Round 20

Jeane’s wings fluttered uselessly as she tried to maintain balance on the tilting floor, her stomach twisting with nausea. “We can’t go through that gate—whatever’s on the other side, it wants us.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them, a desperate attempt to halt Varrika’s reckless charge. The runes pulsed hungrily, their dark light painting everyone in shades of despair and hunger. I can feel it. Something ancient and ravenous. We’ll be walking into its maw if we pass through there.

Merrin dug her fingers into Varrika’s arm, her nails biting through the dwarf’s heavy leather bracers. “Wait!” Her voice was a harsh whisper, barely audible over the groaning stone and pulsing runes. Are you mad? Do you want to feed us all to whatever that thing is? She shot a glance at Jeane, her expression showing both fear and grudging respect for the succubus’s rare show of initiative. I thought demons were supposed to be smart about these things.

Seraphine tore her gaze away from the shifting walls, her face pale in the flickering torchlight. “No. We need to find another way.” Her voice trembled slightly but held firm. Whatever magic is animating this place—it’s older than anything I’ve ever encountered. We can’t just blunder through like... like... She gestured vaguely at Varrika and Merrin, unable to articulate her frustration with their reckless bravery.

Varrika whirled around, her mace still raised and ready to strike. “We can't afford to wait around for whatever that is to find us,” the dwarf growled, her voice rough with adrenaline. “We need to move now, before it's too late.” She turned to Merrin, her eyes hard and unyielding. “I know you're worried about taking risks, but sometimes—”

A low moan echoed through the corridor, cutting off Varrika mid-sentence. The sound seemed to emanate from everywhere at once, a chorus of suffering that made the very stones vibrate with malevolence.