Round 199

The sound of rushing water grew louder, more insistent. Merrin pressed herself against the wall, her heart pounding in her chest. The cold stone offered little comfort through her soaked leathers, but it was dry—dry was good right now.

She watched as the water began to seep into this new chamber from multiple points along the floor. It moved with unnatural speed, swirling and churning like?.? She couldn't tell if?.? The sound was everywhere at once.

The iron bar felt heavy in her hands—useless for fighting off whatever was down here but too heavy to abandon completely. Her fingers were already going numb from?.?

She needed to?.? Higher ground or heat source before?.? Hypothermia would kill her faster than any monster. The sword pulsed softly in its sheath, responding to?.? Or maybe that was just her imagination.

The water was up to her ankles now—cold biting into her skin through the wet fabric of?.? She had maybe minutes left before this chamber became a?.? She needed to?.?

There! A section of?.? The floor seemed slightly higher there, and?.? She could see?.? A crack or gap in?.? If?.? She could just?.? Get through that small space somehow—crawl if she had to—then maybe she could find somewhere dry above.

Merrin scrambled towards the opening, her movements clumsy with exhaustion and cold. The iron bar clanged heavily against stone as she dragged it along, its?.? weight a constant reminder of her limitations.

She squeezed through the?.? gap just as?.? The water reached critical mass in the chamber behind her, flooding over the spot where she'd been standing mere seconds earlier.

Merrin lay on her back gasping for breath, staring up at the ceiling far above. She was alive—alive and out of?.? That was something. Her entire body screamed protest at?.?, but she was warm-ish now, which was more than?.?

The sword lay beside her, its blue glow barely visible in the?.? darkness. She picked it up, running her fingers along?.?, feeling the magic pulse against her palm.

What now? The water was still rising somewhere below—she could hear?.?. She needed to?.?. But where? Up or down? This tower seemed determined to funnel her through its various hells one chamber at a time.

She sat up slowly, muscles complaining. The iron bar clanged as she pulled it closer—better to have it within arm's reach even if?.?

The passage ahead split into three directions: left, right, and straight ahead. Each branch disappeared into?.?. darkness that promised no answers and probably more?.?

Merrin stood, swaying slightly from the sudden movement after so long still. The sword felt warm in her hand—too warm maybe? Its glow had intensified to a soft pulse that seemed?.?. alive somehow.

She moved towards the left passage first, pressing herself against the wall as she squeezed through the narrow opening. The stone was slick with moisture here too—this entire section must be?.?

The passage opened up into?.?. another chamber, smaller than?.?. But this one had a?.? A small?.? Stone?.? An altar maybe? She approached it cautiously, sword held ready.

On top of the altar lay an object wrapped in cloth. Merrin reached out to touch it—

The stone exploded with light and?.?. The world seemed to shift around her as the spell activated. She found herself standing in?.?. a different chamber entirely, the sound of?.? rushing water distant now.

Merrin stood frozen, trying to process what had just happened. One moment she was in?.?. that narrow passage, the next she'd been transported here—wherever "here" was. The spell on?.?

The chamber around her was massive—far larger than anything she'd encountered so far in?.?. the tower's depths. High vaulted ceilings vanished into?.?. darkness above, and?.? The walls were covered in strange symbols that seemed to move when she looked at them too long.

But more importantly:?, it was?.?. warm here. Not?.?. hot exactly, but warm enough that?.?. her clothes were finally starting to dry on her skin. A luxury she hadn't experienced since—

The sound of?.?. rushing water echoed through the chamber again, louder this time. Merrin whirled around, searching for?.?. the source.

There! A section of?.? The floor seemed to be sinking downwards in one corner of?.?. the chamber, water bubbling up from below. It was happening again—another flooding event, but?.?

She needed to?.?. move. Fast. But where? The chamber had multiple exits—she could see at least four different passages leading off in various directions. Any one of them could lead to?.?. more?.?.?, or they could provide the escape route she desperately needed.

The sword pulsed in her hand, its blue light intensifying as if?.? it sensed?.?

Merrin moved towards the nearest passage, her movements quick despite?.? exhaustion. The iron bar clanged heavily against stone as she dragged it along—too heavy to abandon completely, even though?.?

She squeezed through?.?. the narrow opening and emerged into?.?. another chamber. This one was smaller than?.?. the previous space but still large enough to?.?. hold?.? The sound of?.?. rushing water was?.?. fainter here.

Merrin collapsed against?.? the wall, gasping for breath as she slid down to sit on?.?. the cold stone floor. Her entire body ached with exhaustion now—the adrenaline that had?.? kept?.? her moving was?.? finally?.?

She looked around at?.?. her new surroundings. Another?.? Chamber, smaller than?.?. the last one but still large enough for?.?. something?.? The walls were covered in more of?.? Those symbols—she needed to be?.? careful about them.

The sword lay beside?.?. her again, its blue glow?.? steady now. She picked it up, running?.? her fingers along?.?, feeling the magic pulse against?.?

What now? She was exhausted, soaked through despite?.?. the?.?. warmer chamber, and still trapped deep within this cursed tower. Her companions were out there somewhere—Seraphine and Varikka. They must be dealing with their own?.? Horrors by now.

She needed to?.?. find them. Or at least find a way to communicate her?.? Discovery—the Time-Splitting Sword was real, and?.? She had it now. But how to use it? The spells she'd found were complex beyond?.?

The sound of?.?. rushing water grew louder again—another?.? Chamber?.? Flood event somewhere nearby? Merrin forced herself back to?.?. her feet, the sword held ready in her hands.

She needed to?.?. move. Again. Always moving. That was her life now—just?.?. keep?.?. moving until she found a way out or died trying.