Chapter IV: Sisters' Burial Grounds

When we reached the Cold Plains, Flavie greeted us with a sharp nod before saying to me, 'Kashya informed me of the situation. Beware, Sister. The Evil is strong ahead.'

I took a deep breath in, and thanked my fellow Sister for her advice. But I would not fail. I was not allowed to.

Eventually, Raik and I both made our way through the Cold Plains. Some corrupted rogues attacked us, and even though it saddened me to kill them, I at least knew that their souls could now rest. We also found on the way some objects for Raik: a shield, a helm and even some boots. He would need them, if he did not wish to die when facing Moreina. On the way, he also learnt to summon a raven. While it was weak, the bird provided us a fair distraction when it was needed.

Eventually though, we reached the Cemetery. It was a dark place, and I remembered always feeling unsettled when surrounded by the tombs of my fellow Sisters. I also remembered being scared of the silence that could be found there. Now though, I was rather scared by the sounds I could hear. Indeed, even from the entrance I could distinguish the low grumble of zombies and hungry dead rising from the ground, unwillingly becoming a part of Andariel's army. I glanced at Raik, and observed his features. He looked scared, too.

A red and white shadow appeared in front of us, and I felt my throat tighten.

He should.

Taking my bow, I shouted to her, perhaps foolishly hoping that I could reason that woman who once was my friend, my mentor and my Sister, 'Blood Raven! Abandon your quest! Andariel is an enemy to the Sisterhood, the very order you swore an oath to! Put an end to this madness. Our Sisters and friends gained their rest by dying for the Light, and you have no right to disturb them from it!'

Moreina slowly turned to face me, her white helm glistening under the dull light. I blinked, almost… terrified at the sight. Even in death, Moreina kept her lean and bright shape. And even under Andariel's corruption, she kept her sense of leadership as she screamed throughout the cemetery, 'My army will destroy you!'

All the monsters around us started to walk, their arms ready to clutch our throats. I glanced at Raik, and he nodded, his eyes burning as he started to attack the zombies, his raven at his side.

I would take care of Moreina. A sister against a fellow one. A Tristram's Survivor against another – even though Moreina did not keep that title for a very long time before being killed and brought back by the Maiden of Anguish.

I dodged an arrow. I could not take the time to think, or otherwise the battle – and all hope – would be lost.

Moreina and I both started to fire arrows at each other. Unsurprisingly enough, Moreina was as fast as I remembered her to be, and despite my own skills, it became harder and harder to dodge when still attacking and whilst exhaustion slowly but surely slowed my movements, Moreina seemed only to become stronger and faster through our battle, taking even the time to raise more of our Sisters to turn them against Raik and I.

I glanced at the Druid. He was bravely fighting, but even a talented man could not survive endlessly when facing ten or so opponents. I needed to kill Moreina first, and then I would be able to join him.

I suddenly felt an arrow pierce my stomach, and hurled through the cemetery. How could I be so foolish?! My eyes burned in understanding: I had been unfocused on the combat, and paid a great price for it. And while in Tristram's Cathedral that had been possible at times – after all, Aidan was the one always in contact with the enemies and otherwise the Sorcerer, Moreina and the others could always save me – right now I was alone.

I saw my wound spitting blood, and I observed the dark liquid meld with fresh ground. I shivered, wondering if I had lost already.

You'll have, if you do not focus back!

Clenching my hands around my bow, I ignored the excruciating pain in my belly to fire multiple arrows. However Moreina was able to dodge them all while even coming closer to me, a dark smile dancing on her lips as she abandoned her bow to take a dagger instead.

Eventually, she was too close for me to attack her with a bow, and under the realisation that I would die – I was too exhausted to flee – I let myself fall on the ground, raising my pleading eyes to her empty ones.

This result was logical. You should have expected it, Elisa: a few week ago when Moreina was still alive you would have been unable to fight her. Obviously, in that time alone, with the very few training you had thanks to Kashya's protectiveness, your level did not sufficiently increase…

It was foolish of me to even think I could kill her. But here I was, unable to flee. I hoped Raik would find some way to escape. Perhaps if he ran fast enough he would reach the nearest town portal in time.

And I… Well, I hoped that at least Moreina would not turn me into a member of her army.

I closed my eyes, shivering as I felt Blood Raven's dagger on my throat, and whispered, 'Do it. I forgive you, you're not able to fight off Andariel's power. Just like Aidan, who is under Diablo's influence from what I understood.'

The dagger remained still, and I started to wonder why Moreina wasn't getting on with it before I heard a small whisper, 'Diablo…? And Aidan…?'

I snapped my eyes open, partially annoyed that I wasn't already dead and partially confused as to why Moreina was acting like that. 'Yes, Diablo, you know, the Lord of Terror, the demon we slayed in Tristram with Prince Aidan, the sorcerer Jazreth and our Sisters… But obviously he wasn't completely destroyed.'

Moreina blinked. 'Tristram… the Cathedral…' She observed me more carefully before whispering, 'Elisa…'

A glimpse of hope entered my heart. Was Moreina… Could she possibly be… saved? Could Andariel's dark curse over her be broken?

I smiled, 'Yes, it's me: Elisa, your friend! We were together in Tristram, do you remember?'

Moreina frowned, thoughtful. I could see her expression evolve as sheremembered. Or at least, seemed to. Despite the dagger remaining on my bare skin, I washappy. If Moreina could be saved… If she could fight along with us, along withme in the upcoming battle against the Maiden of Anguish, then victory was in our grasp!

A red glint entered Moreina's eyes as she chuckled, an icy sound to my ears, 'Matron Andariel… will be pleased to know about this…'

My eyes widened as I saw Moreina take a step back, and get a parchment, ready to use it to join her Mistress. Trying my best not to faint from the blood loss, I cried, 'Moreina, what are you doing?! Stop this! Don't do this, don't go back to Andariel!'

Blood Raven looked at me as a portal appeared next to her. She grinned, and disappeared into the red oval, leaving me alone in the Burial Grounds. Her maniac eyes haunted me for a second.

How could I be so naive?! So candid?! So… No. No, she still… She still did not kill me. I must not lose hope. She recognised me, she recognised me and thus did not kill me because she remembered of me as a friend! And… And if she went to Andariel, it was only because of the curse. Or perhaps even to try to avoid hurting me by using an acceptable excuse! I must not lose hope. Moreina just showed a sign that she could… perhaps… be saved. And before putting her down like another demon, I had to try everything I could to bring back my friend!

'Elisa! Help?'

I almost jumped when I realised that Raik was still fighting. Painfully rising from the ground, my wound slowing at each move I dared make, I took my bow and started to fire arrows at the few zombies left in the area. After a few moments, the fight finally over, and I chuckled, confused but amazed that I was still alive.

My head started to spin, and I would have fallen had Raik not caught me in time, his bloodied hands dirtying my arm. I looked at him, and ignored his concern for me before giving him a parchment, 'Please… Use it to transport us back to the camp… We need to… Akara…'

The Druid seemed to understand what I meant and soon enough we were both healed, sitting together in front of the bonfire, still shaken from what we saw and experienced. Warriv, next to us, did not even dare to ask us what happened. The traveller could probably understand from our faces that the story would not be pleasant to hear.

'Akara told me you came back almost dead, but alive. Does this mean you've managed to kill Blood Raven?' a sharp voice asked us.

I raised my face to see Kashya, her arms crossed in front of her, her fingers drumming on her armour. Raik, next to me, said, 'When we left, I did not see her standing.'

Before Kashya could even experience relief, I interrupted the Druid to avoid giving anyone false hopes – we could hope, but not because of Moreina's "death", 'She escaped the Cemetery to see Andariel. To talk to her. I could not stop her: I was too weak at that time. Kashya, Moreina… I think we can save her. I think that somewhere, she isn't completely lost to Andariel, that perhaps… I mean, just maybe we could consider the possibility that-'

'Are you completely MAD, Elisa?! We are talking about Blood Raven! She slaughtered so many of our Sisters that I lost the count and do not even let me mention her corruption of our dead! She has become a monster that needs to be put down. How can you even think that she could be saved? Have you seen the state you came back in? Akara told me she struggled to heal you! A few minutes later and you would have died. Moreina, the Moreina that we all knew before this, would have never even considered the possibility of hurting anyone. That… demoness is not our friend.'

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. 'Kashya, Moreina could have killed me, there. She had plenty of opportunities… But she didn't. She recognised me Kashya, and she didn't kill me because she remembered that I am her friend!'

The Rogue Commander sneered, 'That you were her friend. And I seriously doubt it. She more likely recognised you as a Survivor of Tristram, and she went straight to her Mistress to tell her all about how Andariel missed her mission by not killing you. You are now more in danger than ever, never mind the danger you put the whole Sisterhood in! I told you this would happen, I warned you, but you were so drowned in your own ego that you could not see the evidence!'

I slowly nodded, letting her shout and verbally assault me. I knew she was worried for me, and the fact that her wrath was due to this made it even harder for me to hear it. But I could understand the position she was in, and I could also understand why she was unable to "see the evidence".

'And what about Akara?' I eventually pointed out. 'Was she, too, drowned in my ego?'

Kashya huffed, and immediately dismissed the matter by saying, 'Akara is optimistic by nature, and she's always had a soft spot for you. Besides, at this point, we would do anything to be saved. But I've had enough of this. I was right, you tried to convince me I wasn't, Akara, as usual, completely lacked any strategical insights and thus told me to stop being "over-protective" – as if one could ever be over-protective when facing the Maiden of Anguish! And in the end, what did it bring us? An even worse situation! Because I dared hope that, maybe, just once, I was indeed wrong!' Kashya, who had started to pace throughout her tirade, interrupted her walk to face me, pointing her gloved finger to the camp's entrance while barking at my face, 'So now, I will stop doubt myself, and I will stop letting you or Akara, or anyone, try to cloud my mind, is that clear?! Elisa, I forbid you to even make a step out of the camp! And since last time, a mere order didn't suffice – I had hoped it would, perhaps because it was obviously the best solution for all of us – I want you to assist Charsi in her work.'

I frowned, feeling betrayed by my Commander, 'You dare ask Charsi to… guard me?!'

'Yes, I dare! You complained about feeling useless, and unlike assigning one of my Rogues to watch over you instead of helping in this ongoing war, this solution has the benefit of preventing you to leave the camp while still letting you serve our Order in a non-destructive way. Now, if you wish to complain, do not even think of going to see Akara: she may be our spiritual leader, but I am still your Commander and I shall command you as I please!'

I blinked whilst I watched her turn her back on me and walk towards her usual spot in the camp, prideful and charismatic at each step she took. I might be angry right now, though still… In this moment, she looked amazing.

It reminds me of all those times where she would walk with Moreina in the Monastery's corridors. Both powerful warriors… It was quite a sight, back in the days.

'So… What do we do, now?' Raik asked in a small voice.

I brought my gaze upon the Druid, thoughtful. 'We're going to find a way to let me out of the camp, of course.'

'But… Kashya's orders…'

'I don't care about Kashya's orders. As much as I respect and admire her, she's human and thus can be wrong. Besides, do you see anyone else here more powerful than the both of us combined?'

Raik did not even look around before sighing in defeat. 'I suppose we could always find a way to avoid the guards and Kashya, but what about Charsi? Your disappearance will be noticed.'

I bit my lip. He had a point there. Charsi was my friend, but she would never disobey Kashya directly for me. So I needed to remain at the camp. While still fighting outside. This was quickly appearing to be impossible.

No, there has to be something I missed!

'We need to find a way to convince Kashya to revoke her decision,' I eventually declared.

Raik raised a doubtful eyebrow, 'And how will we achieve that, exactly? She doesn't seem to be the type to easily change her opinion.'

I sighed, I knew this too well. No, Kashya would only be convinced by a rational proof, something she would never be able to counter. And that proof had to come from someone she would… admire. Or, at least, recognise as worthy of her time. Glancing at my companion, I smirked, 'Have you ever heard of the Horadrim, Raik?'

Author's note:

So, Blood Raven's still alive, Andariel's now aware of Elisa's existence and Cain may or may not be freed from his horrible cage. The story is slowly (but surely) starting to truly begin, guys! I hoped you liked this chapter. I'm not very proud of Moreina and Elisa's dialogue, but there are worse things in this unforgiving world.