I stood and stretched, yawning as I did so. Gods, that sleep had been needed. I felt far more like myself again. I looked around the cavern. Kraken and Madoc were still fast asleep, but Wulfe was awake. He was very quietly laying out food, and I watched him slice a chunk of cheese and bread, and set it down in front of the little white rat that seemed to be accompanying him. Ox sat up and suddenly took notice of the little rat, and began to walk over. Wulfe watched her, wariness clear in his eyes, his posture screaming that he wouldn’t hesitate to fight my little cat if she went for his rat. I wasn’t worried, Ox could hold her own. She reached the cloth that Wulfe had laid the food out on, and glanced at the rat before sitting and giving Wulfe the biggest sad eyes she could muster. I chuckled – I knew that look all too well. Wulfe glanced over at me, and I raised my eyebrows, my meaning clear – she knows what she wants. Wulfe gave a little smile, and carved another chunk of cheese off the block, and set it down in front of Ox, who immediately began to devour it, her purrs audible even from over here. He’d sealed his fate now, she would never stop begging for food from him. I shook my head and shoved my blanket into my pack. I didn’t know what to think. Wulfe’s father was the one who had placed a very generous bounty on my head, and everything I’d ever heard of Wulfe suggested that he had taken after his father – that he was cruel, harsh, and most of all, deadly. But those tales didn’t seem to match up with the Courser I saw in front of me, watching Ox and his rat eat with aplomb.

I suddenly felt eyes on me, and I realised that even though she looked fast asleep, Kraken was actually listening to what was going on. I chuckled. I had no issues waking up Madoc, so I strode into the centre of the room and loudly said ‘Wakey wakey, little Princess.’

Kraken’s eyes opened, and she glared at me. ‘Call me Princess one more time, and watch what happens to you.’ She growled, menace coating her voice.

I openly laughed. ‘Oh, don’t threaten me with a good time.’

She rolled her eyes so hard that I genuinely thought she might hurt herself, then she looked at something behind me and a grin crossed her face. Madoc had been startled out of sleep when I spoke, and he was glancing around him blearily, barely awake.

I chuckled. ‘Madoc, it’s okay, just time for food.’ I began to pull my rations out of my pack, but Wulfe interrupted me.

‘I have plenty for everyone, if you’d like to share?’

Madoc didn’t need telling twice, he practically galloped over and slotted himself into the gap between Ox and the white rat.

‘Fig, move over a little.’ Wulfe said. The rat – Fig – gave him an annoyed look, but dragged his cheese over to the left a little so it wasn’t in danger of being drenched in the crumbs falling from Madoc’s mouth.

Kraken walked over and sat next to Wulfe, helping herself to cheese and crusty bread. Her eyes closed a little in pleasure, and I caught Wulfe watching her just as I had been. I strode over and took the spot next to Kraken. This food was exceptional – I’d have expected nothing more from a Prince of the Land – and between the six of us, we quickly polished it off. I hadn’t seen Madoc look so happy since before we came down here.

Kraken grabbed a little of the leftover honey, and began to smear it onto a wound she had on her tail. I’d used the ‘honey as antiseptic’ trick myself, but not that many Coursers knew about it these days. Kraken rose even higher in my estimation. Wulfe looked over at her. ‘It’s still hurting?’

‘Yeah’ she replied. ‘It’s healing up, but god it’s a pain.’

‘What happened?’ I asked.

‘I was in some stupid room that was filling with this vile green gas, so thick that I couldn’t see anything, and just as I found an exit, some ass of a Courser grabbed onto my tail with his teeth and wouldn’t let go. I think I gave him a good kick, but honestly I couldn’t tell – I just wanted to get out of there.’

Madoc’s eyes widened, and I began to laugh, a big booming laugh that I rarely gave. Kraken raised an eyebrow quizzically. ‘Let me guess, before that you maybe ripped a few tail hairs off right before a room with a massive arena?’

‘How do you know that?’

Madoc groaned. ‘God DAMN it. You have my apologies, Kraken. I’m the one that bit you.’ He had the decency to look sheepish as he said it. ‘We’ve been tracking a different Courser, and I thought you were he.’

Kraken’s tail swished in annoyance. ‘Did my kick at least land?’

‘Oh yeah,’ came Madoc’s reply. He stood and showed her the dark hoofprint bruise on his chest.

She smiled in satisfaction. ‘I would say we’re even then.’

Madoc nodded happily.

Kraken seemed to be turning something over in her mind. ‘Who are you tracking?’

‘A Heraldic named Lark. Bay pearl roan, with two white socks and pink skin. Don’t suppose you’ve seen him?’ Kraken gave no reaction to my description of Lark, but I didn’t know if that was because she hadn’t seen him, or because she was carefully controlling her body language.

‘I’ve been out of action for a while, I’m afraid, this is my first time in the Dungeons for a while.’ As she said this, she lifted the leg with the bandage wrapped around it. I noted that she hadn’t actually answered the question, and I filed that information away for a later time. ‘What did this Lark do, for you to be tracking him down here? No offence, but your size doesn’t seem like an advantage down in the tunnels, so it must be something major?’

I gave a grunt. ‘You’re not wrong. I do much prefer the surface, but needs must. Lark took something from a friend of mine, and I would like it back.’ I had decided to keep the details to myself for now.

‘Fair enough.’ Said Wulfe. ‘So, what’s the plan?’

I noted that he looked at Kraken as he said this. I’d watched Wulfe (from afar) lead an entire army, it was unnerving seeing him let someone else call the shots.

Kraken thought for a moment. ‘There are still 4 exits from this room that we haven’t tried yet, my suggestion would be to pick one of those and see where it leads us.’

We all nodded in agreement, and since everything was now packed away, we got ready and then headed over to one of the exits. Wulfe and I were both walking alongside Kraken, but the doorway was clearly only wide enough for two Coursers. I swear I heard Kraken give a little chuckle under her breath as she put on a burst of speed at the last moment, crossing the threshold right next to Madoc. Wulfe and I exchanged a grumpy look, and then went to walk through the doorway after them – but as the tip of their tails crossed the threshold, there was a BOOM, and the doorway suddenly span. The path through it previously had curved to the right, and it now curved to the left. I couldn’t hear anything at all, even though I knew Madoc would be screaming for me as soon as he realised he was cut off.

I sighed. ‘Come on then, Wulfe, let’s see where this takes us.’ I took a few steps into the room, and spotted a dais at the far end, the iron box I’d spent an hour running from the other night sitting right on top of it. I groaned, and turned to Wulfe, a devious glint in my eye. ‘Ready to run?’