Round 112

Merrin fought her way back toward the spot where she'd seen Varikka dragged under, the water slamming into her again and again as she pushed against the current. Her wiry halfling frame was exhausted, every muscle screaming in protest, but the thought of her friend drowning drove her forward. She'd managed to snag Jeane's fallen torch before it vanished downstream—now it bobbed uselessly in her grip while both hands kept her afloat on the makeshift debris raft.

Across the rapidly flooding chamber, Seraphine had somehow scrambled up onto a narrow ledge halfway up the wall, pressed flat against stone like a terrified kitten trying to disappear into plaster and mortar. Her robes clung to every curve, dark hair streaming water down her back, face pale with shock and fear as she screamed something Merrin couldn't hear over the roar of rushing water and groaning stone. The wizardette's terror was palpable even from across the churning pool.

Merrin redoubled her grip on her floating debris, kicking hard to stay afloat despite exhaustion screaming through every muscle. The water was already waist-deep in most places now, swirling with debris and what looked disturbingly like bones. She could see movement beneath the surface—something large shifting through the depths—and a fresh wave of fear shot through her.

She had to get to Varikka before it was too late. Before the rising water swallowed them all. Before whatever was in that lake decided she looked like lunch. Merrin took a deep breath and dove back into the churning current, swimming with desperate strength toward where the tentacle had last surfaced. The freezing water tore at her, but she pushed on, teeth gritted, determined to save her friend even if it killed her.

The torrent pulled her under briefly before she broke through the surface again, gasping for air. She could feel the current trying to sweep her downstream, toward the newly revealed passage and whatever horrors lay beyond. But Varikka was upstream—somewhere—and Merrin wasn't about to give up now.

She forced herself to keep swimming against the flow, eyes scanning the churning water for any sign of her friend or the creature that had taken her. The roar of rushing water filled her ears, and above it all, she thought she heard Jeane's voice calling out—something about a new threat? A fresh wave of dread washed over her.

This was bad. Really bad. Multiple threats active, entire tower collapsing around them, rising water filling every chamber, unknown creatures in the depths... And Varikka was trapped underwater with some kind of tentacled horror. Merrin knew she needed to focus on finding her friend first—but part of her mind kept racing through possibilities. If Halie could cast that resurrection spell in time, maybe they still had a chance. But first, she had to get close enough to help without getting pulled into the pit herself.

She was already exhausted, injured, and out of her depth literally and figuratively. The smart move would be to assess the new passage for threats before anyone else entered it—but Merrin wasn't built for smart moves when friends were in danger. She'd just have to improvise and hope her luck held out a little longer.

The water churned around her, hiding God-knew-what below. Merrin took another deep breath and dove back under, determined to find Varikka before it was too late.