Round 78

Halie's muttered prayer dissolved into a sharp intake of breath as the ancient runes began their hungry pulse. The stone seemed to breathe around them, each glyph twisting into something almost alive—predatory and watchful. Seraphine stepped closer, her keen elven eyes scanning the ward's surface with clinical intensity while she cataloged every flicker and shift in its magic. Merrin's hand twitched toward hidden tools before freezing mid-reach as the barrier's power surged outward like heat haze from an open furnace. The distortion rippled across the stone in visible waves—proof that this was no ordinary spell. Halie retreated a step, her fingers tightening around the silver cross at her throat as she whispered something urgent under her breath. Jeane circled the gate slowly, her wings shifting beneath her cloak—a subtle betrayal of tension she kept from showing on her face. The runes pulsed with a hungry rhythm—this ward was no mere barrier to be casually bypassed. She turned to Merrin, voice...