within their skull? Cruel... but possible, in Madness' eyes.

Without even thinking, Madness lightly opened the jaw of the skull in order to shove his own head close to it, grabbing hold of the metal and tugging lightly on it. It felt horrible in his mouth, and honestly the torture method theory became more and more possible as he tried to free it from the bridle.

Eventually, he heard a snap, and the petrified leather finally let go of the metal device.

Nothing happened immediately, just the open-jawed skull lightly moving on the wall as a result of Madness' movements. Even so, Madness felt accomplished. If there was a soul trapped in that skull, they'd be freed now.

As for this horrible soul lock... Madness kicked it lightly out of the room, wanting to find a place to dispose of it somewhere else in the cavern. But he wasn't going to put it in his mouth again, that's for certain.

He would shatter it with his own hooves if he had the strength. But he supposed that knocking it off of a large drop into a monster's den would work just as well.