Round 254

The wiry halfling scout woman collapsed onto the cold stone shore, her body shaking with violent sobs. The creatures' hellish eyes still glowed in the water behind her, their forms twisting and writhing as they feasted on Varikka's lifeless form. A massive boulder crashed down from above, sending Merrin tumbling forward with a cry. She scrambled to her feet, her dark eyes fixed on the tower as it continued its relentless collapse, rubble and debris crashing down around her.

"You won't take me too!" she snarled at the empty air, voice cracking with grief and rage. With a surge of adrenaline, Merrin sprinted towards the shore, the distance between her and the falling debris shrinking with each desperate step. She could hear the creatures' hellish eyes still glowing in the water behind her, their forms twisting and writhing as they feasted on Varikka's lifeless form. But she didn't dare look back, knowing that hesitation meant death.

The cold stone bit into her palms as Merrin threw herself forward, rolling to safety just as another boulder crashed down where she'd stood moments before. She lay there gasping for breath, the adrenaline fading and leaving only exhaustion and grief in its wake. The tower groaned above her, more rubble shifting ominously as the structure continued its slow-motion collapse.

"Varikka..." Merrin whispered, her voice barely audible over the rumble of falling stone. But there was no answer, only the distant shrieking of the creatures and the relentless advance of the rising water. She forced herself to her feet, teeth chattering from the cold and shock. The lake stretched out before her, its surface still churning with unseen horrors.

"Fuck," she muttered, clutching her heavy iron bar tighter. "What now?"