Tomorrow we leave. We. It should be just me, but now I have company. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad tiding. Something in my heart tells me it is an ill omen. I should be doing this alone. It is for me to bring Samyuk back; me and me alone!

I failed him and I failed her; I lost him, lost him in the avalanche. Now I must find him. I hope against the darkness that he has survived, that Samyuk has found a way to stay alive all this time.

But now I have company. A street urchin that caught me breaking out of the Army compound with my Military Lance. A waif! What was she doing there? Was she following me? But to keep her quiet and keep her from betraying me I have agreed to bring her with me.

Riches, she says. Riches in The Tower she seeks. I told her there were no riches, only death.

She’ll be the death of me, the death of us both.

An hour till dawn. All is quiet, all is calm; the calm before the storm. There is no going back to sleep now, I might as well get up and check my pack for the tenth time this night, this morning.