Round 41

Jeane slips through the narrow opening with a muttered curse, her wings folding tightly against her back as she descends into darkness. The stone panel groans shut behind her, sealing off Merrin's view. The shaft narrows further as she descends, forcing her to angle her body sideways. Her feet find purchase on roughhewn steps carved into the stone—at least it's not a sheer drop. "Of course it goes down," she mutters, her voice echoing softly in the enclosed space. Her boot catches on an uneven step and she stumbles, pinwheeling for balance while her wings beat uselessly against the narrow confines. A sharp crack echoes as her elbow slams against stone—pain flares but nothing breaks.

She continues downward more carefully, each step bringing deeper darkness. The air grows colder, damp with the scent of ancient stone and something else... decay perhaps? The shaft opens up suddenly after twenty steps, revealing a wider passage stretching ahead into blackness. Jeane draws her tinderbox and strikes sparks against flint, coaxing a torch to life. Orange light reveals smooth walls carved with unfamiliar symbols that seem to pulse faintly in the flickering illumination. "Fuck me sideways," she breathes,<|im_start|><s> (The hellish shriek reverberates through the tower again, closer this time.)