He felt his soul flying, spiraling away in the darkness, and he tried desperately to call it back. He was aware of what had happened during the battle, but it seemed far away, as if it were someone else's life, someone else's fight. It seemed like...a nightmare.
Maybe it was, he couldn't tell. He knew only one thing: that he must get himself under control. That if he lost himself now, he might never find his way back. "Wake up! Wake up! You're not losing now, Az'Ral." he told is dream-self. "Come back."
Suddenly the world flipped, and he was standing. Before him, a large temple stood. In a jungle, a jungle that looked familiar, like the ones back…"home…this is…home." He thought in surprise.
A gray mist fell, like the transition between one dream and the next.
He moved, effortlessly, through corridors. He knew, somehow, that this was the inside of the tower he had stood in front of. Blood covered the dark halls, and corpses lay in piles.
"Where the Hell am I? This makes no sense." he wondered.
"Come now, necromancer," came a reply, a mixture of three voices. Each one was different, yet they were all the same. Cruel, Evil. "Isn't it obvious?"
"If it were obvious, I wouldn't have asked, would I?" he retorted.
"Allow us to clarify for you." Said the three voices, once again, in unison.
The necromancer's dream-self was slammed abruptly to the ground. He pushed himself up to one knee, and looked around. He was kneeling on a narrow strip of bloodied floor. On the other side, and to the front, were deep trenches, where most of the blood had flowed. But it was what was on the other side of the "river" that held his gaze and attention.
Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, staring down at him with malevolent eyes and wicked grins.
"This...no...you three are miles apart...you...NO!" He tried to make sense of his scattered thoughts. "Baal...you're still trapped...in that tomb...this isn't real!
"No, sadly. Not yet" said Baal.
"But soon," added Mephisto. "Our youngest brother will soon free us both. You will be too late!"
"You have no idea what you are dealing with, mortal." Diablo laughed. "Neither did the last one, and many have guessed what happened to him!"
"Why am I here?" shouted Az'Ral, standing up. "Why me? I'm no hero. I should be home...in..." he trailed off in dismay, "...Rathma..." he finished with a whisper.
The hideous laughter of the three evils drowned out all thought.
"And yet, you are not." Said Mephisto, simply.
"Exile is an interesting thing, am I right?" sneered Baal.
"You would know best, Spawn of Hell." Az'Ral retorted.
"Perhaps you need reminding of the reasons for your own?" queried Mephisto.
"NO!"
"We have more in common than it would first appear, necromancer." A wave of Mephisto's hand, and the corpses strewn about the room animated, moving to surround Az'Ral.
"You make it seem so easy, demon." He said, hatred beginning to creep into his voice.
Mephisto smiled, pleased. Another twitch of a skeletal arm, and the revived corpses collapsed. "And so it is, with little more teaching."
"I will see you all to Hell."
"To Hell, or in Hell?" came Diablo's deep voice, in mocking wonder.
"Whatever it takes. All three of you." The fire blazing in the necromancer's eyes was unmistakably pure hatred.
Diablo's eyes glowed with an intensity that fully matched AzRal's.
"We shall see, mortal." The two horns framing his face made his smile seem all the more sinister. "We shall see." He turned to his brother, Baal, and nodded.
It was Baal's turn to grin evilly, as he spread his thin arms wide and unleashed a shimmering blue wedge of energy. Az'Ral's eyes widened and he tried to dodge. But it came too fast and hit him squarely in the chest, chilling and knocking the wind out of him, sending him flying backwards. The world spun out of control, and all he could hear was the mocking laughter of the Three Prime Evils in his head.
"Ral? Ral! Wake up!" the voice was Firiel's voice, and just about the last thing the dazed and confused necromancer had expected to hear, especially after what had just happened. His eyes snapped open and he tried to sit up.
"Firiel, wha-"
"Shut up!" she said happily, on the verge of tears of relief. She smiled. "Just, lie back down. Hey! Everyone! He's awake!"
"Well, if I hadn't been awake before, that would have done the trick!" he whispered, hoarsely. At least, I hope so.
Soon, everyone was gathered around, including the assassin, Shadera. Az'Ral was surprised to see her there. He knew what assassins meant, and it was not particularly reassuring. Especially not after what had just happened. He couldn't stop thinking about it. What did it mean? Was it a dream, or…he brushed it aside. He would tell them all later. He managed to raise himself to his elbows, ignoring the pain.
"So, I take it we won?" he asked.
"That depends on what you mean by won," said Iconnus grimly. "But we are alive, and the saber cats are gone. With no small amount of help from Shadera here." The paladin indicated the assassin with one hand, still covered in a gauntlet.
She nodded. "Well met, Summoner." The two shook hands
"So, you are…Shadera." He said. "And you are…"
"Yes, we are generally known as Assassins." She said, slightly amused. "I should give you all an explanation of why I am here, I suppose. My first introduction was hardly adequate."
The rest of the party nodded. "But first," said Firiel, handing Az'Ral a bottle of red liquid. "Drink that."
"Yes ma'am!"
The group laughed. They needed it.
"All right. Start at something resembling a beginning, I suppose. I am Shadera, part of an order whose sole purpose is to hunt and destroy the Three Evil's corruption. We are called assassins, as some of you know, for we generally find corruption in humans. Magi. And we destroy it.
I am here because I know of the task you six face. You are going after Baal, of Destruction. I have followed you ever since...you left Lut Gholien."
Az'Ral knew a half-truth when he saw one: he had used them just as often himself. But he said nothing. He was thinking about what the re-emergence of the Assassins meant for him…and for his Homeland. For if the ancient Order of Mage Slayers had joined the fight…what could this mean?
"And so, we of the Order have been sent out, to combat this Evil. And now I have found the six of you, who seem to be moving towards the same goal I am. You have seen me fight, will you welcome in another set of weapons?" she looked around, waiting for an answer.
The vote was unanimous, though Az'Ral's "yes" seemed a bit subdued. However, the addition of a new member to the party had lifted everyone's spirits. They dismissed it, thinking that he must simply be tired. After all, the poor necromancer had just taken a javelin through the chest! Of course anything he said would sound a tad strained. Rage voiced these very thoughts.
"Thank you, Shadera, for your help. We will gladly accept your help in destroying Baal. Hopefully, you will decide to accompany us to Kurast as well, to track down Mephisto. But that is business best left for another day. We're all dead on our feet, and Ral certainly could do with some more rest."
The mage began a protest, but was quickly silenced by a hand over his mouth. Unable to talk, he choked down what he was going to say and merely glared at the offending barbarian.
"Don't give me that! Despite being asleep for half the day and the night, you still need rest. Let the healing potion work, for Arreat's Sake! And stop glaring at me like that. Your face will freeze that way, and then where will you be?"
Another laugh made its way around the campfire.
"Fine, fine." A'Ral said, surrendering. "You win, this time. But I will have my revenge!" he finished with a smile. "So watch out."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Rage clearly didn't believe him. "Just go to sleep. That goes for everyone!"
"Aaawww, party's over, I guess." Said Darkangel. "Night, all."
Everyone was exhausted, and within minutes, only Spirit Wing was awake, keeping watch along with Shadera's sentry traps. Thankfully, Az'Ral's sleep was dreamless.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Despite the knowledge that they were quickly running out of time, the seven decided to spend one last day in Lut Gholien, resting and having their armor repaired. Az'Ral's armor, especially, needed a little tweaking.
Rage yanked the blue string off of a small scroll, and threw it into the air. It disintegrated into thousands of sparkling blue particles, which formed themselves into a shimmering portal.
Once in Lut Gholien, Darkangel split off in order to reserve their rooms, while the rest of them went to get equipment repaired.
"Meet us at the tavern, Angel!" called Firiel.
"Oh no, you're not going to…you are. Firiel!"
"What?" demanded the sorceress, feigning innocence.
"We only have one last day in town, we don't need to drag you through the desert with a hangover!"
"Right, we only have one more day. We're going to make the most of it! Right Rage? Ready to lose another Challenge?"
"Hell, no, this time I'm winning!" Rage cried. "The fact that a sorceress can out drink a barbarian even once is just sickening. My honor and pride are at stake!"
"Rage, you do remember what happened the last time the two of you had one of these foolish challenges." Reminded Iconnus. "I had to drag you outside and use my cleansing aura on you. But, I did it once, I suppose I can do it again…"
Az'Ral and Shadera turned to each other and shrugged.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Go Firiel!"
"Go Rage!"
"Go Ral!"
"Wooooo…lookie, I'm getting cheersh!" slurred the necromancer in response.
"Shut up and drink, pansy! You haven't won yet!" roared Rage.
"Oh yea? Wash this!" he downed yet another drink.
"Ooo, pretty good for a…a…whatever the Hell you are." Firiel admitted. "But it's all about the sorsheressesss…yeah. 'Ere we go!"
"Psst…Iconnus. Get that aura of yours ready." Whispered Darkangel "I think all three of then are going to need it."
"Yes, I agree…COME ON RAGE!!…you know, I think it will do me some good as well….*hic!* this takes some getting used to, doesn't it?"
"Man, I thought you paladins weren't allowed to do stuff like this…drinking?"
"Yeah, but what's going to happen? If you think about it, no one at home cares…and the High Heavens know it helps prepare for battle!" the drink was definitely affecting Iconnus's mind.
"Ah, Iconnus? Darkangel?" the voice was Shadera's. it looks like they're almost done."
She was right. With an almighty crash, Rage pulled the table over and fell to the floor, obviously snoring and out of the match. A certain necromancer was quick to point this out, even in his slightly muddled state.
"*hic* see, I told you I'd get revenge! Don't you EVER doubt my skillzzz…. Whoooaaaa…dizzyishness…"
"Give up?" asked Firiel.
N-n-n-ope! Gimmie another…uh…one." But the next thing anyone heard was two thuds, as the two friends collapsed next to their companion on the floor.
"Well, that's it then." Said Iconnus. "Time to drag them outside. Better call Spirit Wing this time."
"I'll help." Offered Shadera.
"Alright, alright." Said the paladin, with a strange gleam in his eye. "Hey, …Ariana! Want to try an arm wrestle? It doesn't require any more drinking!"
"At least, not anymore than you've already done," Darkangel sighed. "Fine. But none of those strength auras of yours! And don't call me Ariana! I'm Darkangel now."
"Yeah, fine whatever…"
Shadera could only shake her head. So this was the company she had found for her quest! Well, she thought It will be…interesting.
So there you have it, chapter 4. I just can't stop saying thank you to everyone who has read this and reviewed! And if you have read but haven't reviewed…well, bad! Get reviewing! J Seriously, even if you thought the story was complete and utter crap, a huge rip-off, conflicting with your religious beliefs, or whatever made you not want to review…well, I wanna hear from you anyway! I didn't exactly write this to get published, or for fame or glory! I wrote it to figure out my writing style, to express my slightly darker side, and to—well, I don't know what else. However, getting an E-mail from someone would certainly be a plus, and who knows? If you ask very nicely, and I actually know the answer I might tell you my frightening random thoughts and future plans for this story. Just kidding (or am I?), but I would love to hear from any one of you, even if it's only to receive a lovely, personalized flame.
To borrow a quote from a friend of mine,
"I have just found out why time exists and will eventually write a book about…something."
What relevance does this have? Absolutely none. It was a random thought.
Stay tuned for chapter 5!
~~Qual~~