It was very early in the morning. The large of the two suns was just barely peeking over the mountain peaks that seem to surround the village. Despite living up into the mountain the air was cool but Aristaeus could tell that it was going to be another nice day. Perfect for the garden that had just been planted. And perfect for traveling underground to deliver some more meat to the Aerobic Tark'ee that still lived underground. His village had promised to bring them meat in exchange for certain rings.

"I got, I got." A blue and white Belemiod ran up to him. A big pile of meat that was tied with a cord hung from his mouth.

"Thank you Ramsay. Next time I go you can come with me." Aristaeus said before he took the package and headed off into the trees.

After dropping off the meat Aristaeus grew curious and went to the door that usually was shut. But as he got closer he noticed that the door was wide open. Another Colonist stood there next to the open door. Aristaeus approached them. "How long has this been open?" He asked curiously.

Citria turned toward him, her eyes wide. "I don't know. I just came to check myself. And now I find myself wondering what's on the other side. And if it's a good idea to go look. What if it's something awful. Or maybe they won't like us. I don't want to fight them."

Aristaeus walked over to her and peered into the dark tunnel. At the end of it he could see a red glow and feel heat coming from beyond. He glanced back at Citria.

"We can both go and check it out. See what's there. I don't know about you but I am curious to see what creatures could live in a place like this." He noticed that Citria was almost as curious as himself and so he pressed on. "Besides, it's always best to always go exploring with a buddy."

That seemed to do it. Citria took a careful step into the tunnel and then another. Aristaeus was right behind her. Almost immediately he could feel how much warmer it was the farther down the tunnel they went. They walked on. Aristaeus could feel the ground beneath his feet getting warmer and he began to worry if they might have to worry about getting burnt feet. They had been walking for some time when Aristaeus and Citria both noticed that the other side of the tunnel was starting to look bigger. They were finally at the other end. They stepped through the exit and were immediately hit by the heat. The distant walls were aglow with reds, oranges and yellows that seemed to pour out of the walls and connect to the glowing waters below it. Small islands dotted the landscape, all surrounded by lava that slowly bubbled.

And it looked like the tunnel spat them out right in front of the largest of the islands. And something large was chained to a column. Through the glow Aristaeus could see several smaller creatures that were around the much larger creature.

"What do you think happened? Why would that one be all chained up?" Citria asked in a whisper. Which Aristaeus could barely hear. But the creatures here must have some good hearing as they all turned their gaze at them. A large Grey one seemed to take more interest in the two of them as it stared at them and seemed to wait for something. The large creature opened it's mouth and strange sounds came out. Aristaeus could not understand but the creatures around it seemed to have no trouble. The large Grey one with large ears stepped forward. Aristaeus could see others milling about in the background. And by the stance of this one they probably were not about to be greeted warmly. He started to slowly move his right hand to the blaster he had tied to the front of his pack.

But before it could attack, Citria stepped forward, blocking Aristaeus' line of sight.

"We didn't come to fight. What happened here? I am sure we can come to an understand-" Citria started to say. But the Grey one rushed her before she could finish. Aristaeus pushed her out of the way and quickly took aim. But the speed of the Grey one caught him by surprise and he was bowled over. He managed to hang onto his blaster with one hand while pushing the creature with the other. Its sharp beak snapped much too close to Aristaeus's face. Then suddenly it roared in pain and spun around sharply. Aristaeus could see the bloody bite marks in it's tail where Citria had bitten it. Citria stood hunched up. Her fur standing on end made her much bigger than she was. And a low growl could be heard over the soft, but deadly bubbling of the lava lake behind him.

He could tell that the Grey one was about to pounce on his friend and so took aim and fired. It caught the Grey one in the side and made it lose its trajectory and it missed its mark.

Aristaeus ran over to Citria. "Let's go before the others join in. We need more help. There are just the two of us. And there are many more of them. "

Citria nodded and they both backed up the tunnel. They were actually surprised that they were not followed. The Aerobic's needed to be warned.