Nes­ryn and Sar­taq approach the Watch­tow­er of Eidolon, a crum­bling struc­ture nes­tled among mist-cov­ered pines and over­shad­owed by the impos­ing Dagul Fells. The tow­er, once a van­tage point for spot­ting threats from the moun­tains, now stands in ruins. As they fly clos­er on Kadara, Sar­taq explains the sig­nif­i­cance of the Fells, mark­ing the ter­ri­to­ry of the kha­rankui. Nes­ryn observes the bar­ren, life­less slopes, mar­veling at the idea of Houlun fly­ing over such treach­er­ous ter­rain. Their ban­ter light­ens the mood, though the grav­i­ty of their mis­sion lingers beneath the sur­face.

The pair had depart­ed in secre­cy, armed and pre­pared for poten­tial dan­ger despite plan­ning to return by sun­set. Borte, though irri­tat­ed at being exclud­ed, braid­ed Nesryn’s hair tightly—a prac­ti­cal ges­ture for their flight. Kadara cir­cles the watch­tow­er, reveal­ing no signs of life or the rumored library. The ruins, weath­ered and bro­ken, sug­gest a long-aban­doned past. Sar­taq directs Kadara to land near­by, trust­ing the tower’s unsta­ble walls too lit­tle to sup­port the ruk. The whistling com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tem of the rukhin is high­light­ed, empha­siz­ing their pre­pared­ness for emer­gen­cies.

As they ascend toward the tow­er, Sartaq’s track­ing skills reas­sure Nes­ryn of their safe­ty, though the loom­ing Fells remain unnerv­ing. The chilly air and scat­tered stone blocks hint at the harsh con­di­tions that may have dri­ven the tower’s occu­pants away. Upon reach­ing the arch­way, they dis­cov­er weath­ered owl statues—symbols of Silba—flanking the entrance. Sar­taq urges haste, sens­ing the need to avoid lin­ger­ing. Nes­ryn, ever vig­i­lant, takes up her rear­guard posi­tion, scan­ning the for­est for threats before fol­low­ing him inside.

Inside the tow­er, the ruins are exposed to the sky, with a crum­bling stair­case and archer slits hint­ing at its for­mer pur­pose. Nesryn’s trained eye assess­es the space for exits and dan­gers, but the struc­ture offers lit­tle of note. When Sar­taq moves toward a dark stair­well, she stops him, wary of unseen threats. Their dynamic—her cau­tion bal­anc­ing his boldness—underscores the ten­sion of their mis­sion as they stand on the brink of uncov­er­ing what­ev­er secrets the watch­tow­er holds.