Round 707

The chamber groaned around them like a beast waking from slumber, stone grinding against stone in protest. Merrin pressed herself against the wall, her dark eyes wide and alert despite the persistent throb in her skull from the noxious gas they'd inhaled moments before. The Guardian stood between them and the only visible exit—a heavy iron door now barred by its massive frame.

"Varikka!" she hissed, her voice barely audible over the creaking of stressed rock. "We can't fight that thing! It's too strong!" The halfing woman's gaze darted around the room, searching for any alternative—another passage, a hidden door, anything—but the chamber remained stubbornly featureless save for the ominous symbols carved into the walls and floor. The air grew thicker, harder to breathe, as if the very atmosphere was conspiring against them.

"Think!" Merrin muttered to herself, her quick fingers already working at the straps of her pack. "There has to be a way out of here that doesn't involve facing down a monster with no healing potions!" The Guardian's next move broke her concentration. It...