Disclaimers: Stiiiilll no ownage of D2… Oh, and no necromancers were harmed in the following chapter, just a heads up. And school has started again for me o.o;; so now I might not be updating as much… Mainly due to this other story I working on, much better than this fic mind you, I have buried hopes of getting it published one day.
I'm a review whore, gimme? Hugs to those who have already!
:Chapter 3:
With the consideration of how her day so far had gone-- with her first waking up before dawn to an irate Geed ranting about how a certain necromancer had cheated at a game of cards, then the effects of sleeping on nearly-bare ground on rocks came through as a backache, and then the same necromancer than had won many a game against Geed that night before had started to talk at her in a voice that was over-all cheery and annoying-- it was no wonder that Ran-ran felt such a strong need to find the esc key. It wasn't so bad that she had awoken to being in the game still, it was simply that she had a minor est of hopes that her own dreams would have had the decency not to give her body a great deal of pain upon 'waking up'.
She had tried to wash the blood from her clothes the previous day in the river, luckily the rotten blood came out fairly easily, leaving the very lightest of stains. In reality, Ran-ran really didn't mind the splatters of dark across her pants and shirt, ignoring them for the time as she tried to pass up the time Necromi was wasting with playing against Geed one last time hanging with Charsi. Not that the blond really minded, both enjoying having another female to talk to, joking about how Ran-ran's necromancer had a problem with gambling. Which he did, really.
"I mean wouldn't now be a good time to be heading out to go and do that whole 'fighting against the demonic forces that have a hold of the monastery-thing?" Ran-ran asked, rather rhetorically as she sat leaning back against the makeshift wall near the red-hot coals and anvil where the blond blacksmith worked. She made sure not to include any information that she knew of what would happen in the game, after all, she didn't want to run the risk of having anytime-space continuum screwed up on her account. Besides, it was fun watching them all try to figure out what was wrong with the world when she knew what was to come. Perhaps it was a bit cruel not to tell them that their attempts would all and all end in failure, for the most part, that the three brothers were going to get back together and all that jazz.
"Its still pretty early in the morning..." Charsi said cheerfully and with an offered, as she paused in her making of more armor, supposedly for the large masses of would-be heroes that were hording the camp. Ironically Ran-ran hadn't seen one besides her own necromancer character, "I mean you guys could probably get through the marsh in a few hours, and the path through the highlands near the monastery are always clear. I'm sure you guys will be able to get to at least the outer cloister by sunset!"
Ran-ran sighed, though smiled a bit herself, looking back up at Charsi, tilting her head a bit as she noted that the blacksmith had some of the same facial features as one of her good friends, Taleena. She was always friendly, if not a bit pessimistic about her own life at times, but was always willing to try and cheer Ran-ran up with a smile and encouragements. For a moment she had to wonder what it would be like if she never had the chance to see Talee-monster—the nickname Ran-ran gave to her friend out of boredom-- ever again, and the thought made her feel oddly sad. When everything in this dream was done, she did have hopes of returning home, even if that did mean returning to school. Charsi reminded her so of Taleena, more so than the features of her face, but in the ways she just was, and had to wonder why she hadn't asked the favor that spurred on the game's next quest.
Of course, as if the universe realized its folly in not making the immediate request, like Ran-ran's conscious wanderings made her practically see the floating exclamation above Charsi's head. The blonde's face lit up as she turned to her, a wide, knowing smile on her face as she fidgeted with her hammer, saying in a soft tone,
"Heeey, speaking of going to the monastery… you guys are going to have to go through the barracks, y'know? And, ironically enough, I sorta… Left my horadric malus in all the rush of leaving…"
Well, there was the quest itself, Ran-ran almost groaned at the fact that Charsi even asked. Normally she would have gotten the malus even without her prompting, hardly ever returning to the camp except to sell and buy items, having memorized the quests from numerous times playing the first act. But since her life was actually in danger this time around, it was needless to say that she was a touch more weary about what quests she was going to go on. Especially since it meant getting closer and closer to facing the one, big challenge of act one…
So, with the favor asked, Ran-ran agreed, mostly out of fear of what the universe she was in would do to her if she was to not accept the mission. Quickly she forced her necromancer character to quite his little game of poker with Geed, telling him of how she promised Charsi to get her hammer back. Not that Necromi minded much, himself surprised by how much time he had used simply playing games, and quickly forced Ran-ran and his horde through the waypoint. Luckily he had had enough time to stop by the Black Marsh—supposedly to bring back some skeletons that had wondered astray to chase down some carvers—and that was their first stop.
The ground underfoot was muddy, and it was far different than the image that Ran-ran had grown to have of the marsh. She hadn't expected it to be so… muddy. Nearly her entire foot was stuck in the mud at any given time, and every step she, Necromi, the skeletons or the golem made created a loud, wet sound. The greenery of mud-thriving moss and sprouts did a good job of covering the wetness underneath.
Since the waypoint had taken them far from the road that was actually a good bit dryer and firmer than the mud, Ran-ran's navigation mostly tried to get them back there. Of course, with a light fog about a foot over the ground, that was steadily growing mind you, it was a bit hard.
"Are we far from the road?" Necromi asked after several minutes of going in what seemed like a circle, Ran-ran walking in the lead, only a few feet in front of him. He glanced over her shoulder at the map, and then around at their surroundings. Just doing that made him a bit dizzy, stopping as she did, wandering what was to come next.
"I…" Started Ran-ran, lifting her glasses up to set upon the top of her head as she studied the map, only to put them back on properly and look around, "Have no idea… But the Countess' abandoned tower-thing iiiis, right over there."
Ran-ran pointed off to the left, where a large, tall and dark form loomed in the mist. The thickness in the air had stayed, the darkness above them taller than any other building that she had seen so far in the dimension of Diablo 2. She knew this particular quest well, that it wasn't exactly required it be done like many other for one to go onto the next act. But she still liked doing it for the experience, items, and gold. Slowly she started towards it, the decrepit tower, blackened stones that made its form covered in moss and ivy. There was practically and aura of darkness that made a shiver of fear jolt down Ran-ran's spine, and on the very lightest of breezes she was able to detect the smell of death, of rot and blood.
"That's just lovely… Now which way is the monastery?" Necromi asked quickly, looking around and then back at Ran-ran.
"Somewhere in that direction… But hey, wanna go and kill the revived countess chick first?" Ran-ran smiled hopefully, looking over at Necromi only to find him walking off in the direction that she had pointed. She eeped just a bit, taking off after him, not wanting to be left behind. After a moment of him not answering her, Ran-ran took up the chance to start off again, "Well? Are we going to go kill the countess or no?"
"No, we're going to go investigate the monastery to see what exactly it is lurking in its depths." Was Necromi's plain answer as he kept a sharp eye out for enemies ahead of them, not sparing a glance at the girl beside him. He paused for a long moment, their path having led them into a corner of the stone walls, and then looked down at Ran-ran with a raised brow. She blinked and looked back at him, those odd blue eyes of his and her chocolate brown ones meeting for a long moment in a mutual stare, of mutual inquiry.
After a long moment of this Ran-ran couldn't help but blink. She began to really feel the weight of the necromancer's stare, shifting her eyes left, then right, and then back at Necromi. It made her feel rather self conscious, being stared at, at all, and shifted her shoulders a bit as she asked in a nearly-whining voice,
"Whaaaaaaat?"
"You have the map, correct?"
"Um… Ya."
"Then please don't tell me you're following me, of all things."
"…Well you seemed to know where you were going…" Ran-ran rolled her eyes and frowned, while doing that ever-so cliché shimmying of her head side to side a bit, as all teenagers automatically know how to do for back-talking one's parents or other such authorities. She unraveled the map in her hand, looking from the illustration to the world about them. Ran-ran turned to her left, Necromi followed the motion as she pointed ahead, through the clearing fog the semi-gate structure stood; As well as a small camp of demons, completely oblivious to the two humans and the horde of skeletons.
And what followed was exactly why Ran-ran loved the necromancer class so—not that that other's weren't good… she was just lazy at times—for with a slight nod of his head and a smirk, the skeleton warriors and golem descended upon the encampment of demons. The three mages that Necromi did have simply stood, picking off the shamen, and other such demons that weren't quickly killed by the others. So, standing a good twenty feet from the fray, Ran-ran watched with amusement for the first few minutes, Necromi watching the battle with an intent gaze. But, eventually, as everything to a 16-year-old, the battle had grown boring by the sheer amount of time it took up, a good 15 minutes, including her necromancer having to raise more minions after they were sent back to the netherworld.
Eventually, however, the battle ended, and Ran-ran sighed in an exasperated way, throwing her hands up in the air and proclaiming her relief that they were finally moving on. Once again she drew an odd look from Necromi as she stalked off, past the dead corpses of their fallen enemies, over a few smoldering piles of flesh, and leaped nimbly over a pile of gooy acidic poision that was once a shaman's arm. Quickly he followed her, with a shaking of his head, catching up before the girl got too far ahead. After all, it would have been very bad for her to get caught up in battle, be saved, only to have her fragile hormone-driven mind too shattered from reality to go on—And Necromi was far from prepared to deal with a broken and traumatized teenager.
Soon, Ran-ran was sided by Necromi, the skeletons and golem swarming about and around them, some ahead and some behind. They paused for a moment at the entrance of the highlands, seeing through the few bushes and trees the large gates of the monastery, its tall and long dark stone form consuming the horizon not blocked by trees. Which, truly, was a large portion of their sights, the few cottages and wells seeming minuscule by comparison. Ran-ran marveled at the gates, though moving forms alike to Necromi's skeletons in the immediate area in front of her drew her attention to the enemy skeletons heading right towards them.
It was the moment when they were approaching, the enemies, that the minion skeletons had yet to realize villains were close, that Ran-ran felt most afraid. Sure, she had convinced herself that she was in a state of a dream many times over, not once daring to pinch herself to be sure, but the subconscious fear of those skeletons coming for her sunk in many times over. She couldn't help but give a slight inward squeak, taking a few small steps back behind Necromi, tilting her body just enough to peak out, only to relax as the summoned creatures went to killing. Like knights in shining armor… Only not nearly as fleshy, and the little armor they did wear was dingy, the color of pewter.
This trend of Ran-ran's alternating hiding and actively navigating, making jokingly sure that her necromancer didn't wander off the trail, not that Necromi appreciated her playful teasing. They were steadily gaining on the stone walls of the monastery, the winding road leading them closer and closer to their goal, the darkness within. And every step closer brought up a feeling of growing closer and closer to some eminent danger in both of them, a somewhat fearful feeling that barely registered to their consciousness. Sometimes simply looking towards the monastery, which as they approached Ran-ran realized bore a dark cloud above it, sent a shiver of unknown fear jumping electrically down her spine. But what was even worse was that she knew what lurked in the depths, of what dangers she faced in really what was only the beginning of the story.
Enemies fell to the ground in their own and their allies' blood, the path to the monastery's large, carven wooden doors now looming high above them, clear. With the accept ion of the corpses littering the ground before them, of course. Necromi's dagger had barely been used, only to fend off a demoness that strayed too close to he or Ran-ran, who stayed close to her necromancer out of habit more than anything. But she knew that she'd have to grow out of it fairly soon, that Necromi would have to either go back to battling, or summon much more skeletons. Which, by the time they were calmly walking towards the door, she was able to could count an added skeleton mage to the ranks of the small force.
The wood of the door was dark, worn with time, the metal of the hands of the bolts and spars carvings showed great care and craftsmanship that she was immediately able to appreciate. Necromi, who would have as well if he wasn't so busy pushing the door open, revealed the large open garden-like room. Columns of stone gated around the open area, grass splotched with blood and a few dismembered bodies. There was a perfectly-square patch of cleared ground, a dark circle and lines carved into it, the unlit torches of the waypoint set on either side of the circle. Not too far from the traveling point was the fountain of the courtyard-like area. Ran-ran had always liked that fountain, the three arrow-barring rouge statues pointing in three directions.
While Necromi lit the waypoint and for the few moments Ran-ran had to herself, she looked around, walking closer to the statue fountain. It was a beautiful scene, while the rest of the world was falling into chaos and discord that this one small area was in complete peace and harmony it seemed. And then, she peered over the edge at the particular sound of… quacking? Ran-ran blinked a few times as she saw several ducks swimming about in the semi-clear waters of the fountain. They were white, black, brow, and mixtures of those, all going about their duck-business, diving and grooming and splashing about.
"Ran-ran! Come on! I'm not the one with the maps!" Came Necromi's voice, calling from the door on the far side of the cloister, near the door to another area of the courtyard. Ran-ran glanced at the ducks only one more time before jogging back over to her companion, switching maps as she went. No longer did they need the maps of the Tomoeh highlands, nor the Black Marsh. Not with how far they had gone, she knew that they wouldn't be returning there. But Ran-ran kept them, shifting them to the very back of the small stack of papers.
"Yeah yeah… Lets just get this whole thing over with…" Ran-ran said with a sigh, stopping as she quickly got her bearings with the map. She smiled and rolled her eyes as she turned towards another door, saying absently, "This is the right door, by the way!"
And it was, and quickly they got through the outer cloister, passing through a larger door to the next small courtyard. At the other end of the long room-like structure was the door leading to the barracks, and with little hesitation after killing the enemies, they dove into the darkness. It was a sudden shift from the more open room with such things as plants and sunshine, oh the sweet sunshine, to that of darkness. The pillar of light from the open door guided them through the first small room filled with boxes and barrels. As they moved onto the next, however, and moved deeper than that even, the stray sunlight wasn't enough anymore. Now they had to navigate by the torch-lights, growing use to it none the less. They had to, if they wished to survive the b arrack's challenges
Arrows shot from the darkness about them, beyond the rings of light from the torches, and the light that ebbed around them. The golem and skeletons dashed out to take care of the skeletal menaces that wouldn't even move as they were struck down. Ran-ran couldn't help but panic as they went deeper and deeper, having to drink her first health potion after a stray missile struck her shoulder. The pain and blood made the realization snap in her head that this situation was anything but fake, and the bitter-sweetness of the thick, red liquid forced down her throat made it more so. Gold and treasures were collected, Ran-ran given a bundle of volatile, yellow-orange potions to throw at the enemies that strayed to close to her.
None the less, she guided them through the barracks, fighting the monsters that nested there for the time. They came to a door, of a rather suspicious nature, sounds of stomping coming from the other side of the door that seemed alike to that of the golem's footsteps. Ran-ran knew what had to be behind the door, before going too close to it stopping suddenly, grabbing Necromi's arm and pulling him to a similar state of speed.
"Ran-ran, what's wrong?" Necromi asked softly after a moment, looking down at his young companion with concern, wondering if there was any complications from her previous wounds. She was glancing at the door they were just meters from, and then back at him, seeming as if wanting to say something, almost as if debating with herself if she should say it. He rose an eyebrow as she looked up at him over the rim of her glasses, the clear plastic low on her nose.
"Dude... Necromi... Be careful in there, there's this big-ass demon smith thing..." Ran-ran said, nodding as if to confirm her answer.
"...And how would you know this?" Was the question from the necromancer, crossing his arms as he looked down at her. There were no traces of a smirk or smile on his lips, he was being completely serious, and Ran-ran couldn't hep but feel uncomfortable under his cold gaze.
"Just... Ah... Never mind..." She had to close her eyes, and speak quietly to keep from squeaking, and Necromi let the matter pass for the moment, turning to the door. Ran-ran felt herself tense up as he stepped forward, grasping the knob of the door, skeletons and golem at ready.
He quickly opened the door, summoned minions storming into the place. Nothing, there were no enemies to be seen in the small room, which made Ran-ran blink in confusion as she followed in wearily. Necromi smiled as he looked at the small area prepared with an anvil and an oven filled where red-hot coals lay. But it was the instrument that hung above the anvil that made him smile in what one would think of as a victory, the horadric malus. He stepped towards it, tilting his head the slightest to look at it, and then gave a quick glance around at the room, at its shadows that lay silent. Normally the demons and monsters would come out almost automatically, but the room was quiet, the only sounds their breathing and the ob vies noises of the skeletons and golem. But no monsters were in sight, that fact alone scared Ran-ran to her core.
Necromi reached out, going to take the malus, not noticing the gasping sound from his small companion at the sight that emerged from the shadows behind him. Ran-ran couldn't breath, eyes growing wide as the skeleton minions around her finally took notice of the danger that came near, but were too late as the monster towering over him. The weapon raised as sphere of summoned magic were thrown out towards the bulging red demon, hardly effecting the leathery skin as the large weapon in his hand came down.
Right upon Necromi's head. The dreadful, wet cracking sound upon impact alone made Ran-ran nauseated, shaking her with fear. She looked around as the skeletons detached to incoherent bones, and the golem a pile of crumbled clay on the floor, alike to their master. Necromi crumbled to the floor, body limp and eyes dulled.
Ran-ran looked back up at the demon, his eyes now on her, and as she found her legs frozen stiff in place, her voice was no longer caught in her voice as she screamed with a passion, deeply in the most instinctual of fears. The fear of one's own death.