Round 650 Transcript

The Guardian's voice booms through the passageway, "You will never escape me!" The ground shudders beneath their feet as the walls begin to close in faster. Merrin grunts in effort as she hauls Varikka forward, her own strength waning from the exertion. Suddenly, a section of the ceiling above them gives way, sending a shower of dust and debris down upon them. The Guardian's laughter echoes through the chamber, "You're running out of time!"

I grit my teeth against the pain, my heart pounding as Merrin hauls me along. "The Guardian is right," I pant, my voice strained. "We're not getting out of here." The dwarf warrior's ankle throbs like a bastard, but she knows we can't stop now. Not with the walls closing in and the Guardian's voice echoing through the chamber. "We need to find another way," she says, her eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of escape. "There has to be another way out of this damn place."

I grit my teeth, my heart hammering against my ribs as I haul Varikka along the narrowing passageway. The Guardian's taunting voice echoes through the crumbling stone walls, spurring me to move faster even as my own strength begins to fade. "Hold on!" I shout over the rumbling of the collapsing ceiling. "We're almost-"

My words cut off with a yelp as a shower of dust and debris rains down upon us, pelting my shoulders and back. I stagger forward, nearly losing my footing on the shifting ground. Varikka's weight pulls at my grip, threatening to send us both tumbling to the unforgiving stone. "Merrin!" Varikka cries out, her voice strained with pain and fear. I take a deep breath, steeling myself as I haul the dwarf warrior forward once more. The Guardian's laughter rings in my ears, a maddening cacophony that sets my teeth on edge. But I push it down, focusing instead on the feel of Varikka's solid warmth beside me, the steady rhythm of her breathing. We're running out of time, but we're not out of options yet. There has to be another way out of this nightmare. And by the gods, I'll find it if it's the last thing I do.