Round 24

The corridor's darkness presses in like a physical weight, each pulse of the ward sending fresh shadows dancing across the walls. The scuttling sound grows louder, more insistent—multiple points of movement now, echoing from deeper within the tower's embrace. Halie grips her holy symbol tightly, her face pale in the flickering light as she prays for guidance or perhaps just courage. Merrin stands at the entrance, crossbow raised and steady despite the encroaching dark, her eyes scanning every inch of the corridor ahead with a predator's focus. Jeane moves closer to Halie, her wings half-spread as if ready to take flight or shield her friend from whatever horrors might emerge from the depths. Seraphine stands near the doorway, her elegant robes marked by travel and study, her sharp eyes narrowed in concentration as she listens for any subtle shift in the sounds of approaching doom. Varrika moves forward into the tower proper, her heavy mace held at the ready, the darkness pressing in around her like a physical weight. The air grows colder, and an eerie, scuttling noise emanates from the depths of the hallway, growing louder with each passing moment. The ward's pulse intensifies, casting flickering shadows on the walls as the magical energy seems to writhe like a living thing.

Suddenly, a faint, pungent smell wafts through the air, making Halie's eyes water. She winces, her grip tightening on her holy symbol. Jeane pushes her wings tight against her back in the narrow space of the corridor. The ward's pulse is wrong—each beat sends little tremors through the stone underfoot, and she feels it in her teeth. This isn't warding designed to keep out thieves. It is warding designed to make sure things stayed in. 'Listen,' she says to Halie, voice low. 'The ward's geometry is collapsing inward with each pulse. Whatever that voice meant by Devourer, the ward is feeding it energy now we've triggered this.' She traces patterns on the wall with a fingertip, her expression grave. The magic here... it's not just protective. It's hungry.