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We followed Professor Booker into a small side room where a small portal was located. The portal took us directly into the basement of a home located in the Easterbury Canal server. Neither Gunter or I bothered to ask what the purpose of such a personal portal was. Some questions are best left unanswered, I suppose. As was now customary, the professor left us at the portal, bidding us good luck as we stepped through. A few seconds later Gunter and I were on a new server.
Together, we walked outside and gazed across the city. Easterbury Canal was a beautiful city with a fascinating architecture. It was built in the middle of an ocean, with the buildings erected on a stretch a shallower ground. It's unique location meant that rather than using paved roads for transportation like most large cities, they employed canals. Everywhere you looked, small boats could be seen bustling through the man-made systems, traveling to their destinations. A complex network of small walkways and bridges spanned the canals, designed expressly for pedestrians. It truly was a lovely town.
“Hey Jon,” my friend asked, nudging me with his elbow. “Do you see that tall building over there?”
I looked where my companion was indicating and saw one particular structure that towered over the majority of the other buildings in the town. It was magnificently built with imposing stone pillars and gilded windows, and at the front of the building was a large tower that stretched towards the heavens.
“What about it?” I asked.
“I think that's the City Hall.”
“What makes you think that?”
“For one thing,” Gunter began. “It's the largest building in the town. But secondly, take a look at what's sitting on the top of the tower!”
I squinted my eyes for a closer look at the tower. As I looked closer, I noticed something curious on the very top of the tower. It was some sort of shining item, almost like metal or..... glass!
“Is that...” I broke off.
“I think so. But there's only one way to know for sure!” Gunter answered.
The proposition of climbing that massive structure was terrifying, but I knew there was no way around it, so I followed Gunter as he headed towards City Hall. Upon arrival, Gunter wasted no time in beginning the ascent. He was a much more skilled climber than I was so I let him take the lead, following behind as carefully as possible.
Thanks to a number of ledges and outcroppings built into the exterior of the building, we made our way up to the top of the tower rather quickly. By the time we had reached the pinnacle the wind was gusting hard and I was clinging to the walls for dear life. Gunter, on the other hand, seemed impervious to fear and plucked the chunk of glass with ease.
“It's as we suspected,” he cried triumphantly. “It's a piece of the egg after all! A big piece!”
“G-g-good. N-now, can we please c-climb down?” I stammered.
Gunter was about to oblige my request when a tremendous roar was heard in the distance. We both turned and saw, to our utter horror, that the dragon that had destroyed the Grand Library was soaring through the sky! It took several twists in the air before turning and heading straight for us!