The furnace seemed extra dry today, the air was irritating Nyx’s nostrils and making her eyes run, which meant very little except that she was more irritable than usual and Gordon’s chattering was grating on her nerves. The tall courser didn’t say anything to her partner though, the story was probably supposed to be light hearted and amusing, though to hear Gordon tell it he’d fought in every battle in history alongside every hero of legend. It was just his way to put himself at the centre of a story as the observer to make it seem more immediate.

Rounding a corner ahead of Nyx, the bard fell silent for once and Nyx slipped past him, across a wide, featureless cavern a monster waited, burning eyes and screaming maw. Nyx stopped in the face of the apparition, and waited in the doorway to see what it did. Nothing. There was no movement at all, even the glow from the eyes and mouth, indicating a magical light source or open lava rather than a fire inside. There was nothing that indicated life, so Nyx stepped forward slowly.

With her wisp floating above her Nyx paced forward, ears up, nostrils flaring. Once the blue glow of the little wisp reached the silent sentinel’s screaming face Nyx realised she’d been wrong. This wasn’t and never had been, a creature. It was just some natural openings in the rockface that gave the impression of eyes and a mouth. Though bathed in orange light from strange stone torches the corridor beyond was as normal as any in this area.

“Come ahead. It’s safe.” She called to Gordon, emboldened by Nyx’s obvious relaxation, Gordon trotted rapidly across the cavern. His tail and head dropped a bit as he realised what he was looking at. “Yeah, maybe leave this part out of your next tale of high adventure.” Nyx flicked one ear back and the other forward in a wry expression. “I think this is our way forward, after all, how many before us fled at the sight of the terrifying maw? Could be something interesting inside. Magic light stones too. Those don’t appear everywhere.”

Gordon snorted and shook his mane. “Yes. I believe I will leave this part out when I recount tale of this trip, or at least I’ll change it beyond all recognition.”