Round 312

The water lapped at Merrin's waist now, each wave carrying more chill than the last. Her teeth chattered, vision blurring at the edges—not from fear, though there was plenty of that, but from the creeping frostbite. Varikka clung to the rock above, a dark shape against the rising tide, and Merrin's stomach twisted with something hotter than the water. "Varikka!" she yelled again, her voice barely carrying over the churning below. "Move! Toward me!" The tentacled horror still writhed in the depths, its eyes fixed on the priestess like a starving man on a feast.

Merrin's hands shook as she pulled out the rope, looping it around her wrist with practiced ease despite the numbness creeping into her fingers. She began to climb, boots finding precarious purchase on the slick stone. Each movement sent fresh water cascading down her body, stealing what little warmth remained. The structure above groaned—loud enough this time to be unmistakable. A fresh cascade of rock and dust plummeted from the ceiling, splashing into the rising pool below.

Merrin's heart lurched. She redoubled her efforts, fingers fumbling with the rope as she scrambled upward. The water was already at her thighs, pulling insistently at her legs. She could feel the current tugging, trying to drag her back down into the depths. Not like this. Not here.

She reached the ledge above just as another wave crashed against her back, sending her sprawling onto the stone. Merrin gasped for breath, every muscle screaming in protest as she rolled onto her side and vomited salt water onto the rock beside her. The cold was a physical pain now, deep in her bones, each breath a struggle.

Varikka knelt nearby, eyes wide with concern. "Merrin! Are you alright?" Her voice was barely audible over the roar of the rising tide below.

Merrin pushed herself upright, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to send her sprawling again. "I'm fine," she lied through chattering teeth. "Just... cold." She looked down at the swirling waters far below, where the tentacled horror had vanished into the depths. For now. But it would be back. They needed heat. Shelter. Now.

She met Varikka's gaze, saw the same desperate understanding mirrored there. The water was already lapping at the bottom of the stairs behind them—no escape that way. The ceiling groaned again, louder this time, a fresh shower of rock and dust erupting from above. They were running out of time.