"Then there was the time that Thagnar and I went hunting boar. We never found one, but on our way down the mountain Thagnar fell tripped over a loose stone and fell onto an imp. The thing was sleeping and never knew we were there. The imp was so mad that he cast a spell that made Thagnar float above the ground for three days. I had to pull him through the air back into our village. I couldn't stop laughing the entire time," Beroth laughed.
Stryker was laughing too. Beroth was definitely an interesting person. So far the barbarian had told him of many of the embarrassing things that happened in his presence. Sometimes he was just an innocent bystander, like with the imp. Other times, well how was he to know that the village elder was balding and needed that potion?
The pair had been walking for an hour. They had ran into a group of three zombies, several isolated quillrats, and a few more Fallen. At some point they decided to loot their kills, and were pleasantly surprised to find that many of them carried some amount of gold. Beroth even found a set of throwing axes that he could use. He proved to the paladin that he could use them very well.
"I think we should be near the cave," Beroth said once he was finished laughing.
"I smell something foul nearby," Stryker said. "Over there, near that hill."
The pair drew their preferred weapons and cautiously approached the hill. After a few seconds, the barbarian could smell the same thing as the paladin. When they reached the base of the hill, they crept up the side until they came to the top. Seeing nothing yet, the paladin peered over the drop off.
"I think we found out cave," the young man said. As he jumped down, the barbarian followed suit. "Let's go."
"Hold on a minute, friend," the barbarian said. He grabbed a torch out of his pack and lit it. "Now I'm ready to go."
Stryker nodded and led the way into the cave. As he entered the darkness, a soft glow of light illuminated the cave around him. The barbarian stared in astonishment.
"The church gives its paladins a cross made of silver," Stryker explained without looking at his companion. "This cross is enchanted to cast a light around the holder. The light serves two main purposes. The first, and most obvious, is to allow the holder to see in the darkness and to combat any enemies. The range is only around five meters in radius. The secondary reason-"
The paladin was cut off as an inhuman cry came from the depths of the cave. A Fallen entered the range of the light and leapt at the young man, and was promptly skewered my his blade.
"The second reason is that it attracts the servants of Hell. It lowers their ability to think, but it also provokes them into attacking," Stryker finished.
"I understand," Beroth said. "I think we should split up to clear out this cave. It seems like it's too large to stay together, but small enough that we'll be able to find each other quickly."
"That sounds reasonable," Stryker said. "But keep an eye out. Akara said there were others here at her bidding."
"I'll keep that in mind," Beroth said. "Take care, friend."
"You too," Stryker said before darting off to one side. The paladin held his blade at the ready, but kept his muscles loose. There was no sense in tiring himself out before he even got into combat.
The young man followed the corridor down to a small chamber. There was an exit to either side, and a small set of stairs going to the lower level. In the middle of the lower level was a group of Fallen. The young man growled. The Fallen were dancing around a fire, cackling with glee. But this is not what the paladin was growling at. At the center of the fire was a wooden post, and tied to this post was a rogue.
The woman was not dead, but from her wounds it wouldn't be long. Maybe a few more minutes, with treatment. Much less without. The woman was struggling to get away from the fire as much as she could. Every so often a tongue of flame would lick out and sear a part of the rogue's leg, causing her to scream in pain. This screaming would cause the Fallen to chatter wildly.
Stryker charged the Fallen, falling upon the demonic minions like a storm. His blade flashed in the firelight as he killed all of the Fallen he laid his eyes on. When there were no more of the creatures in sight, he kicked the fire out of the way and cut the rogue's bindings.
"Thank you," the woman gasped.
"You won't live long. Even if I treated all your wounds and gave you all of my health potions," Stryker said as he supported her head.
"I know," she wheezed out. "Listen, there's an undead in the depths of the cave. It... it's not like the others. It's intelligent. It commands the other things here, the undead, the Fallen, the gargantuans. Kill it, and the others will flee."
"I will," Stryker promised.
"Thank you," the rogue said as she closed her eyes and breathed no more.
"May the Light guide you to paradise," the paladin said as he laid the woman on the ground.
A shriek from behind him caused the paladin to spin. A group of three Fallen were flying through the air at the him. He didn't have enough time to get his shield up, not enough time to bring his sword to bear. He could only watch helplessly as the Fallen brought their weapons to bear.
Three white blurs flashed past the young man, and embedded themselves in the chests of the Fallen. The three demonic minions fell to the ground in heaps. A few yellow sparkles appeared above the bodies of the other Fallen, just as the corpse rose clearly alive. Another white blur disappeared into the darkness as the paladin killed the freshly risen Fallen.
"It is so unlike a paladin to drop his guard, especially in the lair of foul beasts of darkness," a smooth voice said.
Stryker spun around to see an aged yet tall man with cropped white hair. He wore a strange black scale armor with what looked like bones on it. On the man's right shoulder was the skull of a demon or some other similar creature.
"Who are you?" Stryker asked, keeping his shield between him and the other man.
"I am one of the disciples of Rathma, though most call me a necromancer. As for my name, it is Jeran," the man said.
"Thank you for saving me priest of Rathma," the paladin said. "I am in your debt."
"How odd. Most paladins would attack a necromancer as soon as they recognized what he was," Jeran mused.
"I am not most paladins. You have done nothing to harm me, and I have yet to see you deal in the black arts," the young man said.
"Are your words wisdom or foolishness, I wonder," the necromancer said. "Only time will tell I guess."
Jeran turned around and walked the way Stryker had come from.
"There's nothing back that way," the paladin said.
The necromancer turned to look over his shoulder. "I know. Now that you are back on guard, I doubt the clearing of the cave will last much longer. I am going to keep guard on the exit." He took a few more steps before stopping again. He pointed at the tunnel to the paladins left. "That passage is a dead end. I've already killed the two Fallen that I found there, and there are no treasures."
"Thank you," Stryker said as the older man finished walking away. The paladin stood up and proceeded to the last passage way.
XxXxX
"Dammit Greld, how is it that you always get us into these situations?" a strained female voice asked from somewhere ahead of Beroth's position. The only response was an animalistic growl. "Don't talk to me in that tone of voice! It's not my fault that your incredible sense of smell failed in here."
The barbarian set his torch on the ground and edged forward to get a better look in front of him. He saw what looked like a large bipedal wolf standing back to back with a dark clothed woman. They were surrounded by a group of three gargantuans, six Fallen, and four zombies.
"Alright, what's the plan?" the woman asked, to which the werewolf growled sheepishly. "Fine then, I'll make the plans from now on. Now how to get out of this mess."
Beroth smirked. He grasped his axe in both hands and let loose a fierce battle cry, leaping onto the shoulders of one of the gargantuan beasts. He swung the weapon into the face of the creature before jumping into the group of Fallen. The force from the blow caused the minions to fall to the ground, stunned.
The woman moved quickly, a katar in each hand. She quickly dispatched two of the zombies with quick slices to the head before leaping behind the other two and stabbing into their heads.
The werewolf leaped at one of the two remaining gargantuans, using his superior speed to his advantage. He would swipe his massive claws at the thing before hopping back and repeating the process.
Beroth quickly grabbed one of his throwing axes and slung it into the throat of the last gargantuan. The large furry creature began clawing at its neck trying to remove the deadly object. It was so focused on its task that it didn't register the woman thrusting a blade into the back of its head until it was too late.
"Good day for battle, is it not friends?" Beroth said.
"Any day is a good day for battle," the woman said.
Beroth took an appreciative look at her. She had shoulder length dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. She wore dark leather armor that blended in well with the shadows, but left her thighs completely exposed.
"I am Beroth, whirlwind of the north," the barbarian introduced himself.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Beroth. I am Sable, assassin of nowhere in particular," the woman said.
The werewolf began what looked like a painful metamorphosis back into a human. He was tall and muscular like a barbarian, but he wore leather and fur clothes. In his hand was a elegant yet rough spear. He had light brown hair and beard and a fierce scowl. "I'm Greld, druid of Scosglen."
"Perhaps we should continue to travel together," Beroth suggested.
"That sounds like a swell idea," the assassin said cheerfully. "I'll scout ahead." Before anyone could stop her, she was gone like a shadow.
"Damned woman," the druid mumbled as he proceeded down the tunnel that Sable vanished down. Beroth had no choice but to follow.
XxXxX
Stryker poised himself in a defensive position in front of the tunnel. He had heard two sets of footsteps that sounded as though they belonged to large beings.
"Damn dark cave," one voice said. "Almost makes you wonder if the Light hates us."
"I can't believe I forgot my torch," said another one that was familiar to the paladin.
"Beroth, is that you?" the young man called out.
"Stryker?" the second voice called out.
"It's probably a damned trap," the first voice said. "Wait, what's that light?"
Two large men entered the field of light that the paladin's cross emitted. One was indeed Beroth, but the other was one that Stryker didn't recognize.
"Greld, this is Stryker, a paladin of Zakarum. Stryker, Greld is a druid of Scosglen," the barbarian said.
"Pleased to meet you," Stryker said as he turned to look down the last tunnel. "I thought I heard something moving down there before I arrived, but then I heard you two so I stopped to wait."
"Must have been Sable, the damned woman," Greld mumbled.
"What's wrong with him?" Stryker asked his barbarian friend.
"Only the Light knows, if even that much," Beroth said sagely.
Stryker shook his head. "I'll lead the way then. Stay close to me."
The paladin led the way down the last declining tunnel. Several times the larger men had to duck to avoid the odd stalactite hanging from the ceiling. The tunnel continued down for a few hundred feet more before leveling out.
The paladin had just reached the exit of the tunnel when he heard a woman's scream. Without hesitating, the young man dashed ahead, leaving the druid and barbarian to swear as they stumbled in the sudden darkness.
Stryker came upon two women against a wall in front of a glowing zombie. He couldn't see the things face, but he could hear its voice.
"It has been so long since I have tasted the sweet flesh of any women, least of all two as beautiful as you," the thing rasped. "You will be such a treat for me to eat. Hehe, I made a rhyme."
The paladin let loose a battle cry as he charged at the zombie. The glowing undead turned casually, faster than a normal zombie, and stared at the holy warrior. The young man thrust his blade deep into the heart of the undead.
"You must not fight zombies much," the glowing figure said. "The only way to kill a zombie is by damaging its brain." With one hand, the zombie backhanded the young man in the chest, sending him flying into the wall, leaving his blade embedded in the heart of the undead. Stryker coughed up a bit of blood. "That's an odd scent. I haven't smelt it in years. Could it be?" The undead walked over to the young man and squatted before him. With one finger, the zombie wiped up some of the blood off of the paladins face before bringing it to his mouth. "Ah, it is. I would recognize that delectable taste anywhere. The blood of a virgin. And one so virtuous too."
"Too bad you won't get to enjoy it," Stryker chuckled.
"Oh, and why is that?" the undead asked.
"This!" Several voices yelled at once.
The world was a blur of motion before there were several blades buried in the head of the zombie. Stryker had grasped his sword and ripped upward to the head, the druid had stabbed his spear into the head of the zombie from the side, one of the women had shot an arrow into the other side. Another woman who had appeared from seemingly nowhere had thrust a katar blade into the top, the last woman had sent a bolt of ice that pierced just below the arrow. In the back of the zombies head was Beroth's axe.
"And so the den of evil is cleansed," the paladin said as heavenly light pierced the gloom of the cave.
