Round 409

Merrin's eyes widen as Varikka stumbles, her grip tightening on the dwarf's arm as she helps steady her friend. "Easy there," she says, her voice barely audible over the rumble of collapsing stone. "We've got to keep moving. The whole damn tunnel's coming down!" She looks around frantically, searching for any sign of a safe path forward through the choking dust and falling debris.

Varrika grits her teeth against the pain in her ankle, using her crowbar as a makeshift crutch. "Onward," she grunts, more to herself than Merrin. "No time to rest." She can feel the ground shifting beneath her feet with each tentative step, the precariousness of their situation driving home the urgency of their escape.

The sound of rushing water grows louder as they move deeper into the chamber, the source now visible—a dark chasm spanned by a rickety wooden bridge. "Well," Merrin mutters, her voice tinged with morbid amusement, "at least we won't drown in the rubble." She glances back at Varikka, a hint of her usual mischievous smile playing at the corners of her mouth despite their dire circumstances.

Varrika returns the look, her own features twisting into something between a grimace and a smirk. "Speak for yourself," she growls. "I'd rather take my chances with the falling rocks than trust my life to that death trap." She gestures at the bridge with her free hand, the movement causing her to wince as pain flares in her injured wrist.

Before either woman can voice their next thought, a massive boulder comes hurtling down the chamber towards them.