I looked at him with my eyes glazed with that sweet,
savory taste of sleep, and though I was conscious, I was not in control,
only an audience to actions of my subconscious whims, and even that
passed beyond my reach as my eyes fell shut, isolating me in the realm
where worldly concerns mean nothing. And so I was when my exhaustion
overtook me, leaving me sound asleep on the sofa behind the podium.
Chapter 6: The Fiery Lake
When I woke I was no longer in that room but in another, a small homely
room where I was laid on a bed, the room being located, as I found out
later, not too far from the Hall of Meeting. Though the depth of the
fortress prevented me from knowing the time, it felt to be early
afternoon by that strange internal clock that so seldom errs. It was
correct, as usual. There was a quaint fireplace on the far wall of the
room with a small, unadorned and unpretentious mantle, decorated like
the rest of the fortress in a practical and experienced way, finding
just the right flavor between the ornate, the practical, and the quaint,
and avoiding all the while the clutter brought by superfluous material
possessions. A table in the center of the room was furnished with a
steaming meal, beside which sat my new friend Bernibus, smiling on me
with a benevolent and almost paternal affection.
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