Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, its concepts, or anything else related
to it. Those are the property of Blizzard Entertainment.
Avenging Heart Chapter 9
Shadowblade woke up the next morning to see Horsham sleeping soundly next to him. He figured they'd both had enough sleep, so he took out his dagger and began poking him lightly in the posterior. Horsham awoke and asked, "Why are you doing that?"
His lover grinned. "Fair's fair. You kept poking me with your wand."
"What? My wand's in my pack." Suddenly, Shadowblade's eyes lit up and he nodded before stifling a giggle. "What is it? Tell me!" But, Shadowblade just smirked at him. "Shadow, you're so mean. I'm warning you, I know a bone spell!" He jumped on Shadowblade and tried to wrestle him to the ground.
Horsham proved to be a decent wrestler, but he was clearly exerting himself, and sweat was dripping down his bare chest. Shadowblade then noticed the bulge in his pants. "Bone spell, huh? If you teach THAT to those men, they'll be your friends in no time!"
"Ha ha ha, very funny! That's not any spell of mine, but I know what to do about it." From the outside, the tent seemed to rattle,and they came out, ready to go, about a half hour later.
Shadowblade and Horsham approached Kashya. "Kashya, we're going to slay Blood Raven."
She looked at both of them, then looked at Horsham again and began laughing. "Maybe you should get that out of your hair. Then again, don't. When Blood Raven sees that, she'll DIE laughing."
"What is it?" Horsham asked.
"Some slimy junk. I could barely see it because it's as white as your hair." The two guys looked at each other sheepishly and ran to the waypoint.
Shadowblade cleaned the white stuff off Horsham's hair with his mouth. "Oh, you shouldn't have done that," Horsham said.
"Why not?" Shadowblade asked. "You swallowed a lot more than that, and you're still alive."
Horsham looked at the ground. "But maybe not for much longer."
Shadowblade rubbed his back. "I'll be with you. You'll be fine." He led Horsham onto the waypoint. "Now hold my hand." They held hands, Shadowblade imagined the Cold Plains, and they were there instantly.
Both remembered the way to the burial grounds and went there right away. As they entered, three skeletons approached them. While Shadowblade charged, Horsham held out his wand and spoke, "Flesh and bone, turn soft like butter, a single strike counts as much as twice." Shadowblade punched the first two in their heads, shattering them, and kicked the third in the chest. Horsham spoke again. "Bones of warriors old, return once more, but serve me forevermore." Two bone piles formed skeletons once more but did not attack. Horsham turned to Shadowblade. "Until I can summon golems."
They continued into the burial areas and were ambushed by more zombies. Shadowblade watched Horsham cast his amplify damage curse again, take out his own dagger, and join in the attack. Shadowblade slashed two zombies' throats and kicked their heads off while each skeleton was fighting one and Horsham slashed at a fifth. Shadowblade gasped when Horsham fell back from a punch in the chest, but felt relieved when the zombie fell dead. A skeleton impaled a zombie on his sword, but was answered with a devastating blow to the head, which left only half the skull intact. The second skeleton hit a zombie in the head with a mace, felling it immediately.
Horsham was suddenly knocked down by a zombie and kicked in the side twice. Shadowblade immediately ran over and drove a dagger into the zombie's head. He picked Horsham up. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes." He ran over to his two skeletons just as a zombie shattered the rest of one's head. Shadowblade followed him, and watched as Horsham slashed the zombie's throat, then ran behind and attempted to pull its head off. The zombie elbowed Horsham twice, but the head eventually came off.
As the remaining skeleton took out the last zombie, Shadowblade looked at his lover. "Impressive," he said. However, their warm moment was interrupted by a shrill cry.
"Join my army of the dead!" They looked beyond the cemetery boundaries to see a woman dressed in red with a blonde ponytail readying an arrow and surrounded by ten to twelve zombies, who could have only been Blood Raven. Shadowblade quickly pushed Horsham to the side as the arrow came their way and fell as well.
"That was close. We'd better be careful."
"Right," replied Horsham. They and the remaining skeleton entered the cemetery. Another arrow flew by, into the skeleton's head. "Damn! I'll try to raise another."
Shadowblade charged the group to distract Blood Raven and her minions. He dodged arrows as he headed toward the zombies, hoping to take them out first. He kicked two in the stomach and stabbed their heads, while preparing a cripple attack. When he saw them stagger, he jumped back into the attack. Their blows were easier to dodge, and he decided to turn invisible as well, but his concentration was broken by a cry from Horsham, who he saw being attacked by a pair of zombies. He tried to escape and run help him, but was knocked down by a blow a zombie managed to land.
Meanwhile, Horsham was trying to break free of a zombie's hold, but to no avail. Finally, he saw the mace his skeleton had dropped. He muttered his amplify damage curse and kicked the zombie in the knee, dislocating it. He drove an elbow into its side, which stunned it long enough for Horsham to break free and pick up the mace. It was nearly too heavy for him, and it was all he could do to swing it into the heads of the two zombies. However, he noticed another zombie nearby and could see Blood Raven looking at him. Of course, he thought. She's resurrecting them. Then, he saw Shadowblade in the zombies' grasp.
Shadowblade grunted trying to escape, but four were holding him down, while others kicked him. He felt his ribs breaking and cried out when he saw Blood Raven pointing an arrow at his lover, "Horsham!"
Horsham knew Shadowblade was overwhelmed and that he must act fast. Just as he was about to cast a spell, an arrow cut into his leg and looked to see Blood Raven advancing toward him. "My army will destroy you."
Though his spirit was drained already, he cast the first spell he thought of. "Good is light, and evil is dark; you chose darkness, now it shall take you." He saw a shadow form over Blood Raven, who seemed to lose sight of him.
Shadowblade felt darkness slipping over him and sobbed, "No, I can't let another one die. . .not this time. He saw that the two zombies holding his hands were touching one another as well, so he gathered his body's electricity as he'd done with the Wendigos and released it. The zombies sizzled as their rotting flesh burned and fell to the ground. His hands free, he started to pull two more off their feet, but another zombie grabbed his hands and he was punched in the chest.
Thank you, Shadow, thought Horsham. I can use those corpses. Heaven give me the energy I need. He saw the shadow over Blood Raven fading and knew he must act quickly. He concentrated on the corpses. "Deaths so painful, souls unquenched, feel your rage and set it free." Both the corpses exploded and five zombies fell after being struck by bone fragments and pure energy.
Shadowblade immediately got up and ran out of the crowd. He pulled out a healing potion, drank it down and threw a purple one to Horsham. "Drink!" he yelled.
Horsham obeyed and felt the pain in his leg disappear and his spirit strengthen. He yelled back to Shadowblade. "Shadow! Just kill Blood Raven, don't worry about the zombies!"
Shadowblade nodded and headed toward Blood Raven and dodged two arrows. He could see her preparing another arrow, so he waited for her to shoot it, then dashed to the side and over to her, kicking the bow from her hand. Blood Raven immediately swung her fist to the side and knocked Shadowblade to the ground. He quickly got up, but she, just as quickly, kicked him in the side, sending him sprawling. As she headed for her bow, he got back up, ran over to her, and kicked the bow across the graveyard. He blocked another blow to the head and began to gather his chi in his head. In a split second's time, he imagined it as a ball of pure energy in his chest. In the next split second, he raised his foot for a kick and imagined the ball of energy drifting down his torso, to his hip, down his leg, and into his foot. The moment his foot connected with Blood Raven's chest, he imagined the ball exploding, and she flew into the tree in the middle of the graveyard, stunned.
"Great Trag'Oul, teeth sharp as steel, send those teeth to me, in form corporeal." Large dragon teeth shot from Horsham's hand into a crowd of ten zombies he'd managed to distract. As one fell dead, he noticed that there was another corpse nearby. He detonated both, and four more zombies fell.
In the few seconds Blood Raven was dazed, Shadowblade ran to her and drove both daggers into her throat, removed them, and stepped back as she began to cough up blood. He noticed the five zombies that were advancing on Horsham and started to run over and help him but was stopped by what appeared to be several lightning bolts coming from Blood Raven. "Horsham, get down!" he yelled, and Horsham complied. The lightning bolts struck all the zombies and they fell dead.
An apparition started to rise from Blood Raven's body, and the two young men went over to investigate. It appeared to be a woman, a few years older than Kashya. She seemed to be crying. Shadowblade and Horsham were startled when she spoke. "I was a fool to trust Andariel. Now, I'll go to Hell, but I deserve no less. I can only thank both of you for freeing me from my corrupted servitude. Tell Kashya I'm sorry and will regret everything for eternity." With that, Blood Raven's ghost disappeared into the ground.
Horsham spoke up. "We succeeded, but I don't feel like any hero."
Shadowblade tried to comfort him. "At least she's not in Andariel's servitude anymore." He hugged Horsham tightly. "I'll get that bow, for Kashya, and we'll return to the encampment. Will you open a portal for me?"
Horsham nodded and opened a blue scroll from his pack as Shadowblade fetched Blood Raven's bow.
Avenging Heart Chapter 9
Shadowblade woke up the next morning to see Horsham sleeping soundly next to him. He figured they'd both had enough sleep, so he took out his dagger and began poking him lightly in the posterior. Horsham awoke and asked, "Why are you doing that?"
His lover grinned. "Fair's fair. You kept poking me with your wand."
"What? My wand's in my pack." Suddenly, Shadowblade's eyes lit up and he nodded before stifling a giggle. "What is it? Tell me!" But, Shadowblade just smirked at him. "Shadow, you're so mean. I'm warning you, I know a bone spell!" He jumped on Shadowblade and tried to wrestle him to the ground.
Horsham proved to be a decent wrestler, but he was clearly exerting himself, and sweat was dripping down his bare chest. Shadowblade then noticed the bulge in his pants. "Bone spell, huh? If you teach THAT to those men, they'll be your friends in no time!"
"Ha ha ha, very funny! That's not any spell of mine, but I know what to do about it." From the outside, the tent seemed to rattle,and they came out, ready to go, about a half hour later.
Shadowblade and Horsham approached Kashya. "Kashya, we're going to slay Blood Raven."
She looked at both of them, then looked at Horsham again and began laughing. "Maybe you should get that out of your hair. Then again, don't. When Blood Raven sees that, she'll DIE laughing."
"What is it?" Horsham asked.
"Some slimy junk. I could barely see it because it's as white as your hair." The two guys looked at each other sheepishly and ran to the waypoint.
Shadowblade cleaned the white stuff off Horsham's hair with his mouth. "Oh, you shouldn't have done that," Horsham said.
"Why not?" Shadowblade asked. "You swallowed a lot more than that, and you're still alive."
Horsham looked at the ground. "But maybe not for much longer."
Shadowblade rubbed his back. "I'll be with you. You'll be fine." He led Horsham onto the waypoint. "Now hold my hand." They held hands, Shadowblade imagined the Cold Plains, and they were there instantly.
Both remembered the way to the burial grounds and went there right away. As they entered, three skeletons approached them. While Shadowblade charged, Horsham held out his wand and spoke, "Flesh and bone, turn soft like butter, a single strike counts as much as twice." Shadowblade punched the first two in their heads, shattering them, and kicked the third in the chest. Horsham spoke again. "Bones of warriors old, return once more, but serve me forevermore." Two bone piles formed skeletons once more but did not attack. Horsham turned to Shadowblade. "Until I can summon golems."
They continued into the burial areas and were ambushed by more zombies. Shadowblade watched Horsham cast his amplify damage curse again, take out his own dagger, and join in the attack. Shadowblade slashed two zombies' throats and kicked their heads off while each skeleton was fighting one and Horsham slashed at a fifth. Shadowblade gasped when Horsham fell back from a punch in the chest, but felt relieved when the zombie fell dead. A skeleton impaled a zombie on his sword, but was answered with a devastating blow to the head, which left only half the skull intact. The second skeleton hit a zombie in the head with a mace, felling it immediately.
Horsham was suddenly knocked down by a zombie and kicked in the side twice. Shadowblade immediately ran over and drove a dagger into the zombie's head. He picked Horsham up. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes." He ran over to his two skeletons just as a zombie shattered the rest of one's head. Shadowblade followed him, and watched as Horsham slashed the zombie's throat, then ran behind and attempted to pull its head off. The zombie elbowed Horsham twice, but the head eventually came off.
As the remaining skeleton took out the last zombie, Shadowblade looked at his lover. "Impressive," he said. However, their warm moment was interrupted by a shrill cry.
"Join my army of the dead!" They looked beyond the cemetery boundaries to see a woman dressed in red with a blonde ponytail readying an arrow and surrounded by ten to twelve zombies, who could have only been Blood Raven. Shadowblade quickly pushed Horsham to the side as the arrow came their way and fell as well.
"That was close. We'd better be careful."
"Right," replied Horsham. They and the remaining skeleton entered the cemetery. Another arrow flew by, into the skeleton's head. "Damn! I'll try to raise another."
Shadowblade charged the group to distract Blood Raven and her minions. He dodged arrows as he headed toward the zombies, hoping to take them out first. He kicked two in the stomach and stabbed their heads, while preparing a cripple attack. When he saw them stagger, he jumped back into the attack. Their blows were easier to dodge, and he decided to turn invisible as well, but his concentration was broken by a cry from Horsham, who he saw being attacked by a pair of zombies. He tried to escape and run help him, but was knocked down by a blow a zombie managed to land.
Meanwhile, Horsham was trying to break free of a zombie's hold, but to no avail. Finally, he saw the mace his skeleton had dropped. He muttered his amplify damage curse and kicked the zombie in the knee, dislocating it. He drove an elbow into its side, which stunned it long enough for Horsham to break free and pick up the mace. It was nearly too heavy for him, and it was all he could do to swing it into the heads of the two zombies. However, he noticed another zombie nearby and could see Blood Raven looking at him. Of course, he thought. She's resurrecting them. Then, he saw Shadowblade in the zombies' grasp.
Shadowblade grunted trying to escape, but four were holding him down, while others kicked him. He felt his ribs breaking and cried out when he saw Blood Raven pointing an arrow at his lover, "Horsham!"
Horsham knew Shadowblade was overwhelmed and that he must act fast. Just as he was about to cast a spell, an arrow cut into his leg and looked to see Blood Raven advancing toward him. "My army will destroy you."
Though his spirit was drained already, he cast the first spell he thought of. "Good is light, and evil is dark; you chose darkness, now it shall take you." He saw a shadow form over Blood Raven, who seemed to lose sight of him.
Shadowblade felt darkness slipping over him and sobbed, "No, I can't let another one die. . .not this time. He saw that the two zombies holding his hands were touching one another as well, so he gathered his body's electricity as he'd done with the Wendigos and released it. The zombies sizzled as their rotting flesh burned and fell to the ground. His hands free, he started to pull two more off their feet, but another zombie grabbed his hands and he was punched in the chest.
Thank you, Shadow, thought Horsham. I can use those corpses. Heaven give me the energy I need. He saw the shadow over Blood Raven fading and knew he must act quickly. He concentrated on the corpses. "Deaths so painful, souls unquenched, feel your rage and set it free." Both the corpses exploded and five zombies fell after being struck by bone fragments and pure energy.
Shadowblade immediately got up and ran out of the crowd. He pulled out a healing potion, drank it down and threw a purple one to Horsham. "Drink!" he yelled.
Horsham obeyed and felt the pain in his leg disappear and his spirit strengthen. He yelled back to Shadowblade. "Shadow! Just kill Blood Raven, don't worry about the zombies!"
Shadowblade nodded and headed toward Blood Raven and dodged two arrows. He could see her preparing another arrow, so he waited for her to shoot it, then dashed to the side and over to her, kicking the bow from her hand. Blood Raven immediately swung her fist to the side and knocked Shadowblade to the ground. He quickly got up, but she, just as quickly, kicked him in the side, sending him sprawling. As she headed for her bow, he got back up, ran over to her, and kicked the bow across the graveyard. He blocked another blow to the head and began to gather his chi in his head. In a split second's time, he imagined it as a ball of pure energy in his chest. In the next split second, he raised his foot for a kick and imagined the ball of energy drifting down his torso, to his hip, down his leg, and into his foot. The moment his foot connected with Blood Raven's chest, he imagined the ball exploding, and she flew into the tree in the middle of the graveyard, stunned.
"Great Trag'Oul, teeth sharp as steel, send those teeth to me, in form corporeal." Large dragon teeth shot from Horsham's hand into a crowd of ten zombies he'd managed to distract. As one fell dead, he noticed that there was another corpse nearby. He detonated both, and four more zombies fell.
In the few seconds Blood Raven was dazed, Shadowblade ran to her and drove both daggers into her throat, removed them, and stepped back as she began to cough up blood. He noticed the five zombies that were advancing on Horsham and started to run over and help him but was stopped by what appeared to be several lightning bolts coming from Blood Raven. "Horsham, get down!" he yelled, and Horsham complied. The lightning bolts struck all the zombies and they fell dead.
An apparition started to rise from Blood Raven's body, and the two young men went over to investigate. It appeared to be a woman, a few years older than Kashya. She seemed to be crying. Shadowblade and Horsham were startled when she spoke. "I was a fool to trust Andariel. Now, I'll go to Hell, but I deserve no less. I can only thank both of you for freeing me from my corrupted servitude. Tell Kashya I'm sorry and will regret everything for eternity." With that, Blood Raven's ghost disappeared into the ground.
Horsham spoke up. "We succeeded, but I don't feel like any hero."
Shadowblade tried to comfort him. "At least she's not in Andariel's servitude anymore." He hugged Horsham tightly. "I'll get that bow, for Kashya, and we'll return to the encampment. Will you open a portal for me?"
Horsham nodded and opened a blue scroll from his pack as Shadowblade fetched Blood Raven's bow.