After a long walk through the dungeons and a delicious meal, it was time for Merpus to head back to his exploration. He had really rarely felt the need to go deeper, being fulfilled with the chill atmosphere of the first levels. But for once he was curious enough to step down the path leading to the inferior level.

As he walked down, he could feel the temperature rise, the air going through his lungs warming him from the inside, a rising smell of sulfur tinting his nose. A normal Courser could have felt wary or scared, but our oddball Merpus would only express comfort with that enveloping warmth.

It took a while for him to arrive at the first room of the deeper level, the first thing he noticed was the stone pathway mixing with hardened lava and how dry the air was already. Upon checking the narrow path leading to the bigger room, he noticed a strange tiny critter in an alcove. He had only heard about them but he recognized what it was instantly. A salamander. But that one was way too static, Merpus could understand something was wrong. He got closer, lowering his neck to look at it as close as possible. The poor bean was getting solid and it was starting to get hard for it to move around and escape, it was exhausted.

Of course, Merpus knew about their value and rarity but it would have never crossed his mind to capture it for profit, the dude barely understood the importance of money. But he had a kind heart. The stallion got closer to the poor creature and booped it with his nose, forcing it to climb on his face.

"Come on lil guy, I'll get you somewhere nicer."

When the salamander had finally climbed on his nose, Merpus began to trot toward the next rooms, keeping his head low and as flat as possible, so his new friend wouldn't fall. His eyes scanned the surroundings but also squinted to check on the salamander every few minutes to see how it was doing.

As soon as he spotted lava, Merpus rushed toward it and kneeled on the floor so his head would reach the ground. The small critter walked down and headed to the forbidden red goo, stopped on the edge, and then hopped in it. The stallion smirked as he stood up, happy he could help an innocent soul.