Round 61

Halie's fingers moved through the air, weaving a pattern of light that swirled around Merrin's writhing form. The divine energy shimmered against her skin for a moment before being absorbed into her flesh, but the effect was minimal—the curse pulsed once more, stronger this time, and Merrin screamed in agony as another wave of transformation ripped through her body.

"Fuck!" Jeane hissed, her wings beating uselessly against the thick magical energy that filled the chamber. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, but she knew they couldn't abandon Merrin now—not when the rogue was clearly suffering something beyond physical pain. "Halie! Cast Protection on all of us—now!"

The cleric nodded grimly, her hands already moving into the familiar gestures of a powerful ward spell. Light flared around them, driving back the shadows and momentarily weakening the oppressive atmosphere. But it wasn't enough—the central rune pulsed again, brighter this time, and a low rumble echoed up from below.

Merrin collapsed to the ground, her body twisting in ways that no living creature should move. Her voice was barely human as she cried out: "Halie! The spell—try it on me! Quickly, before..." Another convulsion wracked her frame, cutting off her words mid-sentence.

Jeane felt a chill run down her spine at the sound of Merrin's pain. She took a step forward instinctively, then stopped herself—one wrong move and she might trigger whatever waited beyond the outer ring of runes. "Merrin," she called out, her voice strained with barely-contained panic, "hold on! We're going to figure this out!"

The air around them seemed to thicken further as Halie completed her Protection spell. The divine energy crackled against Jeane's skin like static electricity, offering a thin layer of defense but doing little to ease the ancient dread that filled the chamber. She glanced at the sword floating above the central rune—the Time-Splitting Sword, their original goal—and felt a surge of fresh fear. Whatever this curse was, it had clearly originated from that artifact.

"We need to retrieve the sword," Halie said, her voice tight with determination despite the obvious danger. "But carefully—if we touch it without proper precautions, we might all fall victim to whatever Merrin's experiencing."

Jeane nodded grimly, her eyes never leaving the floating weapon. "Agreed. But first..." She turned to face Merrin, who was now curled into a ball on the ground, her body still twitching occasionally as the curse worked its way deeper into her system. "We need to stabilize her condition before we do anything else. I can try to cast a healing spell—something to ease the pain at least—but I don't know if it'll help against whatever's possessing her."

The central rune pulsed again, sending a fresh wave of malevolent energy washing over them. The runes on the walls responded in kind, their light growing brighter and more intense with each passing moment. It was clear that time was running out—the chamber itself seemed to be awakening from its long slumber, and whatever lay beneath was hungry for more than just Merrin's suffering.

Jeane took a deep breath, steeling herself against the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. "Alright," she said, her voice barely audible over the pulsing of the runes. "Let's save our friend before this place decides it wants seconds."