Round 13

The runes pulsed faster now, feeding on Merrin's struggles. Jeane moved closer to the edge of the pit, her crimson eyes scanning the symbols below—they weren't just symbols, they were sigils for binding and extraction. "Seraphine," she called out, her voice sharp with urgency, "those aren't just symbols—" The sorceress nodded sharply, already focusing her magical senses on the complex web of dark energy woven into the array.

Halie moved closer to the edge of the pit, her crimson eyes scanning the symbols on the pressure plates below. The runes were pulsing faster now—Merrin's struggles were feeding their dark power. This wasn't just a trap; it was a machine designed to harvest life force.

"Seraphine," she called out, her voice sharp with urgency, "those runes—they're not just symbols. They're sigils for binding and extraction." The pattern reminded her of something she'd seen in the forbidden tomes back home. "If we trigger them wrong..." She stood there for a moment, her eyes fixed on Merrin clinging to that bar over the abyss.

Seraphine nodded sharply at Jeane's analysis, her mind already racing through possible solutions. "A responsive sequence... that could be our key." She turned to Varrika, who was still holding the blessed chai...

Varrika's voice broke the silence. "Stop wasting time looking for ropes and throw Merrin your crossbow. She can use it as an anchor while we solve this." To Elric, who was still standing there like a statue, she growled, "You set this up knowing we’d come here. So...

The words hung in the air, heavy with accusation and barely restrained fury.

Seraphine's voice cut through the tension. "Jeane is right," she said, her voice tight with urgency. "We need to act now or it'll start siphoning her essence down to whatever's waiting below." She focused her magical senses on the complex web of dark energy woven into the symbol array.