¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ ¨^† THE SPIRE -†¨ ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ -†^----------------------------------†-^ ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ †-^ ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS A †^- ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ †^- BENEVOLENT SPIRE, TOWERING WELL ^†- ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^†- ABOVE OUR TALLEST TREES. IT WAS ^-† ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ ^-† CLAD IN WHITE SCALES, AND SHAPED -^† ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -^† LIKED A MUSHROOM. -†^ ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ -†^ WE LOVED IT DEARLY. †-^ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ †-^----------------------------------†^- ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ †^- IT PREDATED US BY MANY YEARS, ^†- ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ^†- AND WE DID NOT KNOW ITS ORIGINAL ^-† ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ^-† BUILDERS. THEY HAD USED ITS -^† ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -^† HOLLOW BODY FOR MANY STRANGE -†^ ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ -†^ PURPOSES - A WOMBLIKE PLACE OF †-^ ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ †-^ GESTATION, A STORAGE OF STRAGE †^- ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ †^- FLUIDS, A TEMPLE TO SOME KIND OF ^†- ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^†- ARCANE DEITY. ^-† ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ ^-†-----------------------------------^† ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -^† WE WERE GRATEFUL FOR ITS -†^ ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ -†^ PRESENCE, AND HONORED IT THE †-^ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ †-^ ONLY WAY WE KNEW HOW: BY †^- ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ ¨^- BREAKING IN. ^-¨ ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨-† THIS PLACE WE CALLED OUR CITY: ^†- ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^†- WAVY AND FRACTURED, WITH EACH †^- ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ †^- COURTYARD ON A DIFFERENT HEIGHT, †-^ ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ †-^ ROADS BECOMING ROOFS BECOMING -†^ ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -†^ DRAINS. AND SOME PLACES, LIKE -^† ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ -^† THE SPIRE, NOBODY HAD ACCESSED ^-† ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ^-† FOR MANY YEARS. ONCE ITS WALLS ^†- ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ ^†- ARE JUST TOO HIGH, AND THE †^- ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ †^- INTERNAL ROUTES TO LABYRINTHINE, †-^ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ †-^ A PLACE AMONG OTHERS IS EASILY -†^ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -†^ OVERLOOKED. ^-† ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ ^-†----------------------------------^†- ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^†- SO, BASICALLY, THAT SUMMER THE †^- ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ †^- FOUR OF US SNUCK AND CLIMBED AND -^† ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ †-^ CRAWLED FOR WEEKS, SEARCHING FOR -†^ ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ -†^ A SECLUDED PLACE TO DO DRUGS AND -^† ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -^† PLAY MUSIC ON OUR HANDHELDS. ^-† ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ^-† INSTEAD WE FOUND VAST LUNGS ^†- ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ^†- DRAINED OF THEIR CATALYST †^- ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ †^- SLUDGE, AND A BIRDS-EYE VIEW TO †-^ ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ †-^ MAKE SENSE OF OUR ROAMINGS FOR -†^ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ -†^ YEARS TO COME. -^† ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -^†----------------------------------^-† ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ ^-† A CENTRAL SPINE, A STAIRCASE ^†- ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^†- AROUND IT, THE SEVEN TOROIDAL †^- ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ †^- LUNGS STACKED OUTSIDE, AND THE †-^ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ †-^ CONTROL ROOM ON TOP. THE SOCKETS -†^ ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ -†^ FOR ITS EYES. THE SMALLER SPIRES -^† ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -^† FOR RADIATING CONSCIOUSNESS ^-† ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ¨-† INVITATIONS. ^†¨ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ¨^† IN TWENTY FOURTEEN, THE TOWER IS †-^ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -†^ TOPPLED AND EATEN BY MACHINES. †^- ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ †-^ AFTER A WHILE, SOMETHING NEW IS ^†- ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ †^- CONJURED IN ITS PLACE. IT'S A ^-† ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^†- TINY MAW AT FIRST, SHORTER THAN -^† ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^-† US, AND WE LET IT BE. OUR -†^ ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ -^† JOURNEYS STILL END AT ITS FEET. †-^ ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -†^----------------------------------†^- ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ †-^ BUT THEN WE ARE BETRAYED. THE ^†- ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ †^- NEW TOWER EATS US. OTHERS ARE ^-† ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ ^†- SUCKED INSIDE. NEW BUILDINGS ARE -^† ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ^-† MANIFESTED OVERNIGHT, ONLY TO -†^ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ -^† DISAPPEAR IN THE EVENING FOG. †-^ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -†^ FOR A WHILE ITS SOME KIND OF †^- ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ †-^ TIMESHARE SCAM. GOONS ARE PLACED ^†- ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ †^- OUTSIDE, AND WE GET BEATEN UP A ^-† ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^†- FEW TIMES, AND STOP GOING. -^† ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ^-†-----------------------------------†^ ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ -^† IIRC IT'S CURRENTLY OWNED BY †-^ ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ -†^ SOME ENERGY DRINK BARON WHO USES †^- ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ †-^ IT TO HOLD ALL HIS FOURTY EIGHT ^†- ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ¨^- CARS..... ^-¨ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
###¤&^†-^¨ ¨¨¨^^^††††††††††††††††††††††††††††^^^¨¨¨ ¨^-†^&¤###
##¤&^†-^¨¨ ¨¨^-†^&¤##
#¤&^†-^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^-†^&¤#
¤&^†-^¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨^-†^&¤
&^†-^¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨^-†^&
^†-^¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨^-†^