You take a different route back to the tower because you completed the map correctly, Richalt leading you through the mountain cliffs, by the river, over Var bridge, and down into Steep Valley. With every step, you grow more concerned for this sprite but aslo excited about a Voek tower and you can't wait to see what you'll find. 

As you approach gleaming white structure, you notice that the tower seems brighter somehow. Almost like it's awake when it was only sleeping before. You're not sure why, but you feel pulled toward it, like it wants you there.

You all climb the steps. Richalt's sprite, Ivy, is nowhere to be seen. But you know exactly where she's gone.

The doors to the tower stand open, a mysterious glow inviting you inside. "Are we going in?" Asks Talik feigning stupidity, though she already knows the answer, "After you", says Alster who was just as keen as the rest of us to get a look inside. 

Stepping through the threshold, the familiar interior of the ancient tower greets you, "It is much like Verdalian design" you state, "I see elements of Morian work here too", says Haden. But something feels different. The air is thick with magic, and the walls hum with an energy you haven't felt before. As you move deeper into the tower, the glow intensifies, leading you toward the central chamber.

You reach the heart of the tower and find a large, ornate door that looks like it has never opened. Ancient runes cover its surface, glowing with the same mysterious light. The door seems to recognize you as you approach. "Was that something I did?" you say then turn to Alster and ask "did you put your hand in something again?" With a soft rumble, it slowly swings open on an internal hinge.

Inside, you find a room bathed in golden light without a source. At its center stands a pedestal, and atop it, a crystal pulsates with radiant energy. Richalt steps forward, his eyes wide with awe.

"This is the Heart of the Tower," he whispers. "It's what Voek used to give the tower its power, they charge crystals in blue Lava and deleiver them to these sites. But the Voek are gone and it's been dormant for centuries. You... you must have reawakened it." "Me, It must have been your sprite, all eager to get inside and poke about" you say defensively. "You were the one up here looking about and turning over rocks!" Richalt moved his lips as if about to reject that idea when Haden interjected, "alright, hardly matters, lets look around and learn from this thing now that its functioning again."

You feel a sense of wonder and also some trepidation. A Voek tower's heart is awake, and with it, new possibilities unfold. As you stand there, bathed in its light, you know that your journey is only beginning, and the tower holds many more secrets waiting to be discovered.

Draw a map of your journey to the tower and add it as a google drawing below in Thy Quests.

Next: E1Q2 The Tower's Secrets