Chapter 21
The Black Marsh was as repulsive and demon-infested as the tales made it out to be. Fan-Min hated tromping through the wet, slimy terrain with nothing but damp, dead-looking foliage all around her. The cries of animals being attacked and who knows what else echoed through the wild area. She'd never have stepped foot in the marsh if she wasn't so sure that the arcane energy she was sensing was coming from somewhere within.
She was glad that no one was with her. A reputation was a fragile thing to maintain, and she had put in exceptional work to forming hers. However, despite her exceptional abilities with the arcane and in combat, she was feeling the exhaustion that was guaranteed with such long travels on foot and endless battles against the hordes of weak and some more considerable demons that wandered the deserted lands surrounding the Black Marsh.
Fan-Min couldn't help but wonder what life had been like back before the Prime Evils corrupted the lands with their presence. There was clearly a time that these lands were livable. Remnants of houses, stables, churches, and all other sorts of human architecture could be found scattered all around the land. Even the Cursed Woods and Black Marsh had the skeletons of a once safe civilization sprinkled about their undesirable terrains. It must have been nice, but, she thought a bit more cockily, probably a bit boring. Without demons and tainted creatures to fight every step of the way, what good would it do someone to be a master of the arcane?
It was more hours than she had kept track of before her wandering through the mucky marsh showed fruition. She could tell that she was close to the source of the arcane energy, a very evil and demonic presence. She figured even Fan-Huang could have felt it from where she was. Hopefully he was nowhere nearby. Whatever Fan-Min was about to face, she could tell it was powerful. She assumed it was Avator, whatever he truly was, and she knew her brother didn't stand a chance against him.
The young female wizard stood at the base of a rickety tower made of ancient stones. She could see that the nature, as twisted as it had become due to the influence of Diablo, Andarial, and now Avator, was slowly enveloping and overtaking the tower. In a few years she speculated the tower wouldn't even be visible anymore. It'd be just another lost relic of a once existing settlement.
As creepy as the tower was, even to her with her immense power, she knew she couldn't turn back. She had not marched through the Cursed Woods which seamlessly became the Dark Wood to anyone that could navigate through them, and then ultimately the Black Marsh just to turn back like a coward. She was going to do this, not just to get Li-Ming's attention, but also to stop her brother from trying to do it. As angry as she was at him, and as annoying as he could be, he was her brother. She didn't want him hurt or killed. It was best for them all if she took care of this herself. She didn't need him. She had enough power herself. She would be the next Li-Ming. She would be spoken of alongside Isendra and Tal Rasha. She would prove it within the tower resting before her.
She entered the tower through the broken-down door in what she assumed used to be the front. It was empty inside. Just a huge square room made entirely of stone walls, ceiling, and floor. The only thing that rested in the dark chamber was a single wooden ladder leading down a hole in the floor by the far wall. She approached it without fear and descended into the darkness.
Fan-Min couldn't see a thing down in the lower level of the tower. What she assumed was that she was alone. Standing as still and quietly as she could, not even a whisper or a tap of a foot reached her focused ears. Not even a ghost could be as quiet as the tower was. Ready to move forward, Fan-Min created a small arcane flame in her hand and held it high above her head. It lit the room up like a miniature candelabra.
The entire floor was abandoned. The floor was stone and dirty. Walls winded around like a small labyrinth through the dark. Every once and a while she would walk by a dilapidated chest or tattered piece of furnishing. There were some faded mirrors and cobweb-covered paintings hanging here and there on the forgotten walls showing that there was once someone dwelling in this forsaken place.
The more and more she ventured into the gut of the tower, the more and more ladders she found continuing down even deeper. A part of her felt like she was descending right into Hell. The deeper she got the more skeletal remains she found and the more dried blood rested on the dated walls. She was half-expecting to walk through a door and find herself in the Chaos Sanctuary. That was an experience even she was afraid of. She knew Li-Ming had never faced such a challenge, which was why she figured she could compare to the Renegade Wizard, but Isendra had literally walked by choice into the River of Flame right into the heart of the Chaos Sanctuary. As much as she wanted to compare herself to Isendra, she wasn't entirely sure if she ever could. But that wasn't about to stop her from trying.
She finally reached a floor that seemed different from the rest. While the other floors had seemed un-decorated and underwhelming in appearance, this floor was incredibly lavish. The narrow hallways were clothed with an expensive-looking red rug and large golden chandeliers. On the walls were all sorts of decorative trinkets with various sparkling gems embedded in them. There were large paintings, each of the same woman. She looked wealthy and youthful. She was gorgeous, but at the same time, frightful. Even in a still painting, Fan-Min felt as if her eyes were stalking her, a warning not to proceed farther.
The hallway ended at another ladder leading down, but before she descended, something caught her eyes. The room to the right of the ladder was enormous. It took up more of the floor space on this level than any other room. Fan-Min entered it cautiously. It seemed like a harmless room, but she could tell that a lot of harm had been committed in here. It was a bathing room. Decorated better than mountains of gold could afford, the room merely sat as a place to house the most treasured fixture in the entire tower: a large, ornate bathtub.
Fan-Min inspected the large tub, a chill running through her. She was no idiot. She had read the scrolls and tomes in the Yshari Sanctum's library. She hadn't realized it when she first entered, but this was the spectacle she needed to understand where she was. This was once the castle of The Countess. She was known for her cruel tyranny over the people around her. She would kidnap the neighboring village's young maidens and bathe in their blood. All in an effort to maintain her youth forever. This was her tub. This was her home. What was now known as The Forgotten Tower.
"This place chills me to the bones." Fan-Min said to herself, suddenly even more eager to get this all over with so she could get out of the dark pits of the tower. Feeling a bit uncomfortable knowing where she was, she continued her descent to find the demonic source of the arcane trail she was following. Whoever, or whatever it was, was definitely in this tower.
The next floor wasn't like any of the previous ones. It wasn't empty. The moment Fan-Min's feet made contact with the stone floor, she was under assault. She reacted quickly, though. Immediately sending out arcane orbs with her free hand, she could make out the horde before her. Each orb exploded on contact, creating enough light for a split second to see what sought her life before her, and also sending disembodied limbs and blood showering across the narrow hall. Half of it landed on the walls and floor, the other half landed on Fan-Min, making her look more intimidating than she already did.
The hallway was long and dark, but perfect for Fan-Min's particular abilities. With small goblin and ghouls clutching her legs and clawing at her waist, she focused her energy and shot out her Disintegrate spell. All at once, a horde of menacing shrieks vibrated from wall to wall in the dark hallway as countless demons died. A smirk crossed Fan-Min's mouth as she obliterated demon after demon. As she carefully guided her powerful blast, she quickly cut the spell off as she noticed some of the assailants charging her were not demons. They were mind-controlled humans most likely from around New Tristram. Unsure of what to do, she focused her spells on the obvious demonic figures in the dark. She began shooting arcane bolts. Each one giving a meager amount of light off as they traveled across the room like little magical arrows aimed to mortally wound the wizard's enemies. With the meager amount of light provided, Fan-Min could tell it was over for her. She had fought hard, but despite the countless demons she had melted from existence, there were still innumerable amounts crowding the hall. She couldn't take them all out, especially not with innocent humans mingled in.
Finally, the horde of demons overcame her, but to her surprise, she wasn't killed. Rather, they subdued her and led her through the un-penetrable darkness to who-knows-where. The only thing she could think of at the moment was, much to even her surprise, not Li-Ming. It was Fan-Huang. She knew he was pursuing her. He was just that kind of brother. If he found his way here, he was as good as had. She hoped against hope that he had just stayed in New Tristram, but what were the chances of that?