Round 712

Merrin's voice cracks with desperation as she pounds on the iron door separating her from Varikka. "Varikka! Answer me, are you alright?" The silence that greets her is terrifying. She can hear distant rumblings of stone shifting and the Guardian's monstrous roar echoing through the tower, but nothing from her friend on the other side. "Varikka, please!" Her fist aches from hammering against unyielding iron, but she doesn't stop. The noxious gas still clogs her throat with each breath, making it hard to think clearly. She needs to know Varikka is okay, needs to hear her voice before the tower comes down around them both.