Chapter 29
"An empty victory over a useless tool" Azmodan's illusion mocked in the center of the keep. "You have delayed the inevitable destruction. Your walls have grown no stronger. Our assault continues unabated."
"Hmph." The barbarian scowled.
"The stone will be mine." The demon commander threatened as the barbarian kept the deeply embedded scowl on his face. The illusion vanished.
Kasler helped Thane sit up. "You didn't tell me you called him to our side." He looked over his shoulder at the large and grizzled old barbarian.
"Chief." Thane said as he pushed himself to his feet.
The elder barbarian turned and looked crossly at the younger. Core stood stiffly at his side. "I am told you fainted in battle."
"It wasn't exhaustion. It was..." Thane scrambled to explain himself.
The older barbarian held up a hand. "I smelled it." He was short and to the point, he turned to Kasler. "You dishonored my daughter."
Dante and Laufey looked at each other in, neither surprised. Kasler gazed intently at the floor. "..."
The sharp aged warrior's face didn't change. "You will not do it again."
Before anyone could continue there was a shriek from the armory. A solider came scrambling up the stairs calling for the adventurers. Kasler and the others bolted for the source of the trouble. Below they saw Adria shielding herself from the black soulstone as it flickered black and red lights at the air. Leah fought to keep her magic channeling into the stone. Angry demonic voices darted through the air as the party gathered in the doorway. The soulstone shook and the air around it shimmered and shifted. Energy blasted throughout the room and castle, leaving in its wake small black monsters composed of shadows. Kasler ran to Leah as she sank to her knees. Dante sent the pets to kill the shadows that spawned. Laufey zapped the shadows into nothingness if they ventured to close. Dante and the barbarians stood back.
Sweat drenched Leah's face and neck. Circles were visible under her eyes. "Soulstone seems stable now."
Adria flicked off dirt from her shoulder as she advanced slowly on the hateful gem. "The demons rage has been subdued."
Tyrael came down from the stairs leading to the tower's roof. "Yes, but for how long?"
"..." Kasler glared at the angel while helping Leah sit in a chair. Everyone was tired, but for what he saw of Leah, she had so little left.
"Our time grows short!" The angel attempted to muster the people. "We must take this fight to Azmodan!"
The angel felt concern come over him as no one jumped to call to arms. They all looked among each other. The barbarians, Thane and Core, returned to the keep's hall. The elder of the three spoke. "Your men are exhausted. Rest and then charge in. You're castle will hold for an evening."
"Who are you, to tell me what is best?" Tyrael snapped coldly at the barbarian.
The barbarian thumped his chest hard. "I am Mast." Tyrael and he starred at each other for a long time.
"Chief?" Kasler asked quietly as he risked nearing the temperamental beast of a man.
"Old friend!" Tyrael finally broke the silence and embraced the old warrior. "Yes! You, I will hear!"
"..." Kasler's face slacked in shock.
The angel turned to the hunter. "Go. All of you, rest and we shall start again in a few hours."
The barbarian and the angel went to revel in a once forgotten friendship. Kasler assured Leah that the end was near. He found it hard to pry himself from her sadden eyes, but Adria insisted and pulled the hunter back to the hall. In the main keep he saw that Dante and Laufey hadn't bothered to remove their gear as they had slumped into a pile with the pets. Thane had found a sturdy box to sit on and slept sitting there. As he was looking for a spot to rest, he saw that one member was missing, Core. Kasler walked deeper into the hall and saw the wisp of her fire colored hair just outside the gate.
"Core?" Kasler called as he came out to her. She barely turned her head to silently acknowledge him. "I'm sorry."
"Five years. You married me at the point of my fathers axe and in my brothers glare. Claimed your right as a husband, and took off. All because you were to proud to admit you made a mistake and kept going with it like you knew what was going on." Core's words were as cold as the wind pushing around them.
"...Yeah. What else can I say?" Kasler suddenly felt himself shrink, exposed in the mental darkness.
He stole a look at her and saw angry darkness on her face. He tried to think of something to say, but Core stood. "Go. Rest. I am not in the mood to deal with this."
"Core, I didn't..." Kasler started.
"You're free of your obligations." Core glared at him. "Finish your business in Arreat and don't ever come back here."
Kasler watched Core walk into the keep, his stomach sank as he saw Mast standing just in the doorway. The old barbarian's eyes were cold and piercing as the sharpest arrows. The black hunter began to remember why he disliked barbarians so much. As loyal as they are cruel. More true to their words then nature was to her own laws. Kasler found a few moments sleep, albeit dreamless and broken. It was sleep all the same.
Dante grumbled cruelly as he was pulled from his sleep by Laufey. Mast and Tyreal were laying out the plan of attack to Thane and Core. Kasler stood just off to the side, his pets milling sluggishly nearby.
Mast waved the red hunter and wizard over. "You, little hunter, Thane tells me you are useful."
"..." Dante mouthed voiceless curses at his nickname.
"Hmph." Mast scoffed with the faintest trace of a smile. "You and the wizard take the trebuchet in the center of the field here," He pointed on the map. "just past Korsikk bridge."
Laufey nodded for them. "Manageable."
Mast looked at Kasler, "You. The southern ballista." Mast looked at his children. "You two take the other ballistas. Understood?"
Core smirked. "Yes, Chief. Looking forward to it." Thane nodded and thumped his chest. "A light workout before breakfast. Sounds refreshing."
Tyrael and Mast retreated to the depths of the hall. Dante and the others gathered the last of their gear and took to the battlefield beyond the keep. The group started out together in the field, as monsters and demons charged them and led them apart. It wasn't long before they found each other heading off to do the task given to them.
Core felt the snow crunch beneath her boots as she trudged through the blizzard toward her assigned ballista. The sounds of its rigging winding and sudden releases haunted her ears on the wind. The cold air did little to slow her, she welcomed the memories of her life that came with the chill. She hauled her hammer up onto her shoulder as she saw a pack of demons drawing near. Core smirked as she swung the weapon wide, allowing the weight of it to turn her body. Turning herself into a human tornado as she directed her attack toward the plague bearers. They tried to slow her with their poison pools pooling up behind her. They didn't stand a chance as she simply spun into them, the hammer ripping chunks of hide till only bones remained. Her mighty war-cry disturbed the snow falling around her. The demons just a short ways away heard her approaching before they saw her. Soon the ballista was being pelted with hammer strike after hammer strike. The structure shuddered and whined as support beams and fleshy ropes were cut loose. The nearby demons were in a mad scramble to cease the barbarians attack. With another cry she called down the ancient barbarian gods, with their aid the ballista buckled and fell atop it's captain and fellow soldiers. Core grinned as she slowed to halt to admire her work. Few things in Sanctuary ever brought her true joy, but ripping apart demons and siege weapons were a close second. Time was short and her enjoyment was just as brief. The bridge to Azmodan was on the far side of the battlefield. She secretly hoped she would come across the 'little hunter', a swift kick in his ribs promised to bring her another dose of entertainment.
He thanks Anu for his full helmet. The snow was barely noticeable to his face as he carefully approached his next pack of monsters. The pets paced behind of him just out of sight. He had tried to sneak and ambush the monster up to the Korsikk bridge. It failed, the death cries and the sound of his multi shot called attention to his attacks. He hadn't completely disregarded the perk of creeping. Kasler gave his shoulder guard's strap a good tug, a Molotov had snapped its teeth into it and broke the strap as it fell dead. The piece of armor's leather jostled just a bit. It would have to do. He saw a small horde of fallen demons and two shamans shambling just beneath Kasler's ledge. The black armored hunter raised a hand signal to his pets, the fallen shifted and milled in place. Kasler exhaled slowly and suddenly dropped his hand signal, sending his animals to rush past him. Kasler stood and launched himself behind his pets. The fallen froze in surprise as fur masses fell upon them, claws and teeth anchoring the beast into their demon victims. Kasler focused his first two shots on the shaman, catching them both in the shots. By the time the hunter adjusted himself on his feet, the demons laid dead at his feet. He looked up past the snow covered broken wagon to see his ballista letting loose another fiery arrow toward the keep. He tossed aside the notion to use surprise to his advantage. His mind was wrought with angry confusion, he needed to focus on the job at hand more than ever. The demons that left their post to meet Kasler were forced to deal with his collection of well trained and disgruntled beast. The pets snapped and clawed as they could to keep the demons from their master. An occasional demon managed to slip through only to be met with a arrow through it's face. Kasler stood swiftly studying the ballista before him. Once satisfied with his examination of the demonic siege weapon, he lined up his bow. Carefully adjusting the angel in which the magic would fly, he inhaled slowly. Kasler exhaled, and fired. The innumerable amount of arrows flew forth like an angry butchers cleaver. They broke through the arms and stays of the siege tool. Stray arrows ripped apart the pair of pedestals holding up the weapon. With a thunderous crack the ballista's 'rope' lashed out wildly, slicing a pitiful molotov in half. The weapon swayed hard before finally crashing to the ground. The hunter sighed and looked toward where the rally point was. Rakkis crossing, Kasler knew of the crossing and that it was a bridge that closed a canyon's wide bottomless maw. A quick check of his equipment and companions, he set off again into the white out of the snow storm.
Fireballs launched over the top of the wall they had ducked behind. Laufey growled trying to understand what tipped off the monsters to their location. He saw Dante making a 'shh' gesture with a finger. The wizard nodded, as he turned to consider their next move, he saw the problem. They rose over the top of the nearly decimated wall. Two bright red horns acting like bait for everything hostile in the area.
Laufey yanked Dante's head down by an ignorant horn. "These! These horns are why they find us when we duck." The wizard hissed.
"I don't ever recall telling anyone they were" Dante and Laufey cringed in surprise as a fireball shook the wall. The red hunter regained himself. "That they were covert."
"Fool." Laufey shoved the horn from his grasp along with his lovers head.
Dante pushed himself to the balls of his feet and readied his crossbow. "But your fool?"
Laufey channeled a ball of sickly green energy in his hand. "Always."
Nanook, Charlie and Frito growled to gain their masters attention. Dante looked. "Seems the demons are moving away. Most at least."
The wizard waved a open hand over the energy in his other hand, turning it to fire. He pushed the energy into the ground. "Let's give them a surprise visitor."
Fire leapt from the snow and a giant hydra head shrieked into being. The blood clan goats were startled and unable to properly guard themselves as the hydra spewed bountiful amounts of thick fire onto them. The blood clan's death cries called the nearby plague bearers over at a run. Dante released his pets ahead of himself and Laufey. Kicking up snow at the molotovs that tried to ambush them. Laufey managed a shot down the throat of one, the energy broke through its stomach and into the head of it's partner. The gates to the trebuchet slammed down into the snow as the hunter and wizard drew near. With it's guards dead, the two were able to walk up the platform sitting above the siege weapon. Laufey stood at the edge considering a way to destroy it.
"Dante." He called to the hunter. "If we can generate enough force into your rain of vengeance, do you think that would hit the trebuchet below hard enough."
"Laufey." Dante tried to get the wizard to look toward him.
"Perhaps if we lower one of down there we can cut the magic between frame..." The wizard was interrupted by the hunter.
"Laufey!" Dante called louder, humor hinting through his call.
The wizard finally turned. "Anu, help you. What is it?"
"Or we could just shot this thing." Dante held his crossbow up against a floating demonic channeling stone. The hunter smiled as he pulled the trigger and the trebuchet exploded beneath them.
"Or yes, we could do that I suppose." Laufey laughed aloud as they planned their route to Rakkis Crossing.
Thane stood in the snow, listening to the sounds of the battlefield he immersed himself in. Screams, metal clanging, the twangs of ballista's letting loose their bolts. As he stood there for a long moment the number of siege weapons he could hear dwindled till only one bravely still rang out. The darkness of the barbarian's sight helped him. He could hear the world and his eyes were unable to distract him from the truth of the Sanctuary. The next twang of the last ballista gave away it's position. He summoned up his magic into his legs and launched himself forward. Thane could hear the challenging heckles of the demons he sailed over in his leap. He held his sword ready to hack apart a group of demons he planned to land among. Few were crushed beneath his boots as he landed atop their heads. The others felt the bite of his sword in their backs as he prepared another leap. Launching himself again landed him closer to the ballista and into the now crushed skulls of more demons. The ballista fired again and so Thane leaped again. He landed in a group of rather surprised demons manning the ballista. Thane let a smile creep onto his face as he swung his sword into the at the demons. Feeling pride and satisfaction in each sound of snapping bones and wet sloppy bits of flesh splashing against untainted snow. When no more demons were heard charging him, he hurled his body up into the the demonic stone framework of the ballista. He chanted softly against the side of his bloody sword, fire slowly started to dance along the sword's edge. A brief moment passed and soon fire roared viciously along the red steel. Thane laughed maniacally as he hacked away stone and burnt to ash the flesh ropes of the rigging. Planting a grenade at the remaining underbelly of the ballista, Thane felt his work was done. He consider to stay and listen to the explosion, he decided against it. No explosion worth anything was to be watched. For Thane it was a backdrop to strike fear into the demon army. As the explosion went off behind him, Thane felt the heat warm his back and put a vicious smirk on his face as he walked away. Rakkis Crossing was a short way away.
