Splatter at the Fire Temple

	It was a simple sort of excursion - the Temple of the Molten God had been opened, and there were all sorts of things that weren’t known about it, mainly the sorts of things that were inside it. So, the ‘powers that be’ simply called up some adventurers that needed the coin and sent them on in with the promise of getting paid when they get out. The two that answered the call, one being a male with draconic features, the fluff of a sheep, and enough armor to take on anything that might stand in his way, and the other being a female with a more “feline” disposition and a bow strung across her back. Even now, the two of them were busy with making their way through the swelteringly hot caverns and hallways.
	“Nnh… Kara, do you happen to have any water left with you? I think my canteen’s far too dry for me to get anything out of it.” The feline speaks, and turns her head towards the dragon. The glasses on her face look somewhat fogged up, and judging from the sweat dripping down her face, the two of them have been at this for quite some time. The dragon, though, simply continues on with barely another glance.
	“Unfortunately, I do not. I’d share with you if I had the supply, but I cannot say I have anything to spare at the moment.” The feline lets out a sigh at the sound of that, a groan passing her lips soon after.
	“Uuugh… why in the world did we even pick this quest of all things? It’s a Fire temple, of course it’s going to be hot as a furnace… And it’s messing up my hair… Oh, I’m probably going to get split ends after this is done...” She rubs her face for a moment more, her hand now glistening with sweat and heat. The two of them turn a corner, the walls and floor covered in pristine-looking tile and stone. With all of their travelling and the heat getting close to them, there’s only so much more that they could take before collapsing from exhaustion. And even then, the heat would kill them if they stayed there for long enough.
	Suddenly, the dragon’s eyes widen for a moment before he shoots his hand out to the side.
	“Halt, wait, wait. Did you hear something? I could have sworn I had heard something.” The feline furrows her sweat-covered brows at the sound of that. She lets out a grunt, wipes her face somewhat drier, and puts her hands to her hips.
	“Honestly, Kara? Ugh, this is getting too ridiculous! We’ve gone through the entirety of this floor, and the only thing we’ve found is charred remains and broken tableware, and we’ve only gotten sweat-drenched clothing to make up for it. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to head on back and cancel the quest. Someone that’s not me is going to suffer here, whether you like it or not.” And like that, the feline turns on her heel, puffs out her cheeks, and starts to walk back down the way that they came.
	“W-Wait, Lydia, do not mo-”

	Click

	The sound of something far off clicking in their ears causes both the dragon and the feline to stop in their tracks. The feline’s brows raise before she looks back towards her companion.
	“E-Eh… Kara? What was that?”

	THOOPH-THOOPH Krrrckt!

	Both the feline and the dragon are brought to the ground by the sudden thrusting of searing hot stone around their necks! Coupled with the tightness that was going along with it, the two of them soon let out grunts of pain from their spots on the ground.
	“Ghh… what in the…!?” The dragon raises himself from the stone floor, and tries to bring his hands to his neck before pulling away with a sharp hiss and a puff of smoke. “C-Collars…!?”
	“Ow!! Ow ow ow ow ow!!” The feline clutches at her neck as well, the heat pressing itself through her fur and clothing. Both she and her companion soon sit up, the heat starting to radiate and sear more and more into their bodies. Soon enough, the two of them let out an uncomfortable sigh before pressing themselves against the walls.
	“L-Lydia, are you alright? Are you hurt?” The dragon calls out towards the feline from his seat, the heat and the pain causing his vision to blur.
	“O-Other than having a searing hot thing around my neck, I’m perfectly hunky-dory, Kara.” She winces again and pulls her hands away from the ring around her neck… “What- ah…! What… even is this thing? Some sort of… stone collar…?” She brings her hands to her neck once again, and lets out a sharp hiss of her own at the heat.
	“Nnnh… well… at least you’re unhurt… Come, there is probably something that can get these things off of us further in.” And like that, the dragon stands up, lets out a sigh before wiping his face, and starts to head down the hallway once again. The feline quickly scrambles herself and her gear up from the floor, and follows her way behind him.

	Click

	The dragon stops in his tracks once again, this time with his eyes as wide as dinner platters.
	“...You have got to be pulling on my leg.” He lets out an incredulous grunt before looking down towards his feet - as well as the stone panel that had settled into the floor at his step. Suddenly, a bright red light flashes through their vision before the feeling of being tugged from the bottom of their ribs meets their senses.
	“W-Woooah!!” The feline cries out before the light engulfs her and her companion, her eyes closing a moment later from the brightness. Though, a second later, she opens her eyes - the first thing she notices being the runed and lined surface beneath their feet. The second thing to hit her senses is the feeling of a slight hum coming from around her throat.
	“Gh… Throkrushkt…!” The feline’s ears perk up at the sound of the dragon’s gravelly voice - him speaking in his native tongue, no doubt. She turns her head towards her right, causing the dragon to come into view.
	“K-Kara?” The feline’s face contorts into a more worried version of itself, the feeling of  the searing heat washing over her sending her nerves on edge. The dragon hefts himself up from the floor, the heat soon coming into his senses as well.
	“I am… fine, Lydia. You are well?” The dragon looks towards the feline with a somewhat nervous look to his face.
	“I-I-I’m fine, but I don’t think we’ll be alright if we don’t get out of here… Ugh… I-I can’t believe we got captured again!”
	“I do not, either. I did not even see that… what is the word? Pl… platter? Pressure platter beneath my foot.” The dragon rubs his face for a moment, his nerves starting to show on his scaled skin and his thick fluff. Though, on his way up to his face, his hand bumps into something against his neck. He quickly looks towards the floor, only to see a strand of red light snaking its way towards the center of their platform - both him and his companion.
	“Oh… great, now we have to deal with this. Lydia, can you please find out if this is made with magic or not? I wish to know how to get out of here rather quickly.”
	“Yes, yes, already working on it…” And like that, the feline raises her hands towards her own glowing cord, and starts to mutter something under her breath. A second later, her hands glow in a soft whitish-blue light. “Ugh, this is… not good. I can’t dispel something with an enchantment this strong. We’ll just have to figure out what to do, or, um… I could try to cast something by way of a ritual. I can’t guarantee it would get us out of here, though.”
	“Well, that is better than doing nothing. Please, hurry. I do not wish to explore anymore.” And like that, the dragon starts to look around from his spot on the floor… From the looks of things, the two of them are on top of some sort of dais - the floor ending in a circle around them both, and judging from the light and the heat that was coming up from the floor, there was a good chance that whatever was down there would be entirely too bad for their health if they stayed.
	The feline, on the other hand, has sat herself down onto the floor, and had begun chanting and muttering under her breath… Beads of sweat drip off of her chin, and her glasses have begun to fog up more and more.

	RRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAGH!!!!

	A fierce bellow echoes out through their chamber, causing both the dragon and the feline to jolt up from their spots and to brandish their weapons - a mace for the dragon and a bow for the feline. After quickly looking about, a dull THUD meets their senses before looking off to the right. There, a massive hand made of glowing molten rock and stone presses against the stone flooring - easily massive enough to stop or crush anything in its way. The dragon tenses up for a moment or two at the sight of it, while the feline pulls on her bowstring to make a glowing arrow appear between her fingers.
	“Who dares… desecrate my temple and my abode…!” A voice as deep as the ocean and as wide as the sky rumbles against the feline and the dragon’s skulls, a primal fear starting to settle into the pit of their guts. Suddenly, another hand rises from the glowing light before pressing itself against the stone alongside its twin… A dull rumbling starts to echo its way up from the area down below before suddenly a molten pillar of red-hot magma bursts up from between those hands!
	At once, the dragon tenses up, and grips his mace tighter in his palm. The feline’s nerves start to get the best of her, and before long, she finds herself shaking against everything she knows, the un-taut portion of her bowstring starting to shake in time with her.
	“...Marvelous…! I shudder to think of what it would take for those mere mortals to find such rare sacrifices! I daresay that I shall partake of them, and… perhaps grow even stronger. Mayhaps then, I could break free of these frigid bonds that keep me here in this temple…!”
	At the sound of that, the sound of glass clinking against itself meets the dragon and the feline’s ears before quickly falling silent once again. Though, a second later, the sound of a deep, murderous laugh starts to fill the air, each second passing with louder and louder guffawing and laughing.
	Suddenly, one of the hands starts to push itself up from the floor, and flexes its fingers towards the two adventurers. A second later, it raises itself up higher and higher into the air before-


	WHAM!!!

It comes down onto the dragon and the feline, the heat and the pressure quickly reducing them to nothing but dust and particulate.

“Nhnhnhnhahahahahaha…!! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Marvelous! Now… since you are destined to become nothing more than flames to fuel my being, I shall find a name for you that the masses will remember you by… Perhaps… The Fairest of Hairballs and the Bumbling of Drakes? That shall do nicely, I daresay.”
And like that, the hands start to retract themselves into the pit behind them, the only things left of the feline and the dragon being their weapons, now charred and broken. With a chuckle, the hands soon disappear into that pulsing heat and shimmering light, waiting for their next victims to come along and meet their absolute most dire of fates in the Temple of the Molten God… And with a chuckle, the heat grows stronger once more...