Round 70

As Sister Hale raised her holy symbol, its light pierced the darkness, casting eerie shadows on the ruined city of Gravehill. The air was heavy with tension, and Gravedigger Renn's frantic gaze darted between the two women as if searching for an escape route. Silra's teal eyes narrowed fractionally at Sister Hale's direct intervention, appreciating the cleric's efficiency even as she resisted being told how to conduct an interrogation.

The scraping sound stopped just beyond Sister Hale's position, and Silra circled Gravedigger Renn again, maintaining distance while watching for tells in his body language that might contradict his words. "Fine," Silra muttered, her voice low and even, "I'll let you have your moment of confrontational compassion." Her eyes never left Gravedigger Renn's face as she spoke, her gaze piercing through the darkness.

Sister Hale stepped forward, her symbol raised high, light cutting through the ash-choked darkness. "Whatever you are—creature of shadow or forgotten spirit—I speak as Sister Hale who bears this sacred... power." The blue light from her symbol cast long shadows across the rubble as she took a step forward. "If you come in peace, show yourself now." She paused, her eyes fixed on the shadowed area where the scraping sound originated.

The heavy breathing grew louder, and the air seemed to vibrate with anticipation. Silra's teal eyes gleamed with predatory calculation as she watched Sister Hale step forward into the threat zone, admiration for the cleric's courage tempered by rogue assessment of tactical foolishness. Her knife remained drawn but held loosely, every nerve singing alert while her fingers rested near throwing blades. "Brave or stupid" she muttered under her breath, not quite loud enough for Sister Hale to hear over approaching heavy breathing.

Sister Hale stood her ground despite Silra's rogue skepticism, blue symbol pulsing against encroaching shadow. "Faith isn't foolish when you know what you're facing," she declared, her voice carrying conviction even as heavy breathing echoed closer—something massive and wrong moving through ash just beyond visibility. The shadows near city limits markers shifted again, deeper now and almost purposeful in their movement. Sister Hale tracked that peripheral motion without letting her attention fully leave the threat ahead, her steady eyes fixed on the unknown entity emerging from the darkness.