Round 155

Jeane's crimson eyes narrow as she watches the shadow creature's tendrils coil around Halie's wrists, her own wings shifting uneasily. The thought of every spell costing a piece of soul makes something ancient and instinctive recoil inside despite knowing it's probably hyperbole designed to intimidate. She takes a half-step forward, her voice dropping to a low purr that carries an edge of genuine curiosity. Fascinating? Perhaps for someone who doesn't understand the actual costs involved in arcane manipulation. Her gaze flicks to the flickering patterns on the wall—"Balance the cost of passage"—before returning to Halie and the creature.

Across from Jeane, Halie meets the creature's gaze steadily despite the tendrils coiling around her wrists, the thorns embedded in its form hissing like embers stirred. A memory for passage? Her voice remains calm but firm, a subtle tension in her jaw betraying her inner calculations. That's quite a price when we don't even know where this corridor leads or what lies beyond. You speak of costs as if they're fixed, but every contract has room for negotiation. The blue light pulses behind them again—closer now—and she hears the skittering sounds growing fainter, replaced by an ominous silence from the direction they came.