Round 14

As the party navigated the abandoned church, the air thickened with tension. The silvery glow of Silra's eyes scanned the nave, her fingers tracing the stonework as she searched for signs of recent occupation. Jeane's subtle shield wrapped around Gravedigger Renn like an unspoken promise, but it was a fragile barrier against the unknown dangers that lurked beneath their feet. Sister Hale guided him toward the side door, her voice steady as she cautioned him to move back from the altar, where a tripwire network seemed to be waiting to ensnare them.

The spell fizzled halfway, leaving a faint crackling of arcane energy that briefly stunned Gravedigger Renn. The party's magic created a shimmering barrier, but it was incomplete, and Renn's wariness lingered. As the spell dissipated, he approached the altar with a cautious step, his eyes fixed on Silra as she examined the base. Her fingers found a thin silver thread looped around the altar's base; she cut it cleanly, but the severed end snapped, ringing the iron bell above and sending a shrill clang through the ruins.

The sound echoed across the ash-choked road, drawing the attention of nearby city guard patrols. The alarm was now active, forcing the party to act quickly. Jeane's eyes scanned the ground methodically as she murmured an arcane phrase, her fingers tracing a subtle sigil in the air. The world shifted to shades of grey and pulsing energies—the altar before them glowed with a sickly green aura, the tripwire already identified by Silra flared brighter, but her spell revealed something worse: threads of magic spreading outward like a spider's web beneath their feet.