Round 5

The air thickens with decay as a faint, unnatural mist begins to seep from the cracks in the stone floor, tendrils curling around the legs of the fallen skeletons like grasping fingers. The violet glow from the gate pulses brighter still, casting an eerie light on the mist's slow, creeping advance. Jeane's wings fold tighter against her back as she watches the violet-glowing tendrils, her skin crawling with a coldness that sinks into her bones. Halie steps between the mist and the others, her silver holy symbol held aloft, as if to shield them from the defiling force.

The cleric's words are laced with a sense of urgency, and Merrin presses herself against the wall, her heart pounding in response. The stench of decay overwhelms her, making her stomach churn. Halie draws a ward circle in the dust, speaking a quick prayer for purifying light, while Jeane feels the arcane energy respond to her call, but it tastes corrupted here. Merrin's eyes dart toward Varrika, searching for an escape route through the mess of magical wards and pressure plates.