Round 23 Transcript

Merrin's chest rises and falls more rapidly as Seraphine's healing spell takes hold, but she remains unconscious. The air is thick with dust and the stench of decay as Varrika readies herself for the next attack, her mace at the ready. Jeane examines the ancient carvings on the walls, her eyes narrowing as she searches for any hidden mechanisms or clues to escaping the tower. The warding spell hums softly between them, its effect wavering as it's stretched to its limits. Suddenly, a loud crack echoes through the corridor, and the ground shudders beneath their feet.

The ground shakes harder this time—definitely structural failure now—and I can feel the dust raining down around us. Seraphine's warding spell flickers in front of me, already looking unstable after barely thirty seconds. Fuck. If we don't move NOW, Merrin and Serrie are both going to be buried alive when this whole fucking tower comes down. I glance back at where they're huddled by the pit edge—Merrin still unconscious, Serrie looking like she's about to collapse from magical exhaustion. We can't wait for Varrika. I grab Serrine's arm and haul her upright with more force than strictly necessary. "Time to move!" I half-drag, half-shove her towards the stairway I just found, keeping one hand extended behind me as I cast a quick illumination spell. Come on—Merrin next if we can manage it! The ward shatters with a sharp crack just as we reach the stairs. Something roars in the darkness ahead—a sound that definitely isn't human or skeletal—and I don't wait to see what it is. "RUN!" I shove Serrine up the stairs ahead of me, my wings beating frantically for extra speed even though they're already burning with exhaustion from carrying us through the mountains. The stone beneath our feet groans ominously as we climb—I can hear dust and debris falling behind us, followed by heavy thudding footsteps. Fuck fuck FUCK—whatever's down there is fast.*

We burst out into a wider chamber at the top of the stairs just in time to see Varrika engaged with what looks like three more giant skeletons—and something else I can't quite identify moving in the shadows behind them. Her armor is dented and covered in scratches, her breathing ragged as she swings that mace with desperate speed. "VARRIKA!" I shout, positioning myself beside her even as I try to catch my breath. We're alive—Merrin's still out but Serrie says she's stabilizing. This place is collapsing—I don't know how much longer we have before the whole damn tower comes down around our ears!

I stumble up the last few steps of the hidden staircase, my legs trembling with exhaustion and fear. The sound of Varrika's mace clashing against bone echoes in the wider chamber above, but all I can focus on is the deafening roar of the collapsing tower behind us. Jeane’s words about Merrin being unconscious jolt me like a splash of cold water—we have to get her out of here now.*

"I'm okay!" I call back over my shoulder, my voice nearly lost in the cacophony of crumbling stone and snapping timbers. I push past Jeane, my eyes scanning the chaos of the chamber. "Where is she? Is she still down there?"
I see Varrika now, a whirlwind of steel and determination as she faces off against three massive skeletons. Their bone-white forms are chipped and broken from her assault, but they keep coming, relentless in their undead pursuit. And then I notice something else, a darker shape moving in the deeper shadows at the edge of my vision. It seems to writhe and pulse with an unnatural energy.
My heart hammers against my ribs as I take in the scene. This was supposed to be just a simple recovery mission for a legendary sword—and now we're fighting for our lives in a crumbling death trap filled with who-knows-what kind of horrors. "We need to get Merrin out of that pit!" I shout, my voice cracking slightly. "And whatever is hiding back there—it's not just more skeletons."
I start to move towards the edge of the chamber where I last saw Merrin, my mind racing. The warding spell I cast earlier felt so inadequate now, a flimsy shield against the sheer chaos unfolding around us. I know I should try to help Varrika, but Merrin is completely helpless down there. Every second we waste could be too long. "I'm going back for her!" I call out, my decision made. I turn and sprint towards the dark opening of the pit, my robes tangling around my legs with every stride.
Behind me, I can hear Jeane’s frantic cursing as she tries to keep up with Varrika's assault on the skeletons. "Serrie, wait!" she cries, her voice strained with panic. But I can't stop—not when Merrin is lying defenseless in a pit while the entire world seems to be falling apart around us.
I reach the edge of the pit and look down into its black depths. It's a long way to fall, and the sound of Merrin’s soft breathing is completely lost in the roar of destruction above. I know I should be afraid, but all I feel is an overwhelming need to save her—to make sure we all get out of this nightmare alive. "Hold on!" I scream into the abyss, my voice echoing off the crumbling walls. I take a deep breath and begin to cast another spell—a floating disk designed to carry both Merrin and myself back up to safety.