Round 17 Transcript

As Jeane lowers herself over the edge of the pit, the ground beneath her gives a slight creak, and the ancient runes on the walls seem to pulse with malevolent energy. She drops down into the darkness, her fireball spell illuminating the slick stone walls as she scans for any sign of magical traps or hidden dangers. Below, Halie's stabilization spell holds, but the magic is beginning to wane, and the air in the pit grows colder still. Merrin's form lies still, her breathing shallow and labored. Halie's eyes are fixed on Merrin, her expression set in a grim determination. "I've got her stable for now," she calls up to Jeane, her voice tight with urgency, "but we need to get out of here – the wards are weakening by the second!"

I move to help Seraphine lower Merrin carefully down into the pit, my hands steady despite the cold seeping through stone. The ancient magic here feels wrong—like nails on a chalkboard that you can feel in your teeth—but I've dealt with dark power before, and this is manageable if we're careful. "Jeane," I call softly as she descends, "be cautious down there—the pressure plates might be linked to other traps or worse." My eyes flick back to the skeletons, still held at bay by Seraphine's wards but pressing closer. The magic crackles around them like a living thing, feeding on their undead power. Varrika's right—I can stabilize this for now, buy us time to think. But we need to act fast—every second counts when dealing with magic this old and angry. I begin weaving a stabilization spell, my silver holy symbol glowing softly as I draw on divine energy to reinforce the weakened wards around Merrin's position. The runes pulse in response, their malevolent light dimming slightly as my spell takes hold. "She's stable," I confirm after a moment, wiping sweat from my brow with the back of one hand while maintaining the spell with the other. "But we need to decide what to do next—we can't stay here forever."

I look around at the group: Varrika covering our rear against the skeletons; Seraphine maintaining her teleportation spell as a last resort escape plan; Jeane descending into danger without hesitation; Merrin trapped below, barely conscious. We're stretched thin, outmatched, and facing ancient magic that makes my teeth ache. "This feels wrong," I mutter more to myself than anyone else—as much an observation as a prayer for guidance. "But we don't leave our own behind."

I watch Jeane lower herself into the pit, my heart clenching at the risk she's taking. The air down there is thick with ancient magic, and I can feel it pressing against my skin like a physical weight. Halie's stabilization spell glows faintly, holding the pit walls together for now, but every moment feels fraught with danger. The skeletons press closer to our position, their empty eye sockets seeming to bore into us even as Seraphine's ward holds.
I turn my attention to Merrin, her form lying motionless at the bottom of the pit. Her breathing is shallow, almost imperceptible in the heavy silence. A sudden surge of panic washes over me—what if she doesn't survive this? What if we all die here, trapped by our own hubris and a curse older than our entire history?
"I need to get down there," I say, my voice strained with urgency as I look up at Varrika and Seraphine. "I can try to boost Jeane's magical defenses while she works on extracting Merrin."
I begin gathering my strength, feeling the familiar hum of my arcane power building in my core. It’s not much, but it might be enough to give Jeane an edge, to help her push back against whatever dark forces are at play here. The air crackles with energy as I ready myself to join them, my robes rustling softly in the sudden movement.
But even as I prepare to descend, a cold dread settles in my stomach. This is wrong—we’re playing right into the hands of this place, of whatever ancient evil lurks within its walls. We should be running, not digging deeper into its trap. Yet the thought of abandoning Merrin, of leaving one of our own behind... it’s unthinkable.
I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I must do. "Seraphine," I call out, my voice barely above a whisper. "Keep that teleportation spell ready—we may need to make a run for it if things get too hot."
My eyes flick back to the skeletons, then to the pit where Merrin lies trapped. A grim resolve settles over me. We’re all going to die here if we don’t do something drastic. And right now, drastic is the only option. "I'm going down," I announce, my voice leaving no room for argument as I begin to lower myself over the edge, following Jeane into the abyss below.

I keep my eyes fixed on the skeletons, crossbow aimed squarely at their skulls. Their movements are jerky, unnatural, but there's an undeniable intelligence behind those empty sockets, a hunger that sets my teeth on edge. Jeane's right—we can't afford to leave Merrin down there any longer than necessary. But rushing into this pit trap could be just as fatal. "Seraphine," I call out over my shoulder, not taking my gaze off the approaching skeletons, "you've got our escape route ready if this goes south?" My voice is gruff, but there's an underlying concern beneath the bravado. Losing Merrin would be a blow we might not recover from. I shift my weight, muscles coiling beneath my skin as I prepare for what's coming. Halie's stabilization spell seems to be holding for now, but every second that ticks by feels like an eternity in this cursed place. The air crackles with dark energy, raising the hairs on the back of my neck like a physical itch I can't scratch. "Jeane," I call down into the pit, my voice echoing off the ancient stone walls, "what do you see down there? Any traps or signs of trouble?" I know better than most how quickly things can turn deadly in places like this. One wrong move could spell doom for us all. My eyes flick between the skeletons and the edge of the pit, weighing our options. We're outnumbered, exhausted, and facing magic beyond anything we've encountered before. But we've come this far—abandoning Merrin now would be tantamount to leaving her to die. I take a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever comes next. "Halie," I say, my voice firm but laced with concern, "do whatever you can to stabilize that pit—Merrin's life may depend on it."

I feel the weight of responsibility settling over my shoulders like a familiar shroud. As the only fighter left standing, it falls to me to protect the party—and right now, that means holding the line while Jeane and Halie work to save Merrin. The skeletons loom ever closer, their empty eye sockets fixed on us with an unnatural hunger. I tighten my grip on the crossbow, my muscles tensing as I prepare for the inevitable clash. "Come on then, you bastards," I mutter under my breath, my voice a low growl of challenge. "Let's see what you've got."