He discovered tranquility in a domain he never anticipated, yet in the fourth hour of the new diurnal cycle, the portal of the dungeon swung open, and the voice destined to extract him from his realm of reverie resonated.
"Mel, you may emerge!"
Baybars arrived this time ere the obscurity of the nocturne surrendered its place to the scorching radiance of the sun. He stood before the portal, a mere few paces behind the pitch-black obscurity, and when Mel emerged, he involuntarily executed backward strides, plummeting upon his rear onto the steps.
He had failed to audit the footsteps camouflaged by the mud; he possessed zero knowledge of when the mortal he summoned would emerge, and with Mel—who squeezed through the open portal by ducking—materializing in an instant, his vessel mobilized even though his brain issued zero mandate.
