Thud!
"Aaaah!! Someone's broken in!"
"Enough! Quiet!"
The bloodied head, its face already smashed out of shape, was thrown onto the floor with a dull thud. Through the blood covering its face, the terror of the once-elegant interrogator was still visible.
Thaurissan could handle it. After all, he had personally lived through the War of the Three Hammers and ruled Shadowforge City with an iron fist for three hundred years. He had long since grown accustomed to death. Rhaella, however, could not. Princess Bronzebeard had been born into an exalted position, and she had continued to live in luxury after marrying into Shadowforge City. When had she ever faced such a bloody scene?
Rhaella cried out and hid completely behind Thaurissan as he rose from his throne, Warhammer in hand. The King of Shadowforge was no fool, either. He did not summon the guards; instead, he barked an angry command, silencing the panicked squires.
These squires were the Royal Family's most loyal servants. The Dark Iron Dwarves frequently used spells, and double-dealers found it difficult to rise through the tightly controlled court. Thaurissan knew that if he let the guards rush in now and see Gest's mangled head, the conflict between the Twilight Cultists and the Dark Iron populace, which he had kept suppressed, would erupt instantly.
No one wanted to live alongside Cultists, not even the naturally cunning Dark Iron Dwarves.
Thaurissan gripped the dark iron Warhammer, the Dissenter, with a Shadow Orb held in his other hand. He watched the Paladin who had leaped out of thin air warily, his voice low and filled with disgust and anger.
"Do you imagine you won't die? Paladins really are an unlikable bunch, especially those who wander into forbidden areas at will. Your audacity will be punished. The Grand Colosseum will