Hooves on the cobblestones echoed around them as the party descended deeper into the darkness, ears and eyes alert. At the head of the group, Alber and his faithful hound, Headfast came to a sudden stop as the path ahead forked in two separate directions, his earthy toned tail flicking irritably against his snow kissed flanks. “Which way?” spoke another party member, her beautiful coloured coat offering an almost ethereal glow in the dim light. “How should I know?,” Alber snorted in reply, and Tash frowned at his shortness. At her side, Hau rolled his yellow eyes and shot a reassuring glance to his other companions, including the dark-faced Nazgul behind them, adorned in her leather armour and short temper. “Just pick a path,” the latter spoke, her eyes glowering beneath the brow of her helm, and as Alber felt them bore into the back of his head, Headfast offered a low growl. Without saying anything else, he veered confidently off to the left, and his three companions trudged along behind him down the winding corridor.

Tash watched with a soft smile as her companion, Laszlo stretched his leathery wings atop her shoulder, and took off above them down the corridor, followed quickly by Hau’s crow, Caw. In the rear, Nazgul watched the flying shadows circle above her head, and blew hard out her nostrils as they came just a little too close to Khamûl, who hung tightly to the leather bindings across her shoulders. “Not too far,” Tash warned the airborne pets, who in turn squeaked and crowed the way teenagers may scold a parent for embarrassing them. Hau stifled a laugh and watched as Headfast leapt half heartedly into the air as the pair swooped over his head, the comic relief welcomed enough to crack a smile even on Alber’s face. As Laszlo and Caw disappeared around a corner, Alber again came to a very sudden stop, suddenly enough that Hau walked straight into the back of him, and Nazgul in turn collided with Hau. Headfast let out an alarmed bark, and the two flying companions returned hurriedly to their respective masters. “Get off me!” Alber squealed, his back legs bucking against Hau’s chest, who backed up quickly into Nazgul. The leather clad mare squealed and bit her companion on the backside, her teeth plucking a handful of bright blue hair, which she then spat angrily onto the floor. “Calm down,” Tash hissed at the three of them, “Acting like foals!”

Tash shouldered past her short tempered party, her ears pinned to her head as she shot them all a look of disappointment, and peered ahead at the cause for Alber’s sudden halt. They stood on the precipice of an immense canyon, and as her companions joined at the edge of the chasm, Alber nodded with his head towards a bridge in the distance. “That looks safe,” Nazgul snorted sarcastically, and Laszlo squeaked in agreement from the nest he had made in Tash’s mane. “I don’t see any other way,” Hau replied, refusing to look at the roan mare for the time being, his rump still smarting from the bite. “Listen!” Tash piped up, her ears pricking atop her head as it swung in the direction of a curious sound, her companions straining to hear what she had heard. There it was again, the almost undeniable sound of swords hitting metal, the battle cries of other coursers, and a curious sound none of them could place. Nazgul marched excitedly in place, and Khamûl pointed dead ahead of them before floating off with Caw close behind. The party carefully edged their way along the cliff side, their hooves dislodging chunks of stone to descend into the dark below, all the while the sounds of war grew louder and closer up ahead.

“We should be careful,” Alber hissed as the commotion grew louder, and Tash nodded in agreement, but Hau and Nazgul were far too eager to join whatever fray the group had stumbled upon, deep in the dungeons. Suddenly, Khamûl rejoined the group, snapping his fingers in alarm with Caw close behind. “What is it?” Nazgul asked her startled pet, and the ghostly hand began forming bizarre shapes with his fingers. The others frowned as the mare and her severed hand seemingly communicated, even Headfast cocked his head. “Well?” Alber asked, somewhat annoyed, “What is he saying?” Tash leaned in curiously and Laszlo crawled to sit in her forelock, perfectly between her ears. “He says ‘danger.’” Nazgul replied matter of factly, almost as though she found it unbelievable that her companions weren’t able to decipher her pet’s sign language. Hau frowned, one hoof stomping into the rock floor as he shook his neck impatiently, “I say we continue,” he snorted, and Alber nodded in agreement.

The party continued eagerly down the narrow path towards the sounds of battle, until the most peculiar view came into sight. Below them on a vast ledge, vines in their hundreds, maybe even thousands, sprawled out in rows spanning the entire width of the platform, and meeting in the middle. Across the vines, tens of thousands of bright yellow flowers bloomed in uniform lines, like two gathering armies awaiting the horn of war. Across the bizarre battlefield, giant pumpkins broke the battalions like great siege weapons. Headfast whimpered and huddled between Alber’s front legs, the clashing of sword on shield and warcries of horses heavy in the air, accompanied by strange yells and howls the party did not recognise as human. “What witchcraft is this?” whispered Hau, who shuffled a little uneasily beside Tash and Alber as the party froze in a combination of fascination and fright. “I think we should leave,” Nazgul replied firmly, her nostrils flared red as she peered cautiously down at the waiting war, “Lest we be recruited in their ranks.”

Silent agreement led the retreat back up the ledge to the entrance of the cavern, where they had initially spotted the crossing across the chasm; a particularly derelict looking bridge, cautiously spanning the seemingly bottomless pit below. “Over?” Tash said hesitantly, and Alber nodded silently beside her, before taking the head of the party again with Headfast loyally at his side. Tash and Hau followed behind him, Caw and Laszlo both perched respectively in their master’s manes, while Nazgul and Khamûl brought up the rear once more. As the party approached the bridge, Alber hesitated, his green eyes gazing down into the pitch. “Lets get it over with,” Hau suggested, nudging his toffee coated companion supportively from behind, and Headfast offered a hearty bark. As they began to make their way carefully across the crumbling bridge, it’s stone creaking and shifting dangerously beneath their hooves. “Look!” Tash called out suddenly, peering off over the side of the bridge as a thick, swirling mist seemed to roll up out of the dark maw. Hau and Alber exchanged a concerned look between themselves, and Nazgul peered curiously over the other side of the bridge.

Beneath their feet, the bridge suddenly seemed to sway, slowly at first, and then more noticeable as the seconds ticked by. Tash came away from the edge, her eyes wide as Laszlo squeaked concernedly from her mane. “Easy, Tash,” assured Hau, his gaze once again meeting Alber’s. “We should move,” he spoke firmly, and Headfast took no convincing in trotting hurriedly ahead of his master across the perilous platform. “Do you hear that?” Nazgul called from the rear, her chest pressed dangerously against the ancient brick of the bridge, and her eyes glued firmly on the thick clouds of fog. “Listen..” she hissed, her ears pricked as far forwards on her head as they could be. Hau and Alber stopped to listen, their ears twirling to lock onto an eerie voice from below. Come down to us, we will make you rich and powerful beyond your wildest dreams. Tash shuffled uncomfortably, her tail swishing with some urgency as she pushed herself against Hau’s flank, “We need to leave,” she pressed, her eyes growing wider as she watched her companions lean further towards the abyss. You can be whatever you want down here, amongst all the riches in the world “I think we should jump,” Hau said aloud, his voice strange and almost not his own, and at his side Nazgul nodded. Caw crowed urgently, his feet grasping handfuls of mane as he flapped his wings in a feeble attempt to pull his master away from the danger, while Khamûl placed his hand firmly on Nazgul’s cheek and pushed her head away.

Headfast turned back towards his master and yanked hard on his tail, whimpering barks accompanying each hard tug of his body in an attempt to snap Alber out of whatever trance the fog had put upon him. Don’t you want to fly? Tash nipped urgently at Hau and Nazgul, but neither seemed to even notice her attempts. It was only as the bridge shuddered beneath them, like an earthquake, that the three enchanted coursers seemed to snap out of their spell for long enough, that she once again yelled, “We must LEAVE!” with so much urgency, that the party managed to make haste once more across the bridge, which rocked and groaned angrily upon realising its prey was making an escape. Thick tendrils of mist swirled around them, grabbing at whatever it could in an attempt to slide into their minds once again.

Upon reaching the other side of the bridge, the stone let out one last almighty groan, and the fog receded. “Fools!” Tash hissed angrily, her teeth bared as she stomped one front leg, “You could have all been killed!” Alber, Hau and Nazgul all avoided her stony gaze, their weight shuffling awkwardly from one back leg to the other. “Thank you,” Hau spoke first, his yellow eyes finally meeting his companions, Alber and Nazgul were quick to follow his gratitude. Tash exhaled heavily and allowed her body to relax, “Maybe I should lead for now,” she said with a half smirk, and the party laughed.