The Paladin in the Abyss

"What I'm most concerned about is Tijana's plight, and quite frankly, your reason for being here is likely related to this." Lancelot said, his face grave as water, "I guess I won't like what you're about to say next, but go ahead, I'm ready."

The Gray Dwarf scrutinized Lancelot, as if trying to find evidence of wavering in the Human Knight's eyes, but Lancelot did not let him succeed. After about three heartbeats, the former Dwarf Legion Commander looked away and continued:

"Sometimes I wonder if our mistress also has balls, otherwise where does she get such courage. Facing Grazzt, I must admit that just seeing that dark figure makes me strongly want to flee, and the only thing keeping me standing there is the sight of our mistress. She did not evade, choosing instead to confront Lord Wu'an, who wielded a flame-shaped Great Sword, atop her own castle."

"Tijana is not only a powerful Spellcaster but also an excellent warrior." Lancelot nodded, "Given the circumstances, defeating Grazzt was the only path to victory."

"Oh, of course, but that was impossible." Todak Stoneshield shrugged, "Tijana's spells had little effect on Grazzt, and there was a problem with Lord Wu'an's sword—each strike spewed strong acid, corroding our mistress's Longsword, Shield, armor, and flesh, suppressing her completely without the ability to retaliate. Just three rounds in, the outcome of the battle was quite clear, but our mistress persisted for nearly a minute before deciding to give up."

"Give up?" Lancelot frowned, "What does that mean?"

"She put away her weapons and flew into the sky with her wings. I must admit, for a moment, I was deeply disappointed, as I was sure she was going to flee. Grazzt clearly thought so too and did not pursue, just standing there with a cold smile, because our mistress's departure meant the battle was over, and Twin Bridges Town would be his for the taking... as would we."

Each Moradin's Temple houses a forge that will burn eternally as long as the temple stands unforsaken. The temple, originally filled with the low whispers of dwarves, was dead silent now, except for the crackling flame within the forge as if even the Dwarves' God was listening intently.

"Our mistress flew to the sky, looking down at her shattered domain with an expression unbefitting a defeated. 'You have defeated me, Grazzt,' she proclaimed, her voice as loud as thunder in summer, 'but you will gain nothing but ruins!'"

"In the next moment, her whole body ignited with silver flames, and an eerie sun seemed to appear in the sky. Blue light began to emanate from people's bodies, and one by one, they vanished from sight. Soon, blue light emanated from my body, followed by a whirl of intense dizziness, as if the entire world was spinning around me. In the following moment, I found myself lying on the floor of this temple, right where I was standing now, surrounded by dwarves in a panic."

"Silver flames?" Lancelot's eyes widened, turning to look at Mistrala's follower, "I heard you mention it before, but isn't that..."

"Silverfire is indeed a symbol for the Goddess of Magic's chosen ones, but to them, Silverfire acts more like a weapon, not some... fuel." Kalalin's expression was grave, "I once read in ancient scriptures dating back to the Neatheril Era, that when a magician ignites the primordial magic power contained within their soul, silver flames also appear..."

"Ignite the soul?" Lancelot was startled, "What does that do?"

"It greatly enhances the magician's spellcasting capabilities in a short time, allowing her to produce all sorts of spell effects at her will, even reaching divine levels. In reality, aside from this method, there's no other way to teleport so many people out of battle, but the consequences are severe—she would permanently lose her spell-casting abilities as a magician..." Kalalin paused, looking worriedly at Lancelot, "If she indeed survives the soul fire."

"What about Tijana?" The Human Knight abruptly stood up from his seat, "Did anyone see what ultimately happened to her?"

"I don't know," The Gray Dwarf turned his head to glance around, "If Moradin hasn't blessed our mistress with safety, then I won't worship Him anymore."

"You!"

"Outrageous!"

"Blasphemer! Get out of here!"

Amid the crowd erupted cries and insults, Todak Stoneshield stiff-necked refusing to retract his statement.

"Minding your words, Gray Dwarf," Moradin's Priest said coldly, "You now stand under the canopy of the Father God, enjoying His protection."

"Oh? Are you going to throw me out? Don't think I've forgotten how this temple was built, without Lady Tijana it's just a pile of rubble..."

"What do you want? For Tijana, a Tanari, to become a saint of the Dwarves' God? She doesn't qualify!"

"The unworthy ones are you, you bunch of ungrateful potatoes!"

"This is an insult to the Father God! You traitor of treachery!"

The Gray Dwarf did not stand entirely without supporters, as many dwarves expressed their support after his unreserved words, obviously beyond Vito's expectations. A fierce debate broke out among the crowd, and before things spiraled out of control, Lancelot intervened decisively. He slammed the stone table in front of him and shouted:

"Stop!"

The Human Knight's voice carried a special blunt force, making everyone inside the temple feel like they had swallowed a ball of unpassable and unregurgitatable air, producing mumbled mutters and not a single intelligible word.

"I don't know what dictates of the Father of Dwarves are like, and I am sure Tijana doesn't care about it, but if she sacrificed herself to get you out of the death trap, there's no way she wants to see you succumb to division and infighting."

Lancelot was pleased to find that, without much additional effort, he could make everyone in the room seriously listen to him.

"In fact, she sent me a message in the last moment, asking me to come here. I thought there would be clues on how to resurrect her, but it seems she referred to someone needing help here. Well, before discussing your predicament, I would like to ask a few more questions related to Tijana. I need to know her fate. Did any of you see that no other companions were left by your side when you teleported here? Or was anyone the last to be teleported to this place?" Lancelot waved his hand, "You may speak now, maintain order."