Round 68 Transcript

The Keeper of the Test raises its spectral hand, and the dark energy erupts from its fingers once more. The air around Merrin's form distorts as if reality itself is bending to accommodate the Keeper's power. Halie takes a step forward, her heavy mace at the ready. "Stop this!" Halie cries out, her voice firm but trembling with fear. "You're not going to hurt her anymore!"

The Keeper's burning eyes fix on Jeane, demanding a response. The chamber falls silent, awaiting Halie's next move.

Jeane eyes Merrin's changed form warily, a cold dread settling in her stomach. "Merrin... can you hear me?" Her voice is tight with concern, but underneath runs a current of suspicion. This whole setup stinks like a trap—the shifting bookshelf door, the collapsing catwalk, Merrin's fall, and now this... test? The Keeper's question hangs heavy in the air: truth or trial? The burning eyes bore into her, waiting for an answer. Jeane knows she shouldn't trust anything down here—every word could be a lie, every offer a poisoned gift. But leaving Merrin like that isn't an option either. "I'm coming for you," she calls to Merrin, voice hard as steel despite the fear coiling cold in her gut. She takes a step forward, then another, each movement careful and deliberate across unstable ground. The Keeper watches her approach with that unnerving stillness, its presence a physical weight in the cramped space.*

Jeane knows she's walking into danger, probably a setup worse than she can imagine. But sometimes facing evil head-on is better than living with its consequences on her conscience. "What did you do to her?" she demands, voice low and dangerous now. Not asking for permission or information—the question is accusation, challenge. She's not backing down anymore; whatever happens next will happen because she chose it.

The spectral hand rises again as if in response, dark energy crackling between those translucent fingers once more. Jeane braces herself—this could be the start of a fight, or something worse—and waits to see what kind of test this thing has in store for her resolve.

I stand at the bottom of the shaft, heart pounding, rope burns stinging my palms. Merrin... she fell through the floor—she has to be down here somewhere! The air is thick with the smell of old decay and something else... wrong, like spoiled magic. Seraphine's voice calls out from above. "Halie! What do you see? Is Merrin okay?"*

I move carefully along the narrow corridor, torchlight flickering ominously. "Wait there!" I shout back. "The whole thing could come down any second!" The unstable ground shifts beneath my feet as I creep forward. And then I see it—the Keeper of the Test at the end of the hall, its burning eyes fixed on me with terrible intent.*

My grip tightens on the heavy mace in my hands. "Stay back," I tell Seraphine firmly over my shoulder. "The whole thing could come down any second." Then I'm moving forward again, each step measured and careful across ground that feels ready to crumble. The corridor opens up into a larger chamber—hidden in the shadows, obscured by the flickering torchlight—and there she is: Merrin. But something's terribly wrong.

Her eyes are dull and lifeless, her body twisted into an unnatural pose against a wall covered in glowing symbols that pulse with dark energy. Whatever happened to her... it wasn't natural magic. I dig through my pack with shaking hands, pulling out my heavy mace for protection. The Goddess made me her handmaiden to face situations exactly like this—darkness, uncertainty, the weight of saving lives. I won't let fear control me now.*

But as I take a step toward Merrin, the Keeper's voice booms through the chamber, stopping me cold. "Your resolve will be tested further," it says, and I feel a fresh wave of terror course through me. What kind of test? What's happening to Merrin? Why did Jeane fall through the floor like that?*