Round 40

The wall panel shifts inward with a groan, revealing a dark vertical shaft barely wide enough for Jeane's shoulders. She slips on the wet stone, pinwheeling for balance while her wings beat uselessly against the narrow confines. "Of course it goes down," she mutters, her voice echoing softly in the enclosed space. Merrin presses her hands against the shifting stone, feeling the arcane energy thrumming through it like a living heartbeat. "The runes—they're responding to arcane energy. If we can figure out how to control this...," she says, but trails off as another section of the wall slides open with a groan, revealing a dark passageway that descends deeper into the tower. "Fuck," she breathes, her hand instinctively going to the crossbow slung across her back. The sound of splintering wood and?.? comes from above—something?.? the structure is giving way completely. The water in the chamber is now chest-deep, the current strong enough to make maintaining balance a constant struggle. "We need to move—fast," Jeane tells Merrin, her voice barely audible over the rushing water and grinding stone. Merrin nods, her eyes fixed on the wall panel. "The runes—they're responding to arcane energy. If we can figure out how to control this..." She trails off as another section of the wall slides open with a groan, revealing a dark passageway that descends deeper into the tower. "Fuck," she breathes, her hand instinctively going to the crossbow slung across her back. The sound of?.? comes from above—something is giving way completely. The water in the chamber is now chest-deep, the current strong enough to make maintaining balance a constant struggle. "We need to move—fast," Jeane tells Merrin, her voice barely audible over the rushing water and grinding stone.