Robbi and her friends had been watching the violent assault up the cliff by the Deev for nearly two hours in morbid fascination onboard the West Wind. They knew from Max's report that the World's End force was proceeding through the tunnels and took a small measure of comfort in the knowledge that the carnage they were witnessing would serve as an effective diversion and possibly save lives among their comrades.

It was a unique battle, fought step by bloody step, with the invulnerable Minge warriors cutting down every monk sent against them. When they were nearly two-thirds of the way up, the monks retreated from the final hundred steps, leaving them clear for the Deev to advance to the cliff-top unopposed. It surprised Robbi that, rather than ascend the now deserted steps immediately, the Deev chose to sit down and rest. She queried Chumley about this development.
"Why did they stop?" she asked.

Chumley, who was leaning on the rail beside her, turned his head away from the battlefield to answer.
"Ah'm no military type, mind ya, but I got a pretty good idea why. These Deev devils can't be hurt on Xenoth, as we 'ave all seen, ain't we? 'Owever, that don't mean they got endless energy or stamina, does it? Other than not bein' able ta be hurt, they ain't no different from us. I figger they've got ta be exhausted...they been slashin' about for a coupla hours now. Their arms and paws got to be pretty tired right about now. Seems Vasheron's lettin' his demons rest a bit before attackin' the castle."

As Chumley spoke, a line of Scarlet Brothers advanced to the edge of the cliff-top and began to rain boulders down on the resting attackers. A few Deev were taken by surprise and knocked off the steep steps, plummeting the two hundred feet down to the beach. Robbi, who had at first diverted her eyes, now watched intently as the Deev who had fallen so forcefully, simply stood up, brushed themselves off and began the long climb back up to their comrades.

The unlucky pirate troops accompanying the Deev who were struck by the projectiles and knocked from their perch did not share the same fortunate outcome as the Minge. They remain motionless, killed by either the stones or the fall.

Prince Vasheron became angry at the rain of stone peppering his troops. He pressed himself against the cliff-face, not wishing to be forced to make the arduous climb back up should he be struck and dislodged from the steps. He instructed his warriors to do likewise. This strategy worked quite well, and soon, though the monks continued their barrage, very few attackers were being struck. Behind the Minge, the pirates adopted the same defense. Vasheron began a steady ascent, pressed against the wall, with his Minge following close behind and the remainder of the crew of the Neure behind them.

"There'th no thopping the Deev now," Thoris noted as he watched from his position between Gladiverserac and Chumley, "they'll be up on top in no time."

"Many more stones they are throwing now," Gladis observed, pointing a wing-tip toward the cliffs.

Indeed, a veritable cloudburst of stones, boulders, and dirt began raining down all along the cliff.

"Ah don't think that's the monks doin'," Chumley said nervously, "there's rocks fallin' into the ocean as far as the eye can see, ain't there? Ah think the earthquakes are getting' worse."

Robbi looked down the coast and saw that what Chumley said was true. Her eyes strayed to the Deev castle itself and above its battlements she saw the faint glow of the moon rising in the west.

"It's the ceremony!" she blurted out, "The ceremony has begun...Azmeritus is awakening the Ürgod! We've run out of time."

The severe tremor which had caused the hail of stones to rain from the cliff took both the Deev force and the defending brothers by surprise. Luckily for Vasheron and his beasts, they were already pressed closely to the stone cliff to avoid the projectiles the monks were chucking down at them. A few of the attackers were shaken loose from the steps and plummeted down to the beach. Those that were Deev recovered and remounted the steps, those that were mortal, did not. The monks lining the cliff-top tried desperately to hold their balance as the earth and stone quivered violently beneath their feet. Not all of them were successful. Mingled amongst the boulders plunging into the sea were bodies clad in scarlet falling like countless rippling flames toward the quenching liquid of the Cold Narrows.

When the ground was once more calm, Vasheron signaled his troops and the entire body made a final rush toward the zenith of the stairs. The remaining monks that had been defending the steps retreated quickly to the rear gate of the castle which was quickly secured behind them. Prince Vasheron waited calmly as a hail of arrows from the castle descended on he and his Deev. He nonchalantly pulled those arrows which struck him from his body as he waited for the rest of his Minge to join him. When the Deev were all assembled he addressed Captain Mobus.

"That was an exhilarating battle," he said with satisfaction, a rare smile hovering on his face, "now we will enter the castle through the tunnel and seek out the mongoose to teach him Deev justice."

"You think he is in the cave behind the waterfall?" Mobus asked.

"Where else would he be? He is performing that ceremony, is he not?"

"I suppose so, my Prince."

"Then he is in the cave. Assemble our warriors by the cistern and we will make our way through the tunnel into the castle."

"What about the rest of our beasts, the pirates?" Mobus asked, "They are still coming up the stairs."

"If they can ignore the arrows as we do, they may join us, but...," Vasheron pointed to a stoat who had just crested the hill in time to be pierced by an arrow through the neck. He fell dead at Vasheron's footpad, "it doesn't appear that will be the case." The Deev Prince turned and walked away, "Leave them to their own devices, they have served their purpose. We don't need them."

The entire force from World's End with the exception of Wilbur, Ursamus, and the Scratchbacks, were deep within the bowels of the mountain beneath Deev Castle when the tremor hit. There were cries of fear and panic for the duration of the shaking, but as Egbert had assured them, the solid stone tunnels and shafts held, with only a light rain of pebbles to assault the Lokians and other volunteers.

Frega, who had always been wary of tight spaces bit hard into his lower lip during the event to keep from showing the fear which filled his warrior frame. When all was calm again, he turned to Ozab urgently.

"We are quickly running out of time. We need to get into the castle before the next earthquake. Our troops seemed to have managed that last shake well, but I fear there may be panic the next time. My wolves, brave as they are in battle, do not like cold, dark narrow spaces...or the prospect of being buried alive."

Ozab chuckled.
"But it does not bother you?" he asked.

Frega cleared his throat.
"Er...not at all...I was merely surprised by that little shake," he said trying to sound confident.

"I see," Ozab said lightly, "well we won't need concern ourselves with that much longer. Everyone is in place...we are ready to breakthrough to the wine cellar."

Frega breathed a sigh of relief.
"Outstanding. Lead on Ozab. It is time for my wolves to fight!"

"Very well," he leaned close to Frega's snout and let out a laugh, "you'd better do something about that first."

Frega put his paw to his face.
"About what, Ozab?"

"There is blood dripping from your mouth...you seem to have bitten your lip."

Wilbur and his friends outside Ozab's cave had a few nervous moments during the tremor. They were forced to dance about dodging large stones and the occasional boulder, but except for a few bumps and bruises, they were unscathed when the shower of rocks ended.

It was decided that they should move away from the stone face and continue their journey carefully along the beach and away from the threat of stone projectiles. They could see the West Wind anchored in the distance and behind her, a mile further at the base of the waterfall, the Brotherhood fleet. The beach up ahead lay littered with the bodies of fallen Scarlet Brothers and pirates, but was now otherwise deserted.

It was a fairly lengthy walk, but soon they stood on the beach at the base of the stone steps which had so shortly before been the site of heated battle up the cliff. They decided amongst themselves to continue onward to where the beach ended and the cliff rose directly out of the sea. A rainbow arched over the beach's end in the spray from the waterfall. It was beautiful, Wilbur thought, a strange venue for the desperate battle to come.