Chapter XXXI

The way down proved to be down to the palace cellars, and while the going there was somewhat easier on the eyes—there were no dead women down here, only guards—there didn't seem to be any less vermin. More and more they came across them in very large groups, especially the marauders and skeletons.

After cleaning up on level there was no choice to go down to the next, then the one beyond that. At the top of the steps that led down to the third level they stopped for a break.

"I had the impression that it would not be this difficult," Barak said.

"What wouldn't be this difficult?" Talina asked.

"Fighting evil," Barak said. "From the way bards talk of heroes in the epics, it seems as if their enemies simply roll over and die."

"If that happened then it would have made our lives a lot easier," Geldar replied with a smile, "especially when we faced Andariel."

"What was that like?" Barak asked.

"Facing the Maiden of Anguish?" Geldar looked at Talina quizzically. "Hard to describe wasn't it. If I had to choose a bad part it would be between her rakish claws, her poison cloud and the demonically insane look in her eyes. Clearly not the kind of girl you would take home to meet your mother."

"Quite," Talina agreed.

"If you want to know about feeling the full force of Evil you should ask Talina," Geldar continued, "she would have died if I didn't pull her out of there," Talina snorted, "though she'll deny it twenty times a day."

"And what do you expect of Baal?" Barak asked, the question was directed to the group in general.

"I'm guessing that he'll make everything we're doing here seem easy," Geldar said thoughtfully.

"Isn't he the eldest of the Three?" Talina asked.

"No, that would be Mephisto the Lord of Hatred," Norleche replied. "But I agree with Geldar, Baal is in the body of a powerful Horadric mage, I'm just not sure who we'll actually fight."

"You think that Baal could escape Tal Rasha's body?" Talina asked.

"Not likely, as he needs a mortal form to have full existence on this plane," Norleche explained. "I meant that Tal Rasha may have lost the fight with Baal and use his magic against us."

"So the Horadric magicks against our own will and might," Geldar concluded, "like two stars colliding in the heavens and shattering everything around them."

"Definitely not a good sign," Norleche agreed.

The fourth level of the palace cellars wasn't so different to the others, filled with skeletons, marauders and sand demons. Really the only good thing, Geldar pointed out, was there was no more sand maggots but no one saw the humour in that but him.

Talina scouted ahead, as was her custom; she was quite good at it and it shut her up for a few minutes, but she was back in a matter of seconds.

"Massive…group of…marauders," she said breathlessly, "they're standing around some sort of doorway."

"Doorway to where?" Geldar asked.

"From nowhere and to nowhere," Talina replied, "you know what they're like, not very intelligent."

"No, I think this is what we have been looking for," Norleche said, "remember how Drognan said there might be some sort of secret entrance to the Arcane Sanctuary? This could be it."

"I had the impression that a secret entrance would be a tunnel or something like that," Geldar said.

"Not likely," Norleche replied, "if Horazon wanted to properly protect himself from the repercussions of demonic magic he'd establish his sanctuary outside the boundaries of this world."

"You're weirding me out," Talina said with a grimace, "I say we kill them and then talk about what to do about the doorway once we get there."

"Are there any others there, Talina?" Geldar asked. "Like those awful slimy things with claws that I had to save you from?"

"Dune beasts?" asked, ignoring the jab, "yes there are a few of them, but there's quite a few skeletons, both mages and otherwise."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Barak asked, shouldering his axe and smiling at all of them. "We have what we came for, let's get moving!"

The situation was as Talina had described, and perhaps worse as her assessment of the situation was contrasted against her own skill and desire to prove herself. But the group went in as normal, Geldar and Barak at the front with Norleche and Talina taking the flank. When the path was cleared at the back of a room near a doorway they regrouped and assessed their options.

"I hate to say this but I think we should split up," Geldar suggested.

"Divide and conquer?" Barak queried.

"Something like that," Geldar agreed, "if we take them from both sides we have more of a chance of wiping them all out."

"But then again if we are separated its easier to get cut off," Talina said.

"Since when are you highlighting risks?" Geldar asked with a laugh. "You're normally the one who rushes right into a fight and doesn't even look back if the rest of us are following."

"I just say we have a good system and we should use it," Talina argued behind gritted teeth.

"I think Geldar has a point," Norleche said, "yes, our attack strategy is good but we can be too dependent on it. Besides," he added, "it's really designed for open spaces like the desert or the harem, not for tight corridors like here."

"There's the doorway ploy then," Geldar said, "but that generally works only for single combat."

"Is that when you go through the door, attract their attention then kill them one by one through the doorway?" Barak asked.

"We went with that, remember? It was in the maggot lair and we almost killed each other," Norleche reminded him.

"Do what you like," Talina shouted, getting her pilum and shield and opening the door, "or if you like you can continue arguing strategy until Hell freezes over." And like that, she was gone.

"I'm going after her," Geldar said, "the last time she went on her own she was nearly killed."

"And the last time you did that you were killed," Norleche reminded him.

Geldar didn't answer, the next sounds they heard were the death-cry and clash of steel against bone.

Talina and Geldar stood side-by-side vanquishing their foes, for a moment it was almost like before in Khanduras when they each had their separate quests and disassociated lives brought together by pure chance. Now things were different, not only the fact that Norleche and Barak were there but there was the increasing feeling they were being pulled together by a much larger call and intended for much greater things.

But now that was secondary.

Now there was the task at hand: mainly avoiding death.

Talina's weapon skewered the marauder, the impact of the thrust splintering the pilum and leaving nasty gashes in his flesh. But the creature was already dead and Talina was on to the next, then the one after it, then the one after that.

Slightly in front and to the side was Geldar, his shield ready for a charge against the undead but the blade of his sword making quick work with the fleshier vermin. He was lost in the moment, there was nothing but the sword in his hand and the call of battle around him. He moved with purpose, each step an addition to attack, each arm motion critical.

Attacking from the other side was Barak and Norleche, they adopted a somewhat similar strategy. But Norleche stood a bit further back, leaving the actual deaths up to the others.

And between them, behind the marauder leader, was the doorway Talina spoke of. It was a curving stone structure with a curious insignia at the top, but there wasn't time to examine it. Not yet anyway.

When the last of them had been killed the group stood among the corpses and surveyed the scene.

"What took you guys so long?" Geldar asked Barak and Norleche.

"We ran into some old friends," Norleche replied, his deadpan flawless.

They turned and surveyed the doorway.

"Definitely some sort of portal," was Norleche's view.

While Barak and Geldar discussed the various nuances Talina examined it closely, running her finger over some of the runs along the edge.

"Talina, you shouldn't—" Norleche warned, but his words were cut off when the portal crackled to life and a blue energy curtain covered the opening.

"I don't like this," Geldar said sceptically, "it could lead anywhere, to the gates of the Burning Hells for all we know."

"This is from the Horadrim," Norleche told him, "why would they build a gate to Hell? Consider that?"

"I just think we shouldn't rush into this," Geldar said, "even Cain told us to be careful."

"Enough talk," Talina said, and with her pilum ready she jumped though the portal.

"Talina!" Geldar screamed and he ran through after her.

"I think there is a lot more going on between those two than they are aware of," Barak said to Norleche.

"I've long had that suspicion," Norleche said, "I'll go next." And he stepped through.

Barak was the last of all, and while he wouldn't admit it to anyone there was the slight impression of fear on his face as he stepped into the unknown.