Chapter XXXIV

Drognan had written out the incantation phonetically, which was quite helpful as Geldar felt sure he couldn't have read the enchantment if it had been spelt correctly. Still, it felt rather daring to be reading it at all as he had been taught all his life and had considered until recently such doings to be nothing short of heresies.

When Geldar had finished reading there was a crash of thunder and a series of lightning bolts, very similar to what had happened when he and Talina had opened the portal to Tristram.

After a few minutes a small orange portal appeared, humming lightly.

"This is it," Geldar said, folding and pocketing the piece of velum. "Who wants to go first?"

He needn't have asked. Before he had finished speaking Talina had jumped through the portal.

Talina emerged on a desert plain lit up by the full moon overhead. Nearby she could see the mound of a waypoint which she activated just as Norleche arrived, followed by Geldar and then Barak before the portal dissolved into nothing.

"Where are we?" Talina asked, looking at the others. "Is this the right place?"

"I believe this is called the Canyon of the Magi," Geldar replied, then started as he heard familiar noises. I think we're about the have company."

The 'company' consisted of a group of gargantuan beasts, their rippling fur shimmered in the moonlight and combined with the blood and flashing of metal. When the last carcass was on the ground, Geldar made his aura brighter so they could get a sense of what was around them.

"It's a big area," Talina observed, even her Inner Sight had its limits. "But full of creatures. Sand panthers, more gargantuan beasts and sand maggots."

"Any thing else?" Geldar asked.

"Beyond that is the tombs," Talina replied, "and there you can count on skeletons, mummies and tomb guardians."

"More fun," Geldar observed dryly.

"How many tombs are there again?" Barak asked, rather nervously actually.

"Seven," Norleche answered, "six false tombs and one true tomb of Tal Rasha. And Tal Rasha's tomb has his symbol on the front." He looked around dubiously. "My guess is that we'll have to find all of them to be sure of getting the right one."

"That does not include clearing them all out?" Geldar queried. "While that is desirable we are running out of time here."

"Time we are wasting standing about talking," Talina snapped, shouldering her javelin and stalking off. "Come on," she urged, disappearing into the darkness.

The skirmishes they faced as they moved across the Canyon of the Magi were far too many for Geldar's liking, though this had much to do with the fact they were in a hurry. They had to find the Tomb before Diablo did at all costs. A million possibilities ran though Geldar's mind as they trudged on, Baal being free inside the Tomb…Diablo and Baal facing off against them…or caught between the two.

Geldar really had no idea what either of them looked like, Cain did not know and neither did Drognan. The only hellspawn he had faced yet was Andariel and with that in mind, furnished further with the pictures of demons and devils he had seen as part of his training in the Temple of the Zakarum, he painted a grotesque picture. Fully knowing that even his wildest imaginings would be far removed from the realities of Terror and Destruction.

When the moon was at its zenith Talina admitted defeat, leaning against one of the rocks and closing her eyes in exhaustion.

"We have been going all day and all night without stop," she said breathlessly, "I know we have to beat the Wanderer to the Tomb, but can't we stop for a few minutes?"

"Even so, we should keep on," Norleche said, "at least one of us should continue scouting."

Geldar vetoed that, if it was daylight it might be different, they could see if anyone was in trouble. If anyone went out alone now, they might not make it back.

"Well two of us then," Norleche suggested, he nodded to Barak. "There are still two more tombs we haven't found and one of them has to be Tal Rasha's. Barak and I can go ahead and return when we've found them."

"Are you sure?" Geldar asked.

"The dark doesn't bother me," Norleche replied with a half-smile.

Barak grinned at them before he and Norleche set off, even in the moonlight it wasn't long before they had vanished completely. Geldar sat on a rock next to Talina, the moon casting shadows over everything.

"Geldar, I'm scared," Talina said quietly.

"What?" This was beyond impossible.

"You heard me," came the quick reply, but her voice turned. "It's those Tomb Guardians, ever since we faced Radament I've been having dreams."

"Dreams are just dreams, Talina," Geldar said, though he knew his words sounded hollow. He had been having bad dreams himself, mainly about Sinclair.

"That's something that can be explained away in the daytime," Talina murmured. "But sometimes, after you wake up after seeing them as plain as day, you can't help but let that fear rise and consume you." There was a long silence. "It sounds so stupid," Talina went on, "of all the things that I had to be scared at it was them. I could have picked Andariel or even that dark cloaked rider you are chasing, those things at leats you can frighten small children with."

"We seldom pick our fears, Talina," Geldar explained, "they choose us. And they control us if we choose to give them that power. That's why explaining them seems so stupid, it exposes our fears for what they really are."

"Is that something that the Zakarum taught you?" Talina asked, her voice as cynical as usual.

"Partly," Geldar admitted, "a lot of it comes from my brother, he seemed to take things so much to heart. To be frank I was very surprised when he denounced the Order."

"Did he say why?" Talina asked.

"He said he wanted to marry," Geldar replied, "us Paladins are normally chaste as opposed to the Zakarum clergy who are not. But I don't think that was the real reason."

"What was the reason then?" she pressed.

"I'll let you know when I find out," Geldar said, then said no more.

A few minutes later Barak and Norleche emerged from the shadows. They looked a bit worse for wear, Norleche's bone armour was splattered with gore and Barak had a cut across one cheek. They smiled and finished each others lines like characters from a comedy.

"We found it," Norleche said.

"It's just up ahead," Barak added.

"We encountered saber cats,"

"And beetles,"

"And not to mention about a dozen sand maggots," Norleche said empathetically. "But we matched the symbol."

"It was outside the tomb," added Barak.

"Lying on the ground," interjected Norleche.

"But it's the one we're looking for," they finished together triumphantly.

Geldar felt as if he and Talina should burst into applause, but they might attract unwanted attention. He merely laughed lightly at the performance and got to his feet. A few minutes later Talina stood up and they followed Norleche and Barak through the darkness.