Diablo

The Awakening of Chaos

Chapter Six

The Battle for New Tristram

As Rua charged out of Cain's library, he was forced to duck as a Goatman's axe attempted to separate his head from his shoulders. The green-eyed warrior rolled past and hamstringed the monster to cause it to collapse, before beheading it with his blade. He got up and quickly looked around. Soldiers were combating demons everywhere. They were outnumbered heavily, and there wasn't much hope. He had to find Ziatoch and end this as quickly as possible.

He tore off down the street, making his way back towards the inn. He needed the rest of his equipment… his sword and shield wasn't much to protect him here. As he ran down the street, a large Death Mauler burst out of a building in front of him. It immediately turned towards the green-eyed warrior and growled through its long sharp teeth, and stuck its smooth muscular arms into the ground. Rua saw this and jumped as two blood-colored spikes burst through the street in front of him. He sailed over and shot forward at the demon, cutting off one of its arms and then its head with his blade. Two Blood Lords arrived in front of the warrior, and he was forced back as they attacked. But before they could get the upper hand, Rua cast a Pulse Laser at the one of the bovine monsters, and Phase Shifted past the other, easily killing both.

He continued down the street, grimacing as the sounds of screaming humans and roaring monsters filled the air. He could smell smoke in all directions, and once or twice he heard the shrieks of what had to be more than one Dracolich. More demons were filling the streets, battling soldiers and townspeople alike. Rua readied his blade and charged into the fray. Two demons he couldn't recognize jumped him. He fended off the first attack with his shield, countering with a stab in the monster's throat, before whipping around and slashing at the other demon. It jumped back and flung a firebolt at him. The spell scored his shoulder, making him fall back. As the demon lunged again, Rua rolled to the side and launched into the air with his Driver attack, falling on top of the demon and pinning it to the ground with his blade. A number of arrows soared past the green-eyed warrior. He turned, and brought up his shield quickly as more arrows struck it. Without thinking, Rua cast a Thunder Blow spell at the group of corrupt Rogues sniping at him, but as he did, a few arrows struck his sword arm. The green-eyed warrior yelled in pain, and before doing anything else, he yanked the arrows out. He ran off down the street, striking down any enemy that got in his, shrugging off the few injuries he got and using his healing potions to repair the damage, not even bothering to watch as the wave of eldritch blue fire vaporized the party of women.

Monsters were swarming the area around the inn he and his friends were staying at. A Devilkin Brute was waving around a large club towards the back of the swarm… a perfect target. Rua charged forward, flinging a fireball at the barbaric creature. It screamed in pain as the orb of flame struck it, causing the monster to ignite. More monsters turned to see what the problem is, only to find a charging human. They attacked. As Rua charged forward, he cast another spell before turning to attack at a different angle. The four points of light connected to fire the Pulse Laser as the green-eyed warrior tore into the group with a Phase Shift.

A Storm Lord lashed out with an electrified claw at him, but his gemmed longsword easily swept off the offending arm. He struck the monster across the face with his shield, knocking it back into two more demons, and slashed two Carvers that rushed him. He fought his way towards the door, and when he finally reached it, he had to punt a Leaper that was scratching hungrily at the door out of the way. He swung the door open and shot inside, slamming it closed as another demon flung itself at him. Inside the inn, two men helped him force the door close completely and barricade it. The green-eyed warrior stepped back as he heard a demon begin pounding on the door. Finally he looked around at the inn.

It looked like they'd had demons inside earlier. It was a mess, with tables knocked around, furniture upturned, and human and demonic blood here and there. Several of the workers had armed themselves with whatever could serve as weapons, and only three of the men were armed with actual weaponry. He grew annoyed. "What the hell are you people still doing here?" he shouted at them, causing a few to jump, "Find some way to get out of here, it's too dangerous!"

No one seemed willing to make a move. Rua threw the family glare at them. "NOW!" he bellowed. That did it; they started moving. The green-eyed warrior pulled out the key to his, Relayia's, and Jordan's room, and took off up the stairs. When he got to the door, he noticed that it was ajar slightly, and he looked at it suspiciously. He nudged it open, readying his sword, only to find that only his armor was still inside. Jordan must've already been here. He looked back outside at the doors leading to each woman's room, and found them both open. Rua shrugged and took his armor off of its rack, and began to put it on.

A horrible screech, followed by the sound of an explosion, cut through the air just as he finished buckling on his breastplate. He turned around quickly to see a large bone claw rip open the side of the wall. The wall crumbled away, revealing the skeletal visage of a Dracolich. Rua yelled out in surprise and leapt backwards as the monster lashed out with a claw again, tearing out more of the wall. Rua shook his head once, glared at the undead dragon, and readied his sword as it roared again.

A group of warriors was torn to shreds in seconds when the ground beneath them exploded from Ziatoch's spell. Pitiful fools, he thought, they should know by now that they can't beat me. He gazed around imperiously at the city from atop his undead mount. With a wave of his hand, he willed his minions forward, grinning as they began to tear everything before them apart. A roar sounded through the air as one of his Dracoliches tore into an inn. He turned his mount to stare at it. Obviously it had found one of the people he sent them out for. The red-eyed warlord grinned as he wheeled his horse back around. Now it was time to find Dragonheart and the Stone.

A group of warriors rounded the corner of the street and spotted the Master of Darkness. One of them pointed and shouted, riling the others into action. With a cry, Ziatoch heeled his steed forward, drawing Kasra in one smooth motion, allowing its blade to once more glow with unholy light. As he charged forward, he swung upward at the first soldier, killing him instantly. His steed leapt over three others, and as it landed, Ziatoch turned it lightly and stuck out his left arm towards the warriors. A bolt of red lightning lanced out and struck each of them in turn, killing them all. He turned his attention forward again… only to curse the sight of a chanting paladin. Before he could do anything constructive, the holy warrior finished his chant and flung a glowing hammer of energy at the Master of Darkness. With inhuman speed, the red-eyed warrior had leapt off of his steed as the hammer blasted through it and ended its twisted life.

The dark warlord landed several spans away from the paladin. He cocked his head slightly to the side and glared coldly at the knight of Zakarum as the man drew his own blade. As the other man readied himself, Ziatoch struck, dashing forward and making a low cut. Startled, the paladin jumped back as he parried, then pressed his attack. Ziatoch anticipated his overhead slash and stepped out of the way, swinging his sword across the holy warrior's side, parting his chainmail and the flesh underneath. The man staggered, and Ziatoch turned and pointed the Soul Crusher at the paladin. An Unholy Bolt, a bolt of energy emitting black rays of light, shot out of the blade, slamming into the holy warrior and finishing the job. Ziatoch turned back around to see the other soldiers closing in. He grinned cruelly as he sheathed his dark blade.

He began chanting for a spell granted directly by the Eye of Anguish, the eye-shaped amulet around his neck. A blighted aura surrounded him as he raised his right hand up and cast his Pestilence spell. A green-gray fog rose up around the Master of Darkness, surrounding the offending warriors. As they backed away, trying to figure out what trickery they were up against, one of them fell to his knees, clutching his throat and gurgling. One by one the spell took hold of them, causing their bodies to rot and decay rapidly while they still lived. They were vomiting and bleeding, and in a few gruesome moments, there were nothing but gore-covered bones surrounding the unholy being. Ziatoch laughed madly as he strode confidently and harmlessly through the dissipating mist.

He concentrated on a spell to try and pinpoint where the resonance from the Resurrection Stone originated, but even his prestigious abilities were sabotaged by the amount of magic in the air, interfering so much that the spell was starting to give him a headache. The red-eyed warlord frowned and shook his head, then continued towards the heart of the city.

He continued down the streets of New Tristram, striking down any human that came near him, whether it was man, woman, or child. Didn't matter to him… they'd all be destroyed in the end. Quite suddenly, a huge, seven-foot barbarian warrior in leather armor, wielding a battleaxe, dropped down from a building several spans away from him and turned towards him, a grim frown etched onto his hard face. The Master of Darkness immediately ran forward, drawing Kasra, ready to meet his opponent. As the hulking man swung down with a vertical chop, Ziatoch sidestepped and struck out twice along the barbarian's arm. The man shrugged it off and swung around with his weapon again. The Master of Darkness easily blocked the attack with the Emblem of Hatred, and then parried the highlander's second attack with Kasra, smacking it to the side and away from him. The man went around for a third strike, using all of his might, but his red-eyed enemy caught his axe with his sword easily, stunning the northerner.

Ziatoch grinned as he forced the axe up with Kasra and pushed the barbarian away with his armored foot. As the man staggered back, Ziatoch raised Kasra and slashed him down his chest and stomach. The man only growled in pain, however, and punched the warlord in the chest. Ziatoch was forced back, but he never felt the blow through his armor. Instead, the unholy warrior dashed forward, leaving a gash across the barbarian's side. He turned when he was a span away from the warrior, only to find two more barbarians joining the first. Ziatoch began to chant with a malicious leer, and as the three northerners ran at him, he sheathed the unholy demonblade and pointed his hand at them, watching it as it was swathed in black flame. He finished the chant and lashed out with Shadow Flame, a spell granted by the Embodiment of Destruction, the body armor he was wearing.

A massive wave of black fire grew out of his flaming hand, consuming the warriors and leaving nothing but blackened carcasses. He grinned cruelly. These people had no idea what they were up against. But now, it was time to turn it up a notch. The Master of Darkness raised both of his hands up into the air and began to chant for an extremely complicated and unbelievably powerful spell to take advantage of the growing weakness of the barriers between Heaven, Hell, and Sanctuary. A ball of black energy formed above his outstretched arms as he chanted in the spidery language of mana. The nucleus of the orb began to pulsate a sickly red as the power intensified. His chant deepened, and quite suddenly, the orb blasted into the sky, forming into a black beam before disappearing. The night sky grew a crimson color as the clouds blackened. Silvery tines of lightning struck the ground all around the city. New screams erupted into the air as weak red portals began to slowly open up in various parts of New Tristram, allowing demons to emerge into the world.

Ziatoch smiled. Perfect. If this doesn't lure him out of hiding, I don't know what will. A light wind rose up as he turned and drew his blade, the wind whipping is cape into the air. With the spell completed, he returned to his task of seeking out his nemesis.

Jordan busily hacked away at the gargantuan body of a Wendigo with his sword, before turning around and chopping two Dark Ones in half. An Oblivion Knight stepped up and slashed him across the back, resulting in only a minor cut. The bandit lord growled and attacked the undead warrior ruthlessly.

"RAYNE! ON YOUR LEFT!" Relayia shrieked above them.

Rayne turned and whipped her leg across a corrupt Rogue's face and followed up by stabbing the woman in the chest with her new scissor katar, skewering her heart. She quickly turned back and parried another Rogue's sword when she felt her presence behind her, and then lashed her other new weapon, a claw, across the woman's face. Two arrows pierced her leather armor and she screamed in pain. She spun around and fired off a Psychic Hammer at the offending Rogue, and the woman staggered back, only to be consumed by Kaelynn's Inferno spell. The assassin heard something step forward behind her, and the blond-haired woman spun around, her weapons lashing out to make killing strokes. However, the Balrog easily backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the ground. It raised its sword to impale her to the ground when three ice bolts appeared in its wide chest, causing black blood to burst from it. With a groan the monster fell backwards, and Rayne immediately got up and darted towards another battle.

A bolt of lightning lanced out from Kaelynn's left hand, electrocuting a Succubus about to dive down on her thieving companion. The demonic woman shrieked in anger before launching a pulsing orb or blood-red energy. The sorceress easily sidestepped the attack while chanting and flung a powerful fireball at the winged female, causing her to burst into flame. A roar sounded beside her and she turned, barely able to catch the axe swung at her with her staff. Mustering her strength, she pushed the offending weapon off of her and started to skillfully attack the Blood Lord with her weapon, deftly spinning and swinging, landing blow after blow, before jumping back and impaling it with a Glacial Spike spell.

The hazel-eyed sorceress turned her attention on another demon, never noticing the charging demon behind her. However, just as she had flung a Chain Lightning spell at a group of Carvers, the large form of Jordan collided with her, knocking her out of the way. They both fell to the ground, and Kaelynn started to growl, wondering just why this moron had rammed her… until she saw the Balrog that had been running at her with its fang-shaped blade raised over its head. As the monster turned around, snarling, throwing blades burst out of the monster's back, and the monster roared as it died.

Between the combined efforts of Jordan, Rayne, and Kaelynn, guided by Relayia's watchful eye, the companions made their way down the street away from the inn after they had retrieved their equipment. "We have to find Rua and figure out what the hell is going on!" Jordan shouted out to them. Before any of them could respond, an unearthly roar cut through the air, making both Relayia and Jordan's skin crawl. They all turned around and watched a Dracolich larger and sturdier than the one that had assaulted Lut Gholien tear into the very inn that they had just left. Jordan looked at the women, and all three nodded before tearing down the street. As they did, Relayia dived down and grabbed a hold of Jordan's sleeveless shirt, hanging on for dear life.

"Well that shows who's attacking!" Jordan shouted out over his shoulder.

"No, really?" Rayne shouted back, getting annoyed, "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Gee, maybe it was the big bony dragon busting down our hideout!" he replied with an idiotic grin. He gripped his giant sword tightly.

Rayne and Kaelynn both glared at the bandit lord, and then returned to their task at hand. There were monsters up ahead, and they all readied themselves as Relayia launched herself into the air. They tore into the raging battle, where humans and demons were already in the heat of combat. Almost immediately they took injuries as they fought through a swarm of Balrogs, Storm Lords, Goatmen, and other ill-assorted monstrosities. Just as the battle was about to turn into the humans' favor, it happened. Kaelynn whipped her head around as she felt a surge of magical energy, along with Rayne and the other mages in the group. The night sky, filled with smoke and illuminated by multiple fires, began to darken. And suddenly, a black ball of black energy fired up into the air well away from their position. The spell exploded in the air, and instantly the sky began to change. It seemed to fill with blood, and black clouds bloomed. Quite suddenly, lightning blasted down from the shadowy clouds, striking the roads and buildings alike. A red portal opened up before behind the group of warriors, and more monsters poured out.

Jordan gaped as he readied his weapon once more. How in the hell…? He shook his head. It had to be Ziatoch, of course. Rua said he was capable of shit like this. With an angry yell, the bandit lord threw himself at the oncoming horde, with his friends and the other warriors following suit, while Relayia took high to the air to observe. Where are you, Rua? The flying cat wondered.

The Dracolich moved in with its head to take a snap at the green-eyed warrior, giving him the perfect chance. Rua sidestepped as the monster came forward, slashing it twice across the snout. It growled and pulled back, and Rua cast a Pulse Laser spell that flew right into its eye socket. The monster roared in fury and pulled out, its horned head shearing through part of the ceiling and collapsing it. Rua saw his chance, darted forward, and leapt out of the inn room, landing on the undead dragon's back and awkwardly running down the ridge of its spine like a flight of stairs. He jumped off before he reached the monster's tail, rolling away and readying his gemmed longsword for battle as the monster turned around, thrashing its tail wildly as its eye sockets glowed red, signaling it was about to use its breath weapon. It roared once more and flung a large glob of acid at the green-eyed warrior, but he was prepared. He launched himself through the air with his Driver attack. As he did, he noticed the occupants from the inn fleeing in terror down one end of the street, away from the center of the city. It gave him an idea. He came down on the joint of one of the monster's wings, stabbing his blade through. The burst of elemental energy, combined with the spray of poison that issued from the blade, eroded the weakened connection and caused the wing to fall to the ground with a crash.

Rua turned immediately towards the Dracolich's face and cast another Pulse Laser. Four pinpoints of light fired off four rays, combining into an arm-thick mana beam that charred the rotting skin on the side of the Dracolich's face. The monster roared furiously, attempting to bite Rua as he leapt off the undead creature, landing on its forearm and running off of it and down the street, away from the fleeing people from the inn. The monster shook its head and roared before taking off after the green-eyed warrior, completely ignoring its severed, useless wing. Rua ran, his legs fueled by desperation. He knew that the Dracolich could easily run him down, and without his friends' help, he'd be dead. He began to chant, and then spun around, flinging a ball of blue energy into the air, before turning back and sprinting as fast as he could, despite his armor. The Thunder Blow spell slammed into the ground in front of the undead dragon, and it stepped into its widening ring. The wave of eldritch blue fire that blasted upward charred much of the monster's rotten flesh and scales, and its imprisoned soul wavered. The monster screeched and fell back slightly.

As he ran, the green-eyed warrior noticed that he was heading straight for another battle. A small band of warriors in plate mail, led by three paladins, were battling a larger group of undead, including Oblivion Knights, Reanimated Horde, and skeleton warriors. Rua grimaced and charged forward, his shield held out before him and his blade low at his side. As he neared the first skeleton, he swung his shield as hard as he could, causing the undead warrior to shatter from the impact. He immediately swung his sword at another enemy, catching the blade of an Oblivion Knight before it could strike down another warrior. He flung a fireball with his shield arm and destroyed one of the Reanimated Horde, hoping that it would stay down. Something slashed him across his back, tearing through cape and biting into his armor. The green-eyed warrior staggered forward, and something else slashed his arm, and yet another slammed into his shield.

A terrifying roar sounded as the Dracolich arrived, catching up with its quarry. It stopped and watched the battle with some confusion, then roared again. The three paladins spun around, readying their weaponry, and attacked. They began to pelt the Dracolich with Holy Bolts, magic bolts that shone with white light and were able to damage undead and heal living people. The undead dragon roared again and stepped back, turning slightly and shielding itself with its only remaining wing. It responded the holy warriors by spitting a glob of acid at them, causing all three fighters to dodge. The undead creature growled and lunged after one, pinning the armored man to the ground. Almost without thinking, the paladin reversed his grip on his broadsword and attempted to sever the offending claw. The monster growled and leaned its head down to disembowel the struggling human, when suddenly two shimmering Blessed Hammer spells collided with the side of its snout. The Dracolich roared in fury as it shook off the pain created by the two golden hammers of magic, and turned to attack the other two paladins. As it did, the undead dragon released its struggling prey, allowing it to counter. A large, silver bolt of lightning speared down from the crimson sky, exploding against the monster's back, splintering into a thousand rays of holy light. Some of the beams shone through the undead fighting against Rua and the other warriors, destroying them instantly while leaving the humans unharmed. The Dracolich roared once more, turned, and fled. The paladins quickly gave chase.

Rua had taken three more wounds before he was forced to choke down another healing potion in the midst of battle. As he flung away the empty bottle to the ground, he slammed an Oblivion Knight with his shield before impaling the undead soldier on his blade, causing it to burst into flame. He swung around in a tight circle, slashing any of the undead that came near him. A Reanimated Horde slammed into his back, knocking him down. The green-eyed warrior rolled when he fell, slashing another Oblivion Knight through its twisted armor as he rose. He spun back around to catch the Reanimated Horde charging again, its large weapon held up high, and his fireball took it flush in the chest. He looked around then, suddenly realizing the battle was over and that he was the last one standing. The six warriors that had been there before him were all dead.

Or so he thought.

One by one, the bodies of the warriors began to twitch. Their plate armor blackened, their shields shaped themselves into arrowheads with grinning skulls imprinted on them, and their helmets grew four horns much like the helmet that Ziatoch wore. They stood up and grasped long bastard swords, and the eye sockets of their helms began to glow red. One by one they turned to face Rua, and the green-eyed warrior's eyes narrowed. The Doom Guard. They had morphed into members of the Doom Guard! Something inside him snapped. "Well, you want to fight?" he snarled, "Come then! Let's fight!"

Immediately a glowing red Fanaticism aura etched itself and slowly revolved around Rua's feet. The green-eyed warrior flung himself forward at one of the Doom Guard with surprising speed, his blade screaming down at the undead knight's armored head. The being parried the blow with its own weapon, but Rua's sword, strengthened by his aura, sheared right the blade and stopped in the middle of knight's head, crumpling the horned helmet. The undead knight was consumed by fire from the inside, leaving charred armor in a heap behind. Rua whipped around with a horizontal slash, his blade streaming with the released magical energy of its gems, and left a large gouge in a skull-imprinted shield as it bounced off. Without thinking, Rua pointed his shielded left arm at the Doom Guard while chanting and fired off a Holy Bolt. The spell slammed into the armored torso of the undead knight, causing him to growl and step back. Rua's sword swept his head from his shoulders, and the green-eyed warrior turned to battle another opponent as the undead knight was incinerated.

Two more Doom Guardsmen stepped forward and attacked. Rua blocked one sword with his shield, and used his own blade to parry the other sword streaking towards him. He forced both weapons off of him with his new artificial strength and lashed out in a zealous frenzy. In five powerful strikes, he had reduced both undead knights to piles of ash housed in burnt armor. Rua twisted around while chanting and fired off more Holy Bolts at the fifth Doom Guardsmen. They easily found their mark, forcing the undead warrior to back off. Rua was chanting again, and he placed the blade of his sword against his forearm and cut through the blue sleeve of his tunic and the flesh underneath, letting the sacrificed blood infuse his weapon's power. Rua lashed out at the fifth Guardsmen, slashing again and again, forcing the undead knight back. Rua bellowed in anger and feinted, slashing the Guardsmen down from the neck to the groin. He spun around and glared at the remaining Doom Guard as the fifth one's body disintegrated behind him. The undead warrior gazed at him cautiously, and readied his blade. He never heard the chant Rua was whispering. When the Doom Guardsmen charged forward with his bastard sword raised high, Rua pointed his own blade at the undead knight as he completed his Fist of the Heavens spell—another silvery bolt of lightning lanced down from the sky and struck the ebon-armored undead. The knight screamed as his body was consumed by the rays of light blasting out from the spell's impact.

Rua looked around warily, slightly crouched with both his sword and shield ready. His breath caught in his throat, however, when he realized what he had just done. He had wielded the holy magic granted to Knights of Zakarum, the Paladins… magic he swore he'd never use again. Not since he had fled Travincal when he learned the truth behind Sankekur and the Council of Light… and the Prime Evil that had infested them. He had left, escaping with the help of a female necromancer. And he vowed to never use the magicks granted to him when he was training to be a paladin… yet here he was, destroying six of the most powerful types of undead with that same magic. It was the vow that had retarded his abilities with magic, but it looked as if he still had the touch for holy magic. The green-eyed warrior cursed as he cleaned his sword of his own blood and the ash using the clothing hanging off of the corpse of one of the Reanimated Horde. When he was done, he deactivated his aura and looked around, wondering where he should go to find the Master of Darkness.

He finally noticed what was going on in the city, and his face paled. Not this… he thought frantically, not this again! Just like before. The billowing clouds, the crimson sky, the constant lightning… just like what happened to… No. He wouldn't let this city suffer the same fate. Time to find Ziatoch and either kill him or force him to cancel his spell. The green-eyed warrior snarled as he took off deeper into the city, and although he didn't feel it, power was flowing into him in a trickle.

Jordan pounded his fist into the snout of a Goatman bearing the telltale signs of a severe scratching from Relayia. The monster whinnied as it stumbled back, and two more fighters converged on it, hacking it to pieces. The bandit lord turned, earning him another cut on his arm, and buried his gigantic sword into the back of another Goatman, causing it to topple backward while screaming. He yanked his blade out of the corpse and dove further into the battle. A Balrog landed behind him, but the sandy-haired man didn't hear it over the din of combat. The demon raised its jagged blade over its head, only to have two spinning throwing blades burst out its shoulder. The monster's arm fell uselessly to its side, and the demon snarled as it turned around. The snarl abruptly cut off as it saw the open green-gloved hand pointed palm-first at its face. Before it could do anything, Kaelynn's Glacial Spike skewered the monster through the face, and it collapsed dead as the burst of cold air froze nearby demons.

The sorceress shifted her staff into both hands and cracked the heads of two more demons approaching her. She quickly cast her Enchant spell, causing her weapon to glow red as it was infused with magical fire. She continued on with her fight, occasionally blasting away an enemy trying to sneak up on Jordan or Rayne. The assassin was flitting around the two in a wide irregular circle, using her scissor katar and claw to hamstring opponents, cutting at weak-points and allowing the other combatants to finish them off. Occasionally she'd Mind Blast a grouping of demons to try and confuse them into attack their own kind. As she made another dash around the battlefield, a green-skinned Balrog stepped out before her and backhanded her before she could attack. The tattooed-faced assassin skidded across the ground, rolled once, and stopped inside the heart of the battle. She used her feet to spin herself around, kicking anything that got too close away from her, and pulled herself up. Immediately she had to leap back as a Blood Lord threw Jordan down, right where she had been laying earlier. She pulled two more throwing blades out of her satchel and flung them at the bull-like demon, causing the beast's throat to explode. The bandit lord pushed himself off the ground and shot his trademark grin at the young woman, and despite the situation, Rayne felt like slapping him.

The two of them pushed on further into the fray. The advantage had changed, and the demons were falling back. Kaelynn appeared at their sides and began lobbing spells into the hordes of monsters as the fighters pushed them back up the street. As they did, more demonic bodies littered the ground than humans, and the Hellspawn turned tail and ran. The three companions themselves stayed behind while the other warriors gave chase, catching their breath.

"Should we follow them?" Rayne asked. Relayia fluttered down and landed on the blonde woman's shoulders.

"Nah," Jordan replied, "We have to find Rua. You do know he's got the Stone, or did you forget?"

Rayne glared at him, but Kaelynn reached him first and thumped him on the back with her staff. "I don't have time for your foolishness, Brewer."

"Whoa, what's got your undergarments in a bunch, honeypie?"

Relayia sighed. "Jordan, what was it that Rua said about you hitting on sorceresses?" the little dragonet asked.

Jordan froze. "Er…"

After no one said anything for a minute, the bandit lord turned and started off down a side street, his sword held out cautiously before him. The two women also walked with him with their own weapons held ready. Relayia flew slowly above them. Shadows played across the walls between the stone buildings, and the screams and sounds of battle seemed distant. The fires being raised all across the city slightly illuminated the black clouds that billowed over the sky, and the four of them could see that lightning danced through the ominous clouds.

Rayne was getting edgy. "This whole place," she whispered, "should be overrun with Hellspawn. Can anyone tell me WHY there isn't any?"

"I don't know, assassin," Kaelynn whispered back, "Something tells me that something is very wrong."

"What do you think is up? Is everyone in this area dead or something?"

"I think so," Jordan butted in, without any humor in his voice for once, "Take a look over there." He gestured with his blade.

Three disemboweled bodies were in the street near a warehouse. The four of them slowly made their way towards them, still on the lookout for enemies. As they got closer, they noticed that each corpse was wearing bloodstained silver armor and carrying swords and tower shields. The bandit lord blanched as he gazed at the corpses of the paladins. "How the hell…?" he whispered. He turned and looked at his friends. "We really need to find Rua."

"What, did you lose your precious leader, Brewer?" asked a cold, mocking voice behind them.

The three humans spun around and gazed in fear at the armored figure standing on the peak of a house's roof. Ziatoch's black cape billowed in the wind as he grounded Kasra's point into the rooftop. He favored them with a cold smile. "A pity you haven't found him yet," the dark warrior said, "Because then I could've destroyed all of you at once."

Jordan growled as he brought his weapon up into a ready stance, trying to anticipate when the Master of Darkness would attack. However, the dark warlord only smirked at him. "Do you actually believe you can defeat me, Brewer? Only you precious leader Dragonheart ever managed to stand up to me. What makes you think that you, Tamriel, Dai, and the cat can beat me at this game?"

Jordan looked around in surprise, and saw that his companions had also readied their weapons in preparation for a battle they couldn't possibly win. Relayia stood on top of Rayne's head, her fur and feathers standing up as she bared her teeth at the warlord. Grinning, the sandy-haired thief turned back to Ziatoch. "Well, I know that he wouldn't give up. Hell, he'd probably be trying to tear you a new orifice!"

"How astute of you, Brewer," the dark warlord replied, "He would… and he would die. I'm far more powerful than I was last time the two of us met."

Jordan swallowed but held his ground. "So is Rua, bastard! He'll beat you eventually!"

Ziatoch only smiled as he watched the four of them with cold indifference. "Tell me, Brewer, which one of your men found the Tomb of Resurrection within the Barrier?"

Jordan blinked. "What are you talking about?" he growled.

"I'm only asking which one found the tomb that held the Stone. When I take your feeble checkpoint, I want to be able to thank him personally."

"What?"

"Don't worry… I'll leave SOME of them alive. I'll take the place after I have the Karognis under my control. Then I'll thank them personally for helping me secure the Stone."

Jordan snarled, his body tensing. Ziatoch, however, turned his attention to the women behind him.

"The two of you, however," he said to them, "I'll leave to Kara… she's very eager for a rematch, Tamriel."

"Let'er come, then!" Rayne shouted, "I'll take her on any day!"

"And you, Dai," continued Ziatoch, ignoring the furious assassin, "did you like how she helped me remodel the Palace?"

"Bastard!" yelled Kaelynn, "I won't let you get away with hurting my sisters!"

The Master of Darkness smirked. "I thought I already had."

The sorceress shrieked as she flung a bolt of lightning at the dark warlord. Ziatoch casually lifted Kasra, however, and pointed it directly at the oncoming bolt. It struck the tip of the Soul Crusher's blade, and blue light flared as the unholy demonblade consumed the lightning, creating a small thunderclap. The Master of Darkness grinned as he once more grounded the point of his sword into the rooftop. Electricity danced briefly down its black blade before disappearing, it's unholy glow made stronger for a moment.

"My, my, you have some spirit! A pity you had to join that fool Dragonheart on his futile quest to stop me."

Kaelynn stepped back, visibly shaken by Ziatoch's might. The man had easily shown that he was ready for anything the hazel-eyed woman threw at him. His smile grew wider as the wind intensified, billowing his cape even more. "Well, I must be going," he said as he sheathed Kasra, "I have a green-eyed fool and a Resurrection Stone to find, and you're wasting my time."

"So you're just going to kill us now?" Jordan spat.

"No."

His answer startled the four companions. The Master of Darkness continued, pointing one black-gauntleted hand to the warehouse behind them. "He will, however."

An ungodly roar ripped through the air, and the four of them spun around in surprise. Jordan's eyes widened as a massive one-winged Dracolich exploded out of the front wall, roaring in fury. Ziatoch smiled cruelly, then turned and walked away laughing.

A high shriek sounded through the air, and Rua stopped. That sounded like a little girl! He thought frantically. He looked around, trying to find out where it came from when he heard another one to his right. He immediately took off in that direction, going through two side streets before arriving at another town square. He readied his gemmed longsword and looked around, finally spotting the commotion.

A little girl was being cornered by a large demon, the likes of which Rua had never seen before. It stood nearly nine feet tall, on reverse-jointed, fur-covered, hoofed legs like that of a Goatman. Its upper torso belonged to a heavily muscled human, except it had gray skin and was covered with black tattoos and markings. It had a barbaric looking face, with two long tusks jutting from its mouth and curling up over its head. Greasy black hair fell down from its head to its shoulders, resting between large, black bat-like wings. The monster was growling and clenching its fists as it advanced on the helpless girl, who wept as she crawled backwards, trying to get away from the Hellspawn.

Rua's breath caught in his throat when he recognized the girl. It was the same girl who had given him Cain's whereabouts! Her dress was ragged and slightly torn, and her face was covered in dirt and grime, with clean tracks being cut by the tears falling from her eyes. Rua snarled as he started forward to intercept the monster. However, as he took his third step, two arrows suddenly appeared in the demon's backside. The beast roared in pain and anger as it turned around. Rua looked in the direction from where the arrows had come from and froze. Alasea was kneeling on the ground, holding a longbow horizontally. She had changed into a different shirt and had donned light plate armor over her torso, and a look of determination was etched across her features. Dammit, he thought angrily, I told her to get out of the city!

The monster roared once more and it ran across the square at the blue-eyed dancer. The young woman looked frightened, but she held her ground and loosed another arrow into the demon's shoulder. The monster twitched and growled. Rua made his move. The green-eyed warrior dashed forward, pulling air particles around him into his Phase Shift attack and tore his blade across the monster's back, reappearing beside it and twisting around, slashing the monster across the left arm. The beast staggered to the side, and Rua flung a fireball into the demon's side. The beast snarled as it was blasted backwards to the ground. Rua looked around and spotted Alasea dashing over to the girl's side, picking her up with one arm and pressing her face to her shoulder. Rua ran over towards them.

"I told you to get the hell out of here, Alasea!" he said in exasperation.

"I know, but I couldn't!" she told him, "I wasn't going to let you fight this alone when you don't need to!"

"I can take care of myself! I don't need to worry about you while fighting Ziatoch!"

"Rua…!"

"I won't forgive myself," he told her quietly, "if I let something happen to you."

Alasea opened her mouth, but was silenced from the roar of the demon as it forced itself back up from the street. Rua whipped around and glared at the monster, holding his shield and sword at his side.

"Alasea?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Run."

Alasea looked at him for a second, then nodded as she tightened her grip around the crying girl. She slid her bow over her shoulder with one hand, wrapped her other arm around the child, and ran away as hard as she could towards the gates. The monster roared its fury towards the crimson sky and charged its green-eyed challenger.

Rua roared his approval with arms outstretched.

Sorry about the long delay in posting chapter 5. My proofreader is way too busy to read my chapters or even work on her own story, so I'll have to go solo for a while. O.o I've already got the next chapter done and I'm close to finishing chapter 8. I may or may not get that posted for a while, as I'll be moving to a new state soon and I'll have to get settled down, and after that, I can only work on the story on weekdays. Whenever I work on a chapter, I post its progress in my profile, so go there to check the progress of the story.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of the battle for New Tristram in Chapter Eight: New Tristram's Fall. C'ya!

Rising Dragon