To bed, to bed, to bed! [D'Arcy, Day 4]

As she stood at the base and looked up at the crumbling tower, D'Arcy was stoic. She felt so small standing there next to it, so fresh and new compared to something to ancient and grand. She tried to imagine what it might have looked like long ago, before the nature had come and laid its roots down between the chiseled stone. Had she been there this morning she was sure she would've gasped in delight at the sight and let the fantasy of her imagination carry her through all sorts of wonderful ideas of its history. Now she could see the sadness of its existence; the once pure and great now crumbling under the weight of the world it was in.

D'Arcy could still feel it calling out to her, from somewhere high above. She felt connected to it now more than ever, as if the structure knew all too well how D'Arcy felt. Maybe if she could reach the force calling her she could find something, safety or solace or something to help encourage her to keep going, to not let the guilt and pain grind her fight to survive to a halt.

She looked around the base of the structure, found no point of entry, no set of stairs that she may be able to climb. If she wanted to reach whatever was calling out to her, there was only one way to do so. She turned to Percival, "Wait for me here, okay? I'm need to climb up there." Percival huffed his protests, prompting D'Arcy to crack a tiny smile. "Don't worry, I'll be safe. I promise." With a few breaths to steady herself, she placed her fingers into the deep cracks of the stone and began her climb.

It wasn't as precarious as she imagined it to be. The cracks were large, and many spaces had chiseled out from the places where different bricks came together, carved out by time. With her tiny hands D'Arcy managed to find holds in one or two places she was sure older tributes wouldn't dare try. All she had to do was fight off the lingering dizziness, and not look down.

After a careful ascent she reached the narrow ledge. She pulled herself over to safety before looking once over the edge to give Percival a wave to reassure her steed she was alright. Then her attention turned in awe to the faded murals around her. In the center was a winding staircase that worked its way down into the darkness below towards the faintest glimmer of light. D'Arcy could still feel the pull of the tower nudging her to make the descent. With a deep breath, she took the first step into the darkness.

She descended for what felt like ages. Step after step after step in the misty darkness, on and on until she started to worry that she was descending into an infernal eternity. Maybe D'Arcy had died in the battle, and this was her mind's final way to make sense of her death before she was sent to damnation. Just when she had almost finished convincing herself her descent would never end, the tiny glimmer of light began to grow. The darkness subsided as she reached the great iron door. She was here, there was no turning back.

Her heart pounds in her chest as she pushes the door open.