At dawn, the urn containing the ashes of "Mr. Dwarf Victim X" was placed on a wooden shelf in Murphy's office. For some strange reason—perhaps to make things feel more "ceremonial"—Triss had even gone out of her way to find a dwarf-style pottery urn to hold the ashes.
Actually, according to dwarf tradition, a metal urn would obviously have been more proper.
For example, Brass Dwarves used brass or gold urns, while Silver Dwarves naturally used silver ones. Frost Dwarves usually used cold iron urns. This unique tradition was why the great dwarf tombs were always full of valuable things. But there weren't many grave robbers on the continent who dared to sneak into dwarf cemeteries. The dwarves' pettiness and devotion to tradition were beyond human comprehension. If you offended them, they would remember the debt until the day you died.
In extreme cases, they might even take it out on your descendants. After all, dwarves were long-lived, and they really did hold grudges.
Still, Murphy thought that even if they sent the urn back to Frosthold in the Great Wilderness according to dwarf tradition, the Frost Dwarves might not want it.
The ashes had, after all, been "tainted."
Even if the witch hunters did everything in their power to cleanse them, it would be difficult to restore any further dignity to the deceased.
Even after death, he had been exploited by Twilight, nearly causing a catastrophe that would have turned Transia into a "barren wasteland stretching a thousand miles." If that dwarf gold-rank powerhouse knew what had happened from beyond the grave, he might even thank the vampires for granting him "salvation."
"Sorry to trouble you, Mr. X. You'll have to 'stay here' for a while."
Murphy straightened the dwarf's urn, then gently patted it with his hand. In