Round 5

Jeane moved first, her dark wings spreading wide despite the fatigue that clung to every muscle. "I'll scout ahead with my wings," she said, her crimson eyes fixed on the tower's heights. "If they're feeding on something inside, I can trace the magical current before we commit to entry." She glanced back at Halie and Seraphine, a flicker of something—maybe pride or maybe recklessness—in her expression. "Let me do this one thing—no unnecessary risks in the dark."

Halie stepped forward, her fingers already moving in the air as she began the ward spell. The silver cross at her throat caught what little sunlight filtered through the surrounding trees. "I'll cast a ward over us all—something simple to keep us safe from whatever's feeding on those runes," she said, her voice steady despite the exhaustion that rounded her shoulders. "I need five minutes of quiet and focus." Her blue-grey eyes met Jeane's for a moment, a silent plea to wait before launching into any solo reconnaissance.

Seraphine stood before the tower's massive stone gates, her gaze fixed on the intricate runes etched into their surface. The air crackled with dark energy, raising the fine hairs on her arms. The runes themselves pulsed with an eerie, hungry light. My mind races as I try to decipher their meaning—they seem to be some sort of ward, but not just to keep us out. They’re drawing power from something inside, feeding off it. She turned to look at Merrin, who was studying a small scroll of parchment, no doubt containing the partial map they'd been given. What is she planning? That map is barely more than guesswork—we can't rely on it blindly.

Jeane began tracing one rune after another in the fading light, her fingers leaving faint blue sparks where they touched the stone. The magic here was old—older than any text she'd studied in the forbidden libraries. These wards weren't just barriers; they were feeding on something inside. There was a rhythm to it, like a heartbeat or breath, and she could almost taste the hunger in the air. Whatever powered these defenses wasn't external—the tower itself was alive with dark energy.

Let Halie finish her ward—I need those five minutes of quiet. The sorceress's eyes darted around the perimeter, searching for the source of this power. If she could trace it back to its origin, they might find a way to disrupt or even reverse the flow. But first, they needed protection against whatever might be drawn by her magical probing.

Seraphine watched Jeane work, her own hands itching to join in the arcane investigation. But her role here was different—she was the scholar, the one who would document and understand this ancient magic once they were safely inside. For now, she needed to focus on mapping the visible runes, noting their patterns and trying to deduce their purpose.

What is Merrin doing? The rogue's sudden crouch beside a particularly complex rune set raised Seraphine's suspicions. Was she trying to disable or bypass the wards? That could be disastrous if done carelessly—better to let the specialists handle such delicate work.

The air around them seemed to thicken with anticipation, the tower's hunger growing more palpable by the second. They stood at a crossroads of decision—the sorceress wanted to probe deeper, the priestess needed time to cast her protective ward, and the scholar itched to document everything before them. But the rogue... what was she planning?

Focus. Seraphine forced her attention back to the gates' surface, tracing one rune after another with her eyes. Each mark told a story—if only she could read them all in time.

The tower loomed above them, ancient and hungry, waiting for their next move.