Round 238

The air in the chamber tastes wrong—too thick, too still, like the moment before a thunderstorm breaks. Merrin stands at the entrance, crossbow aimed low but ready to rise, her gaze scanning every shadow. She doesn't see anything, not really, but she feels it: eyes on them, watching, waiting. Something ancient and hungry.

Seraphine moves closer to Jeane, her fingers tracing the intricate patterns on the box's lid without quite touching. "This is..." Her voice trails off as the orb pulses again, brighter this time, its golden light spilling across the walls like liquid sunshine. "Warm," she finishes softly, almost reverently. "Like a heartbeat." The humming from the pedestal grows louder, vibrating through the stone floor and into their bones.

Jeane positions herself between Seraphine and the artifact, her hands raised in readiness but not quite touching. "Wait," she says, her voice low and sharp. "We don't know what this is or what it might do." She meets Merrin's eyes across the chamber—steady gaze, steady crossbow—and then looks to Seraphine beside her. "Are you sure?"

Seraphine meets Jeane's gaze steadily, her expression caught between wonder and wariness. "Sure?" A tiny, humorless smile touches her lips. "No. But I'm certain we won't find our way out by standing here doing nothing." She takes a deep breath, then closes her fingers around the orb. The crystal pulses against her palm, warm indeed, and suddenly she's gasping, stumbling back a step as visions flood her mind—too many, too fast.

Jeane catches her arm, steadying her. "Seraphine!" Panic edges her voice now. "What is it? What do you see?" She begins weaving a spell with her free hand, magic gathering like storm clouds.

Seraphine clutches the orb tighter despite herself, her knuckles white. The golden light intensifies, painting her face in harsh relief. "Too much," she chokes out, shaking her head violently. "I can't—" Her body convulses suddenly, and Jeane has to grip her more firmly to keep her upright. "GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD!" she screams, trying desperately to fling the artifact away but finding herself unable to release it.*

Merrin raises her crossbow instinctively, aiming past Jeane at whatever unseen force is clearly assaulting their wizard. The air around them crackles with released energy as Seraphine thrashes in Jeane's grip.