Having left the shard on the altar, he slowly walked down the steps.

On his back, the large bags containing his armor and tools slowed him down again.

He'd put back his shirt on. No beautiful lady to impress anyway, he thought. If only some fair-skinned maid, of lewd dispositions, had wanted to find her way to the lost caves of the mountains... despite his exhaustion, the thought amused him and he grinned.

However, he was tired. Very, very tired. All he wanted now was to roll down as a ball under his blanket and sleep until the morning. He reached the campsite and prepared his bedroll. He didn't even have the courage to wolf down some dried food...

He had almost fallen asleep when it happened. The whole cavern filled with blue light and thunderous sound, blinding him, deafening him.

He felt like his mind was exploding, then his body started hurting as if it were ripped apart. His hand, gripping the blanket ever tighter, whitened at the knickles as he couldn't help but cry out in anguish.