As if Sammy would! Again... hm.

After the slash at my back is healed by Gabbie, we slowly make our way into the cavern; Eve's voice echoing through the stones. "That seemed odd; throwing out such a large quantity of enemies at first contact. My hypothesis: this Dungeon Core is young, and inexperienced."

"For a young Core, it had quite the force." Says Cilla. "Meaning it must have a master... does anyone have a light?"

"Light!" Calls Zana; forming a ball of unnatural darkness in the air. "Aw, darn it... Light!"

This time it works, producing an orb of shining light; it's color changing constantly. Looking at the other orb; I am kind of hungry at that fight... I take a deep breath, sucking in the Dark orb, which causes everyone around me to stop in their tracks.

Trixie nearly drops out of the air. "His bleedin' head's gone!"

"What!?" Choking slightly, I smack both hands to my skull; which had apparently cause my head to appear again.

A calm, yet giddy giggle comes from the Compuro Clinician. "He's a dragon with a Light infusion, he was just eating the light that surrounded his head, turning it invisible."

"Ooo!" Says Ashes, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "That could have some fun uses..."

"You all do remember we're in a Dungeon, correct?" Asks Cilla, her hands on her fuzzy hips.

After some babbling "oh yeah" and "sorry" from everyone, we make our way deeper. The stone walls seem to smooth as go, glistening with moisture from an unknown source. The cave floor was covered in a pleasant, plush moss; softening out steps into silence, perfect for me; or any ambushing defenders. We enter a chamber with a hole above us, leading to the surface; the faint light of the moon now poking through gracefully.

"Ooo aaa ooo..."

"What was that?" I whisper.

Scott perks a brow. "What was what?"

It calls again. "Aaa ooo aaa..."

There were no passages leading out of this room, yet beside the one we came from; the gentle, creeping song seemed to be coming from all around us.

"Up?" I suggest in a hushed tone; the others not knowing why I'm whispering.

Sammy rubs her rear. "I'm still a bit sore from last Up."

"No, I meant all of us."

"Teacher's leg would get tired! And how would she Up herself?"

Sighing, I unfold my wings, flapping up towards the hole in the cave; the sound growing more distant.

"Ooo eee aaa... Eee aaa ooo..."

Grabbing the ledge, my head pokes out the top; nope, just the surface. A random spot in the middle of the woods, with the roots of a tree having broken open the cave. A crack is heard, as the ground I hold onto buckles slighty.

"Oh..."

It collapses, several heavy stones pounding into my wings as I fall.

"... shiiit!"

"You dolt!"

Looking around as I fall, Cilla had seeming hopped up towards be, attacking one of the large stones that was falling with a powerful kick, using both legs at once, embedding it into the wall of the cave. Looking down, the others had rushed for the exit, avoiding the falling rubble.

This is going to hurt...

Indeed, it did. Smashing face first into the mossy stone, I hear Cilla call to me as several more large rocks fall onto my back; which, while painful, I don't feel them pierce my skin, nor break any bones. The patter of pawed feet impacting the moss from her rushing to my aid is interrupted by an more heartbreaking noise. Yet more cracking in the earth below me.

"Oh, come on!"

I wriggle my wings free of stone as the floor, seemingly made of an incredibly thin layer of stone, shattered like glass. Dirty, but not damaged, I fly back to the entrance to the chamber, where Cilla and the others were waiting; the former tapping her hind-paws angrily. One slap later, I hold my cheek in agony while I peer down at second chamber.

No moss inside this abode, nor smooth walls, instead the roughness you would expect of natural stone. The chamber was dry, the rubble quickly turning into naught but dust; around half the height of the one above.

"Hmm..." Hums Ashes. "I think the Dungeon Core is Earth Infused; lots of manipulation of the soil and stone. Buried skeletons, hidden passages behind rock walls..."

"A good theory, but then what of the skeletons?" Says Eve, before preforming another Incantation of Grand Vine to create a sort of rope-ladder down into the passage.

Zana hops on her Boomstick, gliding down slowly as she speaks. "So, should we hit anything that looks... off?"

Gabbie goes second down the vines behind Eve, everyone in front of her being able to fly down, or jump without injury. "I would use Ariel's Eyes again, but I'm starting to feel shaky; I don't to use our Soul Sedatives if I don't have to."

Another passage in the hidden chamber takes us back upward, the rough edges of the walls scraping my wings and arms occasionally. Listening closely, I hear that song; ever closer.

"Oh, iiin this cage~ a poor bird's stage~ To whitherrr; eeeverrr more!~"

"A pointless rage~ 'till the end of an age~ A fooowl fate; suuuch a bore!"

The voice was man's, but higher pitched, and seemingly of high class; I could even hear the subtle hum of a Core; matching the tune of his song. A child's giggling could be heard, as well as the soft wheezing breath of an unknown third party.

"Oh, is that what you were hearing?" Whispers Scott.

"I think so... let me go first."

At the end of the passage, piles of junk filled a final chamber; with random strewn about cloth, weapons, thread, sacks of grain; anything you could expect to be looted from travelers or traders. Several crates and chests were stacked high, with a massive, gilded bird's cage at it's peak; a massive, man sized one at that.

The wheezing happens once more. "Sheesh! You'z again!?"

A man, dressed as the bandits from night prior were, sits at a small camp-fire; bread and cheeses on a plate beside him, with a bottle of wine in hand. He sits, his shirt torn open, with bandages strapped around his chest; his face uncovered, blush with booze, with a crooked, twice-broken nose and a yellow, toothy grimice on his face. Looking where the bandages were... this is the man I knocked down with my hook before the fighting started; now the sole survivor of the group.

"Calm down." I whisper. "We're not here for you. Where is the Dungeon Core."

The man's face flares in rage, and he struggles to rise up in protest. "Oh no, agh... you'z not touch'n her. She's a good'n!"

He grabs an emptied bottle of wine to his side, and wielding it sloppily like a club.

"Goober? What's going on?" Asks a child's voice, off behind more of the horde.

"Stay back, Carrie!" The man yells, wincing as he does so; barely able to stand. "It's the monster you'z felt earlier! He smash'd the bonies!"

My party piles in behind me, and Gabbie walks forward first. "Sir, you're injured. Let me help..."

"Like you'z help'd Than?!" He yelps. "All cut up, in that box!?"

This accusatory tone from someone who was about to try and kill us naught but days ago cause a new fiery sensation in my heart. "That wasn't us! And you attacked us first!"

A prim and proper voice calls out from the cage up above. "Oh my; good sirs and madams, please keep it down. I am performing."

Dotting out from around the mess of loot, an adorable little girl with doll-like pink hair, in a matching, tattered tutu wobbles over; her skin impossibly smooth, and without blemish, nor imperfection. Her eyes shined like glass, peering at us with such quick precision that she was clearly no human.

The Dungeon Core.