Another day, another visit to the ruins for Ermintrude, but this time she wasn’t alone, she had paired with two other Coursers in hope they could reach deeper through the dungeon..and Merpus, of course Merpus was there. After formally greeting the two strangers, the three of them entered the ruins, the fourth weirdo vaguely following behind. A few minutes after they were in, Merpus couldn’t resist whispering to his fellow friend.

“Pssssst Ermin, hey. Do you really think it’s useful to bring your weird chest with us ?..”

Looking down to squint at the odd fellah hopping aside the mare.

“It’s not a ‘weird chest’, Merpus, it’s a Mimic, it’s eh…Useful, extra storage that you don’t need to carry.”

Her muddled explanation didn’t seem to satisfy the stallion, who stared at the mimic even more suspiciously.

“Yeah well, your ‘extra storage’ almost bit me last time…”

“Security measures.”

She snarkily replied before adding.

“Silence now.”

The mare was very careful as she was walking down the path led by her two new associates. They were all so silent that, as time passed, we could hear any noise surrounding them, any little pebble trundling on the pavement, any little drop falling from the ceiling. But all of a sudden, a strong voice came from behind, making everybody quiver.

“No way sir ! Those are cycloid scales !”

Merpus yelled at the black and white horse in front of him.

Dorian visibly flinched when Merpus shouted at him for no apparent reason, his delicate ears pulling back against his neck. He was mostly taken aback, but a little offended. However, it was Jester that spun on her heels and bared her teeth at the fisherman. No words were exchanged, but her eyes flashed in warning. She meant business if anyone messed with Dorian.

“Don’t let them get to you.” She murmured to the black overo, briefly pressing their shoulders together. “C’mon, let’s keep going.”

“Thank you.” He breathed, appreciation flooding through him. Jester was turning out to be the best friend.

Ermin’ swiftly turned her neck back to her sidekick and reprimanded him.

“Don’t shout at him like that...Or for any reason, really !..”

Right when they were back in the silence, still walking down their route, she picked on a weird noise. As she looked down, the mare noticed a suspicious-looking liquid streaming down their hooves that led to a passway on the main road’s side. She nodded her head in that direction, inviting the group to follow the strange liquid. It became more and more important, to the point where it would fill the entire floor and almost their whole hooves would sink into it as they were walking.

Merpus, carrying his head low, sniffed the liquid.

“Dyou think there could be some fishes in there ?”

Ermintrude rolled her eyes, already jaded by his behavior and a bit ashamed about introducing such a peculiar being to her new companions. She sighed and answered.

“Not the time…Also, don’t you dare put your head in this, we don’t know what it is.”

Jester wasn’t sure how impressed she was with the present company. Merpus was strange, and did seem to play well with others. Since the shouting incident, Dorian had been pressed to her side - seeking whatever comfort she offered. But the other stranger had stood up and correctly the other, that was to be commended. At least one of them had manners.

When they turned down the passageway oozing blood, Jester felt her heart sink to her hooves. Every step closer built the certainty that she and Dorian had been here once, and another group had encountered this very thing long before them. It was eerie, the sound of blood trickling down cobblestone. Plopping into pools. The pull of whatever lay in that sarcophagus was strong, strong enough that after a single exposure.. Jester could still feel it. Hooking under her ribcage, and making itself at home.

It felt wrong.

“Again?” Dorian asked, with terrible tenderness.

“Again,” Jester murmured, stepping up to where Erminetrude was pacing. “I’m afraid we’ve seen this before.”

“It didn’t end well,” Dorian added, keeping in line behind the mares. He glanced back at Merpus, “I wouldn’t look for fish in this stuff, friend.”

Jester snorted, though her steps faltered when the cobblestone gave way and opened the chamber out in front of them.

It was exactly like Jester remembered it being, a smooth gray floor and a strange stone coffin standing upright in the middle of the room. Pulsing, oozing, dripping it’s strange malicious red.. She still refused to believe it was truly blood. The tang of iron in her mouth told her otherwise, but it felt too.. squelchy. Maybe that much blood was squelchy.

A queasiness washed over the harlequin mare and she took a small step back, again feeling that anchor in her breastbone pull…