The dungeon air clung to them like a second skin, thick with moisture and the scent of decay. Cole, leading the group, brushed sticky drippings from the ceiling as they entered a narrow passage. He grimaced, his old bones aching with the weight of the constant chaos they seemed to face these days. Behind him, Viv hummed softly, her upbeat nature a stark contrast to the oppressive atmosphere.

“I could do without the dungeon goo, personally,” Cole muttered, his voice gruff but laced with a tired humor.

Dorian, ever the scholar, wiped his brow and peered ahead through the misty air, torchlight barely cutting through the haze. "If only we had a clearer view of this place. There's something about these ancient ruins... it feels familiar. I might’ve read something about it in my manuscripts"

Teryn, bringing up the rear, kept an eye on the group, his brow furrowed. "Let's focus on getting through this first. We can study the history later, Dorian."

Just as Cole opened his mouth to agree, his hoof slipped. The floor had tilted downward, slick with muck, and before he could shout a warning, he was sent careening forward. "Ah, for the love of—!" His voice cut off as the dungeon walls blurred by, the slick passage pulling him into a spiraling, gooey slide.

"COLE!" Viv's shrill cry echoed behind him. There was no stopping it now—the rest of the group followed, their hooves sliding on the treacherous ground as they plunged after him. 

Teryn tried to dig in his hooves, but the speed at which they slid made it impossible. He could barely see through the moist haze as they whipped past twists and turns. Dorian’s torch flickered wildly as he hurtled beside him, his expression a mixture of shock and fascination. "This is remarkable!" Dorian shouted over the roar of their descent.

"It's dangerous!" Teryn snapped back, struggling to keep himself upright. He felt his hoof catch something solid for a moment, but the sheer velocity yanked him back into the downward spiral. Viv was just ahead of them, her laughter bubbling up despite the situation.

"This is kind of fun!" she called back, her voice cheerful. "Wheee!"

Cole, at the head of the slide, ground his teeth, hoping to not be the first to crash into whatever awaited them at the bottom. He hated this dungeon more than anything right now. They were speeding too fast to stop, and all he could think was how this wasn’t how he wanted to go out—covered in muck and sliding into oblivion. 

The passage twisted violently to the left, then right, and they all cried out as they were flung through a final curve. 

Suddenly, the slide spit them out into a vast chamber. Cole landed hard, rolling to a stop with a grunt. Viv followed, bouncing lightly off a mossy patch of ground with a delighted giggle. Teryn and Dorian weren’t far behind, though Teryn’s landing was decidedly less graceful.

They lay there for a moment, catching their breath. The chamber was darker, quieter, the air thick with an ancient stillness. 

Viv hopped to her hooves, shaking off the muck with a flick of her mane. "That was *exciting*!"

Cole groaned, pushing himself up. "Yeah, well, let's not do it again."

Teryn pulled himself upright, glancing around. "We need to be more careful. I don't trust this place."

Dorian, still sprawled on the ground, smiled. "But think of the history we're uncovering. Who knows what we'll find down here?"

Cole shot him a weary look. "Hopefully a way out."