LOL long enough, eh? Yeah well my Muses seemed to have left me for a while.
=/ It took a good length of Diablo and Star Craft playing to trap them back
in. I can't promise when (or even if) the next chapter will be up, but at
least this one came in. =) Lot's of thanks to all my reviewers and the
people who emailed me. You know I do this for your love. =D
Disclaimer: Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction are the property of Blizzard. Please don't sue since I am not making any money from this, and I am a poor poor university student. ^_^;;
----------------------------------------
For Money or Honor
Chapter Six: To Kill a Mocking Bird
Dodge.
The spear the Corrupted Rogue wielded shot past my torso and pierced the hard earth. Using the moment, I sent a Dragon Talon kick right into her midsection. She cringed in agony as the attack caught her unaware. It only made her more unprepared for the katar I used to slice her throat.
Black blood flowed out as she dropped dead for the second time in her life. Or was that unlife? I didn't know, but I didn't have time to think about it as four more Rogues charged towards me.
I had always assumed that the Rogues trained exclusively with bows, and would have used them in their Hellish servitude. However seeing that one of them carried a heavy club, another a long length of chain, and the rest with lances, made me re-think my earlier assumption.
Charge.
I struck at the one with the chain before she could even use it. I felt the power, my power, start to collect around me. In my trained mind's eye I saw it as a large spark of white light. It orbited around my body, making my heart pump faster and my head clear with a well-honed concentration.
Charge.
With one down, I turned my attention to one of the lancers. She was already aiming a strike at me, but like her predecessor, it was poorly executed. The action had been too hastily done with energy wasted on unnecessary movement. Side-stepping it easily I struck at a weak point on her armor. It parted before my weapon and allowed me to stab the once beating heart. Yanking my arm back towards me, the organ followed suit and ripped out of her chest. She too fell.
Charge.
The club slammed into my buckler, making my arm feel as if it was broken. Even though the monsters' Hell-born zeal made their attacks inefficient, it also lent them unnatural strength. Ignoring my throbbing limb, I parried the next over-head swing directed at me. Dancing past her defenses, I sliced diagonally from her shoulder to her belly. Rotted viscera spilled messily out. One more left.
Strike.
My attack came just in time. The Tiger Strike broke the Corrupted Rogue's lance. Without stopping my arm drove straight into her chest. The power of my ki* rushed into her and caused her chest to explode. The energy dissipated into the air with a shower of red-white sparks.
Breath.
Gasping for air, I surveyed my handiwork. The five tainted Sisters laid on the ground, their bodies already well on their way to becoming so much fertilizer. Unlike the zombies though, their bodies had retained some of the skills they wielded in life.
Glancing at the space above them, I saw the last telltale wisp of a soul leaving. It was blue-green in color, was vaguely human shaped, and probably belonged to the last Rogue I dispatched. Shaking my head in sadness, I bent down to start scavenging their corpses. Even though their bodies were already decaying, some of their equipment was still good.
"I'll take that," I said to one of them as I pulled off her boots. Turning it upside down, I jiggled it a bit to make sure it was truly empty. A few toe segments fell to the ground.
"Gross," I wrinkled my nose in distaste before opening up a town portal. Stepping through the now familiar blue vortex, I came out into the equally familiar Rogue encampment. Nodding quickly to Kashya, I dropped off my items at Charsi's for sale and repair before tramping off to Akara for a quick heal.
"How goes the quest?" she asked as she worked on my buckler arm.
"Still haven't found the Cemetery," I replied as I gritted my teeth. "Do you have to rub so hard?"
"Sorry," she said as she finished cleaning my arm. "Some of the younger Rouges complained that we built the Burial Grounds too far from the Monastery. I suppose it's a good thing now with all those re-animated Rogues."
"Yeah, they put up one heck of a fight," I nodded in agreement. "But Akara, tell me, … when someone's body is raised from the dead … is their soul raised too?"
She thought for a minute as she dabbled some healing potion on me.
"Raising zombies and truly raising someone from the dead, resurrection, are two different things. For the former, the person's soul is only half restored to their bodies. It is forcibly bound to their physical form, and from what I gather it is pure torture for them. In the latter, resurrection completely reinstates the spirit into the body, as well as healing the body back into full health. In the end they are as if they never died."
"Pure torture," I muttered. "Humph, I always thought the undead were soulless corpses powered by evil."
"It is, but the soul is also present in a sense. It is needed to make the body move, and to tap into the talents owned by the person."
"I see," I replied half-heartedly, turned off at the topic. If I died, would I become one of them? Would the nameless evil change me too into its willing servant? Some might claim I already was a minion of evil, but I didn't think they meant this.
Shuddering at the thought, I looked away. Roaming the camp with my eyes, I spotted a strangely smooth section of ground near some wagons.
"What's that?" I pointed to it.
"Hmm?" she asked, hiding her irritation as I almost made her spill some salve. "That is a waypoint. The great Horadrim mages created them during the Sin Wars to traverse great distances without the use of portals. No one knows how to make them anymore, but they should still function."
"Do you know how they work?" I inquired.
"Scattered all around the world of Sanctuary are other waypoints. Simply step on them to activate, and it will bring you to a waypoint somewhere else."
"How?"
Akara shrugged. "There, you're healed now. Go under the protection of the Great Eye."
"Sure thing," I smiled wanly as I left her. I had a feeling I would be back pretty soon. Collecting the items I wanted to keep from Charsi, I stepped back through the portal and re-entered the Cold Plains.
Gripping my new small shield tighter I continued on. I had painstakingly cleared out the area of Corrupted Rogues, Fallen demons (as the red men were called by the Sisters), and Yeti. Warriv told me that the Yeti and their ilk were once peace-loving creatures who seldom liked to be seen by humans. In the wake of the evil that has passed these lands, the large furry beasts were now quick to anger and even quicker to strike.
'Just one more innocent race victimized by all this,' I thought bitterly to myself. Where in blazes was the Light? The elders had told me stories of righteous angels coming to the rescue of mankind. Why weren't they helping now?
'Because they don't want to leave the oh so comfy High Heavens, that's why,' I snorted. 'Instead they let people suffer and clean up the mess Hell leaves behind.'
Giving up on trying to figure out the Light, I focused on where I was going.
My gold and gem collection, currently kept in a small chest Warriv had graciously given me, was growing as I explored. Chests that had probably fallen off of Warriv's caravan, abandoned homesteads, and secret stashes were easily plundered. At this rate, I would be able to live comfortably for at least a year, more if I could be frugal.
'That's right,' I told myself as a light smatter of rain began. 'I'm doing this for the money. Well, that and paying the Sisters back. But after this, I am out of here to the next town. No more monsters, no more brain eating zombies, and definitely no more walking in the rain!'
Just then I caught something rising in the horizon. As I trod closer towards it, a large iron bar fence appeared. The Rogue Cemetery loomed before me, its tombstones and crypts blurred by low hanging fog. The jutting pieces of stone seemed like islands in a sea of mist enclosed in the cold embrace of metal arms.
"This looks like fun," I sighed as I re-adjusted my grip on my katar. Looking at the dismal scenery, I reluctantly strode towards it.
The iron fence was an impressive piece of work. It continued from either side into the fog, so I didn't know how big the perimeter really was. The top of each bar was created to end in sharp points to deter grave robbers. Of course it would be a wonder if they could even climb the twenty-foot height of the bars, but it wasn't impossible either. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to go through that trouble; the gate was open. The giant entrance was twisted and hanging off one of its hinges, despite being made of the same tough metal as the fence. Stone columns on either side of the gate were crumbling as well, but it wasn't due to age. If I was correct, a large group of people had surged through and hadn't bothered to widen the opening.
'Corrupted Rogues,' I frowned as I entered. 'Talk about walking into the lion's den.'
But to my great surprise and relief, there was not one deteriorating face to be seen. For all I could gather, I was alone.
"Dammit, am I too late?" I muttered to myself as I traveled past the rows of graves. Some of them were open, the dirt around them showing marks made by fingers clawing away from inside. Broken wooden caskets were also littered within.
Where was the enemy anyway? Had they attacked the encampment while I was walking?
"No, it couldn't be," I shook my head at the thought. I just couldn't imagine the Rogues being overrun by these things. Suddenly a large oak tree emerged from the mists. Its dry dead branches slowly let its leaves fall to the ground. But still hanging from its thick limbs were two dead Sisters. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and their bodies were covered with cuts, bruises, and sores. Strong hemp-rope nooses dug underneath their chins like overzealous lovers. From what I could tell, they had suffocated to death since their necks appeared to be intact. I hoped they had died before they received those grievous injuries, but somehow I doubted I was right about that.
"Well, well, well, … who's handiwork lies here?" I fought off a wave of nausea. I think I caught the sight of bite marks on one of the Rogues' leg.
*Fwoop*
A flaming arrow imbedded itself into a grave marker I was standing beside.
"Oh crap," I thought as I rolled to the ground. More flame arrows flew by.
"Join my army of the dead!" an appalling yet eager voice said from the surrounding vapor.
"No thanks, I've already got work," I shouted out, more to humor myself then anything else. A cellmate had once pointed out a man who laughed a lot in the prison we were in. I thought he was crazy, but my cellmate explained to me it was only gallow humor. The guards had slated the buffoon for execution the next day, and he was handling the stress in the only way he had: laughter. Now I hoped that I would be luckier than that guy had been.
Keeping low to the ground I scurried from my previous location. Blood Raven, for who else could it be, knew where I was, but I had no clue as to her position. An eerie silence had fallen over the place again, but I could faintly hear the heavy shuffling of zombies in the distance. Perfect, this was all I needed.
'At least they aren't Corrupted Rogues,' I pointed out to myself, which I replied to with a quick, 'shut up.'
There she was, standing near the oak tree. I could see her behind one of the hanging Rogue's corpse, the dead body swaying in the breeze. The well- known stench of death invaded my nose once more, making me wish I could somehow turn that sense off.
Cautiously I started creeping towards her, stopping when she faced me and moving when she wasn't. Stopping at the last row of tombstones, I crouched down and looked at her.
Blood Raven was a tall woman, much like Kashya, but that was where the similarities ended. Her skin was a deathly white, and even in this distance I could see blue and green veins underneath her skin. On her limbs painful looking spikes protruded out. Dried blood caked the area, and it must have been excruciating growing those things. Over her head was a large bone mask with two long, curving horns on either side. Crimson eyes looked out from that mask, scanning the area for me.
'Now or never,' I geared myself for an attack.
Unexpectedly a hand shot out of the dirt and clamped around my ankle. It squeezed tightly, using me to pull itself up. Yelping in shock, I pulled my leg away. The newly raised zombie's wrist snapped apart, and I grabbed the offending hand and threw it at a gravestone. It shattered into a myriad of brittle bones.
Through sheer reflex I began to run even before the hand hit the stone. I ran to the right as Blood Raven started firing once more. Arrows of fire zinged past me as I zigzagged to avoid getting hit. Bearing down on the demonic woman, I aimed a Dragon Talon at her bow to try and smash it. My booted foot missed its target but I did catch her square in the stomach. With a grunt she staggered back, but before I could press my advantage she waved her hand. From the ground several zombies surfaced, their only goal to spill my blood.
"Shit," I snapped as I averted my path and ran away. Hiding behind a large mausoleum, I stopped to catch my breath and consider my options. Blood Raven was no doubtedly raising more minions to aid her. If any of her battle savvy still remained within her cursed form, Blood Raven would also stand amongst her undead army in order to shield herself from any attacks. These were one of the times I wished I had chosen to learn Traps instead of Martial Arts.
'Okay, there's no other choice but to rush her head on,' I grimaced at the prospect. That wasn't exactly a move I was eager to do.
'Move like the whisper of the wind, but attack like a raging dragon,' my martial arts mentor had always told me. 'When the enemy moves to strike back, all they shall see is shadow.'
Or as a fellow thief once told me, 'find another way, you idiot.'
Smiling slightly at the memory, I moved off and slipped out of one of many breaches in the fence. Just being around this much malevolent power seemed to make things decay faster. I silently walked beside the fence and only returned to the Cemetery's confines as soon as I thought I was far enough.
Using all the discipline I still had, I edged towards the giant oak tree. The side I was approaching had no zombies, but I could hear numerous moans emanating nearby. Carefully I climbed the tree, making sure that no branch moved at my passage.
There she was standing just a few feet away from the tree's furthest twig. As I suspected, undead zombies and now even animated skeletons, guarded her in all directions.
'I hope this works.'
With a powerful leap, I launched myself from the tree and straight towards Blood Raven. I aimed my katar at her head.
The wind screaming by was deafening, or was that me who was screaming? Her minions turned my way, as did she, but by then I was upon her. The tip of my katar slashed at her neck, exposed when she looked up. Dark red blood spurted out, spraying my face with gore. But she did not fall.
Hissing menacingly at me, she readied another shot, but I struck again. And again. I didn't stop slashing at her, my body on automatic as I attacked in a frenzy. The close press of her minions kept her from running away, and a distant part of me was proud that I had made her own advantage into her downfall.
Finally Blood Raven's body started to drop, bursts of electricity exploding outwards. Each minion it touched dropped bonelessly to the ground, their souls released and their bodies returning to Death's embrace.
Blood Raven's own spirit shot up into the sky, her blue white energy leaving a glowing trail in the air.
I watched her soul fly up, and wondered where she went. Well, wherever it was, I was sure she was happy now.
Wiping something from my eye, I briskly began to collect any booty the undead left. It appeared that even they liked to plunder their own kin, but I was sure that they wouldn't mind me taking the spoils. I did release them from pure agony after all.
Exiting the Burial Grounds, I couldn't help smirking to myself. "What I kill, stays dead," I exclaimed aloud with pride. I thought about the praise Kashya might shower me with, and the rewards Akara may have in store. Eagerly I took out the Tome of Town Portal I had bought from the High Priestess, only to find its pages empty. Evidently I had used all the power stored within.
"From bad to worse," I sighed as I started on my LONG way back to the camp. Going through the Cold Plains again was more peaceful now though since all that lay here was the truly dead. I eventually saw the copse of woods that signaled the border between the Cold Plains and the Blood Moore. Nearby was an abandoned Fallen camp where a particularly nasty Fallen Shaman had lived with his people. I had been content to leave them alone until he and his fellows had launched fireballs from their staves. Well, I had shown them that I was not one to be messed with.
Grinning at their cold corpses, I didn't watch where I was going … and tripped. With a loud thud I fell on the sparse grass. Coughing up dirt, I sheepishly got up and was glad that there was no one to see my blunder. Dusting myself off, I realized that I was standing in some very odd dirt, stone more exactly. Energy was dancing through my feet to tingle every nerve of my spine and make my scalp prickle.
Examining the stone closer, I saw that it was carved with a particular design, one that I had seen in the Rogue Camp. And with that, I felt energy building up around me and then suddenly detonate in a corona of magical force.
* Ki – in case some of you don't know, ki (Japanese) or chi (Chinese) is the 'life force' some people believe that every living thing has. Martial artists claim to be able to channel their ki to perform extraordinary tasks like breaking bricks with their hands, and things like that. A more modern theory is that the 'force' people see as ki is actually an electromagnetic field people emit. Well, if I didn't explain it enough … go watch some Dragon Ball (or better yet, Ranma ½). =) Oh and this is my current understanding of ki. If others have a more accurate, or differing, view, share it with me, ne? ;)
Disclaimer: Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction are the property of Blizzard. Please don't sue since I am not making any money from this, and I am a poor poor university student. ^_^;;
----------------------------------------
For Money or Honor
Chapter Six: To Kill a Mocking Bird
Dodge.
The spear the Corrupted Rogue wielded shot past my torso and pierced the hard earth. Using the moment, I sent a Dragon Talon kick right into her midsection. She cringed in agony as the attack caught her unaware. It only made her more unprepared for the katar I used to slice her throat.
Black blood flowed out as she dropped dead for the second time in her life. Or was that unlife? I didn't know, but I didn't have time to think about it as four more Rogues charged towards me.
I had always assumed that the Rogues trained exclusively with bows, and would have used them in their Hellish servitude. However seeing that one of them carried a heavy club, another a long length of chain, and the rest with lances, made me re-think my earlier assumption.
Charge.
I struck at the one with the chain before she could even use it. I felt the power, my power, start to collect around me. In my trained mind's eye I saw it as a large spark of white light. It orbited around my body, making my heart pump faster and my head clear with a well-honed concentration.
Charge.
With one down, I turned my attention to one of the lancers. She was already aiming a strike at me, but like her predecessor, it was poorly executed. The action had been too hastily done with energy wasted on unnecessary movement. Side-stepping it easily I struck at a weak point on her armor. It parted before my weapon and allowed me to stab the once beating heart. Yanking my arm back towards me, the organ followed suit and ripped out of her chest. She too fell.
Charge.
The club slammed into my buckler, making my arm feel as if it was broken. Even though the monsters' Hell-born zeal made their attacks inefficient, it also lent them unnatural strength. Ignoring my throbbing limb, I parried the next over-head swing directed at me. Dancing past her defenses, I sliced diagonally from her shoulder to her belly. Rotted viscera spilled messily out. One more left.
Strike.
My attack came just in time. The Tiger Strike broke the Corrupted Rogue's lance. Without stopping my arm drove straight into her chest. The power of my ki* rushed into her and caused her chest to explode. The energy dissipated into the air with a shower of red-white sparks.
Breath.
Gasping for air, I surveyed my handiwork. The five tainted Sisters laid on the ground, their bodies already well on their way to becoming so much fertilizer. Unlike the zombies though, their bodies had retained some of the skills they wielded in life.
Glancing at the space above them, I saw the last telltale wisp of a soul leaving. It was blue-green in color, was vaguely human shaped, and probably belonged to the last Rogue I dispatched. Shaking my head in sadness, I bent down to start scavenging their corpses. Even though their bodies were already decaying, some of their equipment was still good.
"I'll take that," I said to one of them as I pulled off her boots. Turning it upside down, I jiggled it a bit to make sure it was truly empty. A few toe segments fell to the ground.
"Gross," I wrinkled my nose in distaste before opening up a town portal. Stepping through the now familiar blue vortex, I came out into the equally familiar Rogue encampment. Nodding quickly to Kashya, I dropped off my items at Charsi's for sale and repair before tramping off to Akara for a quick heal.
"How goes the quest?" she asked as she worked on my buckler arm.
"Still haven't found the Cemetery," I replied as I gritted my teeth. "Do you have to rub so hard?"
"Sorry," she said as she finished cleaning my arm. "Some of the younger Rouges complained that we built the Burial Grounds too far from the Monastery. I suppose it's a good thing now with all those re-animated Rogues."
"Yeah, they put up one heck of a fight," I nodded in agreement. "But Akara, tell me, … when someone's body is raised from the dead … is their soul raised too?"
She thought for a minute as she dabbled some healing potion on me.
"Raising zombies and truly raising someone from the dead, resurrection, are two different things. For the former, the person's soul is only half restored to their bodies. It is forcibly bound to their physical form, and from what I gather it is pure torture for them. In the latter, resurrection completely reinstates the spirit into the body, as well as healing the body back into full health. In the end they are as if they never died."
"Pure torture," I muttered. "Humph, I always thought the undead were soulless corpses powered by evil."
"It is, but the soul is also present in a sense. It is needed to make the body move, and to tap into the talents owned by the person."
"I see," I replied half-heartedly, turned off at the topic. If I died, would I become one of them? Would the nameless evil change me too into its willing servant? Some might claim I already was a minion of evil, but I didn't think they meant this.
Shuddering at the thought, I looked away. Roaming the camp with my eyes, I spotted a strangely smooth section of ground near some wagons.
"What's that?" I pointed to it.
"Hmm?" she asked, hiding her irritation as I almost made her spill some salve. "That is a waypoint. The great Horadrim mages created them during the Sin Wars to traverse great distances without the use of portals. No one knows how to make them anymore, but they should still function."
"Do you know how they work?" I inquired.
"Scattered all around the world of Sanctuary are other waypoints. Simply step on them to activate, and it will bring you to a waypoint somewhere else."
"How?"
Akara shrugged. "There, you're healed now. Go under the protection of the Great Eye."
"Sure thing," I smiled wanly as I left her. I had a feeling I would be back pretty soon. Collecting the items I wanted to keep from Charsi, I stepped back through the portal and re-entered the Cold Plains.
Gripping my new small shield tighter I continued on. I had painstakingly cleared out the area of Corrupted Rogues, Fallen demons (as the red men were called by the Sisters), and Yeti. Warriv told me that the Yeti and their ilk were once peace-loving creatures who seldom liked to be seen by humans. In the wake of the evil that has passed these lands, the large furry beasts were now quick to anger and even quicker to strike.
'Just one more innocent race victimized by all this,' I thought bitterly to myself. Where in blazes was the Light? The elders had told me stories of righteous angels coming to the rescue of mankind. Why weren't they helping now?
'Because they don't want to leave the oh so comfy High Heavens, that's why,' I snorted. 'Instead they let people suffer and clean up the mess Hell leaves behind.'
Giving up on trying to figure out the Light, I focused on where I was going.
My gold and gem collection, currently kept in a small chest Warriv had graciously given me, was growing as I explored. Chests that had probably fallen off of Warriv's caravan, abandoned homesteads, and secret stashes were easily plundered. At this rate, I would be able to live comfortably for at least a year, more if I could be frugal.
'That's right,' I told myself as a light smatter of rain began. 'I'm doing this for the money. Well, that and paying the Sisters back. But after this, I am out of here to the next town. No more monsters, no more brain eating zombies, and definitely no more walking in the rain!'
Just then I caught something rising in the horizon. As I trod closer towards it, a large iron bar fence appeared. The Rogue Cemetery loomed before me, its tombstones and crypts blurred by low hanging fog. The jutting pieces of stone seemed like islands in a sea of mist enclosed in the cold embrace of metal arms.
"This looks like fun," I sighed as I re-adjusted my grip on my katar. Looking at the dismal scenery, I reluctantly strode towards it.
The iron fence was an impressive piece of work. It continued from either side into the fog, so I didn't know how big the perimeter really was. The top of each bar was created to end in sharp points to deter grave robbers. Of course it would be a wonder if they could even climb the twenty-foot height of the bars, but it wasn't impossible either. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to go through that trouble; the gate was open. The giant entrance was twisted and hanging off one of its hinges, despite being made of the same tough metal as the fence. Stone columns on either side of the gate were crumbling as well, but it wasn't due to age. If I was correct, a large group of people had surged through and hadn't bothered to widen the opening.
'Corrupted Rogues,' I frowned as I entered. 'Talk about walking into the lion's den.'
But to my great surprise and relief, there was not one deteriorating face to be seen. For all I could gather, I was alone.
"Dammit, am I too late?" I muttered to myself as I traveled past the rows of graves. Some of them were open, the dirt around them showing marks made by fingers clawing away from inside. Broken wooden caskets were also littered within.
Where was the enemy anyway? Had they attacked the encampment while I was walking?
"No, it couldn't be," I shook my head at the thought. I just couldn't imagine the Rogues being overrun by these things. Suddenly a large oak tree emerged from the mists. Its dry dead branches slowly let its leaves fall to the ground. But still hanging from its thick limbs were two dead Sisters. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and their bodies were covered with cuts, bruises, and sores. Strong hemp-rope nooses dug underneath their chins like overzealous lovers. From what I could tell, they had suffocated to death since their necks appeared to be intact. I hoped they had died before they received those grievous injuries, but somehow I doubted I was right about that.
"Well, well, well, … who's handiwork lies here?" I fought off a wave of nausea. I think I caught the sight of bite marks on one of the Rogues' leg.
*Fwoop*
A flaming arrow imbedded itself into a grave marker I was standing beside.
"Oh crap," I thought as I rolled to the ground. More flame arrows flew by.
"Join my army of the dead!" an appalling yet eager voice said from the surrounding vapor.
"No thanks, I've already got work," I shouted out, more to humor myself then anything else. A cellmate had once pointed out a man who laughed a lot in the prison we were in. I thought he was crazy, but my cellmate explained to me it was only gallow humor. The guards had slated the buffoon for execution the next day, and he was handling the stress in the only way he had: laughter. Now I hoped that I would be luckier than that guy had been.
Keeping low to the ground I scurried from my previous location. Blood Raven, for who else could it be, knew where I was, but I had no clue as to her position. An eerie silence had fallen over the place again, but I could faintly hear the heavy shuffling of zombies in the distance. Perfect, this was all I needed.
'At least they aren't Corrupted Rogues,' I pointed out to myself, which I replied to with a quick, 'shut up.'
There she was, standing near the oak tree. I could see her behind one of the hanging Rogue's corpse, the dead body swaying in the breeze. The well- known stench of death invaded my nose once more, making me wish I could somehow turn that sense off.
Cautiously I started creeping towards her, stopping when she faced me and moving when she wasn't. Stopping at the last row of tombstones, I crouched down and looked at her.
Blood Raven was a tall woman, much like Kashya, but that was where the similarities ended. Her skin was a deathly white, and even in this distance I could see blue and green veins underneath her skin. On her limbs painful looking spikes protruded out. Dried blood caked the area, and it must have been excruciating growing those things. Over her head was a large bone mask with two long, curving horns on either side. Crimson eyes looked out from that mask, scanning the area for me.
'Now or never,' I geared myself for an attack.
Unexpectedly a hand shot out of the dirt and clamped around my ankle. It squeezed tightly, using me to pull itself up. Yelping in shock, I pulled my leg away. The newly raised zombie's wrist snapped apart, and I grabbed the offending hand and threw it at a gravestone. It shattered into a myriad of brittle bones.
Through sheer reflex I began to run even before the hand hit the stone. I ran to the right as Blood Raven started firing once more. Arrows of fire zinged past me as I zigzagged to avoid getting hit. Bearing down on the demonic woman, I aimed a Dragon Talon at her bow to try and smash it. My booted foot missed its target but I did catch her square in the stomach. With a grunt she staggered back, but before I could press my advantage she waved her hand. From the ground several zombies surfaced, their only goal to spill my blood.
"Shit," I snapped as I averted my path and ran away. Hiding behind a large mausoleum, I stopped to catch my breath and consider my options. Blood Raven was no doubtedly raising more minions to aid her. If any of her battle savvy still remained within her cursed form, Blood Raven would also stand amongst her undead army in order to shield herself from any attacks. These were one of the times I wished I had chosen to learn Traps instead of Martial Arts.
'Okay, there's no other choice but to rush her head on,' I grimaced at the prospect. That wasn't exactly a move I was eager to do.
'Move like the whisper of the wind, but attack like a raging dragon,' my martial arts mentor had always told me. 'When the enemy moves to strike back, all they shall see is shadow.'
Or as a fellow thief once told me, 'find another way, you idiot.'
Smiling slightly at the memory, I moved off and slipped out of one of many breaches in the fence. Just being around this much malevolent power seemed to make things decay faster. I silently walked beside the fence and only returned to the Cemetery's confines as soon as I thought I was far enough.
Using all the discipline I still had, I edged towards the giant oak tree. The side I was approaching had no zombies, but I could hear numerous moans emanating nearby. Carefully I climbed the tree, making sure that no branch moved at my passage.
There she was standing just a few feet away from the tree's furthest twig. As I suspected, undead zombies and now even animated skeletons, guarded her in all directions.
'I hope this works.'
With a powerful leap, I launched myself from the tree and straight towards Blood Raven. I aimed my katar at her head.
The wind screaming by was deafening, or was that me who was screaming? Her minions turned my way, as did she, but by then I was upon her. The tip of my katar slashed at her neck, exposed when she looked up. Dark red blood spurted out, spraying my face with gore. But she did not fall.
Hissing menacingly at me, she readied another shot, but I struck again. And again. I didn't stop slashing at her, my body on automatic as I attacked in a frenzy. The close press of her minions kept her from running away, and a distant part of me was proud that I had made her own advantage into her downfall.
Finally Blood Raven's body started to drop, bursts of electricity exploding outwards. Each minion it touched dropped bonelessly to the ground, their souls released and their bodies returning to Death's embrace.
Blood Raven's own spirit shot up into the sky, her blue white energy leaving a glowing trail in the air.
I watched her soul fly up, and wondered where she went. Well, wherever it was, I was sure she was happy now.
Wiping something from my eye, I briskly began to collect any booty the undead left. It appeared that even they liked to plunder their own kin, but I was sure that they wouldn't mind me taking the spoils. I did release them from pure agony after all.
Exiting the Burial Grounds, I couldn't help smirking to myself. "What I kill, stays dead," I exclaimed aloud with pride. I thought about the praise Kashya might shower me with, and the rewards Akara may have in store. Eagerly I took out the Tome of Town Portal I had bought from the High Priestess, only to find its pages empty. Evidently I had used all the power stored within.
"From bad to worse," I sighed as I started on my LONG way back to the camp. Going through the Cold Plains again was more peaceful now though since all that lay here was the truly dead. I eventually saw the copse of woods that signaled the border between the Cold Plains and the Blood Moore. Nearby was an abandoned Fallen camp where a particularly nasty Fallen Shaman had lived with his people. I had been content to leave them alone until he and his fellows had launched fireballs from their staves. Well, I had shown them that I was not one to be messed with.
Grinning at their cold corpses, I didn't watch where I was going … and tripped. With a loud thud I fell on the sparse grass. Coughing up dirt, I sheepishly got up and was glad that there was no one to see my blunder. Dusting myself off, I realized that I was standing in some very odd dirt, stone more exactly. Energy was dancing through my feet to tingle every nerve of my spine and make my scalp prickle.
Examining the stone closer, I saw that it was carved with a particular design, one that I had seen in the Rogue Camp. And with that, I felt energy building up around me and then suddenly detonate in a corona of magical force.
* Ki – in case some of you don't know, ki (Japanese) or chi (Chinese) is the 'life force' some people believe that every living thing has. Martial artists claim to be able to channel their ki to perform extraordinary tasks like breaking bricks with their hands, and things like that. A more modern theory is that the 'force' people see as ki is actually an electromagnetic field people emit. Well, if I didn't explain it enough … go watch some Dragon Ball (or better yet, Ranma ½). =) Oh and this is my current understanding of ki. If others have a more accurate, or differing, view, share it with me, ne? ;)