Thanks to all my reviewers out there (or those who are left …). I'm halfway done Act I. Yay! =P When you see this ~*~*~*~*~ in the story, I am signifying that she is having a flashback. Okay enough spoilers, on with the show!

NOTE: Edited this chapter; re-posted on ff.net (which is soooo slow for some reason and won't let me log on at times, dammit!). Probably still some errors left, but I leave it for you to find and notify me (please!). =D Oh and for this chapter I think this little excerpt from a Final Fantasy 10 song called Otherworld inspired me some:

"All alone, cold fields you wander

Memories of it cloud your sight

Fills your dreams, disturbs your slumber

Lost your way--a fallen knight"

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 ^_^;; Also the lyrics to Otherworld from Final Fantasy 10 is property of Squaresoft.

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For Money or Honor

Chapter Thirteen: Interlude (Part II) – The Tale of Vandalin

A heavy silence pervaded the air. Each had their own thoughts, some of them I could only guess at. But for my own, I couldn't stop thinking about Cain's words.

"There was something about him, a sense of purpose and … destiny, that made me truly believe he would succeed," I recalled his tired voice speaking.

Destiny. Was that the destiny of all who opposed the Three? They would defeat the darkness only to be turned to monsters to serve that same evil. First Blood Raven, now the nameless hero people called Vandalin. I shuddered at that and wished I had my traveling cloak with me. Was I in too deep now? Was it my fate to win against the demon lords, only to be turned into one of their servants?

"Oh how we celebrated when Vandalin emerged from the monastery," Cain continued on quietly. "We bestowed upon him all our remaining treasures and even gave him a small house near town. The people wanted all of Sanctuary to know how great our champion was."

He shook his head sadly. "But as they say, demons seek to topple the ones who have reached the greatest heights, for they have the farthest to fall. If only I wasn't so blind, so sure of our victory …"

"What's done is done," Akara kindly patted his stooped shoulder. "There is no time for regrets, only action."

"You are quite right," he gratefully smiled up at her. "Though perhaps if I had only told others about the danger that laid right under their feet … but as you said, there is no use feeling sorry for myself."

"Despair is one of evil's minions," Edan nodded in affirmation. I wasn't sure if he meant the emotion or that there was literally a demon called Despair. I didn't ask to find out.

"Yes indeed," Cain agreed. "Like I have said before, Vandalin was quiet and reserved in nature. This seemed doubly so after he had defeated the Lord of Terror. As the days passed by he seemed to sink into a deeper and deeper depression. He was always polite to all who approached him, but he rarely ventured out of the home we gave him. One day, Ogden, the innkeeper, suggested we throw him a grand party to see if we could lift that dark mood from him. It was an impressive affair with plenty of good food, drink, and merriment. Even Gillian, the barmaid, got to join in despite her busy job. She managed to get a few smiles from Vandalin, but all in all, his brooding did not cease."

My mind suddenly remembered the beautiful lady's corpse back in Tristram. I KNEW that this was Gillian's remains. I blinked rapidly to try to get that image out of my head. There was no benefit for me if I started knowing every dead body's identity. I didn't need to see what kind of life was lost.

Turning my head away from the fire, I caught Akara looking at me knowingly. She smiled slightly at me before turning back to Cain again. Disconcerted at her smile, I faced the fire once more and saw Edan. He too was gazing at me too, but looked away when I caught him staring.

"He slipped away from the celebrations during the middle of the night. Later on I visited him at his new home, but found him changed. There was a tortured look on his face, one of pain and suffering. His eyes glowed red, but I thought it was only a trick of the light. Under the hood of his dark robe he was muttering in languages long dead. Those should have tipped me off to the danger he now posed, but I didn't. I couldn't. I had faith in him and never imagined that he could be evil's next host. He suddenly awoke from his insane stupor and said 'the time has come to leave this place. My brothers await me in the east. Their chains will no longer bind.' * I did not fathom the significance of those words; I had thought he didn't have any family left in the world. Now I know what brothers he spoke of, but my clarity in hindsight does us no good, eh?"

Akara comforted him again.

"Early the next morning he left us. He told no one of his departure, but I guessed that he was heading east. And when the sun set that day … Evil returned to Tristram. Demonic hordes poured out of the abandoned monastery like a black tidal wave. They slaughtered townspeople and any remaining warriors. The remnants of Blood Raven's troops fought valiantly, but even they were overcome."

"That does not answer why you were spared," I broke in.

"Ah yes," Cain nodded at me. "I am not absolutely sure why they did so myself, but I have a theory. On the night of Vandalin's party, the local witch Adria came to me. Now she was an odd person to say the least. During our times of trouble when most people were leaving, she came to Tristram, built her shack as if by magic, and sold magical items to any warriors who needed it. The witch stopped me right outside the Tavern of the Rising Sun and only said this. 'Though there is reason to rejoice, there is even more reason to be wary. I sense that you will be in grave danger and thus I have taken steps to see to your safety. But my powers are waning in this evil place, and cannot fully complete what I had planned. Instead your fate shall be decided on the choices of others.' Then she left me. I pondered her words, but Griswold the blacksmith called me into the establishment. Not wanting to be rude, I entered and thought about her words no more. Perhaps she cast a protective spell on me so the demons could not directly murder me. Instead they put me in that damned gibbet and left me to starve to death."

I nodded thoughtfully, but didn't completely believe him. The magic shop in Tristram had not looked like a shack. Cain could have fabricated that entire story. Maybe … he was an agent of evil too. In either case, my mind was made up.

"Now we must not tarry in our pursuit of Vandalin," Cain spoke. "Tomorrow you must travel to the Monastery of the Sightless Eye and defeat Andariel. Only then can the way east be made clear for us to follow our adversary."

"The Monastery is a long way from here," Kashya provided. "It is past the Dark Woods, through the Black Marsh, and in the Tamoe Highlands. If you leave at daybreak, you may reach it by nightfall."

It was now or never. Drawing in a deep breath I said, "I will take Edan and Debi to the Dark Woods via the waypoint. That should cut down the travel time. They can continue on to the Monastery. I will go to the Forgotten Tower instead."

"What?" Debi and Kashya exclaimed at the same time.

"Mez, we don't have time to go there!" Debi argued.

"I said I was going there alone to search for treasure. Go with the paladin instead of me. Once I've taken the loot, I'm leaving Khanduras."

"That's it? You're giving up? What about killing Andariel?" Debi demanded.

"Not my problem," I stated simply. "As far as I'm concerned, I've done more than enough to help this ungrateful world. The Tower's treasure will be my reward for all the trouble I've gone through."

"You're more concerned about gold than the fate of Sanctuary?" my mercenary asked incredulously.

"I thought you'd figure it out, Debi, that I'm only doing this for money I find along the way."

That got her. She sort of stared at me, her mouth open. The young girl gaped at me for a few more seconds before her jaws clenched. I could feel her anger, and I steeled myself for the onslaught I knew was coming.

"The most worthy of rewards do not come in this lifetime," Edan spoke to my surprise. "They are found in the High Heavens."

"The minions of Light," I stated blandly, "are nothing more than self- serving, self-righteous, hypocritical bullies. They force people to convert to their religion, and have no tolerance for other beliefs. If people refuse to think like them, to follow THEIR orders, then those people are sinners and must be killed."

"That is true," Edan nodded, again surprising me. There was no hint of fury in his voice, only calmness. "Those that disagree with the Que-Hegan have momentarily broken away from the Hand of Zakarum paladins. We now seek to enlighten our brethren of the mistakes of their ways. Hopefully with patience and perseverance the true temperament of Zakarum will re-emerge."

"And the angels," I went off on a different tangent since I could not argue with his words. "Where are they? They do nothing while demons roam on the mortal world. They sit all comfortable and lofty in Heaven while people suffer and die. Hells, they're lucky if they just die. Most of the time they're corrupted into infernal servitude."

"It is also true that we have not seen any heavenly intervention," Cain answered me this time. "That does not mean they have abandoned us. The Light works in mysterious ways. But if it is proof you want of their goodly intentions, then may I tell you about the Archangel Tyrael? He is one of the most powerful angels in the High Heavens," he went on, not waiting for my answer. "His compassion for humanity is legendary. It was he who helped and guided the Horadrim when they traversed the world, seeking the free spirits of the Three during the Sin War. You see the Prime Evils had been ousted from Hell by the four Lesser Evils, Andariel being one of them. Their disembodied spirits roamed Sanctuary, and the Horadrim chased them to keep them from spreading evil in humanity. Tyrael finally gave us the Soulstones to trap them in."

"Well that worked," I said sarcastically. "Listen, there MIGHT be angels doing things to help the situation; I haven't seen proof to say otherwise. But my opinion hasn't changed. Life is still depressing to me, there is nothing binding me anymore to help the Sisters with their quests, and I would rather be on my own instead of fighting monsters every day."

"YOU'RE the monster you have to fight everyday!" Debi snapped out suddenly. "Your greed has already made you a servant to Evil."

I blinked at her comment, and an even heavier silence filled the night. The young Rogue just glared at me, and she was breathing hard as if she was about to burst, probably from anger. Finally I just shrugged.

"You're right, I am a slave to money," I admitted. "And if that will lead me to Hell, so be it. There is nothing more I can do to prevent it. In that case I might as well be happy while my mortal life lasts."

Debi opened her mouth, shut it, and then stormed away from the campfire. Everyone watched her go, and I saw mixed emotions on their faces, mostly sympathy. I didn't wait to see what kind of faces they would make at me. Abruptly I stood up.

"Edan, I'll see you at the waypoint at dawn. If Debi goes with you or not is up to her. I'll lead you through the Dark Woods to where the Black Marsh is. From there we split ways, you going to the Monastery and me going to the Tower."

The paladin nodded at me, and I could not see what he was feeling at the moment.

"Akara, Kashya, Warriv, I wish you well. Thank you for your kindness, and I'll never forget it. Cain, I wish you luck in defeating Diablo once more."

I didn't wait for their responses. Leaving the fire as well, I headed for the storage tent Debi and I used to sleep in. I crept up to the entrance and looked inside. My mer – no, my FORMER mercenary was not there.

Stepping inside, I drew down the tent flap and threw myself on the cot. Closing my eyes I heard her words again.

"You're the monster!" her shrill voice screamed. It reminded me of when someone else had said almost the same words to me.

~*~*~*~*~

"You're a monster! A demon!"

"No, I'm not a demon! Please, you have to believe me!"

"The Grand Matron will hear of this, and rightfully cast your demonic hide from the clan! Guards, take her to the dungeons."

~*~*~*~*~

I bolted up and started pacing in the small tent. No, I would not remember that!

Grabbing a nearby bottle, I opened it up and drank, not caring if it was consumable or not. The bitter taste of wine flowed past my tongue, and I almost choked at the strength it had. I finished the bottle anyway.

Setting the empty container down, I let myself drop onto my bed. The effects of the wine dulled my mind, and I spent an indeterminate amount of time looking at the canvas ceiling.

I felt myself float away from this place, and across Sanctuary again. Once more I found myself in a large room made of stone. On the walls were cressets, grilled holders where fuel could be set inside for light. Fires lit everything in its glow, but the place was still cold somehow. I shivered and hugged myself. I did not want to be here, and the tangy smell of blood only enforced that feeling.

Craning my head around to see if there were any exits, I thought I heard a familiar voice call my name.

"Meznari," the warm male voice said. "Come here, my child."

"Grand Patron Tenoch?" I called out quietly. "Is that you?"

"Meznari, come here. I need to see you again."

Gingerly I began walking towards the voice. The sense of foreboding was getting stronger as I followed the faint tones of my former Grand Patron. There were so many twists and turns in this stone hallway (wasn't I in a room before?) that I started getting irritated.

"Grand Patron, where are you?" I shouted out in frustration.

"Here," his voice continued to beckon me. "Keep coming."

Trepidation made my heart pound harder, and the sweat to roll off me in beads. It made me even chillier, and I started getting angry at my reaction. Why was I scared of the Grand Patron? Tenoch had always been so kind to me, the grandfather figure I never had.

"You're almost there. Keep coming," he coaxed me. "Meznari, I need you."

"Coming," I shouted at him. I quickened my steps. I saw a large opening coming up in front of me, and I could see more fire light emanating from within.

"You're almost there …"

"STOP!"

An unknown male voice shouted it out loudly, making me halt in surprise. A flash of blue light crossed my vision, and I felt myself falling endlessly into gray mists. It felt like forever and a second before another flash of light pierced the darkness.

"Mez."

I turned my head to the voice. I saw Edan standing at the tent opening, lifting the flap with an armored hand.

"Mez," he repeated. "I didn't see you at the waypoint so I looked for you here."

"Sorry, overslept," I managed to croak out. The sunlight behind him was bright, making my head throb. Or was it last night's wine that was giving me this headache?

"Get some breakfast, and we shall go on our way," the paladin smiled before leaving me alone again.

"Coming," I whispered.

*Note: the three sentences Vandalin spoke in this chapter was taken straight from the Diablo 2 manual from the short story titled 'The Awakening and the Wanderer', page 78-79. If you read it, you can see that I have based half my chapter on it since it is game cannon and I thought it should be followed. Of course some other factors come directly from moi. =)