I trotted the empty halls alone this time. I didn’t particularly like being alone in the deadly dungeon, but I didn’t have a choice. The halls were long; each stomp of my hoof echoed, alerting any creature within earshot to my location. 

Fear gripped at my stomach with each passing moment. Fear of being killed, fear of being found, and of course, fear of the unknown. Life on the surface for me wasn’t much better than the dungeons, hence the reason I retreated to them. Sure, they were utterly scary and dangerous, but at least if I was killed it would be to a creature whose instinct was to kill, not some Courser who just wanted me dead. 

I can not, no I will not be killed by a Courser. If an animal, a hellhound, or whatever kills me, that is different. Then I will know, in the last few moments of my life, that I truly deserved it.

I flashed my attention back to the dungeons. A creature of night came forth, its stale yellow eyes gleaming for something more than a small snack. “Get lost.” I grumbled, my voice echoing louder than my hooves. The creature didn’t leave though, it barked. “Get lost I said!” I screeched, stomping my hooves. The creature huffed, and ran off into the pitch black of the dungeon tunnel. 

In that sad moment I realized I had forgotten a torch. “Fuck” I whispered, and kept going into the dark abyss. 

My mind drifted as darkness surrounded me. My mind thought of poems I could tell a lover, if I ever made it out of here alive that is. Though I wanted out of the dungeons, I knew deep down that if I were to leave I would almost certainly be killed. Let’s just say I pissed off the wrong Courser. 

Soon the feeling of darkness ebbed, though I was still in the midst of it. My thoughts became lighter, my hooves moving quicker, my body comfortable. I’m really becoming a creature of darkness. What I had once been scared of, I now seemed not only to enjoy, but find comfort in. 

Little would I know, things were about to change, drastically. 

I began making poems for a lover that I didn’t have. “Your heart is kind enough to warm even the coldest of hearts. Your mind is nimble enough to stumble even the smartest professors. Your body is angelic enough to stun even the most devious devils.” I whispered, playing with my words. Words are odd, they can be a light source in the dark, but they can also be a concealed weapon, shoved into your heart before you know what's happening. That’s what happened to me, kind of.

“Your body, a blade waiting to be unsheathed. Your eyes, a language waiting to be translated. Your tongue, a weapon of its own, waiting to strike. Your heart, a being waiting to be loved.” My hoarse voice whispered as I continued on through the dark. 

Before long, I saw light. Not the light, just light. A group of four Coursers trotted past me. “Hey there!” One of them called; their tone friendly. “Hello.” I nodded, and continued moving. Soon the light faded back into darkness. It seemed odd how quickly I’d adjusted to the pitch black of the dungeon. In the beginning I’d run into walls here and there, but now I was doing fine. And I was quite comfortable in the dark, almost as if I owned it. 

I paused in the pitch black hall to grab a snack. After rummaging through my belongings, I quickly realized I had run out of food. “Shit.” My quiet, hoarse voice echoed. With a sigh, I set off again, this time searching for a room to grab some gold. 

Seeing, as one might imagine, isn’t really possible in pitch blackness. Even with my eyes adjusted to the light, it was still pitch black. My other senses took a bit to kick in, but once they did, it was like I was one with the dark. My ears swiveled, allowing me to hear almost everything. My nose sniffed, allowing me to smell everything near me. Every physical feeling was amplified, allowing me to understand as much as possible from my surroundings. 

Eventually I found a small room to slip into. It had a few torches lining the walls. After giving myself a minute or two to adjust to the lighting, I begin gathering treasures. I tried to keep my findings light, mostly grabbing coins. A few other treasures, like gold pieces that I have absolutely no idea what they do. Mostly anything lighter that I think will be of worth to sell or trade. 

After a bit, I get ready to leave, stuffing all my glittering and glimmering treasures into my pack. It takes a moment, stuffed to the absolute brim, careful not to squish the tiny salamander I found days earlier. It seemed to be doing alright, it was still alive at least. I don’t even know what I’m going to buy with all this stuff. It’s not like I can buy a place to stay, or safety. With a sigh, I slip back out into the darkness.

I trot through the darkest part of the dungeon, confined to the shadows. It’s not pitch black anymore, a few torches line the wall, but I stay confined to the shadows. I like this new me, sticking to the shadows. 

I hear a faint ‘meow’ up ahead. “Fuck.” I whisper, staying close to the shadows. A black shadow comes around the corner, beelining for me. Once it reaches me, it purrs, and rubs against my legs. My body tenses. Um. Okay. It's okay, everything is fine. “Hi?” I said unsure, my voice uneven. The cat didn’t give any sign it heard me, and kept rubbing against my legs. It lets out a small meow, and continues rubbing up against me. I try to walk forward, but it just stands in front of my legs, its eyes staring at me lovingly. Like I’m the best thing in the world, but I’m not. I try to continue walking, but it seems to follow me. I amp it up into a trot, trying to get away from the being, but it just runs faster. I run into a canter, torches whizzing by. Yet, the cat is miraculously able to keep up. I stop, panting. “I’m not a good Courser. Find someone to love you, to take care of you. I will not be able to.” I pant. The cat gives no indication of understanding, and hops up onto my pack. It sits on the left side, opposite to the salamander who is in a small container. “Fine.” I grumble and walk on. If it wants to stay, it can. But I can almost guarantee it will regret it. 

I walked through the halls and found myself checking on the cat often. Why did I care if a cat wanted to stay or not? That question racked my brain for most of the time I was in the dungeon. 

All of a sudden, a creature of malice appeared before me. It had a brilliant white coat that seemed to glow in the darkness, its eyes, the red of fury, its skull, thin and sharp. The way it moved, as if hunting me, looked wolflike. As if it was stalking me and trying to jump on me. 

It’s boney body sank onto mine, it’s teeth deep in my skin. Before I could do much, I was frozen, unable to move. As if its fangs contained poison. I heard a meow, and was speechless to see the cat that once sat on my pack docilely, fighting this wolflike equine. It slashed its claws to the creature’s bones, leaving small indents. “Fuck.” I grunted, realizing that the creature would kill the cat. I jumped into action, my movements odd, my muscles painful with every movement. Yet I persisted, throwing myself on top of the creature, digging my sharp hooves into its bones, digging my sharp teeth as far into its neck bone as they would go. I maneuvered myself in a way that would allow me to pop the head off of the creature. Surely a headless creature would die, and if not, it would at least be somewhat incapacitated. 

With a small pop the head was detached, and seemingly flew across the floor. The body underneath me went limp, bones clattering and hitting the floor. It was done. 

I couldn’t move though, the poison acting faster. The black cat jumped on my stomach, and as much as I wanted to move, I couldn’t. The poison was being delivered to every muscle, incapacitating me, much like I incapacitated the being. Before long, my eyes felt heavy and I drifted off to a painful sleep. 

I wasn’t expecting to wake up again, but when I did my face felt wet. When I opened my eyes, the culprit revealed itself. Of course, the cat had been licking my face. Of course. “Good morning to you too.” I grunted. The cat hopped off of me, and I heaved myself up. The cat purred as I stood up, the world spinning for a moment. 

“Let’s get going.” I muttered, and started walking through the dark again. The cat meowed, so I stopped for a moment. The cat jumped onto my pack, and with a purr went to sleep. 

The only indication of the cat in the dark halls was the noise it made and its yellow glowing eyes. Did it seem oddly protective? Over me? I couldn’t even begin to fathom why. I am the absolute worst creature to care for something. I push everyone and everything away, yet this black cat decided to stay. Decided to almost care for me? 

I pushed those thoughts out of my mind as I found an entrance to the surface. The stairs lit with torches, taking a moment for my eyes to get used to the bright light. My head hurt as I pushed myself to walk up the stairs.

Eventually, after a very long time, I finally made it to the surface. I took a quick look around, I seemed to be in a smaller town, the smaller the better right now. I began walking around, the sun heating my back. “Hey, you there. Are ya lost?” A blackish greyish Courser asked, walking up to me. “Uh, kind of. I need to grab some supplies.” I answered, my heart beating. The Courser took a moment to respond, looking me up and down. Fear raced through me. Do they recognize me? “Ah, alright. I’m Hund. Why don’t you stay here a night? I’ve got a place you and your cat can rest up.” Hund offered. It did seem kind, but was it too kind? “That sounds nice.” I said, at least I’d be able to get out of the sun. 

Me and Hund walked side by side as he navigated the small village. Even though it was small, and probably lacked funding, there were quite a few Coursers here. “What’s the deal with the village?” I asked, finally deciding to be brave. “Just a few big adventuring groups passing by.” Hund answered as if it was normal. “Are you an adventurer?” I asked, the grass underhoof soothing the sores on my hooves from walking so long. “Yeah, I enjoy the dungeons.” Hund answered. Before I could say anything else, he nodded to the house up ahead. “Here we are. Enjoy.” Hund said, opening the door and leaving me be. 

The small house seemed oddly nice, a big bed to sleep on, some chairs, a dining table, even a kitchen. I’m sure Hund would expect some kind of payment, and thankfully I had a ton of gold on me. The unnamed cat jumped off of my pack, and landed on the bed. ‘Meow’ Okay. I carefully took off my pack, and grabbed the container containing the salamander I had found several days ago. It was still alive, so I decided to set off before it died. I opened the house door, and the cat came running out. Sure I guess. It could come. 

When I got out of the house, I saw Hund nearby. He walked over. “Need something?” He asked. “Uh, yeah, do you know where I could sell this?” I mumbled, the container in my mouth. Hund nodded. “This way.” He said, his voice a little harsh. Maybe he didn’t like poaching. I didn’t care. 

Eventually we made it to a small outdoor store, the Courser at the front seemed delighted to see a customer. I set down the container on the little bench. “I’d like to sell this salamander.” I said. The owner nodded, and gave me the standard amount for a salamander, one thousand five hundred worth of coins. I took it, and walked back to the house with Hund, and the cat following me.

“What kind of payment do you want?” I asked as we walked. “Five hundred would do.” Hund responded. It seemed like he had already thought about this. With a sigh, I handed him five hundred worth of coins. 

Back at the house, I laid on the bed. The cat came up to me and cuddled as I drifted off to sleep, again.