Round 28

In the oppressive darkness of the tower's entrance hall, the party stands in tense formation—Jeane tracing arcane patterns with her fingers, Merrin aiming her crossbow into the shadows, Seraphine casting detection spells, and Varrika holding the front line with mace raised. The air crackles with residual magic and the stench of decay as the recently destroyed skeletal warrior begins to reanimate once more in the center of the hallway.

"Stay sharp but don't engage unless absolutely necessary," Jeane warns softly, her crimson eyes glowing faintly as she studies the ward markings on the floor. "The wards are like tripwires across this hallway—probably rigged to summon more of those boneheads if we step wrong."

Merrin nods grimly, crossbow trained down but ready to raise at a moment's notice. The darkness presses in around them, thick and cloying, while the sound of scuttling movements grows louder from deeper within the tower.

Seraphine completes her spell, a faint glow emanating from her outstretched hand as she maps the magical signatures etched into the stone. "Those aren't just marks on the floor," she murmurs to Jeane. "They're like tripwires, ready to summon more of those boneheads if we step wrong."

Varrika shifts her stance slightly, mace held at the ready as she scans the corridor ahead for any movement. The weight of the heavy tome presses against her back—a constant reminder of the dangerous artifact they carry and the malevolent presence it seems to emanate.

The ground shudders beneath their feet, stone grinding against stone as one section of the hallway wall begins to slide...