Round 35 Transcript

As the water rises faster, Jeane's shout is drowned out by the screeching sound from the passage. The skeletal horror lunges forward, its bony fingers swiping at Merrin and Seraphine. They dodge just in time, their eyes wide with fear, but Jeane can't move - the water now reaches her waist, making it hard to stand. Suddenly, a section of the wall slides open further, revealing a narrow staircase leading up to the main chamber. The skeletal creature pauses, its attention drawn to the stairs. Merrin seizes the opportunity, grabbing Seraphine's arm and pulling her towards the stairs. "We need to get out of here now!" she shouts above the din. The undead abomination lets out a deafening screech, its tentacles thrashing wildly as it gives chase. Halie and Varikka, still clinging to the rope, are now in grave danger - the water's rising too fast, and they won't be able to hold on for much longer.

Jeane's wings snap tight against her back as the screech echoes through the passage—her demonic nature screaming at her to flee. But flight means abandoning Merrin and Seraphine to this horror, leaving Halie stranded above with no way down. The water is already waist-deep, rising fast. That thing in the pit has Varikka now, dragging her down into the darkness. The skeletal monster from the passage lurches forward, its bony fingers reaching for them. "We need to go—now!" she shouts over the chaos, her voice cracking with fear and desperation. She turns toward the stairs revealed by the sliding wall section—a potential escape route, but too far away. The water is rising too fast.

Her hands tremble around her staff—not from the cold water, but from terror. She can feel it building inside her, that primal urge to simply spread her wings and fly away as fast as she can, consequences be damned. But if she does that, Merrin and Seraphine are dead. They'll drown in this rising water while the monsters claim them. "Merrin!" she calls out, trying to keep her voice steady despite the panic threatening to overwhelm her. "Seraphine! We can't fight both of these things—not here, not like this!"

She raises her staff toward the skeletal monster, the runes along its length glowing faintly with arcane energy. Fire magic flickers at her fingertips—deadly power, but too dangerous to use in this enclosed space. The water is now chest-deep on her, making it hard to stand, let alone cast a spell without risking friendly fire.

Jeane's mind races through options, each more terrifying than the last. She could try to teleport them all out of here—dangerous magic at the best of times, suicidal in this place—but she doesn't trust her concentration enough right now. She could attempt to freeze the water around them, creating a platform to escape on... but that would trap everyone in place while the monsters catch up.

In the end, all she can do is stand here, freezing and terrified, watching as Merrin and Seraphine struggle toward the stairs. The undead abomination thrashes below, its tentacles whipping through the water like living ropes, pulling Varikka deeper. This is it—this is where she pays for her inadequacies with her life.

I raise my staff high, the runes along its length flaring with a brilliant white light that momentarily illuminates the horrors surrounding us. "Everyone, get to those stairs!" I shout over the chaos, my voice cracking but steady with an authority I don't quite feel. The water is nearly up to my chest now, swirling around my legs as I stand my ground against the oncoming skeletal monster. Its bony fingers reach for me, and I thrust my staff forward, sending a concentrated blast of arcane energy directly into its chest.
The creature staggers back, letting out an unearthly wail, but it doesn't stop. It's undead; pain isn't enough to deter it. "Merrin! Seraphine!" I call again, my eyes darting between them and the stairs. "You two get up there first! I'll hold this thing off!"
I know it’s a lie as soon as the words leave my mouth. There's no way I can hold off both that monster and whatever lurks in that pit for long enough to save everyone. But I have to try something. Anything. My mind races, trying to recall every spell I know that could be useful here.
A sudden movement catches my eye—the tentacle monster from the pit has surfaced again, its massive form thrashing in the water mere feet away. Varikka is nowhere to be seen. Panic rises in my throat as I realize she might already be lost. The water is rising so fast it's now lapping at the bottom of the stairs Merrin and Seraphine are scrambling up.
I take a deep breath, steeling myself. My demonic nature screams at me to flee, to save myself while I still can. But my human side won't let me abandon them. "Jeane!" Merrin's voice cuts through the chaos. "Get out of there! Now!"
I shake my head, even as I send another burst of energy toward the skeletal horror. It’s not enough—this isn’t a battle I can win with just magic and willpower alone. "I can't!" I yell back, my voice nearly lost in the screeching and thrashing around us. "Someone needs to hold this thing off! You three get out - find Halie and Varikka!"
The water is over my shoulders now, cold and heavy. I struggle to keep my feet under me, my wings beating frantically against the surface of the water as I try to stay afloat. The monster from the pit surfaces again, its tentacles whipping through the air before diving back down into the depths. It's hunting something—maybe Varikka, maybe now Halie. Or maybe it's coming for me next.
My heart hammers against my ribs. This is it. This is how we die—drowned in a cursed tower while being torn apart by monsters. Unless... unless I can do something truly desperate. My eyes land on the stairs, where Merrin and Seraphine have just disappeared into the main chamber above. "I'm sorry," I whisper to no one in particular, my voice lost in the pandemonium. "I'm so sorry."
With a final surge of strength, I push off from the bottom of the stairs, letting the current carry me up and out of this death trap. The water swirls around me as I rise, the skeletal horror and its aquatic counterpart forgotten for now. All that matters is getting to the others, finding a way out of this nightmare before it consumes us all.

The cold water is up to my chest now, the rope tied around my waist pulling taut as Varikka thrashes below. Her muffled screams are barely audible over the roar of rushing water and the monstrous screeching from somewhere beneath us. I clench my teeth, wrapping both arms around the rope to hold fast despite the strain on my muscles and bones. "Stay still!" I shout down into the darkness, voice strained with effort and fear. "Stop fighting it—you'll only make things worse!"
A sudden jolt nearly wrenches the rope from my hands. I let out a gasp, feet slipping on the slick stone as I try to dig in for leverage. "Gods," I mutter, knowing full well that prayer won't save us this time. "Varikka! Can you hear me? Try to float—don't fight whatever's down there!"
The tentacle monster surfaces again, its grotesque form breaking the surface mere feet away. I recoil instinctively, nearly losing my grip on the rope. Its skin is slick and iridescent, undulating with a sickening wet sound as it thrashes in the now-chest-deep water. "What in the abyss—"
My mind races through options, each more terrifying than the last. I could attempt to cast a spell—something to weaken or repel the creature—but in this confined space, any arcane energy could rebound and incinerate us both. Or maybe freeze the water around her? Create an air pocket for her to breathe in? No—too risky, too complicated with my limited focus.
I grit my teeth, leaning back against the stone wall as I pull with all my strength. "Hold on!" I scream down into the abyss. "I'm not losing you to this hellhole!"
The water rises still higher, now lapping at my chin. The rope goes taut again, and a fresh wave of panic washes over me—she's sinking deeper. My hands burn with exertion, muscles screaming in protest as I strain against the pull. "Please," I gasp, tears stinging my eyes from the effort and the cold. "Don't leave me here alone..."
Suddenly, something massive slams against the wall below—a sound like stone groaning under immense pressure. The water around me trembles with the impact, and for a horrifying moment, I think the entire structure is collapsing in on us. Then the wall beside me begins to slide—an entire section receding into the darkness beyond.

I scramble up the stairs, my heart pounding in my ears as I try to ignore the sounds of Jeane and Seraphine's struggles below. "Halie!" I shout, my voice echoing off the stone walls. "Varikka!" But there's no response—just the sickening sound of water rushing into the pit and the occasional muffled scream. "Gods damn it," I mutter, fighting down a wave of nausea. This is all going wrong—we're losing people left and right, and now we're trapped in a cursed tower with no way out.

I reach the top of the stairs, pausing for a moment to catch my breath. The main chamber is even worse than I feared—towering columns loom out of the darkness, their surfaces covered in strange runes that seem to pulse faintly with an otherworldly energy. "Halie?" I call again, trying to keep my voice steady. "Are you up here?"

As if in answer, a sudden screech echoes through the chamber—loud, close, and clearly not human. I spin around, dagger at the ready, but there's nothing there. Just shadows and more of those damned runes. "Show yourself!" I shout, hating how my voice wavers. In response, something massive moves in the darkness beyond one of the columns—too big to be a person, too fluid to be a statue.

I back away slowly, mind racing as I try to think of a plan. We're trapped here with no idea what's hunting us or how to fight it. And now with Varikka and Jeane likely drowning below... gods, this is a nightmare. "Halie!" I call again, my voice rising in pitch as the panic threatens to overwhelm me. "Please—we need to find a way out of here before we all die!"

But even as I say it, I know it's too late. We're trapped, and the tower is closing in around us like a tomb.