"Take a deep breath, li'l one. We'll be out of this soon enough." Daybreak lowered their head to whisper into Marinell's ear, as though in confines this tight everyone could not hear what he was saying. The others, at least, had the good grace not to comment. That was Jasmine's influence, no doubt. God-Prince Cyneric had found it less than productive to snark and snipe around his lovely fiance. She had a bite about her, particularly since her dear Melite vanished into the smoldering dungeon air. There had been no talk of the missing handmaiden of late, but Daybreak knew it still hurt. It always would. It always did. 

Marinell did as he was bid, sucking in a deep as breath as he could manage. Fortunately the scrawny foal still had the space to do so in this narrow, winding corridor. His valiant protectors were not so lucky. Every step seemed to bring the walls tighter around them, threatening the straps on their packs and leaving long scrapes through their fur. Even Darling had given up her post about Daybreak's neck in favor of curling into a ball across his withers. Took up less space that way, he reckoned. 

"What do we do if this doesn't open on the other end?" Only the faintest quiver in Jasmine's voice gave away how frightened she was. Daybreak laughed. Not to mock her, of course, she had every right to be wary. Being blocked into a dead end in this place would be a death sentence. Even little Marinell would be unnable to turn around, surrounded on all sides by the thick legs of adult Coursers. 

"It does," Daybreak promised. And it did, he reminded himself through the flutter of anxiety, so long as he'd picked the right tunnel. The problem was this whole place became something of a maze every couple of days. The corridors seemed to reorder themselves each time Daybreak passed through, and he could not be certain whether they had shifted since his last visit. He had been... terribly lucky thus far. Never trapped. Never forced to slowly back himself out the way he had come. Daybreak knew of others who'd had no other choice. 

Of course, none of that could be breathed aloud. The poor, fragile foal they'd stumbled upon in the overgrown cistern would fly all to pieces if he thought his saviors didn't know where they were going. 

"Just keep walkin', Princeling! Shouldn't be more than a few minutes' darkness left. You'll see a blue glow--" 

"I see it!" Cyneric exclaimed with all the breathless excitement of a child. He was too nervous even to correct himself. 

"Told you!" Daybreak gave the foal a little nudge with his knee to encourage the child along.