The Paladin in the Abyss

"Divine revelation! It's divine revelation!" Dwarf Priest Witt exclaimed in panic, "Father God has shown His stance!"

"It seems the great Father of Dwarves also agrees with my viewpoint." Lancelot studied the Blacksmith Hammer in his hand, sensing a special kind of power within it, "So, regarding our plan to leave the Abyss, does anyone still object?"

What responded to him was a stony silence; even the most faithless Gray Dwarves found no hint of opposition in their hearts upon hearing the creator's hammer strike.

"Excellent." Lancelot nodded, "Now that the goal is clear, the next step is figuring out how to proceed. Kalalin, tell us, what conditions do we need to create a portal out of the Abyss?"

"That will be extremely, extremely difficult, virtually unfeasible." Kalalin shrugged, "I suggest you think of other methods..."

"Why is that?" Lancelot scratched his head, puzzled, "Every time our adventure ends, we use the Emblem Tijana gave us to teleport back to Twin Bridges Town, which doesn't seem complicated either..."

"Firstly, your girlfriend is a legendary spellcaster capable of using Ninth Circle spellcraft by mere talent, which is not simple at all." The Goddess of Magic's devotee glared helplessly at the Human Knight, "Secondly, although an Emblem can teleport several people together, that's completely different from a portal—in other words, imagine there's a river in front of you, teleportation magic would be like swimming to the other side, while a portal would be building a bridge across...do you understand my point?"

"You're saying that opening a portal is much more difficult?"

"Exactly, creating an inter-planar portal, a Gate of the Otherworld, is a Ninth Circle spellcraft, far beyond my casting ability." Kalalin spread her hands, "Moreover, due to the chaotic nature of the Abyssal Plane, portals opened from other planes would be highly inaccurate, as we've experienced not long ago. In other words, a spellcaster must personally enter the Abyss to build the bridge from this side—from the river. Honestly, I believe that somewhere in the Multiverse exists a great Arcanist both capable and willing to help, but finding this great Arcanist is extremely difficult and I doubt if we have enough time."

"Alright, you've convinced me." Lancelot sat down again, "Since a temporary portal won't work, what about a permanent one? I recall you mentioned to me before about Portal Town, where permanent portals connect different outer-layer planes..."

"Indeed, the Portal Town from the Outer Layer to the Abyssal Plane is the infamous Plague City, while on the Abyss side, there's a town called Broken Realm, whose Lord is a Succubus named Red Shroud, one of the many daughters of the Queen of the Succubus." Kalalin nodded, "The problem is, Broken Realm is currently occupied by a massive Devil army, according to our last report when Volcano Fortress fell. With the war intensifying, I doubt the invaders from Barto Hell would spare a thousand seasoned blacksmiths. Furthermore, the distance from here to there exceeds five hundred miles, all across a battleground drenched in blood. For a small squad like ours it might be doable, but for a dwarf legion of over a thousand? Forget this idea, it's impossible..."

"Truly uplifting news." Lancelot covered his face, "To send so many people, only a permanent portal will do. But where am I supposed to find another permanent portal... wait... a permanent portal..."

He suddenly paused, as if struck by a revelation, then clapped his hands and smiled:

"Haha, I've thought of a brilliant idea, it will definitely work!"

"Really?" Kalalin looked at Lancelot skeptically, "Don't tell me your bizarre spellcraft can also create portals..."

"Of course not, I've thought of a permanent portal we can leave through, with relatively low risk." Lancelot chuckled, "Blame me, blame me, how did I not think of it earlier..."

"Lancelot, what are you talking about?" Alamir rubbed his beardless chin, "If you know something, we should know too..."

"Remember Koula? And Cromwell?" Lancelot smiled slightly at the Elf, "How did they leave the Abyss?"

"That talking flying skull?" The Elf Priest was stunned for a moment, then showed a look of sudden realization, "Are you talking about... Androlina?"

"Exactly! You seem to have figured it out too..." Lancelot turned his gaze to the others still puzzled, "Androlina is the 471st layer of the Abyss, originally one of the rare levels where good and evil were evenly matched. However, during one of our previous adventures, we helped the Aira Celestials there achieve a major victory, and within their territory lies a permanent portal to the Fields of Joy. The names mentioned earlier were among our former companions; they departed the Abyss through that portal."

"But we can't even reach Broken Realm in the same layer, so how can we reach the 471st layer of the Abyss?" Braunville, the former Chief Commissioner of the Craftsmen Committee, couldn't help but speak, "Sir Lancelot, you must have some special method, right?"

"Correct." Lancelot nodded, "To reach Androlina, we must first head to the neutral city of Mogrondale in the Great Abyss. We can travel via water, as the nearest access to the Stygian River is only a day or two's journey from here. If we ride a boat piloted by a Ferryman Demon and pay enough fare, it'll be a swift and safe trip."

"But...we didn't bring any gold when we left Twin Bridges Town..." The Dwarf Commissioner awkwardly stroked his beard, "Also, where would we find those Stygian boatmen?"

"Ha! Don't worry about that, everyone!" Bruto excitedly jumped from his chair, "Remember the last time Demons attacked Twin Bridges Town? Lancelot tied himself to the bow and destroyed all the enemy's siege bridges in one move...The boat we were on is named the Bone Duke Ship; it's our personal yacht, and we can summon it wherever on the Stygian River..."

"No need to worry about money either." Lancelot said with a smile, "Since Tijana entrusted this to me, I'll surely handle the employee arrangements well. Once we reach Mogrondale, we'll journey in the Great Abyss towards Androlina's entrance. Although the journey might be challenging, as the Great Abyss isn't a place suited for hiking, we need to traverse near-vertical cliffs, but I believe this isn't a problem for the Dwarves. Moreover, Lord Level Demons can't enter the Great Abyss, and as for enemies below Lord Level...you brought weapons with you when you left Twin Bridges Town, right?"