Disclaimer: I do not own the guidelines for the content in this story. It belongs to Blizzard entertainment and the ever-popular Diablo novels.

Diablo:

Last days of the Horadrim.

I

Kara had always worked in solitude. Why was it only now that she was forced to work with the barbarian Haeronimus? He seemed almost too overbearing, he lacked the bare essentials of table manners and he somehow even managed to always smell of dirt and urine. Fate had brought them together. Whilst on the hunt for a renowned chieftain of the vile and sometimes frightening creatures known to the locals as Fetishes, She had stumbled onto the messy barbarian who had insisted on helping her. Looking at the havoc he had wreaked on the fetish populations it would have been most unwise to brush off this meeting as mere chance. This particularly nasty Fetish had taken a sacred artefact. What this artefact actually did or looked like remained a mystery but somehow she knew that the instant she saw it all would be made clear.

"Look over thar," Haeronimus said pointing at a dark mound of peat moss.

"What is that supposed to be?"

"I've watched what these little bastards can do. That thar is one of them traps that they are always settin'. Ye step close enough and some hungry thing will jump out and have ye for 'is dinner."

She looked closer and saw that he was right. The black mound seemed to be harmless until she focused her attention on the very centre. It seemed to be wriggling. It was as if thousands of earthworms had gathered in that single locality.

"Best be goin' round it," he said pointing at a less inviting path over to the right.

"If they have set a trap then it would seem that the other path is most likely where we could find them," she said almost ignorantly.

It was not unknown for Kara to make mistakes. She might be what most would consider an adept in her field of dark sorcery yet when it came to common sense she was lacking. In the past two days that she had been travelling with Haeronimus she had learned a great deal more about survival than she ever would have back in her village.

"Ye're the boss."

She had not even taken one step before the trap sprung into action. About thirty tentacle beast young unrolled towards the duo in what looked like a slimy green and black carpet of hungry yellow tooth filled mouths. Using her prized ivory dagger she began drawing the arcane symbols of a spell in the air. After muttering a few strange words she reached into the small leather pouch by her side and produced a small pile of grey ash.

"Den Trag," she said firmly and threw the ash towards the horrendous creatures.

The ash clumped into small particles and swelled in size whilst glowing blue. In the blink of an eye the projectiles had turned into strange tooth like projectiles and raced towards their intended targets. Haeronimus didn't even have to lift a finger. They all lay dead and twitching on the now darkly stained earth.

"You have to show me how to do that one day," he said.

Kara grinned revealing her unusually clean and healthy teeth. It might have been the dark cloak she wore that enhanced this illusion, thought Haeronimus but it was most likely the truth. The Necromancer always made sure that she was spotless despite the nature of her chosen profession. Aside from her teeth and her remarkably pale skin, everything about her was dark. She had dark green eyes, lengthy raven black hair and was generously proportioned. He might have fancied her for himself if she wasn't so withdrawn and weird. Haeronimus had found out many strange things about her over the past two days such as her ability to summon deadly things using minimal amounts of material. She had even once summoned up a shade from a maggoty corpse and conversed with it about some key pieces of information ascertaining to the whereabouts of the fetish Chieftain. This had led them to their current location and the fresh wounds that lay on his hip. It seemed that sometimes it was necessary to forcefully make a path through some of the dense jungle of Kurast, which was not without its own deadly flora. He almost regretted not having worn more protection for his muscle bound torso but still felt it was a necessity to survive in the intense heat of the jungle. He had called Kara crazy more than once for wearing such bulky and thick clothing but had realised after a while that it perhaps contained spells to keep her cool and protected.

"Shall we?" Kara asked gesturing toward the now clear path.

Haeronimus let out a chuckle and headed began walking over the corpses of the recent pray to her spells. He still carried the large rune covered axe at the ready in case of any lurking danger. Kara felt as if there was something that he was not telling her. It was almost as if he knew more about her mission than she did. Despite his seemingly good personality and intentions she still remained cautious. If he were going to betray her then she'd be ready.

Shrugging off the thought as she usually did she continued behind Haeronimus. The path was badly overgrown with weeds and various creeping plants. Very little light shone through the dense canopy creating an eerie feeling. Kara noted large spider webs coursing through the uppermost heights of the vine-smothered trees. She had encountered the poisonous arachnids before and had the scar to prove it. The healers back in her village were good but like with any wound one of her kind cured there was always some trace of it left on the flesh.

The path had been long and arduous. They had spent all of three days along the path and had encountered a few more traps and even one of the deadly fetishes themselves. Haeronimus had made light work of the rest of the animals and creatures that had decided to target the duo for their meal. He had praised Kara for the magic wards she placed on them both each evening to keep them aware of approaching dangers. Without them he was sure they would have perished by now. The entrance to the fetish camp was close. Even a moron could have recognised the strange noises made by a fetish and especially by a group of at least fifty for that matter. Despite being tall and muscular Haeronimus was surprisingly stealthy when he needed to be. He had crept up to the edge of the fetish camp the day before and watched their actions and routines. It seemed that they went to hunt in the evenings and mornings for food. The hunt had left the camp relatively unguarded for lengthy periods of time owing to the fact that most everything edible and living in the area had already been killed and eaten. The plan was to go in during the evening hunt, kill the chieftain and make off with the artefact avoiding the large numbers out hunting. It was now coming close to the time when they would attack and they were already in the thicket close to the clearing where the camp was situated.

"Wait for my signal," Haeronimus whispered.

He gazed intently at the camp. Kara watched as the fetishes collected their large daggers and spears. The time was close.

"They're moving now. You'll need to be as quiet as possible until I give the signal."

They both waited and watched as the last of the hunting group left the camp and the area was clear. It seemed quiet enough for Haeronimus to go into a crouching position and gesture for her to follow. She moved in silence with him to what had to be the chieftain's hut. Its doors were made from dark leather of some kind and the frame was red stained bone. All the other huts had not had such detail to them ruling them out as their target. The sounds coming from inside the hut were that of sleeping. Haeronimus pulled back the flap and snuck inside with Kara trailing behind him. The walls of the hut were lined with mostly deceased things. They could both see the chieftain lying on what had to be its bed. It was more like some grotesque carcass than a bed but the smell had to be coming from the chieftain. It was twice as long as a normal fetish, yet its limbs were still small. The artefact was bound in a leather satchel tucked under its arm. Haeronimus raised his axe and effortlessly drove it into the fetish's head, flames spewing from the wound. The thing squealed in agony taking them both by surprise. The top half lay limp and lifeless whilst the bottom squirmed looking as if it wanted to break free.

"It is made from two of them," Kara said with awe.

"Never mind that."

Haeronimus plunged his axe into the lower half, again having the wound be engulfed in flame. It now lay silent and motionless. Noises were coming from outside the hut. The squealing had roused the few remaining fetishes in the camp. Wasting no time Kara reached forward and clasped the bag containing the artefact.

"Let's get out of here," Kara said moving towards the entrance.

Haeronimus grabbed her shoulder and shook his head.

"I'll be 'aving that," he said firmly.

"What?"

"If ye don't give me that thar artefact I'll have to kill you," he said.

Before she even had a chance to say anything he swung his axe. She managed to duck just in time for him to miss. Not wasting his lack of balance she pulled her ivory dagger free from her cloak and rammed it through his mid-section.

"Machschlecht."

He fell to the ground looking pale and weak.

"Die," he managed to gurgle whilst grabbing at her long leather boots.

She withdrew the dagger and shook her head.

"You betrayed me," she muttered.

She pulled a small flask of thick yellow liquid from her belt and placed it beside him.

"I will not kill you. Drink this and you'll have a chance."

With that said she ran out of the flap and into the thicket where she had previously been hiding. A roar came from the chieftain's hut followed by the sound of fetishes. Not wanting to suffer the same fate as the barbarian she darted back along the path.

It had been almost a week since the barbarian had attacked her. All the while she had been wondering why he had done it. Why was the artefact so enticing that he would turn on her? She finally gave into her thoughts and opened the leather bag containing the artefact. Knowing that it was sturdy enough not to break she let if drop onto the soft leaf covered ground. It was a small metal pyramid with one single symbol etched into one of the surfaces. The symbol was unknown to her. It looked like an eye at first yet upon closer examining it she saw that it was in fact a series of triangles and runes minute in size. If she didn't have her current abilities she was sure that this would have gone unnoticed. She reached forward and grabbed it. The moment it touched her skin darkness engulfed her vision. She was now in a temple. Dead children lined the crimson floors along with corpses of creatures that looked liked the mating of a man and a goat.

"I've been waiting," a child-like voice said.

She looked away from the horrific floor. At the opposite end of the room a child was sitting on what would have looked like a throne were it not for the fact that it was made out of parts of the bodies on the floor. He had a grin smeared across his face and was holding the triangle artefact.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am what you seek my child. I am that which you both fear and love. I am your destiny."

She said nothing. In stead she looked at him with both curiosity and fear. The child looked disappointed. He shook his head.

"You have heard of me I'm sure. I have been called many things throughout history but my true name is much more frightening. I am Desmodus," he said.

Sudden shock filled her thoughts. She wanted to run yet she was trapped in place. Looking down she could see that the hands of the dead children lying around her were holding her in place. Desmodus was perhaps equally as feared as the prime evils. He was a demon, hated by most of his kind. He had a way of corrupting even the most holy of humans by attacking them whilst they slept. Once they were corrupted he could bend them to his will. Civilizations fell under his armies creating chaos wherever he went. During the Sin War he had a kingdom known as Darkspire. It was so feared and hated that it had taken numerous deaths and the fabled Horadrim to cast him from the plane of man and back to the depths of hell.

"I see now that you understand…my child."

"What is it that you want with me?" She asked, more frightened than ever.

"I need a vessel back into your world. I thought it was to be the chieftain but now I see it is you and your likeable sorcery. Allow me to give you the embrace. It will be but momentary pain and you shall have all the power you could have ever hoped for," he said standing up.

He casually walked over to her. As he did so too did horns and extra appendages grow from his body giving him a look better suited to his true nature. He was close enough for her to smell his fetid breath. A bright flash caused Kara to black out. She thought for a while that Desmodus had killed her until she felt her body. It was still intact. Nothing had happened. So why was it so dark? She shook her head gently and cursed herself for a moron. Her eyes were closed. She opened them slightly and gazed at her surroundings. It was dimly lit but still she could make out her surroundings. Green bottles lined the wall to her right and books to her left. She was lying on a comfortable bed lined with symbols akin to that of the Vizerei, mages.

"So you are finally awake. It was lucky I got to you in time," said a grey cloak wearing old man from the entrance to the room.

To be continued…