Round 372

Varikka's face twists in alarm as she sees Merrin's intention. "No! It's too dangerous—" Her warning cuts off as the floor beneath them heaves again. The cables snap taut, yanking the entire structure downward with a groan of straining stone. Varikka lunges for a support beam, her powerful arms wrapping around it just in time to avoid being pulled over the edge. Her mace clatters to the ground below. "Merrin!" she screams, her voice echoing in the cavernous space.

Merrin, already moving towards the book, finds herself suddenly weightless as the floor gives way completely. She flails for a moment before her hand closes on a protruding stone spike. The momentum of her fall twists her body, and she lets out a cry of pain as her ankle turns sharply. Hanging there, she looks down to see Varikka clinging to the beam far below, her friend's face pale with fear. "I'm okay!" Merrin shouts, though her voice wavers. The spike she's holding begins to crack under the strain.

The sound of rushing water fills the air as a hidden channel opens somewhere nearby. A torrent of icy water bursts forth, spraying upwards and soaking both women. Merrin gasps as the cold hits her, her grip slipping on the wet stone. She redoubles her efforts, trying to find another handhold. "Varikka!" she calls out, her teeth chattering. "Can you see any way up?"

Below, Varikka scans the crumbling walls frantically. Her eyes land on a narrow passage angling upward, barely visible in the dim light. "There!" she shouts, pointing it out. "It might lead to solid ground above this mess." She starts climbing, her powerful arms hauling her body upward with practiced ease despite the precarious footing. The water pressure is increasing by the second, and she can feel the structure groaning beneath her hands.*

Merrin watches Varikka's ascent with a mix of relief and growing terror. The stone spike she's holding is giving way faster now, and the crack is spreading. She reaches out desperately with her free hand, fingers scrabbling for anything to grab onto. "Shit," she mutters, as another chunk of rock crumbles away. The water is spraying harder now, creating a mist that makes it even harder to see. Her leg throbs with pain, and she can feel the blood from her calf wound mixing with the icy water.

Just as Merrin thinks she might slip, her searching fingers find a gap in the stone. She wedges her hand in, then her wrist, creating a precarious but stable hold. With a grunt of effort, she begins to pull herself upwards, using her good leg to push against the wall for leverage. The climb is agonizingly slow, each movement sending fresh waves of agony through her twisted ankle.

Varikka reaches the top of the passage and pauses, catching her breath. She turns back towards Merrin's position, shielding her eyes against the spray. "Merrin!" she calls down. "You're almost there—keep going!"

Merrin doesn't respond verbally, focusing all her energy on the climb. Her muscles burn with exertion, and she can feel her grip weakening from the cold. But she forces herself to keep moving, inch by painful inch, until finally her head clears the top of the passage. She hauls herself over the edge with a final desperate heave, collapsing onto solid ground.

Below, the structure gives way completely with a thunderous roar. A massive plume of water erupts from the newly opened channel, swallowing Varikka's position and everything around it in a churning torrent. Merrin stares in horrified disbelief as the last glimpse of her friend disappears beneath the roiling surface.