After scavenging for some untouched sausages and finding some stale water to satiate his hunger and thirst, the tiredness won the fight over his body and Chip fell asleep over a bench in the kitchen.

He woke up startled with the faint morning light that was surprisingly crossing the thick fog spewed by the curse and brightening the dusty abandoned place.

The silence was nerve wrecking and something inside Chip was telling him to get out of that place as fast as possible. Packing all provisions he could find, Chip reached the beloved plaza and was taken by emotion.

That dark, gloomy place was nothing like the lively, colorful one from his childhood memories and the silence that reigned in that place was nowhere close to the music and laughter that he experienced so many times.

Then suddenly, a creepy scraping sound cut through the silence.

Walking all the way to the other side of the big fountain that existed in the middle of the plaza, Chip encountered the most unexpected being standing by the fountain border, with its front paws crossed over its chest and scraping the slightly over grown claws of his hind leg on the pavement. 

A dog. A caramel colored dog, wearing a pointy blue hat.

“YOU!” Chip shouted, the dog not even bothering to look at him. “YOU ARE THE DOG FROM YESTERDAY!”

The dog lifted its brown eyes.

“And do we know each other?” the animal asked, totally uninterested.

“YOU TRIED TO PEE ON ME!” Chip answered in an angry cry.

The dog pretended to think.

“Oh yeah... You're the plant boy, right?!” it said, with a scoff. “Sorry, I thought you were a tiny oak sapling when I tried to use you as a toilet, but looking closely now I can see the difference.”

Chip didn't knew how to react. It seemed wrong somehow to be angry at a cute caramel colored dog wearing a pointy hat, so he decided to let the insult pass with a sigh.

“My name is Chip. I've came from the Fauni Village at the south of here.”

“Call me Grim.” the dog said, extending his paw towards Chip in an amicable handshake.

Then the silence of the empty city became more noticeable then ever.

“So Chip...what are doing in this cheerful corner of the world?”

Chip considered if he should trust the dog for a moment.

“I'm going to the Dark Tower to see if there's anyone there. Anyone that may know something... about this.” he said, gesturing to the empty plaza around them.

Grim seemed intrigued by the answer, as if he was expecting something different from the young Fauni.

“Well...So what are we waiting for!” the dog jumped forward, ready to go. “I'll go with you, my good fellow!”

Chip wasn't very certain about that. On one hand he just met the dog a few minutes ago and didn't know if the animal was trustworthy; on the other, he really could use some company.

But when crossing the path leading to the Dark Tower, even if there were a million dogs following him, Chip couldn't feel more lonely. It was a painful mixture of childhood nostalgic dreams coming true and poisonous fear.

And only when they got to the top of the hill where the tower stood, it was when someone finally broke the silence.

“Here it is!” said Grim, as if they were just taking a cheerful stroll through the woods and stopped by an interesting place. “The Dark Tower!” he gestured to the ebony bricks of the construction. “Lovely, isn't it?!”

Chip felt a shiver run through his body just by looking at the giant black door at the entrance, then noticed something strange with it. The door was open.

“A gold coin in exchange for your thoughts, my friend!” Grim teased.

“Either someone got in... or something else got out.” said Chip, suddenly feeling very unsafe.

Grim gave Chip a wide smile, which was a creepy thing to see a dog do it.

“Indeed! And there's only one way to find out, right?!” The dog trotted forward, his tail wagging with anticipation. “Let's go!”

Chip decided to grab his only knife from the backpack of provisions and keep it ready for use whenever and wherever he might need it.

Setting a bit of his fear aside and with one foot in front of the other, he entered the Dark Tower determined to find something that would explain all the disappearances.