The Eldritch Band, Part 1: Avante!

Ylliana trotted down the passage, determination in her stride. She wanted to make it in and out before sundown. She needed this. She HAD to do this. The chestnut dun tossed her head, her long, red mane whipping in a graceful arc. She could still hear her stablemates’ voices echoing in her mind.

“Lily? You think Lily is going to take up Dungeoneering?” Her stablesibling Alphaestus had asked, their tone incredulous. “Lilly is about as hardy as that kitten that follows her everywhere. She’d make a fine cook, or maybe she could work in the orchard, but you won’t see her down in the Dungeon. It takes… it takes toughness, and Lily just… isn’t.” 

She hadn’t been trying to overhear Alphaestus and Senia, but they’d been working in the stable’s yard while Lily had been in the kitchen. She’d opened the windows to catch a cooler breeze and caught their conversation right along with it. The pair had been debating the relative merits of their Stablesiblings. Their yeargroup were coming of age to apprentice out from the stable and take up a trade or head into the Dungeon for their first time. 

Orphans weren’t uncommon. The Dungeon was not safe, by any stretch of the imagination, and there were plenty who entered never to return. The foals of those lost Coursers were cared for by the community in a group stable until such time as they came of age and were invited to take up apprenticeships or otherwise move on into their chosen path. Many of Lily’s older adoptive siblings had already taken their turns heading under, following in the hoofsteps of lost parents, and answering the call of the Dungeon, which sang in the blood of all Coursers. 

Ylliana had been undecided what path her life should take, at least up until that morning. Alphaestus and Senia had been shocked to find Lily gearing up for a foray Beneath, and at least three others had tried to discourage her or more politely offered to accompany her. Lily, for her part, was determined to prove them all wrong. She could do this, she was just as clever and skilled as any of her many unrelated siblings!

 “We’ll show them, won’t we Fiona!” She declared, glancing at her rump where her little orange tabby kitten was curled up, asleep on a padded blanket designed to withstand kitten claws and provide a stable place for the cat to rest no matter what pace Lily set.

And here she was, trotting down a rough stone passageway, determined to find something worthwhile before turning back. Lily had never dreamed of delving into the Buried Kingdom like so many other Coursers, but being told she wasn’t capable was tantamount to paving her way to the dungeon with a carpet of rose petals. There was no way she WOULDN’T after hearing that folk believed she couldn’t.

Still… Lily wasn’t thrilled about it. It was dark and dingy and there were a lot of strange sounds and stranger smells. The sudden clatter of falling rocks sent her skittering back and sideways, changing speed and direction abruptly… too abruptly. Lily bugled alarm as her left hind hoof skipped over a rough spot in the path, and then down, wedging itself into a crevasse she’d trotted obliviously past. 

The sounds of the rockfall ceased, leaving behind a sudden, almost impossible silence. Lily’s own breathing seemed too loud, the walls of the dungeon too close… Was that a shadow? Panting, she spooked again, trying to back away, but her hoof was well and truly wedged. Try as she might, she couldn’t get it free, and her attempts sent a sharp spike of pain up through her leg. If she pulled or twisted any more, she feared she might break something. With a defeated moan, Lily sank down, curling around her trapped ankle, and began to cry. 

Fiona, dislodged from her cozy bed, climbed her way over to Lily’s head. The kitten lapped the tears from the Courser’s cheeks, offering all the comfort half a pound of fuzzy orange kitten could muster.

~~~

Astryon slid sideways, neatly avoiding the falling rocks as a section of the cave shivered and collapsed. The motion was so smooth and casual that to an outside observer it might have looked like he’d known the roof was going to come down just there. He hadn’t, not exactly, but his keen ears had picked up the sound of rock shifting almost as soon as his hooves had felt the vibration. It took quickfire calculations to guestimate just where the roof was going to collapse, and the reality was he could have been wrong. But he wasn’t.

Astryon picked up the pace, steps dancing jauntily along with the hubris of the near miss. The Heraldic wasn’t delving too deeply this trip, but he made his way under as often as he could manage. He’d left out later in the day than was his usual, which meant his foray was unlikely to be a particularly deep one.

“Still hanging in there, Artax?” He inquired, peering over his shoulder at the modified perch that was strapped to the Heraldic’s midsection. It allowed the crow to ride along in a way that was comfortable for both Courser and corvid.

“Wughhhh.” Grumbled the crow, ruffling his feathers as he adjusted his position on his perch. He was grumpy at the best of times, but his aid was indispensable in some of the more dangerous parts of the Dungeon. The crow was often called upon to scout ahead and squeeze his way past obstacles to help Astryon find a clear path around. The Courser put up with the crow’s occasional backtalk with mostly good humor.

Astryon was about to turn towards a deeper section of the Dungeon when the distinct sound of sobbing caught at the edge of his hearing.

“Looks like I’m going to have to make you work after all.” Astryon said thoughtfully. “Artax… scout.” He gave the command, and with a low croak of annoyance, the crow leapt from his perch, winging ahead toward the sound of the tears.

A scant few minutes later, the crow returned, circling Astryon’s head before coasting back up the passageway, the signal that the way ahead was clear. He floated back to his perch, lazy as ever, and fluffed himself before settling in.

“Well, let’s go see what this is about.” Astryon said resignedly. He might be a bit on the vain side, but he’d never yet turned away from a Courser in need. The midnight-and-white Heraldic came around a series of serpentine bends in the tunnel to find a dusty chestnut curled up on the floor of the cavern. “Er… are you in need of assistance?” Astryon asked, not quite able to tell heads or tails of the curled up Courser.

Lily lifted her head from where she was coiled in on herself, eying the blue and white Heraldic with his fancy, cloudlike markings through watery warm brown eyes. “Y…y…yes.” She sniffled, sounding about as pitiful as it was possible for a Courser to do. “My hoof is stuck, and when I try to pull it free, it hurts.” She shifted position slightly, enough that the stranger could see where her hoof was wedged into the rock.

“My dear… you ARE stuck.” Astryon observed. “However did you get your hoof down there in the first place?” He stared at the offending limb. The cleft in the rock was narrow, and only the daintiness of her hooves had allowed her to fit through the gap at all. And like a pin lock, she’d managed to pull her hoof backwards into a narrower portion of the stone. “The only way you’ll be getting that leg free is if we get your hoof slid back up this way.” Astryon gestured with one forehoof, pointing to a place where the crack widened about two steps farther forward.

Lily followed the Astryon’s gesture and winced. “I don’t think I can manage it alone.” She admitted, albeit a bit grudgingly. All she’d wanted to do was prove her mettle, and here she was needing help on her very first foray in! She was never going to show her stable-sibs that they were wrong at this rate.

“That’s quite alright, I can help you. Up you get, now. You can lean on me, and we’ll inch you forward until you can pull free.” Astryon said brusquely, now that he’d decided on a course of action. 

Lily scrambled gracelessly to her feet, hindered as she was by the inability to step down on one of her hind legs. She leaned against Astryon, and he took a portion of her weight so that her leg was mostly free to move. 

“Alright, now, step forward, that’s it.” Astryon coached her into motion, carefully walking the pace forward as she drug her leg painfully through the crevasse until she reached the spot where it widened out.

With a huge sigh of relief, Lily pulled her leg free, holding it up to inspect as closely as she was able. “Oh… oh look! Nothing’s broken!” She held her leg up for Astryon’s inspection before realizing what it was she was doing. “I mean… em… thank you? For your help.” She sidled away, ears drooping as it occurred to her how young and foolish she must seem.

Astryon, for his part, seemed oblivious, merely offering a genteel bow. “You are most welcome. My name is Astryon, and I’m more than happy to do a kind turn for a young Courser in need.” He declared with just a touch of hauteur.

Lily snorted delicately. “Well, I am that.” She declared. “My name’s Ylliana, but everyone calls me Lily. And as if you couldn’t tell, it’s my first time in. All I wanted to do was prove I had what it takes, and here I am needing rescued already!” She mourned. 

Astryon eyed her thoughtfully. “You know… most Coursers have a partner on their first venture. Sometimes for their first few ventures. Didn’t anyone warn you?” Astryon’s tone was full of righteous indignation and he huffed, stamping a single cloven hoof in annoyance.

Lily looked abashed. “Well….” She glanced away, drooping even more deeply. In a very small voice she answered. “I thought I could do it myself.” 

Astryon snorted. “Of course you did.” He replied. “Everyone does. We all go under thinking we’re going to be the next big Discoverer of Wonders. That we’ll be the one to bring home the great secrets of the Dungeon. But the truth is we all have to start somewhere. And in this case, that somewhere is here and now. So listen, it shall be like this: I’ll accompany you the rest of the way on this foray. You and me. We’ll get you some experience before you set out entirely on your own. And if you decide not to tell anyone that you had company… well, that is your decision.” He lowered his head to look over her leg. “If you’re up to continuing, that is?” He asked. 

“Oh!” Lily brightened, her sunny disposition difficult to keep down for long. “Oh yes! That would be wonderful!” She agreed happily. “If you don’t mind that is.” She arched her neck demurely. 

Astryon snorted again, humor clear in his tone. “No, dear lady, I don’t mind at all. Come… there’s a whole Dungeon to explore, and the day won’t wait for us forever!”

~~~~~~