Chapter XXXV

They didn't see the Tomb until they were almost on top of it, Talina looked warily up at the massive structure. She made as if to enter, but hesitated.

"Don't tell me you're scared," Geldar said lightly.

"No," Talina replied, "I am wondering if we should have the Horadric Staff with us. For if this is the right Tomb—"

"It is," Norleche said, he gestured with his foot to a miniature obelisk. Sure enough, inscribed on the side, was Tal Rasha's symbol. "But as for the Staff, are you going to carry it? I cannot, I need both hands to fight."

"As do I," chorused Talina, Barak and Geldar.

"Well, we don't need it straight away, do we?" Barak suggested. "The burial chamber ought to be a fair way in, shouldn't it?"

"Yes," Norleche agreed, "they'd make it that way so not just anyone cane break into the Tomb."

"We're pressed for time," Geldar reminded them, he looked up at the doors. "Do you think anyone has been here? The doors are open, should they be sealed?"

"Well the awakening of Evil in the land could have opened them," Talina mused, "it could be that or…"

"Diablo!" they all said at once, then rushing into the Tomb as fast as they could.

The stairs were narrow and winding and at some points completely crumbling away. Talina didn't want to admit it to the others, but she had a very bad feeling about this place.

When they were almost at the bottom, Norleche—who was in the lead—brought them to a stop.

"We don't know what's down there," he said, "best get ready, we don't want to be surprised."

"What do you sense?" Geldar asked Talina.

"Undead," the Amazon replied after a moment's concentration, "undead…everywhere."

"It figures," Barak said nonchalantly.

"Ready?" Norleche prompted.

One after the other they raced down the stairs, Talina's voice rising to a war cry and the others yelling with her. Once free of the stairs they stood in a line before the stairs, there was nothing there.

"All that for nothing," Barak said with a shrug.

"No," Talina said, she pointed her javelin at a group of shapes whispering towards them. "Wraths, surround them!"

It was a well-worn technique they had started to use in the Arcane Sanctuary where they were found in abundance. Basically it involved taunting the ghostly floating skeletons into a close-range attack before someone—usually Talina or Norleche—closed the gap so they were completely surrounded.

"Cut off their escape, and you have them," Talina said with a smile as she polished her javelin tip with a pumice stone.

"But that doesn't work if you're attacked from behind while you're doing it," Geldar pointed out.

Talina retaliated by hurling a lightning bolt down the full length of the corridor, it came to a stop on a stone door where it faded into the blackness.

"We don't have time to clean this place out," Talina said after the long, stunned silence. "Norleche, can you use your bone again to find out where we need to go?"

"What bone?" Barak asked.

"We used it to find the pieces of the Horadric Staff," Geldar replied. "I didn't really agree with it at first, but it proves to work."

"I am just wondering that I should orient it to," Norleche said, taking the bone from a pocket and placing it on his hand. "I was thinking gold again, but who knows what other loot is in this tomb."

"Loot?" Barak asked, his eyes lighting up.

"We are running out of time!" Talina reminded him. "Try a concentration of magic then, that—orifice is it?—Well we need to find it, and find it now!"

"One problem," Geldar said, tapping her on the shoulder. "Them," he pointed to a group of mummies advancing towards them, and at the rear was a Greater Mummy.

Tal Rasha's Tomb was vast, at every corner Talina expected to find the room where they could open the burial chamber, but Norleche told her it was further still. As well as that the twisting corridors were confusing, more than once Norleche's bone pointed to a solid wall and they had to find the long way around.

All the while there was the reminder that they had little time, Diablo was still ahead of them and as time went on Geldar couldn't get the thought out of his mind that they would by the time they arrived it would be too late. And even if they did get there in time, there was the issue on how they would fight the Horadric Mage so they could claim the Soulstone.

"Will he have minions?" Geldar asked Talina as they walked away from the remains of another fight.

"Who?"

"Tal Rasha," Geldar said, "I was wondering if he would have minions, like Andariel."

"Andariel did not have minions," Talina said, "at least not in the sense that Deckard Cain told me. She had just the regular Hellspawn surrounding her. Her minions—or rather handmaidens—we haven't faced and we probably won't."

"What makes you feel so sure?" Geldar asked.

"Andariel's minions are succubi," Norleche said, joining in the conversation, "they look like women, if you like women who have hellish wings, shoot sparks and suck blood." He smiled darkly at Geldar's reaction. "And they happen to like men, a lot."

"I see," Geldar said, "but what makes you so sure that we won't face them?"

"Because there are no more," Talina replied, "not in this world, at least. They were all wiped out in the battle below Tristram. At least that's what I'm told," she added for good measure, "relax, if Tal Rasha did have some sort of minions we'd have been told about a few magi buried with him. But the legend states that he battled Baal's spirit alone."

"How come you know much about this all of a sudden?" Norleche asked her.

"I asked Deckard Cain," Talina replied simply.

They found the stairs down to the third level of Tal Rasha's Tomb and fought their way through, nothing but undead but that was to be expected. Several times they stopped, but it was never for very long. Geldar felt himself tiring from the constant exertion, but shrugged off his weariness, he promised himself he would rest later, there were more important things to thing about.

"We're here," Norleche said, he pointed to a door inscribed with symbols, Geldar went forward to inspect them. "No, not that door," he told the Paladin, "the one beyond it. Not even the undead defile Tal Rasha's burial chamber," he turned to Talina. "How many?"

She closed her eyes, her lips moving involuntarily. "Only a few, but there's…" she shuddered and almost fell to the ground with the shock.

"What is it?" Geldar asked, steadying her, he noticed the sweat pouring from her brow.

"I…I don't know," she said with effort, "I sense…a great evil and…"

"And what?" Geldar pressed.

"I don't know," she repeated, opening her eyes and blinking a few times. "One of us needs to go back for the Staff," she said, her voice firm now and her eyes alert.

"Now?" Norleche asked.

"Yes, now," Talina said.

"I can run faster and longer than any of you," Barak said lightly, "I'll run back to the waypoint outside."

"We'll finish the vermin off," Geldar said, and with a smile the Barbarian ran off.

"Here goes nothing," Talina said, she pulled the door open and threw a poison javelin before anyone could move, a green cloud submerged the waiting skeletons and several fell over.

Geldar and Norleche managed to finish the rest off, it wasn't much effort. When they were finished they crowded around the door, Norleche opened it before Geldar could examine the symbols.

"Don't need to," the Necromancer said a smile, he pointed to the platform in the middle of the room. "This is it."

Geldar walked towards it, at the top of a set of steps was the Horadric Orifice. It was, as Cain had described, set within the Circle of Seven Symbols. Geldar looked away and at the walls, turquoise mosaic inlaid with gold stars, but nothing to mark where Tal Rasha's Burial Chamber was. He said as much to Talina, who merely laughed.

"It's like when you don't want your house to be robbed," she said, "the best way to make someone not get in somewhere is to have a door only you know how to use. And better still if you don't make it known where the door is." She waved her hand at the walls. "I guess we somehow have to blow a hole in the wall, but where?"

Norleche didn't say anything, he knew where the Tal Rasha's chamber was and he stared at the spot on the wall, summoning back his strength. It was here, and not just what they came for but the end, the end for him anyway.

"Sorry I took so long," Barak said, he came in with the Horadric Staff under his arm, he held it out to Talina. "Here," he said.

"No, you can put it in," she said in an odd voice, somehow she didn't feel equal to the task.

"I don't want to," Barak said, "Geldar?"

"With all do respect, I don't think I have the right," the Paladin replied. "This is very old magic."

"Norleche?"

The Necromancer shook his head, but didn't turn.

"There's only one thing for it then," Barak moved his hand higher up the staff, close to the headpiece. "We all put it in the orifice."

Geldar smiled, so did Talina. Somehow it was fitting that they should all do it. Norleche turned towards them, but he was not smiling, his face looked long and tragic.

"This is the first Prime Evil we slay together," he said solemnly, "we all know our parts?"

They did, it was something they had gone over many times.

And so, standing on each side of the circle of symbols, and all holding the Staff with one hand, it was slowly lowered into the orifice. The Staff span for a bit within the hole then disappeared with a flash of light and a crash of thunder.

At this instance they all jumped away from the orifice just as the symbols gave out their own individual light. The floor beneath began to rumble and a single bright light was shot from the orifice and into one of the walls. There was an explosion, stone and turquoise burst all over the room before descending to the ground. Then a shudder, and following that silence.

"I think that's our way in," Norleche said finally, a large hole had been left in the wall.

"Could Diablo…" Talina began, but didn't want to finish.

"I don't know," Norleche replied, his face looking skull-like. "It is a good sign that we were the first to break in to the Tomb, but we have to find out." He stepped towards the hole, peering cautiously. "I can't see anything," he said, "it must be further in."

One by one they all followed him through the hole, Talina found herself beating down a feeling of dread. It wasn't because of what they were facing, it was the fact they didn't know.

After they had all gone through the tunnel collapsed, the rubble spreading further on the floor outside.