Round 31

The building's groan was louder now, a sound like old bones cracking under strain. The wardstone pulsed again, slower but somehow more menacing—each green flash made the glassware on the sideboard rattle, and the structure around them seemed to hold its breath before exhaling with a creak. Hera had retreated to the storage cabinet, her eyes wide as she rifled through the contents for something useful.

Silra moved closer to the wardstone, her teal eyes narrowed in concentration. "It wants what it wanted before," she said flatly. "Specifically us fucking." The air was thick with tension, heavy and suffocating—everyone could feel the pressure building, the ward responding to their hesitation.

Jeane stood near the stone, her crimson eyes fixed on it with a mix of arousal and genuine alarm. She'd felt things like this before—they didn't stop until they got what they wanted. Halie stepped between Silra and the wardstone, her hand raised in what was clearly meant to be a calming gesture. "We're trying to understand," she said, her voice steady despite the obvious dread in her eyes.

The stone's pulse felt like a predatory heartbeat now, slower but more insistent. Hera emerged from the cabinet with a sybian in hand, looking uncertain—this felt wrong somehow, using toys when the wardstone clearly wanted something more. The building groaned again, louder this time, and a crack appeared in the ceiling near the wardstone.