Round 92 Transcript

The tension in The base of a crumbling stone tower, its entrance sealed by an ancient rune-covered gate, deep within the haunted Whispering Woods tightens for a beat as the interruption refuses to go away. Everyone is forced to stay quiet and choose their next move carefully.

I won't let any of us rush into this thing's maw. The runes—Jeane sees them shifting, reacting when Merrin touched those plates. Whatever lies beyond, it's hungry for more than just magic. It wants... essence. Consuming.

I touch the runes on the gate carefully, feeling their power pulse under my fingers. The magic here is ancient and ravenous—it wants essence more than simple trespassers. Merrin's hand still rests on those hidden plates; if she'd kept climbing instead of touching that cursed ironwork... We need to understand this ward completely before we proceed. Varrika, I appreciate your protection but keep the mace ready—I'm not going in blind. Seraphine, document everything you can about these runes and their sequence. Merrin, no more testing plates or 'bypassing' anything until we know what triggers wait inside. The footsteps grow louder now—something within the tower knows we're here. We could retreat, regroup outside the woods, find another way in that doesn't involve playing chess with a starving magical gate. But I didn't drag us through weeks of wilderness only to back away from an ancient power just because it gives me chills. I'm not eager for this fight—too many unknowns—but neither am I willing to let opportunity slip past simply because the entrance is hungrier than expected. We've come too far to turn back now.

I slide my hand back from the pressure plate, skin tingling where it touched the stone. That ward is alive, I'd stake my lockpicks on it. The runes twist and pulse like a nest of angry serpents, hungry for our essence, not just our trespass. The footsteps echo again, closer now. Whatever's in there knows we're here. I catch Halie's eye and jerk my head towards the trees. We could slip away, regroup outside the woods, find another way in that doesn't end with us skewered on some ancient curse. But as much as my legs itch to run, my eyes keep drifting back to those runes. They're old, powerful... and I can almost taste the challenge in their magic. Maybe we could crack them, if we were clever enough. If we didn't rush in like a pack of brawling dwarves. I lick my lips, tasting fear and the tang of excitement. "Alright, you lot," I mutter, drawing my dagger and prying at the gate's edge. "Let's see what we're really dealing with. But keep your wits about you - this thing's playing with us like a cat with a mouse."

The runes writhe under my blade, hissing like angry snakes. I grin, a wild flash of teeth. "Oh, it's going to be fun. But we'd best be quick about it, before whatever's in there decides it's had enough of our poking around."