The sharp tack-tack-tack of his hooves meeting stone left Fentic on edge.

It was a rare event for the stallion to brave the dungeons alone, much less in these darkest corners where the light barely passed through the worn cave ceiling. But, in due time, all Coursers must try their might and mettle in parts unknown; Fentic was no different. The thrill of discovery pushed him further than he had originally planned for, tracing the rough carvings of old runes along a barely legible path.

The realization that he was lost came far too late for the intrepid student, and now here he was, with nothing but ancient carvings and his lantern for company.

"Stupid," he snorted, "didn't even bring my bag. My chisel. What the hell was I thinking?" He couldn't even bring a part of his find with him, much less properly study it, much less dare try to find this spot again. He didn't need a dungeon guide to know the path he took would long since have changed, and probably already had.

At least there were stairs. That was interesting, at least, and if he were so lucky— maybe, just maybe, he'd come across another Courser or two that wouldn't mind him tagging along to the surface. And if he let himself throw a fit now, with nobody to see... 

Well, that'd be a nice way to blow off some tension until he found rescue. Mid-climb, he let his immense size do the work for him: all 9-across inches of hoof landed heavy on his next stride, and the next, and the next. Like a foal once more, stomping away his troubles, he powered up the steps with nobody but himself to blame.

"Just around the corner," he huffed, "just to see what it'd be like?" He could only roll his eyes at his own foolishness. He knew just as well as any other Courser, perhaps better, how strong the call of the dungeon could be.

It was his job to know better, in fact, than to gallivant his way into the abyss with nary a thing but the light hanging from between his teeth. If only he knew, halfway up the steps, the beings he was set to encounter.

The large mass of rock rattled under hoof as though it had somewhere to be, sending Fentic skittering to a halt and making a hasty attempt at balance. The lumbering form of the beast below nearly sent him careening as moss tore from the ground with the sound of ripping grass, shifting to and fro with a weight unimaginable.

It made him feel like a bug. Small, vulnerable, waiting to be squished for the insolence of even considering this venture into the depths alone. He was certain this was a cave-in, that he was to be crushed just like the spider he found scuttling in his tent, just like the beetle on his desk and—

"Courser," a voice rumbled in the dungeon like a landslide, sending Fentic's frantic musings into disarray.

"Do you quite mind," called another from the side, perhaps more like the rustle of gravel, "or do you intend to make a game out of stepping on our heads?"

Silence hung in the air as the horse processed the situation before him.

"Um," he wisely spoke before thinking it through, "sorry?"

"You ought to be," said the first voice as he turned to face the owner, "with such a rude awakening." With the lantern light casting upon the stony exterior of the creature before him, he understood quite thoroughly how screwed he was.

Golems.

Not one, but two, and— he flicked his eyes to the broken once-staircase he was travelling— in the way of his escape. Shimmering yellow lights gazed at him from peculiar angles, shining down on him in a way not dissimilar to the way the lamp's light cascaded over their forms. Dimples, cracks in the stone, mud stains, dirt patches, even whole clods of moss and grass— nature at its finest, coating the monsters before him as though the mess of material were nothing but the finest of silks.

"Rude indeed. Are you scared, poor thing?" The second voice held a strangely tinny quality now that he looked over the other golem, as though it echoed through the cavernous gaps that dotted its head.

"It must be, it hardly speaks," the first cut in before Fentic could, its hulking grey head bobbing in a nod. A single light shifted not in the holes on the thing's head that looked like eyes, no, of course not— it danced around in a long figure eight pattern within what would've been a mouth. An oddly hypnotizing motion, beyond the interruption. Was that a trick, a lure of some kind, or did they actually see from that?

"One can only imagine why," tutted the second, the psuedo-horns upon its skull haloed by scattered lightbeams from above. If Fentic knew what angels were, perhaps he would have drawn a comparison.

It struck him, then, that the golems were not striking him down. Perhaps some quick thinking could keep it that way.

"I... Yes, I apologize for my actions," he attempted to smooth over, "I was simply so excited, you see, to find such... Magnificent examples of stonework?" 

Not that quick of thinking, stars above, now they were staring at him with an intensity so fierce he felt he could spontaneously combust.

Silence, once more, reigned supreme as all parties seemed to take a moment to consider the current situation.

Until the horned golem, gravel voice and all, let out a small coo.

"What a precious thing, what a treasure," it clapped together hands the color of oxidized copper, "to have an eye that fine for carving." Its head remained stationary, with the three lights that made up its 'face' drifting in the direction of its companion.

"And to think, you said it was too much."

The greyer golem, rounder and bulkier than its counterpart, simply heaved a sigh.

"That is not what I said."

"Yes it is."

"It is not."

"Yes it is!"

And before the banter could continue, Fentic interrupted the clatter of rocky tones.

"Regardless," he shifted his weight as politely as he could manage, given his current position, "I am truly sorry. For interrupting your sleep." 

If the look the golems had given him before were fierce, this time, he felt like simply melting. Not that he could really interpret any emotion from their countenances of unmoving rock.
Nevertheless, he continued.

"That said... Would it be possible to ask for a small favor?"

The golems hardly moved their heads to look at eachother, strange lights floating in the other's general direction.

"That depends," said the first, "would you care to do one for us?"



It was, of course, a decent few hours later before the golems sat back into their former places, stone bodies freshly free of their excess mud... And it took a decent few more hours still for Fentic to arrive at the surface, covered in mud and decorated with small carved rocks.

Next time, he would swear, he planned on bringing a bucket and a tub full of soap.