Sárkány stared into the entrance of the Earthen Furnace. He’d been dungeoneering for years now, with the help of his older sister Hivnin. But he dared not to go further than the Overgrown Caverns. Things were simple here and teeming with life, whereas the Furnace seemed to bellow out smoke and exude way too much heat. It was intimidating to him.

     Hivnin walked up beside him, gently brushing her shoulder with hers. “Are you going in? The Furnace won’t explore itself just by looking at it,” she teased softly.

     Sárkány pinned his ears back, looking up at Hivnin very worriedly. “Can’t you come with me?” he begged, gently stomping his hooves to the floor. He didn’t feel too confident or brave given he was only a yearling, and it certainly wasn’t fair to him that he had to go into the Furnace.

     “Of course not, silly. This is your adventure, your Dungeon to explore. You won’t become strong and independent with me always by your side, will you?” she smiled. “Besides, I hired Fetch to help you out. If anyone is an expert at the Dungeon, it’s her.”

     The yearling blinked doubtedly, looking up towards Fetch. The purple Courser was standing a bit aways inside the Furnace, staring back at him. “Will…. Will you keep me safe?” he asked timidly.

     “Will I keep you safe?” Fetch repeated back to him, gaze unwavering.

     That did not soothe Sárkány’s mind, he whined softly and looked up at Hivnin. She offered him a reassuring smile, somewhat nudging him towards the entrance of the Furnace. He gently stomped, before shutting his eyes and quickly bolting through. The scary part, for him, was making the crossing. But he did it, and he opened his eyes on the other side. Sárkány turned his head to announce it to Hivnin, but she was already gone. A soft whinny of confusion left him, he looked to Fetch for reassurance but she was already walking off. He quickly trotted after, staying close.

     They walked for some time, Fetch rambling on many things that didn’t make sense to poor Sárkány. She just seemed to talk and talk. It was at least a little reassuring to him, but he wished he knew what she was saying. The smoke was starting to become a little less frustrating, although he was sweating profusely down here.

     All at once, Fetch stopped. She looked down at Sárkány. “Why do you come into the Dungeons, little Courser?”

     Sárkány stopped, pinning his ears back. “What?”

     “All Coursers have some tie or connection with the Dungeon. A calling, if you would. You seem to lack such calling. Why?” she questioned, eyeing him over and flicking her tail.

     Sárkány felt even hotter under his coat, he really wasn’t sure what the question was, but he felt embarrassed being called out. “Uhm… I don’t know. It’s just not appealing to me, this.. Dungeon stuff. Sometimes I feel curious, maybe find something cool, but.. I don’t know. I don’t like it,” he admitted in a mumble, looking towards the floor.

     Fetch stared at the miserable looking Sárkány, letting out a soft huff. “Your apprehension to Dungeoneer matches my apprehension to Surface. We may not understand each other, but we have the same struggle,” she said simply, before turning and walking on. It left Sárkány feeling a bit lost, what was he supposed to do with that information?

     They continued walking for a long time, dodging the occasional monster and even managing to defeat a small flaming spider. Both of them escaped the battle without too much injury, with Sárkány being allowed to keep a trophy from his first Earthen Furnace battle. It made him feel somewhat better about the Dungeons… but man, he really didn’t want to come back.