[Chapter 35. The Tower]

  After a few seconds of staring at the tower, Searanox got closer to the base of it.

  The closer he got, the more oppressive its scale became. He passed beneath the first high arch, one of four positioned at the cardinal directions.

  It was freestanding, massive flying buttresses curving almost diagonally upwards from its corner tops. High above near the top, they connected to the tower's outer wall, merging seamlessly with the buttresses of the neighboring arches.

  Between this arch and the neighboring one stood a smaller auxiliary tower. Its purpose became obvious at a glance, each one tied directly into the same junction points, creating rigid, three-way connections that looked less decorative and more like reinforcement. Whatever forces this structure was meant to endure, they had been accounted for.

  Their tops were flat, or at least he couldn't make out any domes or spires on them. His boots touched the dark grey, smooth granite-like stone that served as the foundation. A few meters ahead stood a second arch, smaller and set above a short flight of steps.

  Its own flying buttresses extended from its peak, anchoring into the tower roughly halfway up the wall on either side of the entrance. He climbed up the few steps beneath the second arch and continued toward the tower proper. At its base, a wide open archway awaited him, identical to the others set into the structure.

  A final set of steps led inside.

  The floor beyond was a lighter shade of grey, smooth and almost polished, seamless as though carved from a single slab of stone. He could just walk inside the ground level of the tower; there was no door nor gate, just four wide open archways that led into the tower's ground level.

  The entrance corridor stretched deep into the structure, nearly twenty meters long, its walls so thick that the outside world vanished long before he reached the interior.

  Beyond the corridor, the space opened abruptly. The walls did not form a solid boundary but extended inward at intervals, dividing the chamber into quarters.

  Running along the perimeter was a raised outer ring, roughly a meter high, interrupted by deliberate gaps at the center and ends of each quarter, wide enough to comfortably step through to the other side. At the heart of the roughly eighty meter wide chamber stood the Land Node's center stone.

  It was surrounded by a ring of hexagonal pillars that reached up against the fifteen to twenty meter high ceiling, pulsing conduits running up their sides. The pillars themselves were each several meters thick but spaced out wide enough to leave the Node's center stone wide open and unprotected.

  He walked over to the center stone, past the pulsing pillars. The Land Node looked almost identical to before, just that instead of the wild lines and runes from before, it now bore the logo from his past. The letters KG with a crown on top and open wings on each side. Without thinking, he ran his fingers along the old logo of his guild.

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  As he touched the stone, two windows opened side by side. On the left was something like a basic overview, while on the right was a menu of sorts.

  As he thought about the floors, he got four new choices: 2nd Floor, 3rd Floor, 4th Floor, Roof.

  Searanox chose the 2nd floor and got whisked away, now standing in a smaller chamber. The center stone was still in front of him, but the walls were now where the pillars had been before, and four corridors went out of the chamber. He picked a random one and walked into it.

  The faint glow of light came from a conduit that ran along the bottom of the wall, illuminating the floor. It didn't take long at all before he came across the first door.

  He opened it and was greeted by a rather small apartment-like space. On the right was a living area with a sofa and a small table. The left side was dominated by a bed big enough for two or maybe three people.

  Behind another door was a bathroom with a small toilet, a sink, and a shower. The kitchen was integrated into the living area, separated by a half wall, with a sink, a small fridge, and two hot plates. He walked over to the window, a one meter high and twenty centimeter wide slit in the wall. The view was not great, just a lot of trees.

  He thought while closing the door and walking back down the corridor, looking into another room that was identical to the one before. The third and fourth rooms were identical as well; all four of them were rather small and cramped.

  He thought while walking back into the chamber with the stone.

  He chose the 3rd floor, and once again got whisked away, once again standing inside a similar looking room as on the 2nd floor. He didn't know what exactly it was, but something looked different.

  It was as if the light was different, or the color of the stone. He shook his head and walked down one of the corridors.

  Yet again, there were doors to either side at equal intervals. He opened one and was greeted by another apartment-like space.

  Just that this time, it was not just one bedroom. He looked straight at an inner hallway. He stepped inside, and as he did, warm yellow light filled the space.

  This place had everything he had thought about earlier: a small kitchen, a living room, a separate bathroom with a bathtub, and a separate bedroom with a big bed. The entire apartment looked much cleaner, more expensive, and the living room had a large window that stretched from floor to ceiling, showing a breathtaking view over the forest canopy. The walls were a soft beige, the furniture dark wood, and the floor was covered with a thick, soft carpet.

  "Now this is more like it," he said out loud while walking over to the window, looking out over the forest.

  The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm orange glow over the trees. The view was stunning, a stark contrast to the cramped, utilitarian rooms on the floor below.

  The entire apartment felt more like a penthouse suite than a guild member's quarters. He looked at the king-sized bed in the bedroom, a sly smile spreading across his face. This would be his room, no question about it.

  He walked back into the main chamber, where the Node stone was pulsing with a soft blue light. He looked at the four other corridors, wondering what they contained. He picked one and walked down it, opening the first door he came across.

  The room was identical to his own.

  He opened the next door, and the next.

  All of them were the same.