Elrim stared into the depths of the hole, and he could feel something staring back. Something powerful, like some of the great creatures that he knew innately lurked in the deeper levels of the dungeon. Smooth, dangerous, seductive. A whisper that curled a finger under his chin and pulled him forward. Darkness reaching out like an embrace, a promise that it could take away all the fragments that he held on to, and forget it all. Obscurity. 'This isn't you.' The thought crossed h...

"Was that you?" Elrim turned to ask Quill, ears lifting and dropping with amusement as Dream looked on from her spot on the harness on his head. The other courser's ears twitched in response, not avoiding his gaze, but looking off to the side at the vine covered walls instead. "Didn't know the dungeons would make you so hungry," Quill commented sheepishly, pawing at the ground a couple of times, pushing a small pebble around beneath his hoof. Even Walter was staring at him with a certa...

The shattered buildings loomed like giant husks around them as Fetch steadily marched forward. There was a heaviness in the air that bordered on suffocating. Phantom fingers brushed against his skin as he twitched at their presence. There was nothing here, however. No bugs, no creatures. He didn't see anything skitter under the rocks. The battlefield was completely silent. "Anyone else feel like we're not alone?" Quinn asked. He hated the way his voice shook a little. The destruction w...

It was like watching ghosts. Or dancers. Or. Or. Butterflies. Quill didn't have a word for it as he dropped his nose to the ground, carefully choosing his next step in case the tower decided to collapse. Fetch and Elrim walked ahead of him. They made it look easy. Effortless, even. It was like the rocks moved out of Fetch's way when as she chose her path which Quill was trying very hard to memorize. Elrim walked his own, neither of them stumbling. Yet his knees were scrapped from the t...

Quill absentmindedly followed the white goose that led the way. The soft scuff of his hooves against the ground background noise to his thoughts that were on that treasure chest that they had left behind a few hours ago. It was treasure and they’d just left it there. Cold and alone, sitting among its field of green all by itself. Elrim had thought it was a bad idea, and Walter had as well, but they could have been wrong. The what if nagged at him. It could have been so great! ...

Elrim didn’t know if he had ever been on the surface before, or if it had just been a very long time. He didn’t know the chilling scent on the air. He found no comfort among the blooming flowers. Beneath the burning sun, there were few shadows to welcome him. No reprieve from the rotating eyes in the sky that watched him day and night. Under Gwyneth’s care, his wounds were mending, but his mind remained a jumbled mess of images, smells, and sounds. Every memory was fragmented unt...

“Do you think you could walk a little louder?” Quill asked in a slow drawl to ignore the way the darkness curled around him in waves from Elrim as he trudged behind him. It had been dark cavern after dark cavern for a couple of hours now, and his friend had a habit of walking into shadows that swallowed him whole. If it wasn’t for Walter, the courser didn’t think that he’d be able to keep up. The dungeon welcomed Elrim in a way that it didn’t welcome Quill. It lingered and ...

He’d promised that he’d keep watch. The break was his idea. Elrim was re-building up his endurance, and frankly, he needed the rest. That’s why Quill had pushed so hard. He’d even ignored when his companion had asked him to wake him up to watch their things if he grew tired. Why would he grow tired? He was born for exploring the dungeon! With Walter at his side, what could ever possibly go wrong? He’d even be able to rub it into Elrim’s face when he woke up on how easy it w...

The dungeon beckoned. Invisible fingers wrapped around him, guiding each step. The walls breathed, the vegetation creeping along them shivering as he passed. Whispered encouragements to keep going brushing over his skin in a trail of goosebumps. It pulled Quill on unsteady hooves ever onward as the glow of lichen faded to a suffocating darkness that reached for his light like a claw crawling at the periphery of his vision. A nervous snort. The sound of his hoof striking the ground was ...

There’s something unnerving about a goose holding a dagger. Maybe it’s the definitely-not-bloodthirsty gleam in its beady little eyes; the way its wings mantled as it puffed itself out; or the reedy hiss contorting around the leather-wrapped handle. No. All of that paled when those large wings opened, and the goose took to the sky. A few seconds of flight followed by tucked wings, and a goose-powered dagger-arrow streaked through the air. “That is awe...