Out of the Frying Pan

Neron

you're so cold
put your hand in mine

Following after the other man, the steam drifting up and into the caverns (and undoubtedly escaping into the crust above), Neron can't stop the grin that flashes across his face. It's directed at Sam's back, luckily, and he's able to wrestle it into something a little less sly. "I know exactly what happens when we bite someone," he murmurs. "But I also know how it feels to be forced to do it. That kind of thirst isn't pleasant, and I'd rather be safe than sorry."

They drift around more pillars of stone, more caverns, more ruddy light from below, where Neron has a feeling that a large pool of lava is waiting for some poor wretch to trip and fall into it. "I hope she is as well. Perhaps we will see her again one day," he says, before glancing back at the other man. "So are you an adventurer for a living, Sam?"

wise men wonder
while strong men die