The Cynidicean squinted at the brightness as the light poured into the chamber when the final door was opened. Beyond was what these strange newcomers called 'The World Above' or something like that. It was with no small amount of trepidation that he edged closer to peer forth into this wondrous new realm which he really hadn't believed to exist. He held up a hand to shield the lenses of his odd mask in order to behold the amazing beauty of...
The journey to this point had been rather uneventful save for the various triflings of goatsmanship. He'd listened to stories of this room and that where such and so forth happened. His favorites of these fantastical tales were the ones which included a colorful water-finding dwarf character. Hamburg wished he'd have had the chance to meet such a fellow, if indeed the odd chap really existed, but the others claimed he'd been lost in the maze-like catacombs below the city. The wizard found himself thoroughly enjoying the expedition upward...
Hamburg reached absently into a pocket, expecting to withdraw a handful of dried mushrooms, but was dismayed to find his supply nearly exhausted. He stuffed a few crumbs and broken stems beneath his mask, but the euphoric and hallucinogenic effect wasn't quite strong enough to help him deal with the shock of what he beheld beyond the door...
Finally screwing up enough courage to step through the portal, Hamburg felt the instant heat hit him, the dry air choke him, and the burning sand beneath his worn boots, not to mention the excruciating brightness coming from some awesome orb above! He took a few more steps, feeling a sense of... whatever the opposite of vertigo would be... as, for the first time in his life, he had sky above him instead of infinite tons of stone.
"Wh-what? By the Three, I don't believe it!" He stood for many long moments, staring around him in awe at the endless sea of sand, burning hot and empty. He made several more attempts to behold the glowing orb, but its intensity was such that the wizard finally gave up any hope of ever seeing it without blinding himself in the process. Beneath his strange mask and cheaply fashioned costume, his body was having a strange reaction. Hamburg was alarmed to feel suddenly wet as he seemed to be excreting water from his skin!
But even the new sensation of sweating could not distract him long from the wonder of the vista around him, and regardless of the discomfort, Hamburg was thrilled to experience his emergence!
He took a deep breath of air that was not stale nor stagnant. It was moving and clean and smelled so very, very good.
Giddily he scampered across the top of a dune, losing his balance and falling upon the baking sand, but quickly jumping right back up laughing. Even the very dead raven wired to his should seemed to be enjoying itself, and the disembodied hand stepped gingerly sideways not unlike a cat crossing mud. It did not look nearly as enthused as its master...
"Look how far it goes! Almost forever! Wonderful!"