Round 28

The chamber's air grew thick with tension as the echoes of Jeane's spell faded into an ominous silence. Seraphine stood frozen at the edge of the pit, her sharp elven eyes scanning the darkness below where her companion had vanished in a storm of arcane energy and collapsing stone.

Every instinct screamed at her to retreat, to put distance between herself and whatever ancient horrors lay waiting in those depths—but the thought of abandoning Jeane to that fate was unthinkable. Varrika moved to stand beside her, sword drawn, face set in grim lines. "How long do we wait?" she asked, voice low.

Serrine shifted nervously behind them, still cradling Merrin's unconscious form close. Seraphine didn't answer immediately, her attention divided between the abyss below and the ominous groaning of stone all around them. The wards were broken—she could feel it in her bones, a wrongness that seeped into the very air like poison. And whatever Jeane had done down there... the repercussions were already beginning to make themselves known.

A fresh rumble echoed up from below, followed by the unmistakable sound of something massive moving through the rubble. Seraphine's blood ran cold as she realized what it must be—giant skeletons, just like the ones they'd encountered earlier, but this time... plural.

"Jeane!" she hissed into the darkness, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Answer me! Are you alive down there?"

The silence stretched on for an eternity before a faint response finally filtered up from the depths. "I'm here," came Jeane's voice, strained but recognizable. "But something's wrong. The magic... it's not right. There are voices in my head."

Seraphine felt her stomach drop. Voices? In her head? That was never a good sign when dealing with ancient arcane traps and sealed chambers. She exchanged a grim look with Varrika before turning back to the pit's edge.

"Stay where you are," she called down, keeping her voice as steady as possible despite the fear clawing at her insides. "Don't move. Don't cast anything else. We're coming down to get you."