There was an unspoken agreement between the four at the vine rope wrapped round the stone blockade, and they began to pull upon it with hopes of removing it from the pass, enough at least for them to progress beyond it. Feet pressed into the floor, and legs and backs heaved with effort. The vine went tight, stretching as the stone began to give way. With a low earthly grumble, the taut vine pulled upon the stone as it rotated and ground into the wall at its closed side. With great exertion, more and more the slab turned, until there was just enough room for the most lithe of them to fit through. The taut vine, chomped between the rough edges of the rock, snapped and sent the group falling backwards onto the circular passage that encircled the inner tower.

Kalia was quick to take the opening that was left, wide enough for her to get through, she went off ahead hoping for an easy way out of the situation. Following at her heels was Nymona, slipping through but not rushing off ahead without the others as Kalia had done in her escape. Despite this, their efforts were not in vain, as there was plenty of room for the men to leverage themselves against the stone to turn it enough that they each may pass through as easily as those who went before them. Dirt and dust fell from above, but the way was open, and the seventh passage laid before the wretch and the gentle giant.

The stonework of the passage was remarkably similar to those of the other six at each ring, although completely lacking in the embedded dark stone chambers, such as the ones that they emerged from. There was also remarkable little growing in it by comparison to the rest of the tower and its rooms. Some vines and roots, but the architecture retained most of its sculpted form without the overgrowth. Stonework and sharp contrasting carvings at diagonals with each other adorned the walls, inlaid with further sculpting that was battered and broken. Chunks of masonry in the ground, and the faded lingering of colour splattered them darker than their natural hue. 

Along the walls were torches that lit the path towards the natural end of it, which was unique in its particular brand of light. Whereas the other passages and halls held only torch light, the further into the path one looked, the more sunlight there was coming in from the sides and from above as the passage became lass hall, and more airy walkway. Kalia moved along it and saw the source of these lights first. After some distance, the walls were carved to be open, empty holes for windows with chips of what was once glass infrastructure sticking forth at odd intervals in a myriad of colour, primarily blue. Above were more of the same array, the remnants of windows that would have bathed this way in tinted light.

She could see outside. The world around the tower itself. The tower sat amidst a great body of water, stretching near infinite to the heavens as far as she could see through looking out of the holes in the walls and ceiling of the passage. A body of water that she could not see the depths of, nor even the shallows. Unlike the water inside, it was not so observable. It was not clean. It was dark, black, with green life atop it, and the occasional fish breaking the surface. The water was thick, each splash moving it about in a slow sputtering way. Surrounding the water in which the tower sat, for in all directions that Kalia could see, were several high reaching walls, layered and tiered with outcroppings jutting forth. This passage, this bridge, connected the two structures, tower to the concentric structure of walls upon the water. At the far end of the enclosed stone bridge was a door, a metal piece of rusty red and brown, that hung ajar but near closed.

On the other side of the door, Kalia thought she could hear the distant echo of armoured footsteps, metallic and heavy, but far away.