As the sun peeked over the horizon the next morning, sunlight fell unrestricted into the forest.
I opened my eyes, blinked a few times, then looked up into the sky.
For a change, the mist had dissapeared.
And with that, the tower was finally visible.
The strucure protruded into the sky like a spear piercing the heaven.
It looked surreal, to big to fit into the surrounding.
But the tower was not just a wall of bricks, kt was more like a cloud of smaller compartments, rotating like the two moons around our world, each almost as big.
The sight was truly breathtaking.
To get a better sight, I rolled over.
My heart stopped for a second as I almost rolled down from the branch.
Now I was wide awake.
That's one way to start the day, I guess.
I threw a glance over to where the girl from yesterday lay.
She... was gone?
Had she already woken up earlier?
Something hard hit my head like a kick.
My arms shot up, and I saw a fruit. It was the same one from the bush I had found earlier.
"HEY, YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY!?"
The only response was a shameless giggling sounding from below.
"Brought you breakfast. We have a lot of walking planned."
I looked down and raised an eyebrow:
"Oh, WE have planned that? I don't remember being involved in any planning."
"Oh, quit complaining. You want to get to the tower too, right? What do you want there? You don't look like the type to become an adventurer."
"Thanks, I guess," I murmured.
Now that she mentioned it, I was forced to face the decision I had postponed until now.
What was my plan?
What was I supposed to do next?
My hand wandered to my chest, where the amulet still rested.
"I have... something I need to do."
Her eyes flicked to the jewelry.
"I understand."
"And what about you? What are your plans?"
Her eyes pierced mine.
"I have something I need to do as well."
———
After I had eaten my breakfast, Thessa and I set out on our way—hopefully the last day of walking.
If we were quick, we might reach the tower in the afternoon. At least that was what Thessa had promised.
After only a few minutes of marching, Thessa stopped.
"Listen!"
"I can't hear anything. What do you mean?"
She sighed:
"We're in the middle of a forest, and there is not a single sound. Don't you think that's a little bit strange?"
I added, "Yes, but there haven't been any sounds nearby since...two days?"
She started to think, her forehead wrinkled.
Finally she seemed to have come to a conclusion:
"Now that I think about it, I haven't heard any noise from the forest since..."
Her eyes widened.
"Since yesterday."
It now clicked in my head as well.
"It's still near," I whispered to her.
Thessa's eyes got even wider.
"You're right."
From there on, both of us started walking a little bit faster, aware that the drake was still somewhere in proximity.
Just shortly after noon, the sunlight had mostly disappeared once again.
Even though the sun wasn't visible due to the usual mist, the shift in lighting was very noticeable.
As darkness descended over the forest, I stopped:
"It's getting late. We should sleep for now and get to the tower tomorrow."
Thessa hesitated. We both knew sleeping was dangerous as long as the silence still hung over the trees like a heavy blanket.
But traveling at night might be even riskier.
"Alright, but we have to keep watch. I'll do the first half of the night, you do the other half."
Looking into Thessa's face, I could tell how tired she was—but so was I.
I decided not to argue with her.
I hadn't known her for long, but I had the impression she was someone who was difficult to argue with.
Shortly after, I sat on a high branch, my back to the tree, dozing away.
Thessa did not wake me up in the middle of the night to change shifts.
I only woke up the next morning when the sun once again started illuminating the impenetrable mist.
Before me on the branch lay Thessa, curled up, slightly snoring.
She had fallen asleep while keeping guard.
Not the most reliable, huh? But who can blame her? The day of walking was quite exhausting.
I climbed down and started searching for some of the delicious fruit we had eaten before.
Just as I found a bush full of ripe-looking fruit, I suddenly heard screams.
I started dashing through the bushes toward the voice.
The screams sounded terrified.
The sheer volume and pitch of them testified that whoever produced them faced certain death.
I was close. Now I could also hear the sound of something large charging through the undergrowth again, pretty similar to the day I met Thessa.
The heavy steps stomping every blade of grass down.
The terrified screams.
I was sure.
It was him. The basilisk.