A/N: First things first, I'm surprised no one has pointed this out yet, but it seems to me that my character's dialogue lack a certain consistency of personality. I'll be sure to revise this in the future, but for now, I can't seem to find a proper tone of voice for them. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
Akara looked wistfully at the Inifuss scroll in her hand. It had been a long time since she last saw her old friend Cain. Were she to give in to her feelings, she would set out to Tristram at this very moment. Alas, being the leader of her people, she cannot do as she pleased. It will have to fall upon Rayna and Amplissa again to ensure Cain's safety, if he was still alive that is.
Akara went through the weird tale that Rayna told her, before she lost consciousness from exhaustion. Fantastic as it may sound, a fallen had actually helped them and saved their lives. Her mind made up, she decided to send all of them to fetch Cain.
"Why did you help us, demon? I do not trust your kind."
Perv carefully shaped his reply. "Ever since I was created in the Burning Hells, I have always felt out of place with my demonic brethren. Amongst the demons, I am unique, for I have been cursed by the High Heavens with a conscience." Perv paused a moment.
"Somehow, I managed to escape into your realm. I discovered that I was hunted down by everyone who saw me, and none would hesitate to kill me on sight…. except the priests of Rathma. They took me under their wing and I was glad to take refuge in their city. They even gave me several tomes of their teachings. I'm not sure how the Countess managed to capture me. One moment I was in my bed in the Necropolis, the next…. Well you know the rest…. Here we are at last, the Cairn Stones. It seems that we are not alone."
There were fallen as far as the eye can see, there must have been hundreds of them. Many of them were shouting 'betrayer' in their native language. A familiar fallen stared at Steve with anticipation. There were dozens of larger fallens, presumably the shamans amongst the legion of fallen. At the very centre of this formation stood a lone fallen wielding a dazzling scimitar that was identical to Perv's lightsabre in all but one aspect. Its blade was a sickly yellow, whilst Perv's was a clear blue.
Steve looked wistfully at the small piece of bread that he was eating and realized that he might never have the chance to finish it. He glanced at the rogues and saw looks of resignation on their faces.
"Rakanishu!" As one, the mass of fallen charged at the mismatched group. The presence of their leader has made the cowardly midgets almost fearless. Steve knew he could outrun the demons, he was reluctant to leave the girls behind to die. In an uncharacteristic display of valor, Steve placed himself in front of the rogues.
Rayna and Amplissa immediately sprang into action. Hails of arrows rained upon the demons, killing many of them. "Go for their leader!" Tristan instructed. However, that tactic proved ineffective as Rakanishu simply dodged every single arrow with an expression of contempt.
The charge was momentarily held at bay by the combined efforts of the men and Pulp.
Pulp was especially effective. Under Steve's frantic advising, he had formed a clever strategy. Anytime a fallen would venture near, he would simply pick it up and use it as a
devastating missile against the other fallen. Finding the front of the party too well protected by Pulp, the mob attacked from the rear, only to meet the blades of Tristan and Perv. The two worked rather well together, and the enemy was hard pressed to find any opening. Suddenly, the fallens stopped their advance to allow their master to come to the fore.
Combat came to a standstill as Rakanishu and Perv regarded each other. Wordlessly, Perv lunged with his saber. Rakanishu had anticipated this. Spinning on one heel, he twisted about and brought his own weapon down, seeking to sever his opponent's outstretched hand. However, Perv was himself well-versed with swordplay. He instantly retracted his hand and jumped back.
The spell was broken, and chaotic battle resumed all round the field. But it proved to be a stalemate. Every fallen that was slain would rise again, courtesy of their shamans who stood well out of bow range. With their supply of arrows diminishing, and fatigue setting in, the demons' victory seemed only a matter of time.
"Steve, activate the Stones! Hurry!" Tristan shouted.
Steve wondered if the noble paladin had finally lost his mind. It was all he could do to avoid the nasty critters from stabbing him to death, while occasionally landing the odd kick here and there. Here, one must realize that Steve was a true veteran of desperate situations. Sometimes, the mind could come up with ingenious ways to save itself.
Now was such a time. Steve saw Pulp took yet another unfortunate fallen and hurl it at his comrades who could only stare helplessly as they all get smashed to a bloody pulp.
It then occurred to him how to escape their current predicament. He quickly moved beside his golem and whispered his 'brilliant' plan.
Pulp obediently carried his master and fling him high into the air. As Steve was flying through the air, he began to question his solution. Thankfully, the lush grass broke his fall somewhat and he was more or less whole. Picking himself up, he saw that Pulp had propelled him a good fifty feet. Severely bruised, he was still delighted to find the Cairn Stones in front of him. He quickly muttered the incantations and touched the Stones in the order described on the Inifuss Scroll…. Nothing happened.
His golem however, knew nothing of this and dutifully followed Steve's order. Companion after surprised companion were given the momentary ability of flight which ended rather painfully for them. Rakanishu was rather surprised to find his hated enemy suddenly soaring into the sky. He was a gifted demon and immediately knew their intentions.
The fallens in between the Cairn Stones and Pulp looked at the golem uneasily. Some of the more perceptive ones realized that Pulp was no longer guarding anything. Pulp was just ripping a fallen's head off when his master bid him to come to the Stones. With the head still in his hand, he literally ran through the numerous midgets in front of him.
To their credit, they did try to stop him, but it was of course a pointless exercise. A particularly foolish fallen tried to use his body to block Pulp's charge. He ended up in some treetop thirty feet away and quite dead, not to mention unrecognizable.
The legion of demons were still confident of victory, for with the help of their shamans, they could never truly die. The humans though will tire and so they will rather enjoy murdering them.
"Good idea Steve, but you could have at least warned us!"
"Perv! The portal's not working!"
The moment he uttered that last sentence, there was a tremor and a roaring sound, the kind you get just before a terrible storm. The demons paused in their advance. A second later, a portal of shimmering blue materialized in the midst of the party, causing Steve to disappear. Bolts of power erupted from all around the Cairn Stones, similar to the ones released when Blood Raven died. They proved lethal to the demons causing them to simply disintegrate. In the aftermath, not a single demon survived. Not even their bodies remained.
"Where's our companions Perv and Steve?"
"I think Steve went through the portal to Tristram and Perv…"
Several feet away from them, Perv lay dying. The magic behind the Stones annihilate demons without any regard to their alignment. "Cursed with a conscience…" Perv managed. "Nay my friend, blessed." Perv grinned at the Paladin's words and slipped into death's embrace. Like his brethren his body also disintegrated upon death. The paladin now understood that he had let his prejudice cloud his judgment of the demon.
Tristran caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and realized that it was the fallen shamans trying to escape. Picking up Perv's lightsabre, as he liked to call it, he told the girls, "Go with Steve my friends. Go with the Light. I have a score to settle."
"Uh.. Okay. Good luck." Amplissa replied.
Rayna loved it when the paladin talked holy, it made her feel even more excited (read: horny) than she usually was. That was not to say that she did not feel sorry for their demonic companion. Its just that they could do nothing more for him.
Entering any magical portal was always an disorienting experience. One moment, you're here, the next you're in some sort of directionless limbo, and the next, you're at your destination. Generally, a welcoming committee of bloodthirsty goat-demons (or goatmen as they are often called) did little for comfort.
They were just in time to see a goatman score a slash across Steve's chest. It was just as well that their unlikely hero remembered to wear some armor on this venture. The goatman was quite skilled with his broadsword and showed much finesse in wielding it. Pulp however, having a certain lack of finesse simply leapt the ten feet separating them and brought both arms down on the goatman's head. The demon never knew what hit him.
Steve was a man of priorities. He knew precisely which task was important and which were not. Not wasting time on speech, he hurriedly took out a piece of half-eaten bread and muched on it. Apparently, the fates were against him, as emerging from just around a dilapidated hut was a trio of skeletons.
Though Pulp seemed invulnerable, he was actually upon the verge of death. His once smooth 'hide' was now marred with numerous cuts and slashes. Large portions of his body were missing. The amulet which must be its essence could be clearly seen now through the hole in its chest.
Nevertheless, he had no choice but to summon it to fight for him once more. The skeletons however, were surprisingly agile and tough, matching the golem blow for blow, evading the mighty fists deftly at times. With no arrows left, the rogues were forced to resort to melee.
Steve wondered where the hell was Tristan and Perv, but did not voice it out, since he was currently preoccupied with staying alive. Rayna gave the skeleton nearest her a good kick in the groin and was rewarded with a sharp pain in her shin. The skeleton ignored the attack completely and replied with a riposte that nearly took her head off had she not ducked in time. Steve advised his golem to take a different approach.
Pulp grabbed an undead leg and used the skeleton as an unorthodox flail. From there, the skirmish was quickly over. Piles of fragmented bones litter the muddy ground. Amplissa gave Pulp a big hug which she instantly regretted when the giant tried to return it. After almost choking the girl to death, Pulp tried this new greeting it has learned on his master.
"Get off me you pile of mud!"