Okay this is my first story on FF.net, and I would hope all would be kind with reviews and such. I donÕt own Diablo or any of its characters. This is a story based on paladins POV and starts off in Diablo 2 in the rouge encampment. It is rated pg-13 for violence and some language, and that rating may increase in the future.

Chapter 1

The Den of Evil

A dreary rain washes over the leather armor I poses and runs down into my boots as I walk across the plain to the rouge encampment. I see the light of a fire and it brings comfort to me as I step through the mud and grass and make my way there. My sword is held in my hand, and I clench it tightly, making sure to have it at my ready when I need so. My shield is tied to my left arm by leather straps; it is beaten due to the many blows it has taken in the past few hours.

I carry my stash, a wooden chest behind me. It contains a few items and a small amount of gold in it. Among the various items in it are food, a small tent, potions, and my journal, which I write in every day. My pace is slow, it is cold and my body is soaked from the rain that has been unrelenting for the past few hours. I am but a few yards from the camp and I put my hand to my chest and make sure that my cross is still there. It is a silver cross with a sapphire tablet in the center. It is of little value to a trader, but to me it mean more it was my fathers.

I finally cross through the gate of the camp and am greeted by crossbow wielding rouges. They aim their cross bows directly at my chest and for a second I fear for my life. They examine me with their eyes, I wear leather armor, have brown hair that drapes down to my shoulders, I wear a pair of green pants, I wear mud soaked boots, I have a shield on my left arm, a sword is in my right hand, and I wear a brown cloak to help me stay warm. I calmly place my sword in a small leather strap that is attached to the side of my armor. The rouges are weary of me, but finally speak.

Ò What is your name and what is your business here?Ó The rouge on my left asks. I am at first a bit still afraid for myself and put my hands in the air.

Ò I am William, William Milfose. I come here to assist you and your fellow rouges, I am a Paladin.Ó I say calmly and with out emotion. The rouge on my left looks at me once again and then tells the other rouge to watch me. She leaves and the other rouge stares at me with her cross bow pointed at my chest. The weapon shakes in her hands, she is freezing from the conditions as she exhales and her breath is seen with great clarity in the night. I canÕt help but feel sorry for her as she is trying her best not to fall over from cold and exhaustion. Her companion appears now with another woman who is clad with armor, a cape, and a headband. She looks me over before saying anything.

Ò Very well you shall be taken to Akara, we shall place your chest in the center of the camp with Warriv before you are to see her.Ó The woman tells me. A wave of relief washes over me and I take my chest and she starts walking. I follow her and we pass many wagons that are inhabited by rouges. The various rouges inside of the wagons are either asleep or are sitting with a blanket wrapped around them trying to stay warm. Eventually we reach the center of the camp where I see a man in a blue out fit standing next to the fire that I saw not to long ago.

Ò Warriv, can you watch this mans stuff while I take him to see Akara?Ó The woman asks. The man Warriv simply nods and lets the warm orange glow of the fire engulf him. He places his hands in front of him and had it not been for the fact that I was to meet some one of great importance I would have stayed by the fire with him and warmed my self up. I dropped my chest next to a wagon that appeared to be WarrivÕs. As I turned to face the woman she was already walking in the opposite direction. I had to give her a lot of credit; she was out here in only a small amount of armor and wasnÕt appearing to even shake under the conditions of the weather. We were finally approaching a area that was surrounded by a stone wall and had the top of a tent poking out over the edges of itÕs stone barrier. I follow the woman through the entryway and see another woman whom stands in a purple dress with a purple cloak and a purple headband. She appears to be a woman in her later years; her face is draped with the experience and wrinkles of one whom has dealt with much tragedy. The woman who has escorted me all this way breaks the silence.

Ò Akara, this man claims that he is a Paladin whom has come to assist us. Would you please offer your guidance on this?Ó The woman asks. Akara as I am well aware of her name now stands infront of me and places her hand on my chest. She seems to concentrate for a few moments and I am weary of what is going on. Finally she pulls her hand away and smiles back at me.

Ò Kashya, this man tells the truth he is a Paladin whom has come to assist us.Ó Akara says to the woman next to me whom I now know as Kashya. Another wave of relief washes over me as Akara examines me over like the other rouges have. She turns to Kashya and gives her a hand signal to leave us. I am a bit nervous about the silence, but she breaks it.

Ò You have come at a time in which we most need you noble Paladin. Our monastery has become a place from which the queen of demons Andariel has decided to make her home.Ó Akara then turns away from me and paces in the other direction before continuing.

Ò Andariel is the one whom has taken the dead from their graves and unleashed them on our people. Andariel is the one whom has brought forth demons of horrible destruction and set them free across our lands. Andariel is the one who must be defeated if we ever hope to live in our ancestral home again.Ó She stands still and I am at a loss of words. She then turns to me and speaks once again.

Ò In your current form you are to weak to face one of such evil as Andariel, you must first help us with some other matters and then you shall face the queen of all demons.Ó She says to me. She looks to the sky above as rain falls and lighting clashes.

Ò I believe this weather is being caused due to the amount of demons and undead in the area. If it is to let up the strong hold of the demons and undead must be cleansed.Ó She tells me. I nod before responding back.

Ò Where is this strong hold of demons and undead?Ó I ask. She smiles once again and I can tell she is pleased with my response.

Ò It is in the blood moor just south of here. Before you go I suggest you rest and have our black smith repair your shield and sword.Ó She tells me. I nod and excuse myself to the outside of her tent area and come to meet Kashya again. She leans against the stonewall surrounding AkaraÕs tent and stares down at the mud beneath her feet. She turns to me and gives me a proper introduction of her own behalf.

Ò Listen, Akara may be our spiritual leader but I am the one whom leads the rouge scouts and the one whom has made sure that no demons or members of the undead breach the gates.Ó She told me before walking away. She made sure that I knew of her power and the power the commanded. She may have done so because she was the leader of a strong group of warriors yet was forced from her home. She may have felt some resentment about the fact that she could do nothing and about Andariel and still couldnÕt. I walked towards the fire once again and went to Warriv to question him about the black smithÕs location. He continued to warm himself by the fire as I had left him before. I lightly tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

Ò Excuse me.Ó I said to him. He turned to me his eyes looked tired, his face looked worn, his experiences here had not been pleasant. Yet still he had an expression on his face of a very positive attitude.

Ò Well, I am not surprised to see your kind here stranger. These parts are now crawling with demons and undead and I am guessing that there are many like you who come this way to help us. My name is Warriv, and I am a traveler whose way to the east is blocked by these creatures.Ó He told me. He was so full of hope and passion that many strong warriors would thwart this demonic presence. I could not bear to tell him that out of my entire squad I was the only one to come this way after hearing news of dark forces in the area. The fact also remained that I did not see any others going in my direction, but in the opposite.

Ò It would be best if you were to stay away from those parts up ahead noble Paladin, they are full of horrible creatures and dangerous obstacles.Ó Warned the driver of the wagon, which brought me to edge of the plain that lead here. The driver turned his wagon around and was gone within a few seconds. I had wandered those plains for days before coming to this encampment. In those days I had encountered the undead and demons alike in many battles. Still as I stood there I decided to brave a smile and give the man comfort in the fact that I was there and was more than happy to help.

Ò I am William Milfose a Paladin, who has come to assist the rouges in any way I can. I wonder if you could show me the way to the black smith in this camp?Ó I ask. He nods and instructs me to follow him. I do so and on the way to the black smith I notice a small bit of ground with two blue flames on it. I am curious and question Warriv.

ÒThat is called a waypoint, a enchanted piece of land. All one has to do is stand on it and think of a place where another waypoint exist and one will be there in the blink of an eye. They are located in various places among the rouges area.Ó Warriv told me, I needed to remember what he said for later. We continued to walk and soon we arrived at an area where a young woman pounded down her hammer on a sword that was red from the heat of a stove that it was just in.

Ò Charsi, this noble Paladin is new in camp and needs his shield and sword repaired.Ó Warriv told the black smith, whose name I now know as Charsi. She placed the sword on her workbench and looked up at me. She had sweat on her forehead and her hair, which was disarranged, stuck to her face obscuring her vision. She lightly brushed her hair out of her face before coming over to me, and examining my shield and sword. She removed my shield from my arm and took my sword from its resting place.

Ò This will only take a moment, IÕm Charsi the black smith here in camp by the way.Ó She tells me. She takes her tools and goes to work on my equipment immediately. Warriv took this time to give me a few things before I was to leave.

Ò William you better take these items with you, they can come in handy.Ó He told me before handing me two scrolls, one red and one blue, and two bottles of liquid, with one liquid red and another blue. I had never seen these items before and they interested me.

Ò The red potion will heal all of your wounds, while the blue will replenish your spiritual energy or mana as it is often referred to. When the seal on the red scroll is broken simply place it on an item that glows a soft blue and the scroll will identify that items magical properties. When the seal of a blue scroll is broken it will create a portal through which only those pure in heart can cross though.Ó Warriv told me before I asked him. I nodded and placed the items in a small bag that I carry attached to my belt. By time all of this was said and done Charsi had finished repairing my shield and sword. I reattached my shield and held my sword once again. They both appeared to have more strength than they did before and so I headed towards the south gate. When I got there I saw two rouges guarding it as well. I headed past them and was soon inside of the blood moor.

I walked through the mud and rain encountering a few demons and zombies along the way, which fell victim to my sword. I followed the road as best as I could, with there being a veil of darkness it was not easy. However soon I saw a small torch at the entrance to a cave. The cave entry was painted with the blood and flesh of dead rouges. I grabbed the torch and headed into the den of evil.

As I entered the smell of flesh, blood, and death filled the air. This had to be home to the purest evil I had yet to encounter. I walked with the torch in my hand slowly as the orange flame danced along the walls floor and ceiling. Soon I heard the moans of the undead as they approached hungry for my flesh. I took my sword in my hand, my heart pounding rapidly and swung the blade through them. One by one zombies came and the all fell within moments to the ferocity of my blade. Although I was winning this battle it was taking its toll on me, as I grew ever more tired. When the corpses of the undead lay piled at my feet in a bumbled heap and my sword dripped from their blood I was exhausted, yet I continued on. I walked slowly as to preserve my strength and soon found myself in the company of a pack of small demons. Their necks were lined with various bones and they carried shields and swords of low quality. Their weapons made little difference as five if them were at my feet dead within moments. I turned when I heard mumbling and found a bigger demon holding a staff and launching a fireball in my direction.

I quickly jumped out of the way only to find that the fireball hit a small demon, which I had just killed and brought its motionless body back to life. I could barley believe my eyes as the larger demon continued to do resurrect itÕs demon brethren. I hurled myself towards the larger demon and smited it with my shield. It fell to the ground stunned and my sword penetrated its body to make sure that it would not get back up. Soon the demons I had once killed laid once again dead at my feet. I continued my walk through this cave as I heard the moans of a single Zombie. I soon found it and saw that it was unlike the others and glowed blue a small amount. A single zombie should have been no trouble; even in my current state I was sure I could bring him down.

As I approached the zombie it was quick to my presence and knocked me back feet with a blow from his arm. I hit the cave wall and my sword was now several feet away on the ground. I looked up and saw the zombie almost on top of me. He swung his arm again and this time my shield took the force of the blow only to shatter. I was now doomed, there was no way I could reach my sword and with my shield gone I was defenseless.

The Zombie pulled his arm back in the air and I closed my eyes in fear. After a few seconds I realized the blow hadnÕt come. I looked and saw a rather large man hacking away at the zombie with his axe. I turn me head towards some noise and see another man dressed in animal clothing handing me my sword. Within moments the zombie is dead and the den is now cleansed. As I stand to thank my saviors I look up through one of the holes in the ceiling and see streaks of day shining in.

Another chapter will be added soon. Thanks for all reviews I get.