Round 64

Jeane hovers above the chasm's edge, her dark wings beating slowly to maintain position as she surveys the unfolding disaster below. This is why I insisted on a proper tactical assessment before rushing in! The ancient guardian's roar echoes up from the abyss, and Jeane's crimson eyes narrow dangerously. Seraphine! Halie! Varrika has lapsed into an unnatural stupor—the creature is clearly targeting her specifically. We need to understand WHY it fixates on that elf before we can safely e...

Seraphine grits her teeth, the magical barrier around them flickering under the strain as she fights to maintain it. The air is thick with power, the very stones humming—ward may be active and hostile. "No," she hisses aloud, more to herself than anyone else. She can't abandon Varrika, not when the other woman's life hangs in the balance. Besides, Merrin's voice still echoes from below—they need to find a way down, to help him too. Her fingers move in intricate patterns as she begins weaving another spell, this one designed to pierce through solid matter and reveal what lies beneath. "I'm not leaving them," she thinks back to Jeane, her voice firm despite the terror clutching at her heart. The magical ward shimmers around them, a fragile shield against the encroaching darkness.

Merrin's heart hammers in her chest as she feels the ground tremble beneath her feet, the sound of pursuit growing ever closer. She risks a glance over her shoulder, her eyes widening in terror at the sight of the Ancient Prison Guardian barreling towards them, its malevolent gaze fixed on Varrika. "Varrika, wake up!" she cries out, her voice barely audible over the roar of falling water and the guardian's enraged snarl. "We have to move now!" She turns to Halie, who is frantically trying to cast a spell but struggling with the ambient magical interference.