Round 313

Merrin crouched beside Varikka on the narrow stone ledge, her fingers working frantically with the lockpicks to sever the rope binding her friend's wrist. The water lapped hungrily at the rocks below, each wave carrying more chill than the last, and Merrin's teeth chattered despite her best efforts to control it. Her vision blurred 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 picks as she worked at the rope binding Varikka's wrist. "Almost there," she muttered through chattering teeth, the words barely audible even to herself. The ledge beneath them shook again, more violently this time. A section near the edge crumbled away with a sharp crack, sending stones tumbling into the water below.

Merrin yanked the last strand of rope free just as Varikka lost her grip on the slick stone above. Her friend plummeted toward the churning waters, and Merrin lunged forward, catching Varikka's weight with a grunt of effort that drove the air from her lungs. They collapsed onto the ledge in a tangle of limbs, Merrin pinned beneath Varikka's heavier frame. The impact jarred what little breath she had left, leaving her gasping for air like a beached fish.

Varikka scrambled off her, eyes wide with horror as she stared at the water lapping at their feet. "Merrin! Your hands—" She broke off, reaching for Merrin's frozen fingers. The skin was already turning an alarming shade of white, the flesh stiff and unresponsive beneath Varikka's touch.

Merrin tried to flex her fingers, wincing at the stabbing pain that lanced up her arms. "It's nothing," she lied through gritted teeth, though her voice betrayed the lie with a sharp edge of agony. "We need to move. Now." She struggled to her feet, swaying slightly as the world tilted around her. The cold was already seeping into her core, her body shaking uncontrollably despite her efforts to still it.

Varikka stared at her friend's frozen hands, then back at the rising water. "But Merrin—" "No buts!" Merrin snarled, her patience fraying like the rope that had bound her moments before. "We climb, or we drown. Simple as that." She grabbed a nearby outcropping of stone with her good hand, hauling herself up onto a higher ledge with desperate strength. The rock scraped against her palms, leaving them bloody and raw, but she barely felt it through the numbness already spreading across her skin.

Varikka followed, moving more cautiously but with determination in every line of her body. She reached the top and rolled over the edge onto solid ground, then turned back to offer Merrin a hand up. The water was already lapping at the bottom rungs of the stone staircase they'd climbed down earlier, the flow growing stronger by the second.

Merrin grabbed Varikka's offered hand, using every ounce of strength she had left to pull herself up and over the edge. She collapsed onto the floor beside her friend, gasping for breath that seemed unwilling to come. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, muscles screaming in protest as the blood flow returned to her extremities with a vengeance.

Varikka immediately began inspecting Merrin's hands, her expression grim. "This is bad, Merrin. Really bad." She pulled out a small knife from her belt and began sawing at the sleeve of Merrin's shirt. "We need to get these bandaged before the frostbite sets in permanently."

Merrin watched through blurred vision as Varikka worked, her mind struggling to focus on anything but the pain. The cold was winning, seeping into her bones despite the heat of the blood rushing back to her extremities. She knew she should be doing something—anything—but her body refused to obey, leaving her helpless and shivering.

Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the chamber. Both women froze, their eyes darting toward the source of the sound. A section of the ceiling above the pool had given way, collapsing in on itself with a roar of falling stone. Water sprayed out from the impact site, mixing with dust and debris to create a choking cloud that billowed outward.

"Merrin!" Varikka screamed, grabbing her friend and dragging her backward away from the collapsing area. They scrambled over the uneven ground, hearts pounding in their chests as more of the ceiling came crashing down around them. Dust filled the air, making it difficult to see or breathe, but they didn't stop moving until they'd put several yards between themselves and the disaster zone.

They collapsed against a wall, gasping for air that seemed unwilling to come. The sound of rushing water filled the chamber now, growing louder by the second as the pool expanded outward, fed by new cracks in the floor. Merrin looked down at her hands, now wrapped in strips of cloth, and then back at Varikka's worried face.

"We need to find a way out," she said, her voice hoarse with exertion and pain. "And we need to do it fast."