There had been explosions on Deathbringer’s Rise for days now. The Ashen Verdict’s “top gnomes” had been slowly working on the door into the spire, after an initial brute force attack had gotten them nowhere. The gnomes had shifted from trying to crack the huge mass of stone and saronite to working on the hinges.

At last, there was a popping sound, and then another one, the distinctive almond smell of seaforium and then the two doors fell inward, landing with heavy thuds.

“We’re in! All right, sweethearts, ye’re a team and there’s nothin’ to worry about. We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna kick some, is that understood? That’s what we gonna do, sweethearts: We are going to go and get some. All right, people! Are ye lean?”

“Yeah!”

“Are ye mean?”

“Yeah!”

“WHAT ARE YE?”

“LEAN AND MEAN!”

“Move it out! Move it out, Khaz damn it! Get hot! One, two, three, four! Go, go, go! Move in, move in, move in! Move in, move in, move in! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! Arrrgh, absolute badasses! Let’s pack ’em in! Get in there!”