Cottontail had spent the last year gaining confidence. He still did not like being in the dungeon, but the loot was just so worth it.

He hoarded it, his lodgings in the overworld were slowly being filled by trinkets and 'shinies' that he just could not pass up. He now had some trophies too from successful fights, reminding him that even though everything was a bit terrifying, he could still manage it.

Cottontail had been traversing the second level of the dungeon for a little while. He still vastly preferred it to the others; there was something about fire that made it feel clean. The first level was a spider infested nightmare and the third… well, it was like walking on a bed of death.
He could deal with the fire, the lava, the heat. It had grown on him over his last handful of excursions, and now it was his first time venturing it all alone.
He felt no more need for a guide in this level. He knew the bridges, knew the twists and turns, and could find his way home with little trouble. It was good for him.

Just as the courser was pondering his success, he tripped. It was not a big trip, it did not fell him, but it did cause something in one of his bags to dislodge and go skittering out and into one of the smaller lava pits he had been passing.
Cottontail yelped, leaping towards it, but it was too late - it puffed into fire and then smoke before being completely lost.
It had been a broach, shiny, gold and bejeweled. He gritted his teeth in annoyance as he remembered how pleased he had been to find it huddled away in a pile of coal.

Cottontail stamped his hoof and snorted, glaring down at the lava as if demanding it to return his trinket, but he knew it was in vain. Even though his bag was full of goodies, this completely soured his mood. He stomped back up towards the surface, grumbling in annoyance.