Round 691

Merrin lunges forward instinctively, her hands grasping at empty space above the chasm's edge. "Varikka!" She drops to her stomach, crawling towards the ledge's brink. The ground beneath her trembles again, more violently this time, and Merrin feels a surge of panic rise in her throat.

She can hear the dwarf woman's labored breathing echoing up from the darkness. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?" The ground shifts again, sending a cascade of small stones tumbling into the abyss below. Merrin flattens herself against the stone, her heart hammering in her chest.

She knows they don't have much time—the chamber is unstable, the air thick with noxious gas, and the Guardian is still advancing, its footsteps echoing ominously across the stone floor. "Hold on!" she calls down, her voice shaking. "I'm coming!"

She can see Varikka's silhouette below, clinging to a precarious outcropping of rock. The dwarf woman's injured ankle is clearly visible in the dim light, swollen and bruised, and Merrin feels a fresh wave of fear wash over her.

She knows Varika is in no condition to climb back up, not with that ankle. And the fall could have done even more damage. "Varikka!" she screams again, her voice cracking with panic. "Talk to me! Tell me you're okay!"

But there's no response except for the echo of her own voice and the dwarf woman's ragged breathing. Merrin feels a surge of helplessness rise in her throat. She's trapped on this ledge, the Guardian closing in, and her friend is injured and alone in the darkness below.