They picked their way up the ragged trail leading in and out of Waif’s ravine.

|Brindle_Fox244| So...we're heading toward that leaning tower thing again, right?

Yes. |SevenAteEight|

|Brindle_Fox244| Ok. I don't think I want to take your running in wide circles approach again. It took too long to get anywhere last time, and we found Waif by searching a landmark we spotted, rather than running into him accidentally, so I think stopping at the top of each hill and surveying the area is good enough.

He frowned, not replying at first. His previous approach did slow them down, but it also maximized their chances of running into a Spire. She was right about the way they found Waif, though. And searching would be far less frustrating if they arrived at a destination of some sort faster, even if a Spire wasn't there.

Alright. |SevenAteEight|

|Brindle_Fox244| Thanks :)

He skirted the edge of the ravine, then sent his character running toward the nearest tower thing in the distance, just as they agreed.

Stopping at the top of each hill to look ahead worked well, since it let them do something productive as they let their characters rest and refill their stamina.

Eventually, there was movement in the distance. Instinctively, he tried squinting to get a better look.

A small group of characters moved over one of the other hills, away from them. Hopefully they didn't turn around and spot--

|Brindle_Fox244| Wanna ask them if they’ve seen any Spires?

What was with her? Those players could potentially help, but if they wouldn’t...they would just be wasting a lot more time than they would have otherwise.

Did she not have a cautious bone in her body? She bolted right ahead without worry when they checked Waif’s ravine for trouble, too.

No point in showing irritation, though.

I don’t want to find out if they’ll attack us or send us in the wrong direction on purpose. If they had a Spire with them, I’d say follow them and then talk to the Spire once they fulfilled their quest. But, I don’t see one. |SevenAteEight|

|Brindle_Fox244| You're paranoid, aren't you? But...ok.

At least she was cooperative, even if she flew headlong into everything and dismissed his concerns. He took off again, Brindle at his heels.

After a few minutes, his irritation toward her mostly dissipated. Even if she burst ahead and complained about his ‘paranoia’ now and then, she still backed off and listened to his opinions, so it wasn’t like she caused a huge problem yet.

He’d just have to keep telling himself that every time she got reckless.

It felt like forever, but eventually the tower loomed high above their heads. From where he stood, the thing tilted away from them.

|Brindle_Fox244| Looks like a dead, branchless tree.

Yeah, it kind of did, though there was something about it that wasn’t quite tree like. But what other structure would lean so precariously without falling, especially while also looking as irregular and twisted as this thing?

Brindle trotted toward the tower, moving around its base. He followed at a more sedate pace. These things had to be important to the game in some way. It’d be good to start figuring out how.

Soon enough, he came across a black spot on the side of the tower. His avatar’s height reached halfway up to the spot, which seemed to be around his size. Squinting up at it now, it looked like a hole.

|Brindle_Fox244| Didn’t find a door.

Brindle entered his periphery and stood beside him. So all her rushing around didn’t help. The thought made him smirk.

Well, I might have found a window. |SevenAteEight|

She faced the tower wall, surveying it until she saw what he spoke of.

|Brindle_Fox244| Oh. Well, that’s what I get for not looking up.

Yes. Yes it was. But that was alright, since her missing this possible entry vindicated his earlier thoughts.

|Brindle_Fox244| Before you entered the game for the first time, I was testing my char’s capabilities, and she can’t jump that high. Can you stand under that hole? If I try leaping off your back I think I can make the jump.

Sure. |SevenAteEight|

He positioned himself just right, and after a few attempts, Brindle’s character managed to clamber onto his shoulders, then launch herself into the hole. He gave her a few moments to move out of the way before leaping up after her.