Round 55

Jeane moves along the narrow catwalk with predatory grace, her dark wings half-spread for balance. Each stone she tested received careful scrutiny before her full weight settled upon it—the chasm yawned below like a hungry mouth waiting for careless prey. The materialization of that door on the opposite side drew her attention, but not enough to abandon her cautious forward progress. She'd seen too many adventurers fall to hubris already.

Her crimson eyes narrow as she studies the ornate box on the desk—a temptation and a test wrapped in one. The Keeper... or something wearing its skin. You're right about that, Halie—this whole chamber feels wrong on a fundamental level. She circles the room slowly, her mace held loosely at her side. As for magic signatures, I don't sense any active spells or wards... but that doesn't mean there aren't dormant triggers waiting to spring.

Jeane's voice lowers. We should proceed with extreme caution. Whatever this test is, it smells like dark magic and ancient power. The kind of thing that eats adventurers alive for breakfast if they're not careful.

A sudden groan from the catwalk makes her freeze mid-step. Halie! Step back from the edge—something just shifted under my feet!

She looks up at the platform where Merrin and Seraphine stand, visible through a gap in the ceiling. Everyone up there, be ready to jump back if the whole thing gives way! The stonework here is older than sin and twice as unstable.

The air grows heavy with tension as the ancient structure groans around them, settling like a beast waking from slumber. Each pulse of red light from the runes paints the chamber in shades of blood and shadow.