It felt like being stuffed inside a sunfish's belly. A greasy, viscous mass of information enveloped his senses, linking together and seeping into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, conveying a bizarre state of affairs he couldn't understand.
William felt himself falling and instinctively grabbed Kraft's arm. But it did nothing to help him keep his balance. His position didn't change at all. The rocks beneath his feet shook more and more violently, but showed no sign of giving way.
The changes unfolding before him felt like something out of a dream: flailing his arms and legs in a hazy sleep as he fell, trying to adjust his position, then waking with a start in bed.
But this nightmare showed no sign of ending anytime soon. Half-awake, he remained trapped in the unreal experience.
He could see Kraft's lips opening and closing as he shouted something, but his ears were already overwhelmed, unable to make out a single word. The scenery looked as though he were seeing it through rippling water: the light stretched out, the movements of Kraft's mouth distorted, and every word remained unintelligible.
The sensation of falling was unmistakable, though. As his vision plunged into darkness, William reflexively reached downward, crying out as if he'd just stepped off a cliff.
"Ahhh..."
"...Ah!"
He couldn't tell how much time had passed. His palm hit the ground, but there was no jarring impact to break a bone, or even any pain. He had simply touched the stone.
If that had been all, the fall might have been shorter than a tumble, but William had still felt as if he'd fallen an impossibly long way.
A voice kept repeating at his ear.
When he opened his eyes, Kraft's face shone dazzlingly in the firelight. They were still where they'd