Round 62

The building's groan was louder now, a sound like a beast waking from slumber. The very air seemed to vibrate with the force of it, and for a moment everyone held their breath, waiting for the inevitable collapse that would surely follow such a sound. But instead of collapsing, the building merely settled back into itself with a sighing creak of protesting metal and groaning wood.

Jeane's fingers brushed against Hera's cheek, her touch sending a shiver down the woman's spine. "Finish what... The words died on her lips as another groan echoed through the room, this one seeming to come from deep within the walls themselves." Halie stepped between Hera and Jeane, positioning herself as a barrier. "We need another solution. Something that doesn't involve—" She glanced at the wardstone, then back to Jeane, her chastity a line she could not cross. "—anything like what it's asking for."

My eyes darted between Jeane and Hera, then over to Silra and Abby. We were all trapped here together, our fates tied to this arcane artifact and its demands. I saw the conflict etched on Halie's face as she tried to intervene, her voice a desperate plea for an alternative. But there was no other way out of this. The wardstone had spoken, and it wanted what it wanted.