Round 24

The tower groaned around them like a beast waking from slumber, stone grinding against stone as the ancient structure settled after its near-collapse. Dust hung heavy in the air, thick and choking, reducing visibility to mere feet. Jeane coughed, wiping her eyes clear with the back of one hand while maintaining a death-grip on her mace with the other. "What the fuck was THAT?" she demanded, voice hoarse from dust inhalation.

Seraphine lay sprawled nearby, her robes twisted and disheveled, hair come loose from its usual tidy bun to fan out in a dark halo around her head. She pushed herself up on one elbow, wincing as various bruises made their presence known. "The entire floor gave way," she snapped back, voice sharp with lingering adrenaline and no small amount of irritation. "Perhaps because someone decided to blast ancient magical wards without considering the structural consequences?"

Jeane opened her mouth for a retort, then closed it again as another low rumble ran through the stone around them. She glanced upwards instinctively, as if expecting the ceiling to come crashing down at any moment. "We need to move," she said instead, voice tight with barely-suppressed panic. "Before this whole fucking thing comes down on our heads for good."