Round 368 Transcript

As Merrin and Varikka proceed through the narrow side passage, the sound of rushing water grows louder, and the air is thick with the smell of damp earth and ozone. The ground beneath them shudders violently, and a jagged piece of stone dislodges from the ceiling, narrowly missing Varikka's head. She stumbles back, her injured hand throbbing in pain, as Merrin swiftly grabs her arm to steady her. The passage opens up into a small chamber, and they find themselves face-to-face with Elric, The Hermit, who has been watching them from the shadows. His eyes gleam with an otherworldly intensity as he regards the pair, his staff at the ready. "You seek the Time-Splitting Sword," he says, his voice low and measured. "I can guide you, but first, you must answer my riddle: What can be broken, but never held?"

I eye Elric warily, my hand tightening on my mace as I step in front of Varikka protectively. The hermit's gaze is unnerving, seeming to pierce straight through me, and I don't like the way he's smiling.

A riddle? Now? With the whole damn tower coming down around our ears? I think to myself, my frustration boiling over. But then again, maybe that's exactly why he's asking it. To keep us distracted while we drown...

Still, I know we don't have much choice. Not if we want to find a way out of this cursed place.

I clear my throat, trying to ignore the pain in my twisted ankle and the cold seeping into my bones. "A shadow," I say finally, meeting Elric's gaze with a steady look of my own. " Shadows can be broken, but never held."

I watch him closely, my hand still clutching my mace, ready to swing it at a moment's notice. Whatever game this hermit is playing, I intend to be ready for it.

After all, in this tower, nothing is ever as it seems - and the only person I trust is the woman standing beside me, bleeding and battered but still standing tall against the darkness.