No matter how hard they tried, Ghilanna and Svinjko couldn’t calm Rutmuik down. He kept charging at Phisola, pushing them aside easily thanks to his muscular strength while cursing the worst possible obscenities all the while. However, his short legs couldn’t keep up with the devil who outpaced him easily, bouncing backward faster than he could run after her.

But it wasn’t long before Rutmuik started feeling tired. His rage fueled his body for a while until, eventually, the strain on his legs came crashing down on him. Even though he was mad with rage, a part of him knew he’d never be able to catch the devil. He considered getting his trusty crossbow and shooting the damn thing, but at this point his legs were too tired to walk back to his tent.

A logical part of his brain understood that the devil got him beat.

So, he did the best thing he could to get rid of his boiling rage. He started smashing and crushing everything he could get his hands on.

“What in the world are you doing, Rutmuik! We need that!” Ghilanna screamed as he started smashing the crates with emergency supplies using his bare hands.

“Whoa! Calm down Rutmuik, we need those!” Svinjko joined her right away.

But the devil grabbed them by the shoulders, stopping them from approaching the dwarf, “No, let him vent.”

“Are you stupid!” Ghilanna yelled at the devil, “He will smash all the supplies! Is that what this is all about? Is that why you’ve enraged him so?”

Apparently, Rutmuik heard them because he stopped smashing the crates and switched to smashing his own head instead. He sat on the ground near the damaged supplies and started punching himself in the head.

“What are you doing, Rutmuik?” Ghilanna yelled as she ran towards him, trying to grab his arms. The elf was too weak to stop the dwarf though, and made no difference.

“Arhgjt ahit hiaif ehiite I haith enaieh itea wi …” Rutmuik roared non-sensical, gibberish words as he kept on punching himself repeatedly. He didn’t punch his face though, opting to punch his forehead or sides instead.

“Just leave him to it. He will be done with it soon enough,” the devil said, “He just needs to smash something to release his rage, and it might as well be his own stupid head.”

“You’re the one who made him like this!” Ghilanna pointed a finger at the devil accusingly.

“No, I didn’t. It’s his own foolish pride. He’s the one who proposed we break our contract …”

“Stop pretending you’re oh so innocent, devil,” Ghilanna pressed on, poking the devil’s chest with her finger, “You knew exactly what you were doing! Don’t you dare play stupid with me!”

The devil smirked at her, “Ok, I admit it. Yes, I knew what I was doing. But what’s the alternative, to have him work on that thing for an entire moon?”

“And how is this supposed to help?” Ghilanna yelled as she pointed at Rutmuik with both hands. He was still punching his head, although he became far less vigorous about it.

“I can tell you have no idea how to deal with the dwarves. This is all a part of the negotiation.”

“Are you serious?”

“She is a devil, Ghilanna,” Svinjko said, “I objected to making a deal with her for a reason.”

“Now, miss not-so-young elf, watch and learn how you negotiate with the dwarves.“

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The devil approached Rutmuik until only a single step separated them. He finally stopped punching himself in the head, looking up at her face tiredly.

“Are you enjoying yourself, you sadistic whore?” His tone was low, yet full of hate, “Are you enjoying the show?”

“Very much,” She responded with a sadistic grin.

“Do you want to see some more?”

“Yes, please.”

The dwarf punched himself in the head a few more times.

“Oh, I didn’t see that. Could you do it again?” The devil’s voice became very teasing.

“I want to curse you, but you’re not worth it.”

“It wouldn’t work on a devil anyway.”

A few moments of awkward silence followed. Most of the other adventurers gathered around them at this point, expecting the dwarf to lunge at the devil once again.

“I’ve told you what I used to be,” the devil broke the silence, “You should’ve realized I know the ins and outs of a dwarven society.”

“So you decided to use it to ruin me?”

“I chose to knock down an arrogant dwarf a peg or two. All I did was accept your proposal.”

“You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you? You sadistic …” the dwarf stopped his sentence midway.

The devil smiled at that, “I am. I love putting people in their place. I love letting the artisans know they aren’t indispensable and can’t always have their way.”

“And you would take my gifts and blessings away just for that?”

“And you would take my time away just to make it easier for yourself?”

The two stared each other in the eyes, none of them blinking.

“You know what I’m talking about,” the devil continued, “You should’ve realized by now that I do know.”

“It’s just a week or two.”

“And what if some of you get killed in a week or two? Or even worse, what if my companion gets killed? He is frail as fuck and can’t fight for shit. A week or two in a dungeon is not the same as a week or two during a peacetime … fool.”

“Losing that time could affect my craft.”

“It could, but it won’t, because to be down here …” the devil rolled her eyes once she realized something, “Well, you dwarves are always underground anyway. It won’t affect your craft because you must be a skilled artisan to do some dungeon delving. So clearly, you can focus when you really want to. It might be damn uncomfortable for you, but I’m sure you can pull it off.”

The devil bent forward, putting her face close to his, “You aren’t some beginner, aren’t you?”

Rutmuik stared her in the eyes without saying a word.

“Oh?” the devil said teasingly, “I guess you are smarter than I expected. Most dwarves would take the bait.”

“You devils are all cowards. You wouldn’t provoke me like this unless you were absolutely sure you could get away with it.”

The devil straightened up and started laughing, “That’s right! Devils are calculating, unlike the emotional dwarves.”

The dwarf’s eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” The devil continued, “How a race that is so proud of its engineering and mathematical prowess can’t calculate its behavior.”

Still, the dwarf said nothing. He sat on the ground with his legs spread out, looking in the distance and ignoring the devil.

So, the devil kneeled in front of him and put her hands on his knees. That forced him to look at her again.

“Look,” the devil said, staring him in the eyes, “I know I’ve just made an enemy out of you for a lifetime, but I have far more important things to think about right now. Do you want your blessings back?”

Still, the dwarf said nothing. But his face reacted though, staring at the devil with ever-increasing hate.

“You can get your blessings back. You don’t have to be an oath-breaker for the rest of your life. And all you need to do is allow me to inspect your work every day. Whenever my companion and I come here with the materials, I will inspect your work and see if you have added any more … unnecessary decorations. I won’t break our deal right now, but I will if I see you spending your time beautifying that thing.”

The devil waited for a response, but she got none.

“Our deal still stands,” she continued, “We didn’t break it. And the initial agreement was to finish the work as soon as possible. I am well within my rights to make such demands. Besides, it’s not like anyone else will see the thing. It’s not like I will push it through the portal. I just need it to serve a very specific function, and that’s it.”

The devil made another pause, but the dwarf refused to engage in the conversation.

“Ok, I understand. I get it. You’re defiant and spiteful and all that. You have your pride that you can’t compromise, and you can’t make compromises that reduce the artistic value of your work. But your choice is very simple. Either become an oath-breaker or make this one compromise. And we both know what your god thinks of either of these options. A single small misstep or a colossal failure. The choice is yours.”

The devil stood up, looking down on the dwarf with an air of superiority, “I will return tomorrow as usual and inspect your work. You don’t have to say anything, what I see on it will tell me everything I need to know.”

With that, the devil fetched her companion and left the camp.