Round 682

The wood groaned ominously, and then—crack! One of the planks snapped cleanly in two. Merrin [C] barely had time to process what was happening before Varikka lunged forward, grabbing her by the back of her shirt. The sudden jolt sent them both tumbling to the ground, but they managed to land on the solid stone edge of the chasm rather than plummeting into the darkness below. Merrin lay there for a moment, breathing heavily, her heart pounding in her chest. She looked up at Varikka, who was sprawled beside her, and saw the dwarf woman's face pale with pain. "Are you okay?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Varrika shook her head, gritting her teeth against the agony shooting through her ankle. "Not exactly," she managed to say through clenched jaws. "But at least we're not at the bottom of that hole." She tried to sit up, but a fresh wave of pain washed over her, and she collapsed back onto the stone with a groan. Merrin scrambled to her feet, ignoring the protest from her own injured ankle, and looked around frantically for any sign of Varikka. The noxious gas was thicker here, making it hard to breathe, and the sound of falling rocks from the bridge's collapse echoed through the passageway. The wooden bridge itself was a tangled mess now, blocking her view into the depths of the chasm.

She knew Varikka's mace was lost, but she remembered the fighter's determination and resourcefulness. She had to find her friend before the gas or the falling debris made the situation worse.