*Sigh*, these disclaimers are getting repetitive!
A slightly more serious chapter than my other ones, this one sets up some more of the story for later on. Soon we're getting to the good stuff!
Part 5
"Alright everyone, here's the deal." Said Shadera once everyone was gathered together. "Our task right now is to get this Horadric Cube. We all know that, so it should come as no huge surprise. Now, when you all first set out, you had no idea which direction to go. Truth be told, neither did I. However, I now have this." She pulled out a folded piece of parchment. This she quickly spread out onto the table in front of them.
"A map. I started to make it when I left Lut Gholien. Here," she said, pointing to area where high cliffs began to converge "is where our battle with the saber cats took place. It is the gap between the 'Rocky Waste' as the locals call it, and the 'Dry Hills' where your Halls of the Dead can be found.
"And I think this is the place." She said, laying a finger on a large square she had drawn.
"So you mean to tell me that we were nearly there when Iconnus and I were about to kill each other?!" asked Az'Ral incredulously.
"Well, that about sums it up." the assassin replied.
"Aaahhhhhhhhhwwwwwww……" sighed the necromancer as he let his head drop to the hard tabletop with a loud thud.
Rage poked him in the back of the head. "Wake up!"
Az'Ral was indignant. "Has anyone ever told you how annoying that is?"
"No."
"I seeeee…." He turned away and started coughing. For some reason or another, it sounded a lot like the word "imbecile."
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"Now, see these cliffs?" asked Shadera. "Here we are. Beyond this gap are the so-called Dry Hills. Aptly named, it would appear. Anyway, if we follow this wall on the left side, we will run into a structure that I will bet is our Halls. Oh, and keep your eyes out for black raptors, I saw a few my first time here.
They walked onward, alert for any sounds of movement other than their own. They had no desire whatsoever for a repeat of the saber cat battle.
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"Well, that's a tomb if I ever saw one." remarked Az'Ral. "And believe me, I have seen tombs."
Shadera had led the rest of the party to the half-buried Halls of the Dead, avoiding any confrontations with the local (and somewhat twisted) wildlife. Everyone appreciated it.
"So we…what, just walk down the steps?" asked Darkangel, peering into the darkness.
"I suppose so…who wants to go first?" said Firiel.
"I will." volunteered Iconnus. "Give me a moment." He knelt down, and mumbled a few words of prayer. The ground itself suddenly seemed to shimmer and sparkle. "The Light be my Sanctuary." He said.
"Luck to you, my new-found friend." Said Az'Ral. The necromancer and paladin clasped wrists, finally seeming at ease with one another. Saving one another's lives tends to do that to a relationship.
"Knowing your luck, I may be better off without it!" smiled the paladin. "I will call up once I am safely down."
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"Alright!" came the muffled voice at the bottom "I'm down, at there's…nothing here."
"How odd." Az'Ral mused. "Well, no point in delaying."
Soon the entire party was down. Iconnus's glimmering aura didn't give quite enough light to see by, which was unfortunate. There was nothing to make a torch out of. The darkness seemed to close in around the small party, as if trying to swallow them up, and keep them from the light of day. They heard a low chanting begin, somewhere in the gloom beyond.
Then brilliant light, as another of the necromancer's fire golems crackled into life. "Sorry about that!" he said quickly, noting the startled expressions on his companion's faces. "I just…had to get enough room to summon it…uh…I'm sorry."
"Idiot! Next time, warn us!" said Firiel, who had been about to launch a lightning bolt in his direction. She controlled the burst just in time, and the energy from the uncast spell fizzled from her fingertips in a shower of sparks.
"Yes, sorry. Can do, next time."
The part moved onward, using the light of the flaming golem to find their way. There was surprisingly little resistance, which was quickly dealt with by Rage and Spirit Wing. No one saw any reason to waste energy in using any sort of magical skill. However, Iconnus still kept his aura going, in an effort to make sure that none of the walking dead got too near. They soon found another stairway, heading still deeper into the ground. Az'Ral sent his golem down first, which was all too willing to comply. Something the necromancer appreciated more than anyone guessed.
The second level of the dark tomb was much harder to get through. The moment the group was down, they were immediately beset by hordes of animated corpses. The attack left Rage and Iconnus gulping healing potions, Az'Ral summoning a new golem, and Firiel recovering from her magical exertions. It also left some members of the party wondering why Az'Ral hadn't summoned up a bit more help.
"So why is it exactly that you don't seem to summon anything?" asked Shadera, pulling him aside as they walked on.
"I do." He said simply, and looked away.
"No, I meant besides your golems. I noticed that all throughout the fight with the cats, you never raised anything but a single fire golem, like the one you have now. Do you mind if I ask why?"
"Oh, well. Um…I uh…no reason." He said quickly. "I just ah...never got around to it. And well, there's still Iconnus…he didn't exactly like the sight of me the first time we met, and I don't feel that pushing the necromantic/holy magic issue would be a good idea. Really."
"Truly necromancer, I doubt he would mind if it kept him from drinking those disgusting potions. You yourself know what they taste like! You can do it, can't you?" she said slyly, testing.
"Ah, well...alright, fine. Hm…yes, skeletons we can do without too much trouble…" he began muttering to himself. "Wait up, everyone. Give me a minute or two! You wanted me to warn you, right?" he sheathed his weapon, and knelt by several of the shattered skeletons on the floor. He began chanting, a slight variation on the golem summoning spell. Wisps of blue mist seemed to rise from his fingertips as he reached out and touched a skull.
"Come." He whispered into the silent air of the tombs.
And it did. The blue mist filled the empty skull, then flowed over the shattered bones, drawing them together. With much clattering and scraping, the skeleton pieced itself together and stood up, holding spheres of the mist in its hands. It began to pace around, while its master watched nervously. He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Well then. Lets have a few more, shall we?"
Soon there were five skeletons clattering about the room. One was the first, clutching glowing blue energy. Another held acidic looking green. The remaining three picked up fallen weapons and began swinging them around, as if to test the balance. "Shall we go then?" asked Az'Ral.
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Hacking their way through the second level of the halls took much longer than the top level. Even Az'Ral joined in and kicked apart a weakened skeleton that stood in his way. His own skeletons were looking decidedly more battered, and e considered letting them go. Never feel sorry for your minions, he thought. They exist to serve and protect you. No more. More determined, he urged his skeletons onward, headless now to their chips and cracks.
At the stairs down to yet another level, Firiel stopped them. "Alright. According to our fine friend Cain, this is the third and final level-"
"Hm…you don't say…third level, really? So that's what comes after the second. I would never have guessed." quipped Az'Ral.
"Yes, it's the third level." She continued. "I'm glad you can count. Anyway, as I was saying. Our cube should be here, somewhere. And, it's most likely guarded, more so than these levels were. So we all need to be 'on the alert'. Shadera, this is probably what you're best at, so listen at all the doors so we have an idea of what we're up against. Oh, and let's all be really, really quiet, so nothing down here knows what it's up against. Ready?"
No objections were made.
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The first impression was one of silence. Nothing came at them from the shadows, no sounds were heard in the gloom beyond the flickering light of the necromancer's golem. And there was no constant drip of water, as there had been in the sewers beneath Lut Gholien. It was eerie, to say the least.
"Perhaps whatever was down here was drawn upward by the sounds of us fighting above," ventured Rage in a low whisper. But even that innocuous sound seemed to echo loudly in the dark stillness.
He party moved on.
Cautiously, they listened at every door while Shadera continued her map. "If we ever get finished with this ridiculous task, these maps should come in handy. We will have mapped out much of the desert surrounding Lut Gholien. Someone is sure to want the information."
"No doubt," murmured Az'Ral. "But first, I believe we need to go through here. Listen, what do you hear?" he motioned to the door he had been listening at. Shadera moved over, and pressed her ear against the cold stone.
"Cats!?" she exclaimed, still in a whisper. "What are cats doing down here? Since when do they live below ground?"
"My thoughts exactly."
There was a pause, a moment of silence.
Which was shattered along with the door, as Rage kicked it down and yelled out three different warcries, all calling for the death and dismemberment of various Hellspawn. Saber Cats most certainly included.
"And so, we abandon all subtlety and the advantage of surprise, in favor of breaking things apart, right Rage?" called Firiel over the sounds of a battle being joined.
"Uuhhh…" he began, quickly dodging a blow from the cat thing he was fighting. Her whip still glance of his shoulder, tearing skin and leaving a bright red mark behind. "Ow! Hang on…" the barbarian reversed his sword's momentum, and brought it whistling through the air. And the saber cat's neck. With surprising agility for someone so big, he hopped backward out of the spray of blood, while the headless feline toppled to the floor. He flipped the sword point down and leaned on it. "Yup," he replied. "Smashing things is fun." This point was emphasized as the huge man kicked several urns into another cat who was rushing him, then leaped onto her swords first.
Firiel sighed and loosed a few sparkling spikes of ice into the battle. Within twenty seconds of the fight's beginning, it was over, with only the leader of the small pack left alive. And, of course, hissing.
"Fools!" she spat between clenched teeth. "What hope can you possibly have? You are only human, what makes you think you can stand up to the three masters? You have no hope, and will serve your time in Hell for your folly!" she kept going, though it was hard for anyone to be sure of what she was saying because of all the hissing and sputtering.
Az'Ral finally stepped forward menacingly, dagger in hand, his eyes lit with green fire. The necromancer stood less than three feet from the saber cat, with no trace of fear or apprehension on his face. His skeletal minions stood close to their master, uncertain of what to do. The two rivals locked eyes, the dark man's gaze cold and demanding obedience. His companions watched silently, in awe. Each hero held their breath, uncertain of their friend's intentions.
The saber cat crouched down, and began to back away in fear. Az'Ral's eyes narrowed dangerously. His next word came out as a whisper, once again magnified by the still air.
"Name."
Fear filled the creature's widened eyes as she stammered her Hell-given name for all to hear. "B-b-blood Witch…" she choked out, her own voice no louder than the enraged necromancer's.
"Blood Witch." He said, tasting the name, letting it roll off his tongue in disgust. He bent down, fully exposing his neck and back to the cornered saber cat. But she did not strike. She was held, rooted to her place by a fear she could not understand, a fear that filled the very room. A fear that seemed to originate with the necromancer, Az'Ral.
"Look here." He said, picking up a cracked and bloody bone, oblivious to the concerned looks on his friend's faces. He crushed it, as he had done in the sewers with Radament. That day seemed so far away now. The bone dust trickled into one of the necromancer's palms, and as it did so, he pulled the spirit from it with the other hand. "This is called a bone spirit," he explained, as if teaching a group of children. "The tortured thing screams for revenge, and I cannot hold it for long. When I lose control I will only be able to mentally shield myself, and the fine people you see around me. Now, what do you suppose will happen when I let it go?
"…Az'Ral…" came a query from Iconnus. "Does this have…a point?"
"Yes."
"What do you want, human?" asked the cat, getting over her fear and regaining some of her arrogance. A mistake.
"Az'Ral, what purpose?" asked Rage
"What do you want?! Kill me, or let me be!"
"What purpose? Revenge. My hatred…yes…hatred for all your kind has grown tremendously. You have no idea, creature of Hell." The spirit that the dark mage held captive was humming, a hum so high pitched it resembled a scream. Which it may well have been.
"And now that I know, human, what do you want me to do about it?" the cat asked, sarcastically.
"Nothing." He shrugged. "Just thought you should know."
And released.
The spirit did indeed scream. So did the saber cat, as she felt her weakened, corrupted soul torn away into oblivion. Her body fell lifeless to the ground, with no visible wound to be seen from the necromancer's attack. The group stared, in silence.
Az'Ral collapsed to his knees, stunned. "What…" he whispered to no one. "What…have I…just done?" Rage and Iconnus knelt down to help the necromancer to his feet. He was visibly shaken. "I…I…I…" was all he could manage.
"Handled like a true necromancer, Az'Ral." remarked Shadera. "Quite a piece of work, actually. You pulled the name out of that creature without so much as a thought. I thought your kind only controlled the dead, but you seem to have had quite the influence."
"We're…not supposed to…I…I can't even…"
"Don't worry," said Iconnus. "It's…fine, everything is all right."
"No, you don't understand. I…wasn't me...but I was me, but…I…can't..." You see? Came a voice, from the dark forbidden recesses of his mind. You're as good as any of them.
"NO!" he jerked away from the support of his two companions. "I can't! I just…can't!"
"My friend, you'll be fine. Whatever you're worried about has no power here now." Firiel laid a hand on his arm, and locked her deep blue eyes onto his emerald ones. There he saw order in place of chaos, friendship instead of hate. And her certainty replaced his instability. He calmed himself, forced his breath to slow.
And with a flick of his wrist, released the gathered skeletons. Rage caught him as he slumped in defeat.
"Angel, grab that cube and let's get the Hell out of here."
Someday I'll explain to them, the exhausted necromancer thought to himself. Someday, they will understand.
Well, that's part five! I dunno about the people reading it, but I had fun writing this chapter. Sorry, to all who care, that it took me so long! Thank you to everyone who has e-mailed and reviewed (need I say it again? … YES!). I promise I will get around to answering some of you. My Internet has been having…issues (it hates me, we fight all the time) so I haven't been able to give some of you the time and attention you deserve. Actually, as I sit here typing, it's not working. Damn that Internet! I'll make it pay, it'll be sorry it ever crossed my path!…
Have no fear, random thoughts will be forthcoming! Maybe I should make that a normal part of my author's notes. Some people will prolly look forward to them more than anything else! Let's see….
I'm sure one thing we've all wondered a time or another is: Why, in all these fantasy games, do the potions ALWAYS land upright? And why the Hell do Quill Rats need gold, anyway? I think someone here on ff.net mentioned that, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it yet. You people. But you're all great anyway.
Back to the random thought of the day:
"Why is it so hard to think of random thoughts when I want to think of one, but they buzz in my head all day long when I DON'T want them?"
Just watch, as soon as I close out this document and go to read a book (Forgotten Realms Dark Elf Trilogy, by the way. Go read it!) I'll think of more random thoughts. I should keep them on a disk like a friend o' mine.
Qualinesti, signing off! 'till next time, folks!
Ooo….I should type up that other short thing…right now…pay me no mind, I'm done now.
Stop reading this!!
I'm warning you…
Dammit, go review if you have nothing better to do!
Shoo!