Round 159

Merrin clung to the rock face with numb fingers, her teeth chattering so violently she feared they might shatter. The water was colder than anything she had ever felt in her life, biting into her flesh with every passing second. She fought to maintain her grip on the iron bar still weighing down her arm, useless against the elements consuming her.

"Seraphine!" Her voice cracked on the name, echoing through the cavernous space before being swallowed by the rushing water and distant groans of collapsing stone. In the gloom, Merrin caught glimpses of movement beneath the surface - something large shifting in the depths. The bioluminescent glow from the lake's edge cast eerie shadows across the walls, making it impossible to discern shapes with any certainty.

She could feel her fingers slipping, the cold sapping what little strength she had left. A few feet away, Seraphine surfaced briefly, gasping for air before disappearing again beneath the churning water. Merrin's heart lurched in her chest. "Seraphine!" she screamed again, louder this time, her voice raw with desperation.

The wizard couldn't be lost too - not like Jeane, not...