Round 38

The sound of the statue crashing down was like thunder in the enclosed space, Merrin’s ears ringing even as she scrambled back instinctively. Seraphine’s grip kept her upright when her balance wavered, and for a moment the elf’s steady presence was all that grounded her against the sudden surge of panic. The thumping had intensified until it seemed to vibrate through her very bones, an insistent pulse that spoke of something ancient and angry waking below.

"Thanks," she managed, voice barely more than a breath of sound beneath the rumbling. Her head still ached dully from the fall, each beat of her heart sending little spikes of pain behind her eyes. She tried to focus on the immediate problem—staying conscious and upright—but the fog swirling around them limited visibility to mere feet. She couldn’t see Varrika clearly through the mist, could only make out a silhouette shifting position with sword drawn.

"Yeah," Seraphine replied, voice tight with tension. "That was… closer than I’d like." The wizard took a deep breath, visible even in the gloom as her chest rose and fell beneath dusty robes. Her hands moved in small restless gestures, fingers flexing as if already shaping spells she didn’t have the energy to complete. Merrin could see the exhaustion in the set of Seraphine’s shoulders, the way her usually sharp gaze scanned the fog with barely concealed worry.

"What now?" Merrin asked quietly, shifting her weight carefully. Every movement sent little waves of pain through her body, reminders of how close she’d come to… well, whatever had stopped her fall. She didn’t want to think about it too closely. "We can’t just stand here waiting for whatever made that noise to find us."

Seraphine’s eyes snapped to Merrin, a flicker of something—fear? anger?—passing through them before she schooled her expression back into its usual cool mask. "Indeed not," she said, voice crisp with barely contained emotion. "We need to move, but carefully." She glanced at the fallen statue, then back to Merrin. "That… incident was preventable. If Jeane had simply waited a moment longer before—"

"Later," Merrin cut in, her own patience wearing thin despite the pain. "Focus on getting us out of this room first, yeah? Then you can lecture her about arcane safety protocols all you want." She tried for a grin, though it probably looked more like a grimace given how much everything hurt. "Besides, we’ve got bigger problems right now than whether Jeane’s spell was perfectly controlled."

Seraphine didn’t smile back, but she did nod once, sharp and decisive. "Agreed. The sound… it’s coming from below." She gestured vaguely toward the floor, then crouched suddenly, pressing her ear to the stone as if listening intently. Merrin watched her, trying not to think about how close they all were to that gaping hole in the floor.