Wow thanks again to Cheese for reviewing and catching my mistakes! I really ought to proofread more, eh? Anyway some possible names for you are: Cheese Whiz, Macaroni and Cheese, Cheese Puffs, Cheese Balls, Cheese Pizza, ummm just cheese related food. =P Anyway I will try to make this chapter 'perfect' in the sense of no errors (heh, good luck on that!). Anyway please read and review everyone!

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 ^_^;;

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For Money or Honor

Chapter Eleven: The Ruins of Tristram

We exited into a land of chaos. Smoke hung thick in the air, burning my lungs, making it hard for me to breathe. It stung at my eyes, tears trickling down as I blinked the irritation away. There was so much smoke that it looked like a fog had fallen over everything. Large tongues of flames reached for the dark sky as the town of Tristram burned.

I felt Debi touch my shoulder, and she handed me a wet cloth. She had soaked it in a nearby stream, and we tied them over our mouths so we could at least breathe in this Hell on earth.

"What do we do now?" she asked me, glancing back at the red portal behind us. It would be so easy just to turn around and run away from all this …

"We start looking," I said with a little difficulty, hindered by our make shift masks. "Cain has to be here somewhere, and we bring him back to Akara, dead or alive."

The Rogue nodded at me, and we commenced our search.

Randomly following the wide dirt roads, we bore witness to the atrocities that happened here. There were many charred corpses strewn about like forgotten dolls, and all around us buildings burned and crumbled to the ground. Many times we had to change our direction when a home or business crashed down, sending sparks and searing heat to rain down on us.

Guiding Debi through a back alley, we ducked into the burnt out husk of a house. Its wooden components were mostly ash now, but its stone supports still stood. Nothing inside the house survived; there was no furniture, books, or anything that indicated someone used to live here. It was as if the attacker wasn't content with just torching the place – he, she, or it seemed to want to erase any evidence of life. I had to admit that whoever did it had done a pretty good job.

We sat there in the ruins of a home, silent and already tired. It was true I was fatigued from just getting here. The battle to get the Cairn Stones and the Scroll of Inifuss had not been easy. But there seemed to be a feeling of depression and hopelessness in the air. It just seemed to leaden my limbs, and crush my spirit. Nothing could have lived after the attack on Tristram. It was foolish to go on for an old man I didn't know, and was probably dead already.

"Mez, we better get moving," Debi said beside me, her voice just as tired as mine was. "We have a lot of ground to cover still."

"Yeah I guess so," I sighed. It had been me who said we would find this Cain person. I supposed I had to stick to my word though I hadn't done that in years.

Slowly we exited the building through the front entrance. The wooden door lay several feet away as if blasted apart by some great force. It made me frown with curiosity. Why would someone do this to Tristram? The city was well off, but it wasn't extravagantly rich. It was fortified enough that the damages any raiding party took would offset any gain to be had from plundering. And from what I knew, Tristram was not known for its magical items or practitioners. What would anyone want from this place? Or more importantly, what would demons want here?

My latest bout of introspection led me to stumble over something. I fell to the ground with a loud crash, sending large clouds of ash and soot to fly up.

"Mez, are you all right?" Debi rushed to my side.

"I'm fine," I managed to say before spitting out grit and dirt. Rubbing my dirty face, I rose from the ground annoyed. Looking down, I saw what had tripped me.

Lying prone at my feet was the corpse of a young woman. Her head and shoulders were still intact, and I could tell that she was beautiful once. Soot covered her face, but her loveliness still shone through. But all her hair was gone, ripped out or simply burnt. Past her shoulders her skin ended. I could see her bare bones and they had marks on them. The lack of flesh or viscera indicated that she had probably been eaten, hopefully when she was dead. Her leg bones were missing, and I wasn't too eager to find them.

"By the Light," Debi said in a tight voice. It snapped me out of my own horror, and I roughly turned her around.

"Keep walking," I said adamantly. "There's nothing more we can do for that girl."

She trailed behind me as I walked away, but our footsteps seemed stiff. So much wanton devastation and death surrounded us, and there was nothing I could do.

'Don't be stupid,' I snapped at myself. 'I don't know these people; they mean nothing to me. Just finish the job and leave. Once this is done, I can get away from here, maybe head north to Ensteig. Nothing Akara or Kashya says can make me stay here anymore.'

We walked without direction again, and eventually reached a wooded area close to town. Rocks littered the ground, and gathered around a small clear patch of land were some Fallen demons. They hadn't noticed us yet, and they danced around something while two Fallen Shamans spoke to each other. Through the darkness and the ever-present smoke, I could make out another body. It was small, probably that of a child. One of the Fallen bent over the body, grabbed a limb, and tugged sharply. I heard a loud popping sound, and the limb came off. The others clapped in glee while the one with the child's limb used it as a club. It beat some of its fellow Fallen over the head while the rest laughed.

Before I knew it, I was running. A red haze seemed to have fallen over my sight, and all I could think of was killing every last one of those sadistic bastards. The first to fall was the one with the limb. My katar cleanly severed his head, and red blood spurted up into the air as he dropped to the ground. The Shamans immediately let lose a volley of fireballs, but I let my shield take the hits. Not even fazed I rushed at them next. One died as quickly as its minion, but the other one managed to stab me with its dagger. The pain didn't register on my mind, and I slashed its neck. The rest of the Fallen were either dead by Debi's arrows or running towards Tristram. I let them go, watching them as I breathed heavily. It was suddenly so hard to suck in air, to even think. The cloth I wore over my nose and mouth was restricting, and I yanked it off.

"Are you okay?" Debi ran up to me. "What were you thinking? You could have warned me you were going to attack them!"

I turned abruptly away from my mercenary, unease slowly replacing my initial numbness. Why had I done that? It wasn't like me to lose control, especially in such a dangerous situation.

"Sorry," I rubbed my tired eyes. "I … I don't know what overcame me."

"Well, just don't let it happen again," Debi said sympathetically. "I know this is hard but … we've come all this way. We should finish what we started, and not give up."

"I know that," I said through gritted teeth. Anger boiled up in my chest, and for the life of me, I didn't know why I felt so mad. Chalking it up to frustration over the entire ordeal, I took deep slow breathes again and let my anger seep out in pieces. This was no time to lose my focus.

Glancing down at the limb the Fallen had dropped, I saw that it was actually a wooden leg. There was a cupped section where an amputated thigh could fit into, while the rest of it was a long wooden stick. The child, a boy, had met misfortune long before his murder happened.

"Come on, let's go follow those demons," she pointed to the retreating forms of the Fallen. "They might lead us to where Cain is."

"All right," I nodded, my eyes staring at another corpse. I was seeing too many of these lately for my own good. One time I had been in the village of Clear Springs when a plague had struck. Even then there hadn't been this many dead. I thought the life of a transient thief was bad; clearly the life of a destined hero was worse.

Resting atop a stone was a pouch. It must have come from the boy since I doubted demons would use such things. In any case it seemed full of something, and I was betting I knew what. My hand hovered over if on its own accord, but I didn't pick it up yet. My eyes shifted back to the peg legged boy.

'I'll put this to good use,' I silently promised him as I hesitantly took the gold coins.

"Mez, come on!" Debi urged me.

"Coming," I said, stuffing the money into my sack before walking away.

Forcibly clearing my mind as best I could, we stealthily tracked the demons through the dead town of Tristram. A tension was building up inside of me because I knew there were probably more demons about. It was a question of whether we could defeat them all or not.

Their fleeing forms eventually led us to the town square. In the center was a large stone fountain that no longer spouted water. The water that was still in the fountain's trough was black with dirt and other disgusting things. Large buildings dominated this area, and they had probably been businesses of some sort. There was what looked to be a healing house, an inn, and a smithy. But most importantly of all, located near a row of townhouses, was a cage. It was suspended from the ground with rope attached to a pulley system. A large wooden post kept the cage aloft, and inside I could see the very still form of a man, his hands tied behind his back, and his arms secured to his torso.

"Cain," I whispered to Debi, and she nodded. We had finally found the last of the Horadrim, but now there was the problem of freeing him. Several dozen Fallen and their Shaman milled around, as well as Skeleton Archers, and Goatmen. They numbered the size of a small army, and I wondered how we would tackle this problem.

"How are we going to kill them all?" Debi said in a slightly whiny voice. Glancing over to her, I saw her biting her lower lip in anxiety.

"We need to split them up, and take a few of them at a time," I said. How to do so was still a mystery though. Our attention was suddenly caught when the nearby inn collapsed upon itself. Sparks and flames leapt out, a wave of heat and suffocating ash briefly washing over us. It attracted the attention of some of the monsters, and a few of the Goatmen walked over to investigate.

"I have an idea," I whispered to her. "Follow me."

As quietly as we could, we slipped away from the central square. It took a little finding, but eventually we came across a magic shop.

'I hope this place is still stocked,' I thought to myself as we entered. The interior was as foul and abandoned as the town was, but unlike the first home we had visited, the furniture and wares it held was still mostly intact. Quickly scanning the disheveled shelves, I found what I was looking for.

"Hold this open," I handed Debi my sack. She obligingly did so as I stuffed bottles into it. The Rogue seemed curious to as what I was planning, but she didn't voice any questions. Finally I had cleared the shelf of all its supplies. After carefully tying the sack closed, I went to the back of the store. Finding the materials I needed, I made a small batch of something … something I hoped I remembered how to create correctly. One mistake and it would literally blow in my face.

"What is that?" Debi finally blurted out, her curiosity finally getting the best of her.

"It's a little something a friend taught me how to make when I was a child," I replied. "It'll help us with defeating those monsters."

By the look on her face, she was dubious. The objects I held were spherical and tiny. All five fit into the palm of my hand. I admitted they weren't much in appearance, but they would fit our purposes. I hoped.

"All right, here's the plan. I'll attract the attention of those demons, and lead them away from Cain. While they're chasing me, go to Cain's gibbet and free him. Open this town portal and lead him in," I finished off, handing her a scroll.

"What about you? You can't defeat all those monsters!" she argued.

"If my plan works, they won't stand a chance," I smiled grimly. "Anyway we're running out of time. I don't know how much longer that old man can stand this place."

'And the same could be said for me,' I added to myself.

"Okay … but be careful," she said reluctantly.

"Honey, we're talking about me here. I'm always careful," I winked at her. "Good luck, Debi."

"To you as well."

We looked at each other then, unspoken thoughts and emotions going between us. I knew that if she died, I would miss her in a sense. All I could hope for was that she felt the same way as I did. I wasn't exactly the realm's most conscientious employer.

'Getting soft,' I reminded myself, and I broke our eye contact. Stepping out of the magic shop, I heard her follow me out, and then go in the opposite direction.

The trek to the other side of the town square was silent save for the roaring of the fires. I wondered how long these flames had been going for, and if they would ever stop. Right now they seemed eternal to me, flaming towers that would never allow life to regain its foothold here.

As I approached the former inn, I scanned the area. The Goatmen were nowhere to be seen; hopefully they had returned to the square with their vile brethren. A wooden sign was near the inn's doorway. It had burn marks on it, but the yellow painted sun was still visible. 'Tavern of the Rising Sun' was written in the bottom, and I assumed it was the name of the establishment I was at.

Moving the sign away in case I might trip over it during my escape (that was the last thing I needed right now), I cautiously edged towards the central square. The demons were still milling about, either grunting to each other or glancing at the old man in the cage. It was then I realized that they were bound to this place because of Cain. The power that had summoned them had instructed them to guard the old man. The reasons why was just another question for my growing list.

Looking near Cain's location, I was unable to see Debi, but I knew she was there, waiting for me. I hardly wanted to admit it to myself, but I was glad that I had her as my mercenary.

Calming myself as best I could, I marched straight into the square. The Goatmen saw me first, and started cantering towards me.

"Hey demon scum!" I shouted as loud as I could. "What's the matter? Can't even destroy a small little town like this?"

That wasn't the best taunt I could come up with, but it was all my mind could create at the moment. I didn't think they needed any more encouragement though as most of the demonic host came towards me, their weapons ready and pointed at my direction.

Avoiding a few arrows the Skeleton Archers had launched, I ran back a little to get more distance between the cage and me. It wouldn't do for Cain to accidentally receive the punishment I was planning for the demons. But the bulk of the monster guards were almost upon me, and the time to attack was now.

Dropping the sack to the ground, I turned on the speed and ran away. Looking back, I saw the demons passing by the sack. Stopping, I threw the 'Fire Blast' traps I had made just a few minutes ago. This ingenious assassin trap would explode on impact, and if my luck held out, would also trigger the bottles of oil potions.

I kept running as I heard the 'Fire Blast' trap going off. A huge explosion that knocked me off my feet immediately followed. Rolling in the dirt, I dug my fingers into the ground to stop myself. I distantly heard a town portal being activated, and then closed a few seconds later.

"I knew I could count on Debi," I said aloud, rising up wearily. We had saved Cain; our mission was complete. But to my shock, I heard several beings coming towards me. Goatmen, a few Fallen demons, and a zombie approached my position. They had survived my trap, but they weren't totally unscathed. There were scorch marks on most of them, and the fur on the Goatmen smoldered. The single zombie in the group seemed to have gotten the worst of it.

'No, it isn't a normal zombie,' I realized. He was a large man with great cords of muscles in his arms and legs. He had the tattered remains of a smith's apron, one similar to what Charsi wore. His flesh was different colors: some were pale white, other parts were raw and red, while the rest was regular dirty skin. He lumbered towards me, silent and imposing, and I caught the glint of Hellfire in his dead eyes.

"Dammit," I swore. I never seemed to catch a break in my life.

Grabbing my remaining throwing knives, I hurled them as fast as I could. The Goatmen were able to deflect some of them with their weapons, but I had better luck with the Fallen. Two of them went down, but there were still quite a few more coming towards me.

Knowing that I couldn't take them all by myself, I started running for the red portal. Maybe if I went back through to the Cairn Stones, I could shut it off somehow and leave the ruins of Tristram behind.

The desperate dash to the red portal was a smoky nightmare. The smog had gotten thicker somehow and was greatly hindering my escape plan. Shadows seemed to leap up all around me, but I was acutely aware that the monsters were no longer at my heels.

Stumbling over a burning corpse, I look up and saw the portal. Smiling in relief, I jogged towards it … and was sent flying through the air. The blow sent pain wracking up my stomach as I clutched it in agony. I heard wood splintering as my attacker shambled through some debris. Looking up I saw that it was the not-so-regular zombie smith. He strode towards me emotionlessly and kicked me. I rolled on the ground, stones and wood splinters scratching my armor.

I came to a stop a few feet away from the portal, and I began to crawl towards it. My escape was so close … but I could hear his loud footsteps behind me.

'No, I can't make it,' I cried out in my mind. 'The portal is too far.'

But if I was going to die, I would do so with my blade in my enemy. Gripping my katar, I turned myself over to lie on my back. There he was, his meat colored face staring impassively at me. I caught a glimpse of madness and evil in his eyes, and I hoped that whatever power could hear me wouldn't let me suffer the same fate he had.

The large arms raised themselves for an overhead smash.

"Rah!" I shouted out with my own rage, my katar aiming for his torso. But my movements seemed so agonizingly slow, my spirit drained by the darkness of this place, and the hopelessness I was feeling.

Something blocked my view. That fact registered in my mind in time for me to stop my arm from stabbing it in the back. Orange light danced on the metal armor, and gave it the hue of a sunrise. It … no, HE, wore a white tunic over his armor, and in his hands I could see a small shield like mine, and a mace of some sort.

"Run!" I heard his voice shout. "Go through the portal."

He didn't turn to me as he said it, and I saw why. The zombie smith was bearing down on us again, having recovered from my rescuer's blow.

My mysterious savior charged at the monster without any hesitation. To my surprise, he used his shield to ram the demon in the midsection, causing the monster to fall back.

This was my chance.

Running past him, I rushed towards the smith, each blow I successfully landed charging me up for a Tiger Strike. My new companion joined me, and together we pummeled that abomination as best we could. My arms were no longer tired, and my spirit was lifted. Somehow I felt that I could do anything, even save all of Sanctuary.

Finally the smith died (again?) and fell to the ground. Various weapons dropped from his corpse, and I wondered why he hadn't used it on us.

"Come now, friend, we must leave this place," I felt a powerful hand clamp down on my arm. "We must get ourselves to safety."

"Just a minute," I wrenched myself from his grasp and picked up the weapons. They were all enchanted; I could Feel it. Wordlessly I handed some to my savior to carry, before both of us stepped through the red portal.