Chapter XXVIII

Without so much of a feeling of dizziness, Geldar got to his feet and took a few cautionary steps. It didn't make sense, he had felt the searing pain of the creatures fangs, felt the life fading from his body as his life-blood drained from the wound. But here he was, without a scratch and no pain and no wound.

"Geldar!" Talina screamed, the Paladin looked around and noticed she was on her knees, bent over something.

"I'm over here," he said, when she didn't move he repeated his call louder. "I know she heard me," he said indignantly and walked over next to her. "Look at me, I'm here," he said and put out his hand to touch her back, then gaped in horror as his hand went straight through her.

What was this? Perhaps he was knocked out and it was all a delusion. It had to be a dream, it had to be! For if it wasn't, if he was…he couldn't bring himself to comprehend the word, somehow doing that made it seem real.

"It is real," said a deep voice behind him, Geldar turned and recoiled again when he recognised who it was. The man who had taught him from the age of ten how to use the sword and the power of the Light to combat Evil. The man who had said goodbye to him before he set out for the West with a saddened expression in his eyes as if they would not meet again in this life. The Paladin who had been as close to a father as he ever had, Pentheus.

"What are you doing here?" Geldar asked him. "Unless you were sent by the Zakarum somewhere…"

"I wasn't," Pentheus replied, "I was betrayed."

"Betrayed?" Geldar was floored. "By whom?"

"It matters not," Pentheus said, "death is kinder than the fate that others have. But I'm not going to talk about that now," he added quickly. "I know you seek your nephew, but know that your real cause is far deeper."

"But I've failed," Geldar lamented, "I wasn't able to save my own life, now that fiend can do what he will with Sinclair and I cannot stop him."

In answer Pentheus pointed to Geldar's body lying on the ground, Norleche was bending over it muttering a few incoherent words. The Necromancer's hands were streaked red and black, but he seemed to be aware of Geldar's presence.

"Fate has brought you aid," Pentheus said, "you have been given a second chance. Take it, there won't be another."

"I don't understand," Geldar said.

"You don't need to," Pentheus reassured. "But time is short, we will meet again."

"But what about Lemnar?" Geldar asked as he stepped next to his body. "He is with you, isn't he? At least tell me that."

"You know I could never lie to you," Pentheus said, he seemed to grow in height as the room grew dark. "Walk in light, my son."

"But tell me…" Geldar pleaded to Pentheus' fading form, but the words died in his mouth.

The room was sinking, fading to blackness in his eyes. He tired to fight it, but there seemed to be nothing else to do than to give in to its embrace.

"You let him die!" Talina screamed but Norleche ignored her, he bared his left arm and slashed across the flesh with a dagger, daubing the blood on his fingers.

He placed it among the ashes and green powder on Geldar's throat, then he removed the Paladin's mail shirt.

"What are you doing?" Talina asked. "Don't even touch him!"

"I'm bringing him back," Norleche said in a cool controlled voice. "There was nothing you or I or anyone could do to stop him from dying, but everything that dies a violent death has a small amount of energy preserved within. As a Priest of Rathma I can access this energy, I normally use it to explode corpses but now I can use it to resurrect him."

"Will it work?" Talina asked. "Of will it simply make him akin to Hellspawn?"

Norleche didn't answer, he placed a hand in Geldar's chest and struck it three times uttering an incantation. Then he poured a liquid through Geldar's parted lips, as he did this the flesh around the mortal wound started to bubble like a piece of meat on stove, the room started to fill with the smell of cooked meat as Talina anxiously watched the Necromancer, her heart in her mouth.

Finally Norleche turned Geldar on his side, thumping him on the back. The Paladin started to move, his legs kicked and his head moved from side to side. Geldar then gave a single and terrible cry before taking a deep breath.

Norleche rolled him back on his back quickly and reach for a skull-shaped flask on his belt. As Geldar's eyelids fluttered open he pressed the spout into his mouth.

"Drink this," he said. "The passage from the mouth to your stomach needs to be cleared."

Geldar obeyed, the liquid was hot and bitter and left an awful taste in his mouth. But the room was slowly coming into focus, the pain from his injuries, the hardness of the ground beneath him, the sight of Norleche bending over him and cleaning a wound on his neck. His neck…

It all came flashing back then, his battle with the Claw Viper, the wound he had given him then collapsing on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Talina's face over him, pleading with him to stay alive…

"Geldar," Talina loomed over him again and brought him back to the present, when she saw him register his presence she smiled. "We thought you lost you for good there."

"You…almost did," Geldar managed to choke out.

"No talking," Norleche reprimanded gently. "Your larynx still needs work, you need to rest."

"Shouldn't we get him back?" Talina asked.

"He needs rest," the Necromancer repeated. "Resurrection takes surprising reserves of energy out of a person, we can't move him just yet."

Satisfied that he was really was in the land of the living, Geldar closed his eyes gratefully.

When he came to he was lying in a bed with bandages over his wounds, in whispered tones he heard two people talking. Talina was sleeping in a chair next to the bed, a bandage on her arm and a gash on her cheek.

Geldar tried to move, but he found it nigh impossible. Instead he stared at the ceiling until someone approached him.

"Awake?" Fara asked, just her presence seemed to give him strength.

"Mmm," Geldar said, not finding the strength to say anything else.

"You're in surprising good shape despite the wound on your neck," she said, she then looked away at an approaching figure. "Don't stay long," she warned whoever it was and she left.

Norleche sat in a chair on the other side of Geldar, his eyes glazed over the bandage around Geldar's throat but he said nothing.

"I suppose I should thankyou," the Paladin said, he could hear Talina starting to stir.

"Don't mention it," Norleche replied. "I saw what you did, that required phenomenal concentration, but by the time I reached you it was too late."

"And I'm still here," Geldar said.

"Yes," Norleche said. "Clearly you were not fated to die on this day, or I never could have brought you back."

"I thought that your people wouldn't believe in such a thing as fate," Geldar mused, he gently moved his legs under the covers.

"It's no only true but immutable," Norleche replied.

"He knew this was going to happen," Talina said, stretching carefully. "That was why he was looking daggers at you before you went into that room," she turned to Norleche. "I suppose I owe you an apology."

"You are only responding to what you have been taught," Norleche said. "You accepted me as an equal some time ago. For you to judge me on my deeds was enough to begin to trust you."

"Begin?" Talina asked, an insult on the tip of her tongue.

"No one should ever place their trust in anyone lightly," Norleche explained. "But now this has happened, I can see there is no going back."

Geldar smiled and closed his eyes as he listened to Talina and Norleche's banter. Was this what Fate had intended for the world by way of the Sin War, to get all mortals to stand together and forget their differences? It was somewhat a stretch but he gave it some thought before he drifted off to sleep.

"Did you find anything in the temple?" Cain asked.

Talina sat next to Deckard Cain outside the Desert Rain; Norleche was inside sitting with Geldar. It had been several days since their return from the Valley of the Snakes and the Necromancer had promised that Geldar would be able to return to the field by the end of the week.

That was almost too long for Talina, she itched for action but his sake she waited.

"There was this," Talina said, taking from her pocket a gold and emerald amulet. "I'm not sure what it is, it might not be what we were looking for after all."

She handed it to Cain, he examined it closely.

"You certainly have a talent for finding rare and valuable artefacts," Cain said with a smile. "This is the Viper Amulet, a headpiece for a Horadric Staff."

"So this is it?" Talina said. "This is going to lead us to Tal Rasha's Tomb?"

"No," Cain corrected. "This is used to open the Tomb when you find it."

"Oh," Talina said blankly. "Then we're no further along, are we?"

"Perhaps," Cain agreed reluctantly. "But I've been speaking with Lord Jerryn, and I sense he is becoming even more and more agitated by something."

"He's been jumpy ever since we've arrived," Talina pointed out.

"Nevertheless, you should try talking to him again," Cain suggested. "If he still won't take you into his confidence, seek to prove yourself a little more. I gather that his respect for you is growing."

"It takes a lot to earn it though," Talina replied tersely, she stood up. "So I use the Horadric Cube?"

"The Horadric Cube will unite the shaft with the head piece," Cain told her.

Talina went inside the inn, within a few minutes she emerged with the Horadric Cube, the Viper Amulet and the Staff of Kings. She unfolded the cube until it was large enough to place them all inside them arranged the amulet and the staff. Then she folded it up and pressed the transmute button.

Golden light surrounded the cube and then it folded open, inside lay a magical staff almost as tall as she was, the handle was gold and the headpiece had an electrum insignia with three flawless emeralds.

"Excellent! You now have a Horadric Staff," Cain said in a satisfied tone. "Carry it with you into Tal Rasha's Tomb. Find within the Tomb the chamber whose floor is inset with the Circle of Seven Symbols."

"What's that?" Talina asked.

"It's a series of symbols before a wall where the Horadrim cast the spells to contain Tal Rasha," Cain explained. "Place the Staff into the receptacle you find there. That will open a passage to Tal Rasha's Burial Chamber. But, be prepared for a fight—you'll likely have to kill Tal Rasha to destroy Baal."

They then heard the sound of people shouting, and many of the city's inhabitants started to walk towards the gates.

"What's going on?" Talina asked.

"I heard that a caravan was expected sometime today," Cain said lightly. "I gather that it has arrived."