Luka, who had overheard Edna and the others, came over too. "It's not just the copper and iron ore. Neverwinter's bluestone and quartz deposits are huge too!
"Even if... ah... surely they couldn't just change the nature of an entire mountain range?"
Everyone nearby knew whom he meant.
Dervis could only give a wry smile and tap Luka on the head. "Don't be ridiculous. Small fry like us don't warrant anything on that scale. It was probably going to happen anyway.
"We just happened to be here when it did.
"Tch. An eruption this powerful, with such a strong smell of sulfur... don't tell me it connects straight to the Bottomless Abyss?
"It makes no sense. People have always looked down on how Neverwinter does things, but surely they haven't sunk to summoning Demons outright?
"Even if some Demon worshippers wanted to sacrifice Neverwinter, most of the city's people would have to fall first!"
"Huh?" Luka scratched his head. "But to cause something this terrifying, wouldn't it have to be a Demon Lord? Didn't all those big shots get kicked out of Toril when the Spellplague began?"
He flicked his wrist and cast an elemental summoning spell, then swiftly severed the connection and leaped away. A spatial rift tore open where he had stood.
"Still can't summon creatures from other planes! Not even elementals, so anything else is even more out of the question." Only after the rift vanished did the quick-moving Luka speak with a solemn expression.
Just three meters from the rift, Dervis spoke through a body gone almost rigid. "Luka... what the hell are you doing? You weren't satisfied when the earthquake failed to kill you? You have to go looking for death yourself?"
"Don't worry about me, Dervis. You'll get used to it. It's an alchemist's