Round 28

Jeane's frantic gestures send a nearby torch guttering out, plunging a corner of the chamber into darkness even as her wings beat dust from the stone floor. Her crimson eyes reflect the remaining light like polished rubies. "Halie!" she gasps, leaning over the edge of the newly opened pit with Varrika close behind. "Are you hurt? Can you hear me?" Her voice wavers between desperate concern and barely contained panic. "This isn't what it looks like—you have to believe me! The magic I felt wasn't corruption, it was ancient power responding to the sword!"

Varrika grabs Jeane's shoulder, pulling her back from the edge with surprising strength for a dwarf. "Easy there," she growls, "We don't know what's down there yet. Let's think this through before someone else falls in." She turns to survey the chamber, her eyes narrowing as she spots something moving in the shadows near the sealed door. "And we've got other problems. Something's stirring in the walls again."

Jeane shakes off Varrika's grip, her wings snapping tight against her back in agitation. "I'm not the problem here!" she hisses, "I can feel the power of that sword—it's calling to me, but not because I'm corrupted. It's because of my bloodline!" She takes a step toward the pit's edge, raising her hands as if to cast a spell. "Let me help them. I can sense where they are."

Varrika steps between Jeane and the pit, her hand moving to the hilt of her mace. "Hold on," she says firmly, "We don't know what that magic will do. For all we know, it could be what opened this hole in the first place." She glances back at the shadows near the door, where something large and pale is definitely moving now. "Besides, we've got bigger issues. Whatever's been scratching around down here is getting bolder."

Jeane's eyes flick toward the movement, then back to Varrika, her expression torn between desperation and barely controlled rage. "Move aside," she snarls, "I'm not asking for permission. I'm going down there whether you like it or not."