Role

Chapter 1

Echoing, garbled echoes, as if sitting in a room full of people that were all
trying to speak at the same time but not quite as loud. A scant voice here,
half a phrase there, go this way, do that, you.. no.. yes.. this was not the
usual tone of the trips into the depths he was accustomed to. Many times he'd
been visiting the stone and listened to its voice's call. It led him safely
through many perilous excursions and almost always brought him back safe and
sound but this time there was something different, something more, an unsure
notion that things weren't right and they were about to change.

Ironically, this previous notion wasn't far off, in the least. Step after step
as he walked deeper into the cavernous depths, the voices grew both in
intensity and frequency. After what seemed like hours, it almost sounded like
a heated argument blasting near his ear but he kept walking, entranced by the
notion and curious as ever. He rapped at the cavern wall, where he heard the
loudest tones and all went quiet. It was haunting and frightening to suddenly
go from the sound of a room full of people to deafening silence. Then the
unexpected happened.

Where he'd knocked, a small crack began to form. It grew slowly, a peck here
and a jut there, and as it reached about three feet in length a small chip
dislodged and flew past his head. Smoke poured out, steamy and caustic. Then,
suddenly he was weightless as the crack tore away the surrounding wall and
floor. He fell and landed with a mighty thud, his eyes still stinging from the
smoke. Pain was the next sensation, oppressive heat gave notice that he was
yet alive and as he finally began to see again, he realized where he was.