[DD1] It beckon
You find a hole in the cavern floor. It is not the entrance to the dungeon’s next level, which has been clearly marked by generations of Coursers. Something draws you closer to the mouth against your own instincts. It wishes to swallow you, and you are compelled to let it. What do you do?
Vibrant green moss tickled the soles of a striped blue Courser as she ambled through the dungeon. Her eyes wearied and wet, as if she had been crying for some time. Salt stained her cheeks and fur laid askew upon her face from where she had rubbed away the tears. Sadness plagued this Courser, but not for reasons that one would be accustomed to. It wasn’t grief nor sorrow, or even hopelessness. It was beauty, mystery and hopefulness.
Odette dedicated her life to piecing together the history long lost to equine-kind. Her thirst for knowledge started the moment she could comprehend words. Parents brought her tome after tome from their delves deep within The Buried Kingdom. Cerulean eyes shimmered as she read those ragged pages front to back and back again. Pages that would now crumble at the mere mention of their existence. Notes filled the margins of every leaf, connecting dots and information that she believed would lead to a bigger discovery. And, who knows, she might have found something unknown, but she would never be able to confirm that.
Knowledge drove her to the dungeons like her parents before her, and their parents before them. Odette began to accompany them when she could fend for herself. In the beginning, the young Courser would cling to her maternal figure’s side, startled by the slightest of things. The warmth of their belly soothed the tears that would stream near endlessly from her tender face. As she grew and her parents retired from their inquisition, Odette continued to answer The Call to dig deeper and deeper and deeper.
It wouldn’t be until now, that she would question how far she would go to find the truth.
Hoofbeats echoed through the trodden halls of stone, the noise dampened by the mossy ground cover. This time in, Odette was not alone, her own daughter followed along with her. Now, Pixie was not her biological daughter, but she loved the youngster as her very own. They grew fond of each other quickly after Odette got involved with her father, Rhodes. The two Coursers shared a zeal when it came to exploring new findings within the Kingdom. Both Odette and Pixie would enthusiastically exchange stories and encourage one another to follow wherever their hearts led, much to Rhodes’ dismay.
This time was no different.
As they ventured forth conversing amongst themselves, Odette slowed her steps, her ears swiveling atop her head, hearing something not from the blonde equine aside her. It was faint but demanding.
“Come…here…”
She stopped in her tracks as this disembodied voice called to her, dragging her attention to wherever it may be coming from. Silence. Silence filled blue ears. The only thing Odette could hear was the humming of a call, a dire feeling within her chest.
She followed. No warnings to her daughter.
Odette’s heart beat profoundly, closing the distance to what she could only speculate was the source of this desire. Her eyes widened as her hooves came tip to tip to the edge of a massive hole. Peering down, there was nothing but an expanse of darkness. The Courser’s chest rose and fell with every drastic breath, with heart now racing out of her sternum.
“Jump, dear traveler…I know what you seek…”
Entranced, nothing could be done, nothing would move, but Odette's mind yearned for what lay below. Her pink lips separated, as if to respond but immediately shut with a hard swallow that echoed within her empty ears. She wanted to respond. She wanted to jump. And, she would have, if it wasn’t for a nearby stranger.
Another unfamiliar voice broke through to Odette’s mind, shaking her out of whatever stupor she had been in. Her striking blue eyes blinked, releasing a tear that she was unaware had surfaced. Their gazes met and the other Courser looked incredibly concerned.
“Hello? You're not going to jump, are you?” This being’s voice was soothing, something Odette needed right now. She had introduced herself as Sol and Odette found her angelic. Moments passed as they conversed, grounding the blue equine back into reality. It wasn’t long before their ears shot to attention, hearing distant rumbling hooves headed their way.
“ODIIIIEEE!!” The familiar voice of her daughter, Pixie sliced through the tunnel.
“Where have you been?! I thought something got you!!” Pixie exclaimed, trying to catch her breath.
Odette chuckled softly, rustling Pixie’s choppy hair and pressing her pale muzzle to the small dark spot inlaid within the fur of her daughter’s forehead. Her voice was calm and maternal, as to not frighten Pixie more, but she began to recount her interactions with the strange hole that bore through what could be layers of earth. She continued on to explain how Sol broke her free from potentially losing her life and how she would be forever grateful to their new friend.
The two parted ways from the, presumably, lone equine. Odette would not forget the Courser whose face was speckled over a single eye. Not only that, she could not shake this feeling that whatever entity pulled her to this pit, needed to devour her whole. Pages upon pages, would later be filed with accounts and speculations only to be left alone for another time…
Submitted By mule-guts
for Level 1 Dungeon Dive
Submitted: 3 months ago ・
Last Updated: 3 months ago