Chapter 2:
Retired?

William sat at the table of the pub, flipping a coin into the air with his thumb. His thoughts were concentrated on the past. The years filled with horrors. All the companions he had seen die, and yet, with all the things he had done, William still lived.
He flipped the coin up again, but it did not come back down.

He took his eyes away from the window, and saw Anna standing there, holding his gold coin. She was also holding a mug of ale.
William took the mug with a smile. "Sit" he said.
Anna pulled out the chair and plopped down on it. They both took sips of their ale, not speaking a word.

Anna sighed. "The party will take place in an hour..."she said, her voice just above a whisper.
William nodded, and took another sip from his mug.
"Will you be attending?" Anna asked him.
He didn't speak a word. Just kept sipping his ale.
Anna sat there watching him until all of it was gone. Now he had no reason to not speak.

"Deckard Cain is dead!" came the voice.
William took it all in full horror. He surveyed the town of Harrogath, burning ruins. The seige of Baal had come through, while William had been in Hell. He was to late...
Baal had won the fight...

"You are in the past" said Anna, half stating, half asking.
William nodded.
Anna took his hand. "What happened back then, you can not blame yourself for. Even we could not stop the evil forces that Baal had at command." She paused to let her words sink in, "And on the bright side, Baal is dead. Or at least somewhere he can't come back from. Does that mean nothing to you? What you accomplished?"
"But those peopl-
"Those people gave their lives fighting, when you couldn't. They died in honor. You should not take their deaths in vain by blaming yourself for them"
"I should have been there"

Anna sighed. "You may think so, and you may not have been, but it was for good reasons."
William gave her a suspicous look.
"You were recovering from your battle with Diablo. If you had went to Harrogath any earlier, both Diablo, and Baal, would still walk this earth. But only Baal is left, and he is very weakened from the war"

The screams of terror flew throughout the sky. Screams of dying people, caught in the ruins of their once beloved city. Harrogath. Baal had slaughtered them all...
William drew his sword.
"And for that, Baal will die!"

William remembered his words from that night. His thoughts, and feelings, everything that happened.
He looked up to Anna and smiled. She always made him feel good, no matter what happened. Probably why he had proposed to her.
Him and Anna were to be married in three weeks time. Everyone was happy. They had something good to look forward to now.
But still...there was a feeling. A feeling that made you think Baal would come back one day.

"It has been peaceful, even with all the thoughts of him" Anna said, practically reading William's mind.
"Indeed. But he will return one day. We all know that"
"Of course he will. We killed his brothers, and cast him from his own throne. Killing everyone would be the first thing on his mind..."
"I doubt we will be ready"
"I doubt that to"
They sat there in silence for many moments. One of Anna's rogue friends opened the tavern door, and called for her to come. She waved good-bye to William as she hurried out the door.

"Where are you Baal?" William whispered as he stared out the tavern window.
William heard enormous laughing, a rare sound anywhere, and turned to see what the commotion was.
There was a cloaked necromancer, slamming his fist on the table, laughing hysterically. He picked his mug up and drained it.

But, he went to far back, and his chair fell right over. He landed with a heavy thud.
He continued to laugh on the ground...
William looked to the other person at the table.

He recgonized him instantly as an Iron Wolf. He was shaking his head, obviously embarassed by his friend's antics.
What interested William the most was, what was an Iron Wolf doing in these parts?
They never left Kurast anymore. Sometimes, yes, you would see them travelling through parts outside Kurast now and then. But here, in the monastery?
He shrugged the thoughts off. It wasn't really his business.

William went back to thinking, calling the barmaid to bring him another mug of ale.
"Ey, Paladin!" someone shouted from across the tavern.
William turned to see the drunken Necromancer waving at him.
"What is it?" William asked.
The Necromancer grabbed his travel bag and walked to William's table, plopping down on a chair. He pulled it up to William.

"I hear you, know something of our dear friend...Baal." He said in a low tone.
William just stared in confusion.
"Am I correct?"
"Yes, you are correct" William said finally, "but who is asking?"
"I am"
William glared at him.
"Oh, my name, right" He extended a hand to William.

"I am Nostra, and this" he said, pointing to the Iron Wolf, "Is my friend, Damus"
Damus bowed, without a word.

"Very well. Now what is it you want?"
Nostra's face grew very serious, and he dropped his voice even lower.
"Everything you know about Baal"

"Baal is dead"
"Let's not be like that now"
William glared at him again, "Who do you think you are, coming in here and asking me about Baal? He's dead, for all we know"
"Or at least close to it"

Those words brought memories back to William's thoughts.
Cain had said that exact statement as he lay on his death bed.
"I see you are remembering Cain now"
"Excuse me?"
Nostra sighed. "I have seen things. Terrible things. You of all people should know Baal is not dead."
"Oh, really. What have you seen?"
"That is not important right now. What is important, is Baal being found."
"Why do you want to find him so bad?"
"Because someone else is already out there, looking for him"

"What do you mean-!
Nostra threw a hand over William's mouth, "Keep your words quiet, my friend"
William pushed Nostra's hand away.
"I am not, your friend."
"Then will you at least be a source of information to me?"
William grabbed Nostra's collar and pulled his face to his own.
"I can provide you with nothing, other than the possibility of Baal being dead"

Nostra pulled away from William, and stood up from his chair. He straightened the collar of his undershirt, staring down at William the entire time.
"Very well. Do not be of assistance. But you do know that Baal will be back one day, and whether or not you help me, I will find him." Nostra said both angrily, and confident.
He picked up his travel bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"Good day, Sir William" he said as he stopped at the doorway, "Damus, let us take our leave"
Damus nodded, pulling himself off the wall, and following Nostra out the door.

Anna bumped into the necromancer as she ran through the doorway.
"Oh, my apolo...gies." Anna said, faltering her sentence.
" 'Tis not a problem my lady" Nostra said, waving his hand as he walked down the path leading out of the village.
Anna sat down beside William, confused.
"What was a necromancer doing here?"
William shrugged, "Looking for Baal, apparently"
"What!"
"That's what I said. But I couldn't get much from him"
"Oh, and why not?" Anna asked, lifting her brow.
"He was seeking answers, not giving them up. Necromancers are always a pain to talk to"
Anna nodded, "So they are. Did he at least say his name?"

"Mhm. Nostra. Ever heard of him?"
"No, afraid not" Anna shook her head.
"He did, however, say that someone else was looking for Baal"
"Whatever could that mean?"
"Means we should start the search early..."
Anna just stared at him, stricken. "We can't go after Baal now," she whispered, "It's too early.We can't break this time of peace now, because of something a necromancer said"
"I know Anna, but we don't have much choice. We can't take the risk that this necromancer is right or wrong. Besides, it will just be me and you."
Anna went to reply, but their conversation was broken by a shrill scream from outside the tavern.

"What in heaven's name was that?" The bartender shouted.
William stood up from the table, "Trouble most likely. I'll take a look"
The bartender nodded silently, trying to see outside with all the people in the tavern.
"The necromancer..." Anna said, grabbing William's arm. "Be careful"
"I will"

William pushed open the door, and saw people running and screaming from farther down in the village.
He saw the necromancer, Nostra, and the Iron Wolf Damus, standing not far down the road. William jogged to catch up with them.
"What are you doing!" William shouted, grabbing Nostra's shoulders, spinning him around.
Both Nostra's, and Damus's faces were very serious. To serious. Nostra opened his mouth to speak;
"I sense a demon's presence"