Velasco glanced away from Moritz for a moment and when he glanced back there was a strange floating eyeball seeming to whisper something into Moritz’s ears. Moritz halted their step, so as to better pay heed to the eyeball’s apparent warnings.

“There are hellhounds ahead.” They said, looking back at Velasco. Velasco flicked an ear. 

“So we should take a different route, then?” 

“That would be ideal,” Moritz admitted. “The problem is that right now there are no other open routes to where we’re going.”

“Oh.” Velasco sounded more curious than afraid. “So will we fight them, then?”

“Depends,” Moritz replied, looking ahead. “On how many there are, for one thing.”
Velasco nodded.

“What will we do if there are too many?”

“If there are too many, we may have to head back to the surface for reinforcements.” 

“Well, that’s not ideal.”

“No.” Moritz sighed. “It isn’t.”

“Can your eyeball friend tell you how many there are?” 

Both coursers looked at the floating eyeball. It whispered something to Moritz again. 

“Mina saw three, but there are likely more nearby, waiting in the caverns or the lava.”

“Do you think we can scare them off somehow?” Velasco asked thoughtfully. “What are hellhounds afraid of?”

Moritz tilted their head from side to side a few times, contemplating.

“Being alone, being outnumbered, being cornered away from the lava…”

“Hm,” Velasco hummed. “If we storm through the area and make a lot of noise, maybe they’ll think there are more of us than there are?”

“That’s very risky,” Moritz replied, shaking their head. “They might just decide to chase us. That’s exactly how they like to catch their prey - by chasing them while they’re running.”

“Well, yes, but that’s because they want to tire us out, right? It’s the same as with regular wolves. You know your way around this dungeon - we could lead them to some kind of chokepoint and either lose them or fight them off one by one.”

“Easier said than done.” Moritz rebutted, although it was clear they were thinking very seriously about Velasco’s proposition. “We would have to stick very close to one another. If we get separated, one of us will likely become the hellhounds’ next meal.” 

Velasco was quiet for a moment, mulling this over.

“Well, what’s your idea, then?” He asked. Moritz looked forwards again.

“The safest course of action, would, again, be to go back to the surface for reinforcements. But, if we don’t want to do that, the second best option would be to stand our ground. If we put up enough of a fight, they’ll give up and leave us alone to hunt easier prey. Like I said earlier, they want us to run.”

Velasco turned his ears backwards slightly, uncertain about this plan but not willing to refute Moritz, who had superior knowledge and experience.

“I guess we’ll do that then. Stand our ground.” 

Just as Velasco said that, he and Moritz both heard rapid hoofbeats coming towards them. Velasco turned his head in time to see a familiar pale horse charging in their direction. It was Rufus, the horse Velasco had helped navigate out of the first floor of the dungeon a few days prior. But Rufus did not seem to have any intention of stopping to say hello - something seemed to have spooked him badly, and he ran right between and past Velasco and Moritz.

“Wait!” Moritz called after him, but he did not seem to hear them. 

Velasco and Moritz looked at each other for a moment before Moritz let out a sigh and began to gallop after Rufus. Velasco followed close behind. It would seem that they would not have the luxury of executing on a well-made plan.