You want to move away from the stone but you just can't do it.
Then you think why do I want to move away? Just because it's unusual?
If someone offered you gold would you turn it down because it's
unusual? Here you have a chance to enter another universe. Here
you have a chance at eternal paradise. Why would someone turn that
down? With renewed conviction, you do everything in your power
to reach the stone. Your sole purpose is to reach the stone.
Closer, closer, you strain to reach it. Your fingertips are an
inch away. This is the fulfillment of your life. This is it.
You stetch your arm, and you finally physically touch the stone.
Yes! Yes! Yes! The music changes. It sounds like it's being sung.
It sounds familiar. What does it sound like. It sounds like women
singing. It also somewhat sounds like birds singing. People often
refer to birdsong as metaphorical for the music of the celestial
spheres. You pay closer attention to the music. It sounds more
like something of the physical world than the celestial or divine
realm. You notice that you're not entering another universe. Why
did you think you would? Where'd you get that idea from? You look
up. You're astonished at what you see. Two giant gold birds. Each
is about the size of an ostrich and the shape of a dodo. They are
bright gleaming gold, as if they were gold statues. They are singing.
It was them that sang the music you heard. Something is wrong. A
chill goes down your spine. It occurs to you to get away but the
thought in your mind remains simply that. The birds come closer
to you. What are they? Suddenly, you remember something one of
the faeries said about something called the Stentor. Was this
them? You make up your mind to get away but you can't find the
strength. You reach for your sword but it's to late. One of the
birds lunge at you. It's beak plunges deep into your left side.
You scream uselessly. The other bird grabs hold of your leg in
its beak. The pain courses through you and becomes surreal. Your
last thought before you pass out is an awareness of the birds
tearing apart your body and devouring the flesh off your bones.
