The darkness was imposing, if not for the tactile sensation of the coarse gravel beneath my hands as I struggled to rise, I would assume I was simply dreaming.
*******WHACK*******
I fall back to the ground, "Swift.... next time pay attention to the size of the chamber you are standing up in, fool." The ringing continues unabated in my ears, the throbbing of my skull beating in perfect rhythm to the agonizing symphony.
The red haze of the infrared spectrum swallows my eyes as I peer about my new surroundings cautiously.
From within the depths of a crouched volcanic chute, the tell-tale crimson glow of living creatures can be seen shadowed among the drooping fangs of stalactites in the cavern opening at the maw my hiding place. The grate of talon releasing stone mingled with the rustle of feathers reaches my ears as the beasts alight and make haste for my revealed position.
The words of the master pass through my mind perfunctorily, "Silence is life. Betray the veil of its shielding grace and the darkness shall swallow you whole." Hastily I grab for my mace, cursing myself a "wael" for landing myself in the midst of the Underdark.
The stirges hover at the mouth of the opening, flitting about in a near fit of bloodlust to exsanguinate my body of vital fluids. A few, adolescent fledges make a mad rush through the chute, meeting the business end of my weapon with a sickening thud that sends their rumpled bodies careening back through the opening. The flock seems unintimidated, whilst some few birds withdraw to the floor of the cavern to canibalize the remains, the remainder of the vampric birds return to the shelter of their sanctuary. The weight of their lusting eyes peers at me from the darkness.
"A waiting game is it. Thy ambush proves unsuccessful, so now we await the imminent exhaustion of the victim to be overtaken whilst in slumber." I think to myself. "Another fine mess I've been thrust into."
Lost in a roiling maelstrom of negative magic, I tossed and turned, swimming in and out of consciousness as I was cast from the realms of my birth. Motes of light surrounded me, illuminating my fast paling skin, in what only could foretell an onset of nausea. Stinging sensations ran the length of my body, as if my limbs had fallen asleep simultaneously, each screaming anew from the torturous immersion in wylds of the dimensional expanse.
"WHY ME?" I screamed, yet the words were lost in an unending cacophony of the universal harmony that threatens to explode the vaults of my mind. Not that any care to answer, of course, for certainly, this is all a divine design to set things awry for me once again. I retch at the pain of the experience. At least I think I did.
And then... it's over, a sudden lurch and then silence so profound and dark that one almost believes that they are dead. And yet, breath comes, ragged and pained to my lithe body. Now drenched in sweat and trembling with palsied hands I lift myself up to view my surroundings.
"What is this place?"