Prompt: Your path leads you down a dank corridor and into a vast cistern. You must wade through dark, stagnant waters, your sloshing steps echoing into the dark forest of columns. The sound is answered by a louder splash and in the distance the water’s surface bulges over a shape rushing toward you.  Your party must make a Might check to cross the cistern before being intercepted by its occupant.

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“I think we should pass it by,” Cordula stated.
Paladin gave a look of worry and hesitance while Jin just nodded, face remaining devoid of emotion. Majesty tried to calm the stallion who kept looking at the fork in the road as if he was going to go charging on ahead once more despite the choice of his fellow dungeoneer.
“But if it really is a hurt courser…” Paladin tried to argue.
“Things don’t add up. If they were actively being attacked, we’d hear more. If it was a cave-in it would have had to have happened before we entered the caverns and we would have noticed. With how long we’ve been walking and heard of nothing I doubt that screaming would be as clear as it is or as loud and fresh.”
Paladin sighed and gave in.
They continued down the path they had chosen, leaving the screeching creature behind. Or so they thought. As they went further, they expected the blood-curdling screams and intense wailing to quiet, but they followed. The volume and pitch remained the same. The sounds they heard began to repeat. Whatever this thing was it was clearly mimicking the sounds of an injured courser and it had caught their scent.
“Do you think it’s mimicking a previous victim?” Majesty asked the others.
“Please, don’t put that image in my head,” Cordula whispered, eyes with the horror of the very thought.
“I am thinking we should be more worried about becoming its next victims,” Jin added.
The sounds were now getting louder, the screams piercing their ears and forcing them all to pin their ears back as the pitch reached that of claws on the chalkboard. They heard no movement, now sound of claws or feet on the stone floor, only the rising volume of the creatures screaming. But as Paladin looked behind them, he saw it. Yellow eyes flying towards them.
“IT’S RIGHT BEHIND US!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping to be heard over the creature.
Moving to the side he allowed Jin to pass so he could kick back at the creature.
The monster blended with the shadows but was too late to dodge the hooves flying at them full force. Momentum sent them right into the hardened hind feet of the bay tobiano stallion. The screaming stopped for a moment as the creature tumbled backwards. It was weak, but had sharp teeth and claws that now glimmered in the lantern light as it hissed and its claws extended from the tips of long, bony, curled fingers.
Cordula led the way, Majesty right behind, and Jin followed.
Paladin took off after the group, having held the creature off and stunning it long enough for the team to gain some distance and hopefully formulate a plan to get rid of the thing once and for all.
Cordula eventually came to a sliding stop, nearly causing Majesty and Jin to run into her rear end. Majesty stopped before she could run into Cordula, but the weld chimeric slid into Majesty, nearly knocking her into the yellow courser in the lead. Luckily Majesty had enough distance that it did not cause Cordula to fall forward. Before them was a large cistern. The whole chamber was full of murky, stagnant water. Old pillars rose up from the mysterious pool and tried with what little stability was left to hold the roof of the cavern up. No paths went around or over and no tunnels could be seen on this end other than the one they had just come down. Turning back was not an option.
Paladin charged out from the tunnel, not realizing the others had stopped.
“Watch out!” Jin yelled.
It was too late. Paladin tried to stop but slid into Jin’s back, shoving the whole group forward into the cistern. Water splashing echoed off the chamber walls, followed by the screams of anger from the creature now pacing the edge of the cistern. As the group pulled their heads from the water, they turned to see the creature angrily screeching at them. Pacing on all fours with long, bony, fingers tipped with sharp claws scraping against the floor. Long limbs made the creature almost look like a four-legged spider. Its body was long and thin, almost skeletal, and the skin was scaly in appearance. In the place of a face what a shadowy void with yellow eyes. Sharp white teeth occasionally made an appearance when it hissed at them. As a hand reached into the water it fizzled, drawing a scream from the monster as it flung itself away from the edge.
“Hey! Look at that, it can’t enter the water!” Paladin chimed.
Paladin turned to the others, beaming with relief and joy that they all made it safely. Cordula swung their head to remove hair from their face while Majesty was spitting water out of her mouth. Jin shook themselves off. All looked very unimpressed and soggy.
“Oops…”
“Oops indeed, Paladin,” Majesty huffed.
“It did save us from that creature though, I’ll give you that,” Jin added.
With the creature unable to reach them, they took the chance to look around the chamber. The water went up to their bellies as they stood and they could not see very deep. Other than the creature and the sound of water the chamber was quiet. And it only got more so as the creature gave up the chase and returned to the darkness of the tunnels.
“Well, we may as well cross. We can not be sure if that creature is waiting for us to return,” Jin said.
“Agreed!” the others replied in unison.

Water sloshed around them as they moved through the cistern. Progress was slow moving as the deep water pushed against their legs, creating resistance. Cordula and Majesty walked ahead, the two still a little upset at being dunked into the pool of stagnant and murky water.
Jin fell behind a bit with Paladin who was sulking about the other two being upset. No one got hurt and the monster left. Yeah, they got wet but that seemed like a small price to pay at the moment.
SPLASH!
“Umm… what was that?” Cordula asked, freezing.
SWOOOSH…
“I would like to guess and say it’s that large wave coming towards us,” Majesty replied.
Something rose from the water, making the surface bulge. It was long, and as it swam towards them the water hid it from view.
“Dang it, RUN!” Jin yelled at them.
That got their butts moving. The four of them charged forward, slowed by the water. This was the territory of that monster and they knew it. No matter how fast they ran their movements were slowed by the terrain. The creature gained ground until it was nearly on their heels. They had to think quickly and Jin made the final call.
“Split up!”
Cordula took off to the left without question, weaving around a pillar with Majesty right behind. Paladin almost followed but saw Jin dodge to the right and knew he could not leave the fellow courser on his own. Majesty was with Cordula, she’d be safe. Turning to follow Jin, they charged towards the pillars. The creature chose to follow them. Running around the pillar the creature almost passed them by, giving Paladin and Jin just a little room behind them to breathe, but only for a moment. It charged towards them, faster this time.
“HURRY!” they heard a yell.
Cordula and Majesty were pulling themselves out of the water on the far side, now safe from the dangers of the water, but they stood helplessly by as they watched the other two still running from the creature only a mere foot behind them.
“Paladin! You need to kick it! Right in the head!” Jin yelled.
Paladin was the stronger of the two of them and if either was going to be able to get rid of it, it was the bay tobiano courser. Paladin did not waste a second. Leaping upwards, he lashed out behind him with his hind hooves as the creature tried to make a final lunge for their legs. Cordula and Majesty watched, waiting for the impact that would decide if they would make it, or not.