Round 334

The water came in a rush, surging up through cracks in the ancient stone floor like a waking beast. Varrika felt it pull at her boots, cold and insistent, as she scrambled to higher ground with Merrin half-dragged beside her. The ledge they gained was narrow, barely wide enough for both their feet, but it offered a desperate inch of safety above the rising tide.

"Shit!" Merrin hissed through gritted teeth, her face pale as she pressed against the wall. "That thing's still down there!"

Varrika didn't need to ask which thing. She'd seen the eyes - glowing and malevolent even in the dim light of their torches - before Merrin had yanked her clear of that crushing slab. The memory sent a shiver through her that had nothing to do with the cold water lapping at their feet.

"Yeah," she grunted, scanning the stone face above them. "We've got maybe minutes before this ledge is gone too." The rock was slick with moisture, offering plenty of handholds but no guarantees against a fall into that churning abyss below. Still, it beat waiting here to drown.

Merrin was already moving, her rogue's instincts taking over despite the obvious pain in her leg. She found a crack in the stone, tested its stability with practiced fingers, then began to climb with a fluid grace that belied her injury. Varrika followed, her heavier build making each movement more deliberate and difficult.

The stone groaned under their combined weight, small fragments crumbling away to vanish into the water below. Varrika gritted her teeth, focusing on the next handhold, the next foothold. She'd faced worse climbs in her time - had she? Goddess, maybe not while half-drowned and exhausted.

"Almost there," Merrin called down, her voice tight with effort. "Just a few more feet!"

Varrika didn't answer, conserving her breath for the climb. Her fingers found another crack, her boot wedged into a small indentation in the rock. One more pull...

They gained the top just as the water below reached the level of their precarious ledge, surging and churning like a hungry maw waiting to swallow them whole. Merrin collapsed onto solid ground with a groan of relief, rolling onto her back to stare up at the ceiling.

"Goddess," she breathed, one hand pressed against her injured leg. "I thought we were done for."

Varrika dropped beside her, her own breath coming in ragged gasps. She rolled her head to the side, meeting Merrin's gaze with a tired smile. "Not yet," she said, her voice rough. "But maybe soon."