Like Thessa had said, it took us three days to get up to the headquarters.
But before we would get to the actual headquarters, Thessa wanted to visit something else.
She didn't want to tell us what it was, however.
When we finally arrived at the building, they immediately knew which building it was.
The slightly darker stone of the walls rose into the air at least a hundred meters.
The building looked like a gigantic block of stone, interrupted by only a few windows.
"What's in there, a caged giant?"
Phil asked, an uncertain grin playing over his face.
"Not quite. It's a library. The biggest one there is. I have heard people talk about it."
The grin fell from Phil's face and was replaced by a frown.
"I hate books. They are so quickly eaten by mushrooms. And I'm also banned from most libraries I've visited."
———
The library felt cozy, despite the simple, almost liminal rows of shelves filling it.
The roof above us stretched up tall above our heads, bookshelves stretching to reach it.
The light that fell through the round window high above us fell dim, and the air was thick, yet it somehow felt comfortable.
Thessa was looking around, rummaging through the countless pages with contagious euphoria.
"Have you ever wondered where our story will be written down?"
I thought for a second.
I had not.
"Why do you think that our story is worth writing down?"
She smiled, almost like she had anticipated the question.
"It isn't. Not yet, anyways."
———
After leaving the library and finding Phil again, we headed for the gates of the adventurer headquarters.
Soon, a wide domain opened up to us, like a light cave.
The giant complex looked like a castle, floating in the middle of the tower, an island surrounded by walls, sunrays casting grids of light on it.
"Where is the bridge?"
Below us, the walls stretched down far enough to fit entire villages.
One more step, and we would fall towards our death.
I quickly took a step back.
Thessa, however, closed her eyes and stepped forward, over the ledge.
My heart stopped for a second; shock paralyzed my body for a second, only to be swept away by confusion.
Thessa took another step, then another, and then she finally turned around.
"Are you guys coming?"
Phil was already behind her, both seemingly floating in the air.
"Is the bridge invisible?"
"There is no bridge. Only those brave enough to take a risk are able to ever reach their destination."
I looked down into the empty void below me again.
There was no choice but to risk it.
I took a step forward, then another, and my shoe sank into something soft.
I looked down. There was nothing.
Usually, I wasn't too afraid of heights, so the fear quickly faded.
The feeling was almost liberating; it felt like I had broken a limit, done something I shouldn't be able to.
I quickly hurried over to my friends, who were already headed towards the fortress.
It was an impressive building.
Hundreds of towers pierced the dome that rose over our heads like an artificial sky.
Entire gardens protruded from the sides of the fortress.
In some, small figures were fighting; some fighters were moving too fast to even follow their movements.
The entrance to the gigantic castle was blocked by a gate big enough to fit entire siege towers, and before it stood a lone figure.
He was dwarfed by the gates behind him, and yet, I was absolutely certain that it would be a thousand times easier to break the gates behind him than it would be to step past him.
In comparison to him, the gates themselves seemed to tremble; the distance between the gates and him increased constantly, as if the gates were trying to back off.
With every step we took, his silhouette grew bigger and more intimidating.
He was covered by thick, grey plate armor that somehow looked even more immovable than the bulwark behind him.
Two spears were perched in his hands, each roughly three meters.
Finally, his head lifted off his chest, not like he was awoken from sleep, but rather like something he had long awaited had finally happened.
"What is your intent?"
Unable to speak, I simply lifted my hand and pointed at the tall towers high behind the guardian.
With a blood-freezing SWOOSH, both his spears soared through the air.