The castle grounds had all been transformed into thick rock by mud-to-stone magic. Yet in a secluded corner of the castle, a huge opening had been carved into the solid stone floor, with a bottomless passage slanting down into the depths. Threads of icy air billowed out from the opening, making those standing nearby shiver despite themselves.
Several thousand dwarven warriors, clad in heavy armor and carrying massive warhammers, swayed their way down the passage.
Several devil warriors stood near the passage entrance, greedily eyeing the fine armor on the dwarven warriors. They smacked their lips from time to time. If not for the devil lords' strict orders forbidding them from causing trouble here, they would have been tempted to rob them outright.
The Fourth Abyss was still only the Fourth Abyss. Though vast in territory and rich in resources, it lacked dwarven craftsmen skilled in forging. All their weapons and armor were exceedingly crude—when had these devil warriors ever seen military gear of such quality?
Barrel stood at the passage entrance, carrying an enormous barrel. He gulped down rum, his blood-red eyes sizing up the devil warriors assigned to receive them with undisguised hostility. Letting out a thunderous belch, Barrel grumbled unhappily, "Fine, we're all unlucky bastards who died in battle! Our corpses were dragged underground by those damned cave men and used as fertilizer! I don't like that explanation one bit!"
The devil warriors likewise looked Barrel up and down with great displeasure. They were equally unhappy with this bizarre situation.
They should not have been here serving these dwarves—whose tempers were more explosive than devils' and whose dispositions were fouler than demons'—like pampering some lord. They should have been among the siege army outside the city, bravely taking the castle, slaughtering every last one of these damned