Round 238

The water was cold enough to steal her breath away when Merrin surfaced again, gasping and sputtering. She could feel the exhaustion weighing down every muscle in her body—she’d been running on adrenaline for what felt like hours now, and it was finally catching up with her. But she didn’t have time to rest. Didn’t have time to catch her breath properly.

The shrieking had stopped, which meant something worse had happened. Or maybe it meant multiple things worse. Either way, she needed dry ground and a weapon—preferably both together—and she needed them fast. Her teeth were chattering already; the water was cold enough to chill bone, and her earlier near-drowning hadn’t helped. She was running on fumes, and every instinct screamed at her to find shelter.

But there was no shelter here. Just rising water, collapsing stone, and creatures with glowing eyes that seemed to be everywhere now. Merrin tread water carefully, scanning the gloom for any sign of movement. The light from her remaining torch flickered weakly against the darkness—she had maybe an hour’s worth of illumination left, tops. After that... She didn’t even want to think about after that.

The tentacles had pulled Varikka deeper into the darkness, but Merrin could still hear her friend’s muffled screams echoing through the water. She had to do something. Had to find a way to help. But what? She was exhausted, freezing, and armed with nothing but a heavy iron bar and a single remaining torch. Not exactly the ideal hero’s toolkit for taking on underwater monsters and collapsing dungeons.

A sudden movement in the water nearby caught her attention. Something large was moving beneath the surface—something with multiple limbs, judging by the way the water rippled. Merrin’s heart rate spiked as she realized she wasn’t alone down here after all. She needed a weapon. Needed something to defend herself with if that thing decided she looked tasty.

Her eyes darted around, searching for anything useful. The iron bar was still heavy in her hands, but it was awkward underwater—she’d be better off with something smaller and easier to maneuver. Her gaze landed on a loose chunk of stone near the cave wall, about the size of her fist. It wasn’t much, but it might be enough.

With a deep breath, Merrin dove beneath the surface again, kicking hard toward the rock. The cold water burned her eyes as she strained to see in the darkness below. Her fingers closed around the stone just as something brushed against her leg—something with too many limbs and too much suction. She yelped involuntarily, bubbles streaming from her mouth as she kicked away frantically.

Back at the surface, gasping for air, Merrin clutched the rock tightly. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. Now, if only she could find a way to actually hit something with it...