Teryn exhaled sharply, the sound of his sigh echoing softly as he rounded the next bend of the cave. His ears pricked up at an odd, wet plopping noise that reverberated from further down the dark, winding passageway. With a cautious glance around, he began walking slowly toward the strange sound. The cave's oppressive darkness and damp air made it difficult to see much of anything ahead, casting an eerie shadow over everything. When a single eye glinted in the darkness, his heart exploded, terror flooding his body.

“HOLY SH—!” Teryn yelled, stumbling backward. He crashed into the jagged wall, his flank aching from the impact, and the torch slipped from his hold, falling with a dull thud onto the cold stone floor. Its light flickered, illuminating the cave in uneven pulses. “Ow ow ow ow.” Teryn hissed through clenched teeth.

From the shadows emerged a small, green slime, the source of the mysterious sound. It bounced lightly into the torchlight, its large, unblinking eye fixed squarely on Teryn.

"Oh... little guy, you nearly gave me a heart attack," Teryn breathed, still catching his breath as he stared down at the slime. He stood up unsteadily, using his hooves to brush off his cloak and adjust it back into place.
The slime blinked slowly, almost as if in acknowledgment, before it gave a little hop, turned, and began bouncing away, disappearing down the dark hallway once more. Teryn stood there for a long moment, watching as its faint form vanished into the shadows, the strange encounter leaving him more bewildered than before.

"Well... that was… something," Teryn muttered to himself. "Time to find some loot and pretend that never happened." He bent down, grabbed the handle of his torch, quickly exited the cave, nervously chuckling to himself while wincing at the lingering pain in his flank.