The party’s descent takes up time, a lot of time. Prayer was ready for it and knew what it meant. But when even the more experienced dungeoneers are tired Prayer feels like they’re reaching their limits. 

After the weird floor with its many symbols, Fetch told Terrence and Logue who actually opened the doors. At first the two weren’t too convinced, thinking maybe Fetch is just putting a good word for Prayer but it seemed unlikely. They started treating Prayer a bit better than just as their baggage handler. 

Prayer is happy and ready to take advantage of that turn of events. 

“Wow, you’re so good at this job,” Prayer says after one more story about Terrence’s brave adventures. It was a boring story but a little flattery can get you a lot in this field of work. 

Fetch rolls her eyes but doesn’t comment. 

“Do you think we’ll really find riches coming that way?” asks Logue. “I mean it is uncharted territory, but you can never tell…” 

“I can.”

“They can,” says Prayer at the same time as Fetch.

“Riiight. I keep forgetting,” Logue admits. 

They are walking through a long corridor, one that is both a part of a forgotten castle and a cave full of stalagmites and stalactites and dripping cold water. The walls used to be stonework once upon a time, with metal and wood attached to it. Prayer can see where one would put their torch or where a painting must have once hung. But unlike the other parts of the dungeon, where wood still exists, no matter how rotten it is, in this part there is only stone and black holes where doors once were. 

Terrence and Logue are both ready to take out their swords at once, expecting enemies to jump out of every passed chamber or corridor. Myrrah is in the front, floating around and checking dark corners with curiosity. Prayer is not worried about its pet. It is a lot smarter than it looks. 

Fetch is in the back, closing their procession, too important of a guide to be on the frontlines. And she hums. Prayer takes a look at her and sees that weird look at her face. Her eyes are behind a mist of knowledge and Prayer knows something is about to happen. It slows its steps and the two dungeoneers in front follow soon enough. 

A moment later Fetch’s eyes clear. 

“We need to be smart faster,” she says and everyone looks confused. 

“Smart… Faster?” asks Logue. 

“It’s too soon to be certain. Let Prayer lead our way.” 

“We don’t have time to pra- Oh, right.” 

Prayer hides its smile. The name is working like it’s supposed to. 

“Prayer, would you?” asks Terrence. 

“Yes, of course.” 

Prayer passes the others and slowly starts leading the way. Myrrah flies closer and sits at Prayer’s back, knowing something is up in the air. And soon they all realize what it is. 

In the distance there is rumbling. Slow and steady something rises just to fall back down and rise again. Breathe in, breathe out. Heavy, meaty sound fills the air, getting more and more intense the closer they get. Soon they see how the corridor turns into a chamber, in the middle of which sleeps… Something. 

It is huge, seen even from a distance, touching the top of the cavern even while lying. Its smooth skin in a pale pink color makes Prayer think of a fresh wound that just started to heal. A pale light emanates from somewhere behind the creature, lining its edges with sick greenish hue. It could mean gold. It could mean magic. It most likely means danger. 

Prayer sighs feigning worry. It can feel its eyes dilating with excitement. This is exactly what it goes into dungeons for. At this point Prayer doesn’t care about the gold or the fame - all it wants to do is to deal with the creature. 

 The horses behind it stomp quietly looking at each other. They do not speak, too worried about waking the creature. There is no other path they could take forward and the chance of winning that fight is slight, possibly too small to contemplate. The group has experienced fighters but fighting is not what they came for into the dungeons. They are unprepared for such a big fight. They need to find a way to pass unnoticed. 

The monster takes a big breath and shifts, its huge body turning to face the ceiling. With such a move the party can see now its muscular arms and thick neck turning into a bulbous head. The eyes - the many of them - are all closed. 

Prayer has a plan now. It is only slightly dangerous. It has spotted a path that leads behind rocks, where the party would be less visible. It looks at Myrrah and says: “You know what to do.” Fetch extinguishes the torch. Prayer starts to lead the party forward. 

Everyone knows to keep quiet. Prayer goes first, stepping between the stones. Logue is second, focused and ready. Fetch goes third, fully trusting Prayer knows what it’s doing. Terrence closes the colorful parade, sword glistening in his mouth. 

It feels like time has slowed. Each step careful, each breath quieted. The only light they have is Myrrah and the faint glow of the beast. 

They are almost out, the exit into the next part of the dungeon within their sight. But life cannot be this easy. In the end Prayer isn’t able to tell if someone in the party stumbled or if this was just bad luck. A small rock rolls over, hitting a bigger one. A few more stones tumble over and suddenly all the eyes of the creature open wide. 

“RUN!” screams Prayer and takes for the corridor. 

The creature screeches, high pitched sound shaking the whole area. It launches forward, sticking its arm right into a spot where a moment ago Terrence was. He takes the opportunity and slashes the creature, making it wallow in pain and back away. 

In the mess of actions Myrrah floats above the creature’s head and suddenly there is light everywhere. 

The horses get to the corridor just in time to hear an even louder scream as the creature tries to hide away from the source of pain. Myrrah hovers over it for just a second and then lunges towards the exit where its master is.  

The party keeps running for a while, until they reach a corridor too small to allow the creature passage. There they stop, gasping for air. 

“That was… Certainly a thing,” Logue says. 

“Thanks to your pet it was as smooth as it could get,” Terrence says. “Remind us to get it some better snacks once we resurface.” 

 “I will,” Prayer says and is certain that this feat will be remembered for a long time.