Round 619

Merrin freezes mid-crawl as the crack of a crossbow firing echoes through the darkness ahead. She lies flat on her stomach, pressing herself against the cold stone floor as she tries to process what just happened. The bolt that whizzed past her head moments ago had come from somewhere ahead in the darkness, and she knows it wasn't Varikka - her friend is still trapped at the bottom of the shaft behind them. Her mind races as she considers her options. She could call out to see if whoever fired the shot will reveal themselves, but that feels like a terrible idea. Instead, she slowly reaches for her own crossbow, lying beside her on the floor, and begins to back away from the direction the bolt came from. As she moves, she hears it again - the unmistakable sound of someone moving through rubble just ahead. They're coming closer. Merrin's heart pounds in her chest as she realizes she's trapped between two threats - trapped under collapsing shelves with no healing potions and Varikka injured at the bottom of a shaft behind her, and now some unknown assailant ahead. She has to make a decision quickly.

She knows she can't fight effectively while crawling on her stomach, so she rolls onto her back and aims her crossbow up at the ceiling, ready to fire at anyone who comes into view. "Varikka!" she calls out softly. "Are you okay? What's happening down there?" There's no response from below, only the sound of more rubble shifting and falling. Merrin feels a spike of fear - what if Varikka is hurt worse than she thought?