Entering the Rift

Meanwhile, the Duke of Sleipnir got comfortable on the edge of the cave. Shortly after he'd disposed of the corpses by sending them into the rolling dark river below, some of Loki's staff came over. They were shocked to see only one person left in the cave.

"Um, your Excellency, where... where is the leader?"

"Hm?" Ethan turned and blinked. "Oh... he... how should I put this? He was too enthusiasistic when he saw his experiment finally succeed. Look, the brilliant result of all his hard work is below this cliff. He didn't want to wait anymore and took everyone to follow him down. Which might have been the wrong decision, so to say."

The staff carefully crept closer to the cliff, and when he saw the darkness below, though it was more a creek than a mighty river now, his eyes widened. "Do you mean to say the leader is...?"

"Dead." Ethan nodded unemphathetically. "Most likely."

Unexpectedly swiftly, the staff got over his shock. For a moment, he pondered, then asked: "But the experiment