Dark. Darkness. Shadow. Unlit. Gloom, murk, gloaming, tenebrous. Leaden. All synonyms of dark. That is what I came to. A crunch. Sand. Sand is in my mouth. I see faint yellow in the dark. Colours. Then, I realized. I have yet to open my heavy eyes.

Blinding light from a nearby lantern.... light. Illumination, luminescence, gleaming, blaze, radiance. Dazzle. Synonyms of light.

It's stinging my eyes. I turn my head, blinking rapidly to stabilize my vision. Where am I? " Gather your bearings. Stick to what is known, " I mumbled aloud, squinting as I thought hard about the memories.

. . .

. . .

. . .

" Gah! " A piercing headache... and flashes? Crying, from a woman... and what sounds like me? Footsteps on a dry desert, I believe. A lot of yellow blurred by. Jumping into a hole. I assume I jumped into... whatever this place is. It seems to be made of cobblestone. The beds are rock hard. That's... probably why my back is so stiff. I hold my head as the headache returns much stronger... that's enough thinking, for now. Deciding to wait a minute or two to adjust my vision to the light, I hesitantly slide off of the bed I was sitting on. My knees begin to tremble as I put a hand on the wall for support. I'm ready to walk now - at least, I hope so. Letting out a shaky breath I wasn't aware that I was holding, I took my first step forwards, away from the wall. All is good so far. Good. How long was I asleep? ...let's not think of that now. I need to get out of here.