Disclaimer : Obviously not mine, but the ten year love/hate affair with the game is.
Rating : The game is rated MA, so the fic will have to follow with a M for violence and graphic gore.
Author's Note : Really, nothing to say for myself. I really should get on with working on my other fics, but I've wanted to do this one for so long. My computer is a little wonky, so most of my fics are on hold at the moment. Deus ex's next chapter is almost done, but this fic and that one are the only two that will be updated while I work on my latest real life problem.
Wingcommander has provided the builds for the Amazon and the Paladin, Nianque has provided the builds for the Assassin and the Barbarian. Thank you both for the help.
Swdlvr - Forgive me for my ignorance, but: What? I have no idea how to do that.
Act I – The Sightless Eye
Quest II – Sisters' Burial Ground
FOR the next several days, the four mismatched adventurers spent most of their time helping the Rogues clear out the rest of the Bloody Moors of demons, monsters, and the occasional undead, periodically checking the Den of Evil to ensure that no other dark creatures had crawled back since they had ventured to cleared it out. The Paladin and the Barbarian left the Encampment early each morning at dawn's break, returning by the time the mid-day meal was offered to collect the other two. The Druid would spend the early hours helping the Rogues to reinforce the rickety wooden walls that surrounded the camp, while the Sorceress would patrol the perimeter to inspect and test the magical wards that protected it from attack, occasionally reinforcing the magic behind the wards with Akara's help.
It was five days after the four had cleared the den when the red clad Rogue, the commander of the Rogue Armies, Kashya, approached them. Earlier that day, the Barbarian and the Paladin had scoured the Moors all morning but had found little in the way of anything larger or more ferocious than an occasional deer. As the two warriors ate their mid-day meal, and as the two mages finished up their morning chores, the brash woman demanded their attention.
Standing next to her was another Rogue in red, this one in the uniform of the Scouts with darker red leather armor and knee high brown boots. This particular Rogue Archer was well known to them, as Flavie normally held the pass between the Cold Plains and the Bloody Moors by herself, and the four had taken to visiting with her before returning to the Encampment every evening.
As the Sorceress and the Druid approached, the Rogue Commander wasted no time on pleasantries. "My Rogue scouts have just reported an abomination in the Monastery graveyard! Apparently, Andariel is not content to take only our living. Blood Raven, one of our finest captains in the battle against Diablo at Tristram, was also one of the first to be corrupted by Andariel. Now, you'll find her in the Monastery graveyard raising our dead as zombies! We cannot abide this defilement! If you are truly our allies, you will help us destroy her."
"Such corruption is unforgivable," muttered the Paladin, casting the last of his meal into the fire pit and rising to his feet, "I will go to lay your sister to rest, who else will journey with me?"
The Druid tilted his head to him, not entirely sure what a 'graveyard' was, or what foes it would provide. "If you will lead, my pack and I will follow." He had acquired another spirit wolf, and an oak spirit, that accompanied him whenever he left the camp. The three spirits normally milled around until any enemy was spotted.
With two out of four planning to go, the Barbarian clapped his large hands together eagerly. "A battle with a warrior of noted skill, you shall not go without me."
"Well, someone must keep you all out of trouble." The Sorceress grinned at her fellow heroes, and then sobered as she nodded to the Commander of the Rogues. "You have all of us, I take it Flavie will continue to hold the pass once we leave?"
The harsh woman gave a sharp nod before turning away; calling out over her shoulder "Death has done nothing to weaken Blood Raven's combat skills. If anything, she's more deadly than ever. If you all fall, we should at least keep more of the demons and monsters from invading the Moors."
With a proposed journey longer than what the four had been expecting, they split up to ensure they had the provisions for an extended jaunt into the wilds. Flavie joined the Sorceress in talking to Akara and stocking up on potions of both Mana and Health and another scroll of Town Portal. The Druid and the Paladin went to procure better armor than what they were currently wearing and a few quivers of arrows from Charsi, and the Barbarian sought out Gheed to gamble for a better pair of axes. They met up before the hour was out at the gates of the Rogue Encampment, and traded what information the other merchants and Rogues had said about Blood Raven.
The Sorceress started, doling out the potions she had acquired to those she knew were running short. "Akara said that Blood Raven was corrupted either when the battle for Tristram was fought, or sometime shortly after."
"Charsi had nothing more to add, except that Akara had sensed something amiss before the Rogue fell." Trading a pair of heavy gloves for a few potions of Health, the auburn haired man nodded his thanks as the spell caster gave him a few potions of Mana as well.
Grinning, the Barbarian hefted a new pair of axes he had successfully won off of Gheed. "Nothing more than gossip, I'm afraid, but there is little that the little man is good for."
"Are we ready, then?" With another cursory check to their equipment, the three other heroes and the Rogue nodded to the holy knight. "Then we should be off. Ladies, if you would be so kind as to cover the rear, the Barbarian and I will take the lead until the pass to the Cold Plains."
Flavie gave him a wry grin, and the Sorceress a passing frown, but they held back until the two warriors started off at a fast pace, sure of the lack of foes in this part of the Moors. The Druid started off next; in a flash of light he assumed his half wolf form and with two wolves and a tree spirit at his foot paws, before he started after them with a dose more caution.
The brunette spell caster scowled after them a bit harder, but shifted her mentor's short staff to her back and took up the bow she had liberated from a dead Rogue, fixing a quiver of arrows to her belt as the two females followed after. "Warrior I may not be, but I am equally terrible with a bow as a sword."
"Would you like to practice a bit?" The Rogue asked with an even wider grin, choosing to ignore her companion's ill humor. "I have heard that practice makes perfect."
Well aware that the Archer was teasing her, the Sorceress gifted her with a dark look as she drew an arrow to set against her bow's shaft. "May I use your carcass for it?"
"Ah… never mind then." Flavie tried hard to keep her amusement from her voice, but by the spell caster's expression, she failed horribly. "I was thinking more along the lines of taking shots at whatever we pass."
Her comment was rewarded with a dry snort, but the Sorceress had a small smile on her lips as the two women followed after the men.
(ooo000ooo)
It was a mostly silent journey through the Bloody Moors until the five called a temporary halt to recheck the Den of Evil. As the Druid, his summoned creatures, the Paladin, and the Barbarian ventured into the cave, the Rogue and the Sorceress took up watch positions to ensure nothing snuck up on the others.
After a few minutes spent checking their surroundings, Flavie turned to the other woman with a grin as they returned to the cave's entrance. "Have you ever seen an Amazon before? One passed my post two nights ago, seeking something she called 'more challenging' than small demon packs."
"Don't they mainly hire out as mercenaries, those that leave their islands anyways?" The Sorceress frowned as she tried to recall what little she had been told of the isolated region the warrior women hailed from. "I've had studies that said they are rather… independent."
"I wouldn't want to work with one, if the attitude of the last one I saw was any measure of the breed." Flavie scowled off into the distance as she remembered the incident in question. "She was rather brash, and a bit rude. It's a pity; I heard their archery skills might rival those of a Rogue's."
A smirk rose on the lips of the spell caster as she peered over at the other archer with amusement, and the Rogue scowled harder at the sight. "And I'm sure your opinion has nothing to do with any imaginary rivalry betwixt your cultures and everything on her manners, right?"
"… Are you mocking me?"
"Nope, not at all." The Sorceress nocked an arrow to her bow as the three men poured out of the cave behind them, effectively ending their conversation. Flavie glowered at her even harder.
The four left the Rogue Scout at the pass between the Bloody Moors and the Cold Plains, and as the three men decided their plan of action for finding the Graveyard, the Sorceress wandered off a bit to inspect another stone platform she had spotted not too far from where Flavie had set up her camp.
As he had little knowledge of what a graveyard was or how to locate one, the Druid wandered over to where the spell caster was pacing. "What is it?"
"If I am right, it is a waypoint, an ancient method of travel across long distances." Still pacing around the stone slab, the brunette cast a look at the auburn haired man across from her current position. "There is one in the Rogue Encampment, and that one has been activated already. I am unsure how to activate this one, as it seems as though it has been left unused for far too long." Coming to a stop, frustrated without any theories on how to activate the ancient piece of magic, the Sorceress stepped onto the stone platform to get a closer look at the carvings in the center.
Two bowls stationed at either side of the carvings suddenly flared with blue fire as the woman's weight came down onto the waypoint. The sudden occurrence made the Paladin and the Barbarian stop in mid-sentence to see what the spell caster had done. They observed diligently, only to see the Sorceress kneel down, brow furrowed as she placed a hand onto the stone she was standing on. Deeming their conversation of less importance than whatever had her so distracted, the two warriors joined the Druid in watching the magically inclined brunette trace the glowing lines around her.
Suddenly, the Sorceress disappeared from their sight, causing a surprised bark to issue from the Druid's spirit wolves as they milled around the stone platform.
The Barbarian scratched his head, warily regarding the lit bowls of blue fire as if they might attack at any moment. "That was… where did the little lass go?"
"She said it was a waypoint, and that the Rogue's camp had one as well." Taking a step of his own onto the platform, the Druid copied the missing spell caster's previous actions and knelt down with one hand on the markings on the stone. With his new position, he could see the glowing design in the rock clearly, and that two of the circles in the stone were lit with nine circles total. He touched one, thinking of where the brunette told him there was another. "I think she-"
The Druid jerked at a peculiar sensation of being compressed by all sides assaulted him, and as he looked up he realized that the Sorceress was regarding him with a marked amount of amusement at his surprise, still kneeling across from him in the position he had last seen her in. "She what?"
"Um…" The wild mage blinked at her, then in surprise at his surroundings. As she had speculated before disappearing, they were in the Rogue's Encampment, between one of the larger tents used for storage and Akara's own temporary dwelling. "I was attempting to figure out where you went."
"Ah, well… I believe we should return, before the Barbarian becomes convinced that the waypoint had consumed us and attempts to avenge our honor by hacking it to pieces with his axes, both dulling his weapons and destroying a fascinating piece of magic." Returning her attention to the stone they both still knelt on, the Sorceress touched the only other lit circle, concentrating on the Cold Plains where they had left the wild warrior and the holy knight. The unpleasant compressing sensation plagued both for another moment, and then they became aware that they had successfully returned by the Barbarian's loud greeting before either could gain their bearings.
"My spirit brother! You and the lass have returned!" The burly warrior clapped both kneeling figures on their backs before either could rise to their feet. "Tell me, why did you disappear? Your wolves and the orange spirit thing seem to have traveled with you."
Since the Sorceress would have fallen under the Barbarian's heavy hands, the Druid reached out to brace the slighter mage and brought both of them up to stand. "Truly? The stone seems to act as the lady's portal did, and it returned us to the Rogue's camp. I was unaware that my summons had traveled with us, but that 'orange spirit thing' is an oak tree spirit."
"Not surprising. Since it is an ancient piece of magic, it is probable that the waypoints take in consideration those with summoned allies. It was not uncommon back then to have some magical allies when traveling." Lightly stepping off the waypoint with the wild mage's help, the spell caster turned to give it one last look before turning back to her companions. "Have you decided our course of action, for finding the graveyard? I apologize for becoming distracted."
Since it seemed that neither the Sorceress nor the Druid had been harmed by their impromptu jaunt, the Paladin gave a nod in answer to her question. "We'll skirt the outside of the Plains, using the boundary lines that keep the forest back as guide posts. We already know that they circle the cleared parts of these wooded lands. The only question is, which way?"
The four gave their attention to their surroundings again, this time looking at the lay of the land rather than ensuring they would not be ambushed by any foes. The east boundary wall ended abruptly, the low stone fence cutting across their view and heading north for a good way before becoming a corner and continuing on in an easterly direction again. The west boundary continued until the stone fence was well out of sight, only a lone cottage and a well could be seen in the distance with a spattering of trees.
Gripping the haft of her bow, the spell caster nodded to their right, to where the cottage lay. "I say this way. There is less of a chance that we will be ambushed by demons lurking in the shadows if there are few shadows to lurk in."
As it seemed that neither the Druid nor Barbarian cared what direction they went off in, the holy knight gave her a short bow for her suggestion and started off.
The group had little problems with the demons and monsters they had seen and fought before, but the first corrupt Rogue they spotted brought a number of friends to her fight. Seven Dark Spearwomen spotted and charged the Paladin, who had been trading off leading the group with the Barbarian and fighting the remains of a Fallen Shaman's pack. The Druid, who was the first to spot the incoming creatures, barked a warning that made both the holy and wild warrior ignore the remains of the demon pack and turn to take on the new threat while the shape shifted wild mage and the spell caster took care of the last of the demons. Realizing the possible difficulty in the newest bunch of foes, the Sorceress held her arrows in exchange for her spells, casting fire bolts into the backs of each of the remaining demons as the wild mage's spirit animals kept them from running away.
Spears, the Paladin grimly decided during that fight, were his least favorite weapon to fight against. Unwieldy they may be, but the weapon had reach that could prove to be hazardous in the right hands. The Rogues, corrupted or not, were well trained in whatever weapon they favored, and the seven corrupted Rogues used their training to full effect in their spirited attempts to impale and kill the four.
At first it was little more than the three men trying to keep the razor sharp spear tips away from anything vital as they tried to get close enough to either hit the demon women or break their weapons. It took two kills by the Sorceress' bow before any of the three of them managed to get close enough to do damage of their own. The Barbarian was the first to close with his opponents, his rage having gotten the best of him and ignoring his axes, he reached out and broke the tips off two of the spears with his bare hands, leaving the Rogues weaponless and easier to kill. With less of a wall of sharp pointy things in his way, the Druid skirted around the left most Spearwoman's reach and ripped her throat out with a well placed swipe of his claws. At the same time, his summoned wolves leapt at the right most corrupted Rogue, who was out of allies as the wild warrior killed the two now unarmed Rogues to her left. The last Spearwoman was not much of a challenge, as it seemed that the numbers that the Rogues had appeared in had been their only real threat to the four, and the holy knight took her out immediately after the spirit wolves took out their opponents.
The fight lasted all of five minutes, but the shock of such a rapid attack mired the adventures for a short while afterwards as they looked over the battlefield and their equipment. To no one's surprise, the Sorceress took up the slack and used the time to ensure that they had what amounted to a full healing before continuing on.
The effect most notable that came from the fight was the progressive slowing of their pace in searching for the Graveyard, since the Bloody Moors didn't have any such concentration of foes within its boundaries and such care hadn't been of use to them before in the sparsely monster populated region just outside of the Rogue's Encampment. That careful edge added to their exploration prevented another ambush when the Barbarian caught sight of a break in the barriers of the Cold Plains. That was when a pack of Dark Archers, who seemed to have staked out the location just in case anyone tried to get through the plains unmolested, tried to pin the four next to a rather spindly tree. The Sorceress used her bow and fire spells to distract the corrupted Rogues while the three males hunted down the frequently scattering Archers one by one.
That fight resulted in the brunette spell caster getting an errant arrow embedded into her right thigh, and the wild warrior getting his own arrow stuck completely through his left shoulder. As the Druid helped both the wounded mage and the warrior in tending to their injuries, the holy knight scouted out the Barbarian's find.
He came back to see the Sorceress and the Druid's spirit wolves searching among the dead Rogues for extra arrows for her quiver, while the auburn haired mage assisted his spirit brother in removing his arrow by pulling it through from his back. "That pass leads to more of the same, it continues for as far as I could see. I do not believe that is the way we need to go to fulfill Kashya's quest."
"That would be the Stony Field, then." Slotting the last of the still usable arrows into the quiver hanging off the left side of her belt, the spell caster, and the spirits wandered back to the males. "I was talking to Akara about this part of their territory, and from what she told me the Graveyard is a little ways beyond this point."
The Barbarian gave a pained grunt as the Druid yanked the arrow's shaft and fletching free of his back. "That means we are almost there, right?" He hissed in pain as his spirit brother poured some of a vial of Healing potion into his wound, then scowled darkly as the same potion, now half emptied, was pressed into his hands for his consumption.
"Drink." The shape shifter scowled back at the wild warrior until he obeyed, then raised a curious eyebrow at the young woman. "What is beyond that?"
Suppressing a wry smirk as the Barbarian made a face at the taste of his potion, she had little sympathy since she had to take one of her own, along with a Mana potion for her efforts in their latest fight, the Sorceress kept her eyes on her other companions to spare the wild warrior's dignity. "According to the priestess, there is an Underground Passage that leads to a Black Marsh. Beyond even that lie the Dark Woods, the Tamoe Highlands, and then the Monestary itself. With a few more caves and curious features along the way as well, if you wish to scout them out."
The Barbarian crushed the tiny vial that had held the healing potion under his heel, vindictivly grinning as the fragile glass that had once held the vile brew better known as Healing potion was reduced to glittering shards under his leather boots. "Then let us go, standing around will acomplish nothing." He strode off without waiting for a reply, continuing to follow the low stone wall that circled the Plains.
"Planting the dead." Ripping his spiked club from the fallen form of a Hungery Dead zombie, the Druid looked over the crumbling but still high wrought iron walls that encircled the place he asumed was the Graveyard. "How odd." He was truly fascinated at the idea, but unsure of what the purpose of the act was. Were their dead trees that grew from the dead, or was it a metaphorical ritual to honor the cycle of life?
With a dark scowl on her lips, the Sorceress threw a series of fire bolt spells at the steadily approaching Skeletons marching towards them until they crumbled into a pile of bone fragments under the force of her magic. "There is dark magic at work here." She took a few steps back, almost to the wild mage's side as they both looked to where the wild and holy warriors were standing.
"This holy place has been desecrated." The Paladin's face was tight with an equal measure of both disgust and horror at the prospect as he glared at one of two buildings still standing within the rusty fencing, wrenching his short sword from the corpse of his own zombie.
Chosing to either ignore the disquiet in the knight or either being completely unaware of it, the Barbarian clapped the darker male on the back after tucking his axes away. "We will face death head on." Catching sight of another skeleton standing off a way aways, the warrior helfted his weapons out again with a grin. "Even as they seek to meet us."
The brunette spell caster looked to see what had his attention, and lunged to catch hold of the burly man before he got too far away from her. "Hold." She ignored his scowl, and the Paladin's confused expression, and inspected the latest skeleton that had been spotted. "That one... it seems different than the undead we have seen so far."
Before either of the warriors could respond with something less than tactful to her observation, the Druid hastened to her aid. "She speaks the truth, friends. That one has been standing there since we ventured from the Plains, and has made no move to attack. Neither do my wolves chase after it, as they do with all of the foes we have met thus far."
True to his words, the spirit wolves that milled around the four simply ignored that lone skeleton, as if they knew it would not harm their pack.
Even with the passive observations of the more magically inclined of their group, both warriors seemed less than enthusastic by the presence of the lone and oddly acting undead simply standing around. The Sorceress huffed at their wariness, and struck off to investigate the skeleton, dragging the Druid in tow. The two of them still gripped their weapons, for even with the skeleton's disinclination to apporach them and attack they were not all to sure the undead creature would not lash out if approached.
"I have heard of a clan of mages that study the balances between the living and the dead, I wonder if this means there is a Necromancer nearby?" Switching from her bow to her mentor's short staff, the Sorceress poked the skeleton with the end the stout peice of enchanted wood. The undead twitched and moved slightly under the pressure put on it, but ignored her for the most part.
The wild mage eyed the boney warrior warily, but a whine from one of his wolves caught his attention to a black leather boot sticking out from behind a wildly growing bush. He circled around the Skeleton with his attention now on the ground, only to realize there were more bones scattered around than he had initally thought. Some of the bones scattered at his paws seemed to have been shattered, and a pile of clay had attracted his tree spirit's attention. Peering around a few unruly branches, the Druid locked eyes with the pale glare of another person. "We seem to have stumbled into another, lady Sorceress. Is this your Necromancer?"
Skirting around the large bush of unidentifiable vegitation, the brunette winced at the less than amused look on the pale mage's face. "My apologies, I do not think he is house broken yet."
The Necromancer snorted a laugh at the mock afronted expression of the Druid's, drawing up his uninjured leg to brace his lightly bleeding arm on. "Somehow, that does not surprise me. So, ignoring the normal bids of polite converation used between newly met individuals, what do you want?"
"We have been sent by the Rogues to lay one of their old compainions to rest, as well as the ones she seems to raise from their proper graves." The aubrun haired wild mage reguarded both spell casters with good humor at the jest made in his expence, but decided they were unlikely to insult him more than they had already and pressed on. "May we ask what it is you are doing here?"
"You may, but I am unlikely to answer."
By this time, both the Barbarian and Paladin had wandered over to see what had caught their companions' attention so thoroughly. Ignoring them, perhaps unwisely, the Sorceress posed some questions she had held ever since she had learned of the existence of the Priests of Rathma and their focus on arcane science.
The holy knight placed a hand on the Druid's shoulder, drawing the wild mage back to where he and the Barbarian stood and asked his burning question in a whisper only the other two men could hear. "Why in the Hells themselves is she conversing with a Necromancer?"
Unaware of any social stigmas attached to Priests of the Dead, especially the ones held by Knights of Westmarch, the auburn haired mage simply shrugged in reply before the Sorceress got around to asking about the pale mage's current predicament. They returned their attention to the conversation at hand when the Necromancer started to explain his presence.
"My fellow priests and I have been concerned by the numbers of undead that have risen lately, and have sent out a number of our order to seek out those that would bend the will of the dead to their own purposes and either lay them back to their rest, or destroy them." He gestured to his lacerated arm and the few deep slashes that leaked blood on his left leg. "Unfortunately, I was unprepared for the undead in this graveyard, and their disinclination to return to their rest. Most of my few skeleton warriors and the strength of my golem bought me enough time to retreat and recover my strength."
"I have a proposal for you then, priest." The Sorceress grinned at him, unaware of the scowl on the face of the Paladin behind her, as she rummaged around her pack in search of her extra potions. "As we have said, laying Blood Raven to rest for the Rogues is the reason we are here. Would you like to assist us?"
As the woman procured the potions she had been searching for, the Necromancer gave her a grin of his own, even if it appeared darker than the one she was bestowing on him. He could see the expression on the knight behind her and correctly identified the reason behind it. He was unable to prevent himself from nettling the holy knight, aware that he would not behave churlishly in the lady's presence. "I would be honored."
Neither the Barbarian nor the Druid seemed upset by the prospect of another companion, merely nodding to the pale mage in acceptance and adapting their minds to another presence to fight along with. The Paladin glared at the priest over the Sorceress' brunette head, before stalking off a way away, muttering about suspicious characters, and too trusting ladies as he peered around for any foes to take his irritation out on.
With the potions of Healing and Mana the female spell caster handed over, the Necromancer was back on his feet quickly, and he used the corpses of the undead the four had fought recently to replenish his ranks of undead minions. With three spirit wolves, four skeleton warriors, a tree spirit, and a golem added to the ranks of magically summoned allies, the five adventures circled the graveyard's wrought iron fence, checking for ways in and out of the gated center and for any other undead that had wandered from their graves.
They decided that the Paladin and the Barbarian would enter first, from what they assumed was the front gate. The Druid and the Necromancer would each take a side and proceed in only when they heard the wild warrior's war cry. As the last of their number, the Sorceress would wait for the wild mage's wolves to howl before entering herself from the back. With a method of attack decided, and relatively sure that there was little to no undead left outside the iron fence to interrupt any of their planning, they split up for their starting positions.
When the two warriors approached what they assumed was the front gate, the Barbarian held out a hand to stop the Paladin before he strode through the gate. "How do we know when the others are in position?"
The dark skinned warrior hesitated, then uttered a curse that made the wild warrior smirk. "I have no earthly clue. Some tactician I am."
"It could be worse…" The burly warrior trailed off at the less than amused expression the Paladin gave him. "Well it could. Mayhap one of the others is locked in a fight with some new gaggle of undead, and will not be joining us for our assault."
"Haven't you ever heard of jinxes?" Rapping his knuckles on the small wooden shield he carried, the holy knight craned his head around in an attempt to see around the corners of the wrought iron fence. No matter how he twisted himself, he couldn't see either the Druid or the Necromancer, not that he really cared if the pale mage came out of the battle at all. "We have wasted enough time; I suppose we just have to trust that they are in position."
As planned, the two warriors bolted through the graveyard's front gates. Blood Raven, the undead Rogue commander, had nine undead milling around her near the bare oak tree at the center of the graveyard. When the Barbarian could clearly see the ten foes, he bellowed as loud as he could, not only catching the attention of the undead but alerting the two mages waiting with their summoned minions to join the fight.
"MY ARMY WILL DESTROY YOU!" The undead Rogue screeched at the sight of the lightly armored knight and the blue tattooed man that followed in his wake. She drew an arrow and aimed for the lesser armored opponent in her sight.
Concentrated as she was on the visible threat, she missed the sight of the three slightly transparent wolves and the half-man, half-wolf that crashed into her from the left, causing her arrow to miss the Barbarian by a few feet. Once the Druid struck the first blow, he let out a howl that was echoed by his summoned spirits before they ripped into the Hungry Dead that lurked at the back of the hoard. "Your time has passed, Blood Raven."
With a sneer for her minor injury and the taunt by her opponent, Blood Raven tried to gain some space for her archery by retreating to the right, only to nearly run into the embrace of the golem that had charged ahead of four skeletons and a rather familiar Necromancer. By this time, the Barbarian and Paladin had reached the first of the slow moving undead that made up her first ranks and had started hacking, while the Druid and his wolves harried the more straggly numbers with the Necromancer's skeleton. The pale mage himself and his golem started attacking the Rogue, the golem trailing after Blood Raven every time she tried to gain some space, and the priest of the dead switched between minor curses flung at the zombies and bone spells tossed in the Rogue's direction.
Twisting around again, this time in a direction that lead away from her undead allies, Blood Raven managed to put a few rows of empty graves between her and the plodding golem of clay. With her breather, she summoned another Hungry Dead, and notched an arrow to her bow and aimed again at the lesser armored warrior tearing through the dead she had already raised. A blast of heat slammed into her and knocked her aim wild, setting a portion of her armor ablaze. Whirling around, the Rogue notched another arrow and sent it flying in the direction of the only other woman on the battle field.
The Sorceress ducked instinctively, making the missile miss her by a few inches. Straightening up, she cast another Fire Bolt in Blood Raven's direction as well as an arrow of her own before breaking off in another direction. While the undead Rogue's attention was on the brunette spell caster, the men had finished off the last of her zombie hoard and had closed in on her location.
When Blood Raven made to chase after the Sorceress, the Paladin stepped into her path and scored a hit along the Rogue's upper left arm, laying open her flesh nearly to the bone. Realizing that she was too close to someone that specialized in close quarters, the undead Rogue stepped backwards only to be knocked forward again by a backhanded blow by the shape shifted Druid. With the summoned wolves joined in harrying her heels, Blood Raven tried to twist out from between the two men, only for the Barbarian to interpose himself in the direction she had tried to escape in. The Necromancer's skeletons and his golem kept the Rogue from escaping the circle, with the pale mage himself, armed with throwing knives, and the Sorceress took up a position a little way away and kept up their own assault.
In a last ditch effort to stave off her second death, Blood Raven summoned another zombie from the graves nearby. Without even a pause, the summoned wolves abandoned her nearly tattered legs and jumped the Hungry Dead, ravaging the undead to pieces before it even had a chance to focus on one of the three attacking its summoner.
"Good riddance, Blood Raven!" With a sickening crunch of splintering bone, the Barbarian buried his left hand ax into the back of the undead Rogue, crushing her spinal column and piercing her heart from the back. Letting loose an ear splitting scream, Blood Raven's body convulsed as a bright white light exploded out of her and leached into the corpses of the undead that littered the ground. Shielding their eyes by either turning away or raising their arms, only the Necromancer endured and saw the outline of the Rogue commander in the bright light as her soul was released from whatever hold had kept her on the mortal plane.
The thump of a body hitting the ground marked the returned attention of the four other adventurers. They were silent in the wake of the poor woman's death, up until the Druid sneezed violently from the dust kicked up by the dead Rogue. Being still in his half-wolf form, it was of an impressive and startling volume to the others.
The Barbarian gave a bark of laughter of his own, slapping the sheepish looking lycanthrope on his furry back. "I think you should go clear your snout, spirit brother. As inspiring as that was, you would lead every foe within leagues to us if you continue to sneeze that loudly."
Growling lowly at the second jest made that day at his expense, the Druid's ears flattened to his head as he stalked off to put some space between him and the dust of the paved path through the graveyard, with his summoned spirits milling at his foot paws.
Shaking his head, the Necromancer made some gesture at his own summoned creatures. As if they were waiting for such a signal, the four skeletons and the golem moved to gather the corpses up and return them to the graves they had been pulled from. The Paladin flattened his lips, but used his short sword to cut down the bodies of the two Rogue scouts that had been hung from the bare oak tree at the center of the graveyard as the Barbarian held the bodies. Pitching in with the skeletons, the Sorceress holstered her bow and grabbed the booted foot of Blood Raven, dragging her over to the nearest empty grave that the pale mage was standing next to.
The two spell casters lowered the corpse of the Rogue Commander into her empty grave. The Sorceress gave the dead woman a pitying look for the physical corruption that followed the Rogue's spiritual collapse. "Rest now, Blood Raven."
By the time the wild mage made it back, helping a number of the priest's undead minions drag more of the zombies back to their proper place, the holy and wild warriors had finished digging the two Rogue Scouts their own graves and had buried one. Looking over the number of disturbed gravesites and the number of corpses on hand, the Necromancer shook his head in disgust as he helped his skeletons with sorting their latest collection of body parts. "There are too many bodies for this to be the only part of the graveyard defiled."
"Do you think Blood Raven would have raided the two buildings as well for more undead?" Shoving back a length of her hair that seemed intent on getting in her way, the female spell caster straightened from where she was shifting soil back on the dead.
"If that is true, we should clear them out as well." The Paladin discarded the broken sword he had been using as a shovel and pulled himself out of the newly dug grave, lending a hand to the Barbarian as he lowered the last Rogue into it. The Druid's wolves took over burying the dead as the five considered the two forlorn structures.
"Since the Druid and I have minions, we should split up." The pale mage gestured to both his undead and the wild mage's summons. "I would also suggest the Sorceress accompany him, since he has lesser numbers than I do, and we both have long distance spells."
"That makes sense." Ignoring the sour expression that passed over the Paladin's face, the Barbarian clapped the newest member to their group on his back. "I can accompany either of you, and lend my axes to your strength."
"I will go with the Necromancer, my wild friend." The holy knight tugged on the wild warrior's armor to get him to take a few steps back. "You care for your spirit brother and the lady."
With few more words passed between them, the five split up, leaving behind the five undead corpses they did not have graves for. The Druid, the Sorceress, and the Barbarian headed for the Crypt; the Paladin and the Necromancer headed for the Mausoleum.
The wild warrior lead the way for the more magically inclined of his group, the lycanthrope's summoned wolves at his heels. With the spell caster at his side, the Druid cautiously followed him down in the den that smelled of the dead and long forgotten misery. There were a few torches lit near the entrance and the Sorceress took one up, resigning herself to her spells as her offensive option simply so the three of them would have light to see.
Keeping to the edges of the light spilled by the lady's torch, the wild warrior and the spirit wolves easily dealt with a few wandering zombies and single minded skeletons as they searched through the catacombs under the graveyard.
After nearly half an hour of listening to the Barbarian crash his way through the undead in his path, the wild mage turned to the spell caster with a question that had been on his mind since the fight with Blood Raven. "Does the Paladin have… reservations about the priest we met? He acts like he has no care for him, but he smells of anger and frustration when the Necromancer talks."
"Ah… that." The Sorceress shook her head as she cast another Fire Bolt down the passageway, lighting up a few more feet for the wild warrior to see what enemies still lurked in the shadows. "It's not so much about personal reservations; it's more of an issue of religious doctrine."
Thinking on that, the Druid remained silent until they had reached the end of their corridor, with two other hallways that branched off in either direction. The spot was well lit with two rows of torches, so the spell caster set her torch in an empty bracket as they took a break.
When the Barbarian distracted himself with smashing some barrels to see what they contained, the lycanthrope turned back to her and asked his second burning question since the issue had been raised. "Why?"
"It has to do with ancient history in the Time of Troubles, of the Knights of the Westmarch's main mission, two crusades, and what folk normally think of when they spot one of the Priests of Rathma." The confused expression still on the Druid's face made the young woman laugh. "I'll explain it all when we have the time. The Time of Troubles alone takes a good few hours just to summarize, and I only have a very loose grasp of what both orders want from their fellows. Let us just hope that the two of them can ignore each other's perceived faults for a few hours."
By the time the five of them rejoined each other in the watery daylight of the Graveyard, it was obvious something had passed between the Paladin and the Necromancer, but no one could even suggest it had been a good thing. They had taken up the art of blatantly ignoring each other as if the other was not there.
Both the holy knight and the priest of the dead remained silent about what had gone on underground, they simply handed off whatever they were having trouble carrying to one of the others. The Sorceress and the Druid exchanged an alarmed look, but they both silently decided that nothing they did at the moment would ease whatever tension was between the two men.
With a nervous cough, the young woman dug through her pack to retrieve her Tome of Town Portal from under a pair of unidentified heavy gloves she had picked up. "I suggest we relocate to the Rogue's Encampment immediately to inform Kashya the news of her fellow Rogues." When no one objected either with personal reasons or opinions, she opened the book and pulled out one of the prepared scrolls and broke open the seal on the parchment.
The Barbarian bounded through first, dutifully ignoring whatever tension had gripped the group as unimportant as getting a hot meal. Letting the Sorceress go next, the Druid gave the two men glaring at each other a wary look before following them through the portal. With gritted teeth, the Paladin made a mocking bow and swept an arm to the glimmering blue rift in space, inviting the pale mage to go first. Glaring at the knight, the Necromancer made some gesture to his undead minions to follow.
As the last one still on the field of battle, the Paladin looked around at the newly disturbed gravesites and the blood spattered ground. Most of the blood that had been spilled was dark and rancid, meaning it was the blood of the undead. There were splashes of brighter and cleaner looking crimson, which had been ripped from the bodies of his companions in sparse amounts. He had to admit to a certain amount of satisfaction of a job well done at the sight of the now peaceful Graveyard, but the mage they had found this day worried him.
With one last glance to ensure that everything was as it was suppose to be, the knight saluted the graves of the fallen before joining the others through the portal.