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 : Yes, the henchmen will have names, simply because there are way too many eventual hirelings than join up, and I'm going to let the heroes keep all of them. Though they will report to a different hero each time we get a new one. This one, the Rogue Archer, I think will report to the Sorceress. Depends on how this act works out in the end. And, um... this got long. I mean, really long. Any quest that turns out larger than this chapter will probably be done in more than one part.
Act I – The Sightless Eye
Quest III – The Search for Cain
PASSING the Sorceress, who had deviated her normal routine to converse with Kashya about Blood Raven's final fate, the Druid made his way to Akara first.
His spirit wolves milling at his feet, he caught sight of the Priestess' worried face. The older woman spotted him nearly at the same time and hastened to meet him.
"It is clear that we are facing an Evil difficult to comprehend, let alone combat. There is only one Horadrim Sage, schooled in the most arcane history and lore, who could help us... his name is Deckard Cain. You must travel to Tristram, and find him; I can only pray that he is still alive."
The Sorceress, who had by this time finished whatever conversation she had with Kashya and had, followed by one of the numerous Rogue Archers milling about in the camp, walked up to them in time to catch the last of the Priestess' words. "I thought Tristram was destroyed? How would we even get there, much less search for survivors?"
"How will you find Cain without going to Tristram? Finding the Tree of Inifuss is the first step on your journey." The older woman shook her hooded head. "Tristram is too far to journey by foot... Cain would likely be dead, when you arrived. However, there is a magical portal that will take you there instantly. To open it, one must stand within the Circle of Cairn Stones and touch them in a certain order. The proper order can be found in the runes written on the bark of the Tree of Inifuss. You must find the sacred Tree of Inifuss and bring back it's bark. I will translate the runes to unlock the Stones' mystic pattern."
The Druid and the Sorceress exchanged a look, before the spellcaster looked to the Rogue that had followed her. "Kyoko, you know the lay of these lands. Where can these places be found?"
"Ma'am, the Stones are in the Stony Field, and the Tree is rumored to lie in the Dark Wood, but the only way to get to the Dark Wood is through the Underground Passage, a cavern that links the two areas. We traveled through it when we abandoned the Monastery." The Rogue shifted her grip on her bow nervously. "A number of our sisters died scouting ahead in that dark place. It's now filled with corrupted Rogues and demons of several sorts."
With a grimace, the brunette looked to her lycan companion. "If this is truly time sensitive, we should split again. One group to search the Stony Field, and one to find the Tree of Inifuss."
"I take it you do not wish to place the Paladin with the Necromancer again?" The auburn haired man rubbed at the stubble on his jaw as he eyed the Rogue standing before them. "That did not work out so well the first time."
"No, I do not." With a heavy sigh, she bid farewell to Akara before she walked over to the center of the Rogue Encampment. Standing next to the fire pit with the Druid, she looked to find the others. The Necromancer and the Barbarian were conversing with Gheed, to the merchant's horror and the wild warrior's delight. The Paladin was talking to Warriv a bit away from where they stood. "We should leave the Barbarian and the Necromancer to search the Stony Field together since they seem to get along well. We'll take the Paladin with us through the Underground Passage. Kyoko, will you mind staying with the others? They would need someone skilled with a ranged weapon to assist them."
The Rogue looked over to where the two in question were dealing with the greasy merchant. After a moment of glaring at the yellow robed man, she nodded. "If that is what you would have me do."
"Take my bow, it is enchanted to lace all arrows shot from it with fire." The Sorceress said as she unslung the weapon in question from her back and handed it off. "Tell them to meet up with us here when they have completed what they need to pick up for an extended jaunt."
Kyoko nodded before walking off to introduce herself to the two men. Leaving the three to become acquainted, the brunette, with the Druid in tow, walked over to where Warriv was standing with the Paladin and asked the older man what he had heard about Tristram. The caravan leader nodded thoughtfully to the question posed to him. "Months ago, I came across a few survivors from Tristram. They said that Cain had gone half-mad, and could no longer distinguish fact from fantasy."
"Why do you ask?" Asked the holy knight, and the Sorceress left the Druid to fill the man in on the latest quest the Rogues had given them. She walked back to where the Barbarian, the Necromancer, and the Rogue were now standing next to the fire pit to do the same.
The pale mage was indifferent to the quest, he would help only because the orders that brought him here had him dealing with the undead roaming the region anyways and greater numbers could only help in his own quest. He was, however, slightly grateful that he would not be left with the Paladin for their part in the search. "We'll take your portal back to the Graveyard, and continue the exploration of the Cold Plains then. That should leave your group with enough time to find the Underground Passage, and to start in on your search for this tree before we start looking for the Stones."
"Collect what you would need then, before you leave. There is a way point near the passage to the Bloody Moors you can use to get back if you do not wish to carry any scrolls of portals linked to this site. We'll use it to return to the Plains and head out from there. Look for another in the Stony Field, and we'll do the same in the Dark Woods."
The Necromancer nodded to her, then headed to Akara for his supplies. The Barbarian grabbed onto the Rogue and dragged her towards the blacksmith. "You will need armor, lassie. Charsi has a good selection for those bound outside of the walls."
Fully kitted out for a long jaunt through the wilderness, and with a few new pieces of armor and weaponry at hand, the Sorceress, the Druid, and the Paladin used the way point in the Cold Plains. After shaking off the disquieting sensation of old magics, the holy knight pointed the tip of his new saber in the direction they had found the passage to the Field. "This is our path, then."
Gripping her mentor's old short staff, the spell caster used it to press herself upright. "True. Do we wish to keep close to the border or make straight for the pass?"
"We should keep to the stone walls." Looking around, the Druid shook his head after his perusal of their surroundings. "We need to move fast. Your Rogue friend said the pathway worn into the ground would lead us to the Passage, so we'll take that straight to this cavern."
"Lead on then, Sir Knight."
(ooo000ooo)
The second group left the Graveyard straight away, having already cleared out the remainders of the undead there from both the Graveyard proper, and the two structures stationed on either side of the graves. About a mile into their journey, continuing from the passage from the Graveyard to the side of the Plains that the Barbarian and the others had not come from in search of Blood Raven, the three of them came across a large camp of Fallen Demons. Four shamans kept resurrecting the numbers killed by the Barbarian and the Necromancer's skeleton and golem summons, while the Rogue and the pale mage himself tried to take out a fire enchanted shaman that had the unique skill of resurrecting the other shamans when one was finally killed.
The fight was ugly, long, and brutal, for when the Priest of the Dead's Clay golem closed in with the gold skinned Shaman, the monster exploded in a shower of gore and guts, taking out the moving construct of earth. That death meant the Rogue's arrows and the Necromancer's throwing daggers could reach the other shamans without worrying that they would just be resurrected after they died, but it cut down on the number of fighters available to keep the lesser demons from closing in on the ranged members of the group.
A good five minutes were needed in hacking away at the veritable legion of red skinned demons, thinning out the ranks so the Rogue could take out the last of the shamans. The Necromancer changed from throwing his knives to using them in a more mundane manner of slitting the throats of the Fallen being revived nearby, letting the wild warrior attract more attention away from himself and the woman standing at his back.
As the Barbarian and the skeletons chased down the straggling Fallen near the end of the encounter, the Archer and the pale mage took a breather in the middle of the now ruined camp, taking the odd occasional shot to deter or kill other demons from sneaking back. Kicking at the shattered remains of one of his own skeletons, and summoning another golem to replace the summons that had fallen, the Necromancer scowled at the gore soaking into the ground. "This was unpleasant. Not one undead to be seen, and a number of my minions have fallen already."
"These demons would have wandered around and may have paired up with some wandering zombie in order to raid travelers." The Rogue pointed out helpfully, drawing back the string on the Sorceress' old bow to shoot another Fallen between the eyes, a flash of fire springing to life and setting the dead demon's hair on fire. "And now you have more bodies to summon more skeletons as well."
The mage arched a pale brow, not used to having others around that were indifferent to his means of magical summoning. Mostly, he gained looks of disgust when spotted wandering with a legion of undead soldiers, not some platitudes about how a fight had just happened to turn out. He sighed, and figured he should get used to it, seeing as he would be traveling with this group for the foreseeable future, especially if they intended to work their way farther into the wilds.
The Barbarian bounded back from wherever he had wandered off to in search of more escaping Fallen. "Comrades! There is a cave not too far from where we now stand. Do we rout out the evil that has taken up residence, or do we continue on?"
"The walking dead prefer the dark to the reach of the sun, but we should wait until the sun is higher to guide us." Counting the number of throwing knives he had left, and checking the heavier dagger he had stashed in his belt, the Necromancer motioned for the wild warrior to lead them on. "Let us see what manner of monsters lay in wait for us beyond this camp."
(ooo000ooo)
Having reached the gap in the low stone wall that lined the edges of the Cold Plains, meeting with very little to slow them down, the first group stopped at the beginning of the Stoney Field. The Paladin pointed out a pair of goat like men that had attacked him when he first scouted out the way. "I am unsure what these claim to be, but they travel in groups no more than two."
"Dose it matter? They stand in our way regardless." Dismissing the corpses of half-animal men, the Sorceress took a few steps down the pathway the Rogue Archer had mentioned, the Druid only a few steps behind.
"Nervous?" The lycan asked as his wolves ranged ahead with the holy knight.
"More like worried." The brunette spell caster slowed her pace and let the Paladin lead the three farther into the Field. "If the Rogues themselves had trouble traveling the same Passage we are bound, what manner of demons await us in the dark? I found in the Den that my fire magics only light up the caverns so far, and this Passage is supposed to be longer. Anything could hide in the shadows there."
"I have been meaning to ask," mused the Druid slowly, "do your magics extend to another element as well? Fire is all well and good, but it is unpleasant to have thrown past one's muzzle."
She quirked a small smile at the wild mage's jest. "I had some skill with cold magics when I was training. Do you wish me to change spells? I have a cold spell that would do just as well as my fire skills."
The shape shifter blinked at her. "Ice? I have fur that would guard me from that, and that at least will not set my pelt ablaze with any stray embers."
"We will see about that. You may not like it any better." Spotting the Paladin and the spirit wolves sprinting on ahead, the Sorceress gripped her mentor's staff harder. "We seem to have guest."
"I suppose we should greet them." A flash of light surrounded the wild mage, and in his werewolf form he loped off to join his pack and the knight in their fight with a number of Foul Crows and some Skeletons headed their way. The spell caster started summoning her cold magics to deal with the Foul Crow Nest father up the road.
(ooo000ooo)
Both groups stopped not long after, when the light of the sun started to become lost in the upper reaches of the trees. They all set up a rotating watch with the onset of dusk, splitting up the night in three parts. The Barbarian's group deemed it safe enough to build a fire, as they had looped around the Plains and was now next to the Cave, but the Paladin's decided to do without.
As usual, a cold and drenching rain swept up from the east with the fall of the sun, and while the group left to explore the Cold Plains had a convenient shelter nearby in the form of the same rocky crevice they had decided to explore, the others had some luck after being soaked through in finding one of the abandoned buildings left by some unnamed homesteader. It had leaks from the heavy rain drumming on the roof, but was better than nothing.
Cramming a Druid, his three spirit wolves, a Sorceress, and a fully armed and armored Paladin within the cramped wooden quarters had proven to be more than interesting. The wild mage's tree spirit and some type of living poison vine he had summoned recently both didn't care if it was raining or not, and while that helped, there was still some issue of who would sleep where. The holy knight offered the spellcaster the narrow cot, but she decided she would rather curl up with the Druid's wolves, seeing as the Paladin was taking the mid night watch and would need the help.
Both groups got underway early the next morning, as soon as the overcast sky lightened enough for them to see a good distance beyond what they could during the night.
The Barbarian ventured farther into the Cave than where he and the other two of his group spent the night, confirming his suspicions that someone else had reached the rocky fissure underground before they had. A number of corpses littered the ground, giving off the same stench he had caught whiffs of the night before. There were a good number of red skinned demons and a few re-dead zombies that had been left where they had fallen.
Returning to where the Rogue and the Necromancer were tiding up their temporary camp, he reported what he had found.
Blinking bemusedly, the Archer shook her head. "I haven't heard of too many people getting permission from Flavie to journey past her, except for that Amazon she spotted nearly a fortnight ago."
"I have not dealt with a Rogue by the name of Flavie." The pale mage smirked at the surprised expression on Kyoko's face. "So, if there is anyone else is in the Plains, your guard might not know of them."
The Barbarian clapped his hands together, to regain his companions' attention. "Do we venture forward or not?"
"May as well." The Archer shrugged. "Whoever it is may need some help."
"The dead could still walk in the dark, and we never know what aims another holds without meeting them."
Giving the two of them a nod, the wild warrior started to follow the trail of bodies farther into the Cave.
(ooo000ooo)
After collecting their scattered belongings, including freeing the living vine from where it had caught on the wooden house's foundation, the Druid, the Sorceress, and the Paladin continued on down the road the Rogue had promised lead to the Underground Passage. They caught sight of the rocky cliff it was told to circumvent before the sun rose beyond the cloud cover, near mid morning.
The path lead straight into the lee of one of the cliff's faces, and the entrance to the Passage squatted there like a black blight on a sea of gray rock.
The three of them stopped and regrouped before the crag, checking that they had what they wanted in their possession before entering the underground. Inspecting the entrance and how dark it seemed to be inside, the Paladin shook his armored head. "We may need you to shift to your fire magics, my lady. I know you do not like them, Druid, but there seems to be little to no light beyond a few torches."
"If you must." The lycan frowned at the darkness concealing the way. He was not as fond of the spellcaster's fire magic as he was of her cold spells. They tended to burn a lot less. His pack caught on to his unease and whined fitfully behind him.
The Sorceress simply shook her head with a small, amused smile. If you had asked her years ago, she would have told any that asked that she would use whatever spell was more effective against the monsters she was fighting, not simply a sole element because a sometimes half-furry man had asked her to use ice magic instead of the type that burned his fur in patches. "If we can find a club, or even a stout branch, I can turn it into a torch. We may need more than one, depending on how far this tunnel goes."
The spirit wolves behind the three immediately scattered, and loped back after a few minutes with a stick gripped in each jaw.
Pursing her lips, she took the sticks from the spirits and placed two of them in her pack. She then lit the last one on fire with a small burst of magic, and turned to the males of the group. "I, and the torches, are ready, if there are no other problems you can foresee."
The Paladin grinned at the inventive solution to the issue, and took the torch from her after setting his small shield on his back. "Then follow me."
(ooo000ooo)
The Barbarian, the Rogue, and the Necromancer didn't spot the individual who had entered the Cave before them until they ran into her in a smaller pocket cavern even further underground. The blond warrior was hip deep in Fallen, and trying to throw her javelins at the shamans at the same time as fend off the smaller demons trying to mob her.
The Archer immediately took aim at the left most shaman while the Necromancer focused in on the right one. The wild warrior yelled out a battle cry and crashed into the ranks of small demons to help the woman about to be overwhelmed with the pale mage's undead forces crowding behind him.
It took the four of them a number of hard fought minutes to even be able to hear one another over the din of battle echoing off the cavern walls, but when she caught a lull in the fighting, the Amazon shouted a thanks to the Barbarian fighting nearby.
With the four of them, as well as the four summons of the Necromancer's, it still took them most of an hour to hunt down and eliminate the remaining monsters in the lower level. They regrouped, the women having gone off in one direction and the men in another, in a small tunnel situated behind the crag they used to get down there.
The Amazon lanced the demon the Barbarian had been hunting down as a greeting. "You three have my thanks for the timely arrival."
"You need not thank us, but if you're interested, we are helping the Rogues in a quest, and could always use another fighter." The Barbarian responded with a grin and a sharp nod as he replaced his axes in his belt.
Arching a pale brow, she looked from one of the three to the other. "I have no current employer to whom I owe my time, so why not?"
(ooo000ooo)
Tossing another handful of magically summoned ice into the face of another of the Misshapen trying to flank the Paladin, the Sorceress spun out of the grips of the Vile Hunter trying to cleave her head from her body using the sword in her hand. One of the Druid's wolves bounded past her to sink it's teeth into the green tinted corrupted Rogue as a second wolf sprinted past all three of them and jumped a Skeleton Archer standing father down the natural tunnel.
The last wolf was fighting at the heels of the werewolf as he helped the holy knight hack away at a Ghostly Misshapen.
Their torch had been abandoned on the ground, the faint amount of light it had given off had spluttered to nothing, plunging the three of them into the near dark, the walls only lit by soft blue flairs of cold magic being tossed around. This was only the second time they had to drop the light in order to fight, the first was when they encountered a pair of demon Fallen tribes, with seven blue skinned demons aiding their crimson cousins.
That time, the torch had not made a difference, seeing as the small sized demons needed just as much light as the humans did. This time, they not only had the dead, who needed no light to see, but a number of corrupted Rogues that had grown used to the dim cavern as well as the twisted demons they now fought, who needed just a little light to see them.
Frustrated by the crawling pace of the skirmish, the brunette spellcaster gripped her mentor's staff harder and tried a spell she had only seen one other preform before. Calling on the cold magic she had been using, the woman internalized the magic and compressed it around her body until it exploded out of her in a violent ring of frost. The Vile Hunter under the claws of the spirit wolf exploded into icy shards, and the transparent Misshapen that was fighting both of the men froze in place.
The Druid swung his claws at the demon's head, grunting when the monster exploded all over him and the knight just like the corrupted Rogue had under his wolf's jaw.
Looking behind them, the Paladin tilted his head at the sheepish looking Sorceress standing there. "Did you know you could do that?"
"I wasn't sure, really." She stooped to take the half burnt branch from one of the spirit wolves' jaw and re-lit it with a small burst of magic that made her head spin and her stomach heave. "But without my fire skills, that was my only other possible higher skilled spell I could use." She handed off the re-lit torch back to the holy knight and dug another of her Mana potions out of her sash, hopeful that what afflicted her was simply mana drain and not the indication of a poisoning.
The two men waited politely as she downed the navy blue liquid inside and dropped the empty bottle before starting to pick up their pace. They had not gotten very far, the Druid's connection to green and growing things telling them they had gotten less than a mile and a half in a few hours in the twisty Underground Passage. Being waylaid by the various monsters in the dark was slowing them down considerably.
With the spirit wolves at the front, placed there to take down the unusual number of undead archers sulking about the caverns, the Paladin took the middle of the path with the two others at either side and the last two of the Druid's summons trailing behind. They kept to the left side of the tunnels, a method of exploring decided well before during a quiet lull in the evening when they were settling down for the night.
They got quite a ways like that until the wolves ran into something they could not take down before the holy knight arrived on their heels. A knot of Vile Hunters, lead by one that had a glowing ring around her booted feet, massed before the group in a solid wall of corrupted flesh, steel, and leather before a crevice in the walls that looked to lead out of the cave.
(ooo000ooo)
The Necromancer pulled a face at the half rotted, bloated corpse of the goat like creature laying out in the sun. "What, by the Hells themselves, is that?"
"A Moon Clan, Goat-men, and some rather nasty marauders." The Rogue carefully stepped around the dead half-demon and swept the surroundings for any alive, or half-alive, foes. "I don't know much about them, other than they are a menace around the Field and beyond. They don't normally venture into the Plains. That was why we went all the way to the Bloody Moors to set up our Encampment."
With a snort, the Barbarian picked up the ax lying nearby, apparently wielded by the creature before it's demise, and hefted it to test it's balance. "Goats are good to eat, but not even I would attempt to eat that."
"That would probably try to kill you if you tried to eat it." The Amazon lifted an arm with the tip of her javelin, grimacing in disgust when a wet tearing sound precluded the separation of the demon's decomposing arm from the rest of his putrid remains. "We could try to cook it up for you, but I don't see any way that could end well."
Shaking his head, the pale mage gripped a few more of his throwing daggers and pulled them from his belt. "We should continue. There is no telling when the others will find this tree."
The blond warrior let the limb slid off her weapon. "Speaking of, none of you have told me exactly what it is we are questing for."
"We are searching for two things. One, a way point that we can use to get back to the Encampment." Kyoko finished her sweep of the surroundings and deemed enough of the monsters that had taken up residence in the Field dead to relax her guard for a moment. "The second is a circle of Cairn Stones, that we will use when the others find the Tree of Inifuss and return with it's bark to travel to the ruins of Tristram."
"Tristram? The town that fell not too long ago when some adventure came out of the Cathedral there stark raving mad and unleashed a legion of dark creatures on the townsfolk? That Tristram? The town where everyone simply ran for it, and left their valuables behind?" The Amazon, still thinking like the mercenary she had become in the world outside of her home isles, grinned widely at the company she now found herself in. "Well, well. This will be fun."
"Do try to control yourself." Snarled the Necromancer. "We are journeying there to find the Horadrim Sage called Deckard Cain and rescue him if need be, not to loot the rubble."
"Can't we do both?" Shot back the blond warrior as she struck off in a random direction. "Nothing says that saving the unfortunate need be charity work."
(ooo000ooo)
Splattered with the gore of numerous demons and undead, the Druid, the Sorceress, and the Paladin stumbled out into the early afternoon light and into the Dark Woods. As soon as the last spirit wolf was clear of the passageway, the spellcaster slung a rapid number of Ice Blast spells back the way the group had run.
The death screeches of the Vile Hunters on their heels sounded from the dark depths in response.
The brunette slumped to the ground with a disgusted groan and fumbled in her sash for her store of potions, exhausted of both her stamina and magics to a dangerous point, as the werewolf and his summons scouted the immediate part of the forest they had come out into and the holy knight guarded the crack in the earth they had emerged from.
By the time the Druid and his pack had returned, the Paladin had dealt with only two of the Vile Hunters the Sorceress had missed. Panting heavily, the shape shifter knelt down next to the female mage and let his spirit wolves take care of posting guard. "That was unpleasant. Is there to be more of the like barring our way?"
"Hopefully not. Given that there are only so many rocks to hide behind in a forest, I doubt it." The brunette cast aside the last potion bottle that had contained her mana potion, scowling because that left her with just the magic she had now. "We have two options, my good sirs. We can retreat for now, using one of my portals, or continue on and hope this Tree we are searching for is close at hand."
Finally letting his sword arm drop when it became apparent that there were no more monsters following them into the light, the holy knight sighed and rolled his neck to crack it back into place. "I agree with the lady. There is no way what lies ahead can be as trying as what now lies behind us. For one, we can see farther ahead than in that pit. I vote we continue."
"After a small break." The lycan interjected, waving one massive paw at the both of them. "I am in desperate need of one, and I can smell fresh water somewhere to the north. Ah, and..." the wild mage dug into the fur around his waist and handed a few of the blue potions to the Sorceress, "I found a few more of these, on those little spiky rats that are so common here."
"Thank the Zann Esu elders." Breathed the woman as she took one of the procured vials of mana potions and attached it to the tie located at her waist.
Blinking in confusion, the Druid handed the fragile glass vessels one by one as the spellcaster attached them to her sash. "Thank the who?"
"The name of my clan is the Zann Esu. A coven of pure elemental witches." She grinned as she took the last two of the mana potions the werewolf had scrounged up for her. "I and my, ah... mentor were sent out because our clan oracles have divined that the time of Emergence is at hand, and we are to prove that pure elemental magic can triumph over the Evil that now walks the lands of Sanctuary."
A flash of amber light and a slight up lifting of the wind signaled the return of the Druid's more human looking form. He frowned thoughtfully, now able to do so without barring most if not all of his fangs, as the Paladin looked over to the brunette in question. "I was unaware you have a mentor, milady."
"I do not. At least, any more." She gave them a bitter smile. "She was killed by demons the night before I met you, Sir Knight."
"Erm... my apologies." The dark skinned warrior shifted a bit uncomfortably in his studded leather armor for a quite moment, dismayed that he may have brought up memories better left alone. "We should at least make our way to the source of water you can scent, my friend, if we are to properly rest for whatever else lives in these woods."
The Druid nodded, unsure if he wanted to try and salvage that conversation or not, and set off to the north, leading the other two and his summons to an ancient well.
(ooo000ooo)
Letting his skeletal warriors mill about, chasing down a number of Fallen demons that had scattered after he had killed their shaman, the Necromancer wandered over to some stonework that seemed to be poorly resisting the effects of both weather and time. Keeping only part of his attention on his undead minions and their progress, he picked up a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye and spotted an ornate book that was almost too moldy and decayed to touch. Using the dagger he kept in his belt, the pale mage pried the book open to a random page and started reading.
'...and so it came to pass that the Countess, who once bathed in the rejuvenating blood of a hundred virgins, was burned alive. And her castle, in which so many cruel deeds took place, fell rapidly to ruin. Rising over the buried dungeons in that god-forsaken wilderness, a solitary tower, like some monument to Evil, is all that remains.
The Countess's fortune was believed to be divided among the clergy, although some say that more remains unfound, still buried alongside the rotting skulls that bear mute witness to the inhumanity of the human creature.'
He considered the passage, what other crimes the Countess had to have committed in order to have such a heavy judgment as being burned while still living brought down on her, and wondered if what the book spoke of about the rapid decay of the castle was linked to dark magic or not.
With an irritated grunt, he decided that it probably meant his orders would take him to the ruins of the tower simply to ensure no undead had joined the Countess' spirit in her earthly grave. Using his dagger, he pried the book from the stand it had somehow miraculously survived on, wrapped it in a length of cloth he was sure was some type of sash, and stuck it in his pack in time to see the warriors of the group approach his position.
The Amazon arched her eyebrow at his actions, but addressed them all. "I believe I may have found this circle of stones you are searching for. North a ways lie six tall stones, with five in a circle and one more standing off to one side. There is a small problem, though."
"We need those stones, whichever problem you have spotted can always be solved by a sharp blade." As if to give more weight to his words, the Barbarian shook off some of the gore stuck to his axes and turned to face north.
"Hold, my large friend." Kyoko placed one calloused hand on the wild warrior's arm to keep him from taking off without the rest of them. "What kind of problem?"
The blond islander sighed and took a seat next to the moss covered, crumbling wall. "I took a few shots at the demons prowling around your stones, simply to test how easy it would be to attack, and one of them radiates sharp bolts of lightning when my spear hit him. Not only that, but there is a camp of the little Fallen Ones set up not at all far up the road."
"That is not a small problem." Crossing his arms over his chest, the Priest of the Dead sneered down at her. "A small problem would be a Fallen Shaman and it's pack that had taken up residence in our objective, or that there seemed to be a roving horde of zombies milling about between there and here."
The Archer pressed her lips together and glared at the irritable pale mage. "We understand that there just may be differences within your levels of difficulty, but that does not call for such a tone."
Ignoring the Necromancer's surly attitude, the Amazon propped one arm on her knee and looked to the impatient and patient, respectively, Barbarian and Rogue. "We could attempt to circle around the Stones and try to remove the demons from the camp before attempting to assault the enchanted ones."
"Then that is what we do." Readjusting his grip on his axes, the wild warrior looked at the Archer's grip on his forearm. "May we please get to the fighting now?"
(ooo000ooo)
Not too far beyond the well the Druid had led them too, was a clump of closely growing trees that had been infested with legions of demons and the damned.
After muttering a quick Prayer for himself and his comrades under his breath, the Paladin dove into the new conflict with renewed zeal, hacking at whatever came close to his sword's reach. On his heels charged the Druid and his pack, intending to ignore the lesser demons and make straight for the shamans they could catch only glimpses of through the tightly packed trees. The Sorceress followed them both at a slower pace, using her cold spells to alternately freeze the nearby monsters and blast the occasional ranged or fleeing undead or demon.
It took them nearly an hour to clear out the clustered section of forest, as a version of skeletons armed with bows had marched to where they could catch the three with arrows if they proved unwary and more of the corrupted Rogues had tried to run them down between the trees.
They started with both the end closest to the well and the middle, and continued on until they ran out of forest to search through. By the time they reached open sky again, their boots were caked with the blood of nearly a hundred demons, as well as dusty and gore ridden from the undead and Rogues.
Trying to shake off the worst of it coating her, the Sorceress gave a disgusted look to her lycan companion as what looked like brain matter slid off her arm. "Must you use a club? I do not see how much it can help you, given that you spend most of your time furry and howling."
"Since you were so accommodating to my dislike of your fire magic, I do have a Mace I picked up underground I can use." The werewolf snickered at her huff of irritation. "I found an ax that I will switch to. I was going to give it to my brother in spirit, but this does seem like a more noble cause."
A grin was trying to fight it's way onto the spellcaster's lips, and in retaliation she slung most of the gore coating her arms at the Druid.
It simply joined the blood already staining the wild mage's fur dark red and black.
The Paladin just rolled his eyes as he listened to them bicker while leading them farther into the Woods.
A howl cut them off, a terrible and unforgettable sound echoed a moment later by two other wails. Raising his saber to a guard position before him, the holy knight turned to face the direction the soul haunting sound had come from. "Gargantuan Beasts. Wonderful."
"That first one sounded... a little off."
Whatever else the Sorceress had to add was cut off as one gold and two silver giants barreled straight into them. She had to dive off to her left to avoid being crushed under the boulder like fist of one of them, rolling into a kneeling position and started to fling her spells at her attacker.
The Paladin was thrown off his feet by the golden giant beast that had targeted him, he had interposed his shield between himself and the backhanded slap aimed for him just in time. He lost his shield from the blow, the metal had buckled and was lying on the ground in two pieces, and it was all he could do to prevent himself from getting hit.
Having had marginally more time than his fellow companions to prepare himself, the Druid attacked the one that had aimed for him before it could draw back it's own arm. Two of his wolves joined in, ripping at whatever flesh they could grip in their jaws. The third darted back to harry the beast trying to catch the nimble young woman, clawing a good chunk of flesh out of the monster's leg when it tried to hit the spellcaster again. The two of them chipped away at the Gargantuan Beasts, felling them in short order with the aid of the wolves and rushing to their warrior's defense.
Even with his best footwork, the holy knight was more than sure he had broken his shield arm somewhere. The gold beast, whenever it hit the ground, flung up rocks and other forest debris with shocking force that had caused more punctures in his armor than he was certain the skeletal archers had with their arrows.
He gained some breathing room when all three of the Druid's wolves leaped up and caught parts of the monster in their jaws, their larger alpha using his claws to rip into the beast's thick furry back, trying to sever or at least weaken the arms. Before the creature could attempt to grab one of the fury creatures hurting it, a series of consecutive blasts of ice impacted it, causing the frozen water to cling to the matted fur and for the exposed parts of the beast to turn blue.
The Paladin reversed his grip on his sword and rushed the beast, driving the blade into the Gargantuan Beast's chest. The monster roared, but started to struggle with the canines' grip on it. Darting in between the men, the Sorceress delivered a solid kick to the hilt of the sword, driving the length of metal far enough into the monster's heart to force it to it's knees.
With a despairing moan, the creature sank to the ground. The spirit wolves let go cautiously, circling around their prey to ensure it was dead.
The creature had fallen face first, and only the very tip of the bloodstained saber could be seen poking out from under the thick fur.
With a sigh, the Sorceress rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I will buy you a new one." Looking around for something to distract the men with, she spotted some large type of dead tree in the distance, situated in a clearing from where the beasts had come from. "But I believe our journey is almost at an end."
The Paladin flattened his lips, looking from his ruined shield to the corpse of the monster. "I would hope so."
(ooo000ooo)
Their plan had almost worked. While hunting down the demon stragglers that had set up the camp, the small blue skinned demons grouped around the Cairn Stones spotted the four and charged to them. As the Amazon and the Barbarian turned to meet them head on, the Necromancer summoned a few more skeletons to replace what had already fallen as the Archer fitted arrows to her bow as fast as she could to take out the remaining number of red Fallen Ones.
The wild warrior grunted as the shock hit him, the small Carver that had produced the effect raising his own sword and shouting out "Rakanishu!" on top of his squeaky voice to rally his fellows.
A sneer twisted the warrior's face, and he delivered a two handed chop to the neck of the demon. The shock from the hit made the large man grit his teeth against the pain that ran through him, but he grimly smiled at the results of his blow.
The monster's head thudded to the ground, shortly followed by the rest of the demon's body, and the Fallen and remaining Carvers fled.
"That was not a war cry!" Thundered the Barbarian, glowering in the direction the little demons had run as he shook off the last of the effects from killing the enchanted monster. "I will show you a war cry!" He took off after them, sinking one of his two axes into the backs of the red Fallen and blue Carvers as he got closer. The Amazon kept her position, circling around the two ranged fighters and ensuring they had enough space to fight with. By the time the Barbarian loped back, bloody but grinning, most if not all of the remaining demons had been killed.
The blond warrior kicked over a small body that happened to be one of the shamans. "Well, that could have gone better."
Shrugging, the Rogue set about to find any salvageable arrows for her quiver. "Could have gone worse."
"True, we could have been overrun and slaughtered, or taken captive and been eaten alive bit by bit." He kicked over what looked to be a gnawed on human femur bone sticking out of one of the animal hide tents to punctuate his words, then the Necromancer grinned evilly at the others. "Wonder if they start with the ends of the limbs, or just go in for the throat to start with?"
"You're the eternally cheerful sort, aren't you?" The Amazon shook her head at him and looked over at the wild warrior. "What else are we looking for?"
Pausing in his work of checking over the blades of his axes, the Barbarian frowned thoughtfully. He was the only member of the group that had seen a way point work, even if he hadn't used it himself. "A square stone platform with circular carvings set in the ground. I believe I know the process to activate it, but I would prefer to leave that sorcery to those who dabble in it."
Returning from the Stony field, the four encountered their comrades, who had returned from the Dark Woods a few hours previously, trying to remove the worst of the blood and guts fouling their equipment and marked with a number of new, pale pink scars lacing over their exposed skin. The Sorceress had the Paladin's armor, the knight himself his own boots, while the Druid cleaned the pelt of fur that normally hung from his shoulders. Each of them had visited the river at different times, but had remained in their bloodstained, but no longer gore encrusted, clothing for the time being.
Dropping heavily next to the auburn haired wild mage, the Barbarian grinned at the dark red splotches staining the leather in the spellcaster's hand. "Had fun, did you?"
The Sorceress simply raised a dark brow in answer as she concentrated on scrubbing the drying flakes of what looked like brain matter off.
Looking over the newcomer, the Paladin dug a fragment of bone out of the sole of his left boot and addressed all of them. "We have the translated runes for the Cairn Stones from Akara, whenever you all are ready we will set out for Tristram." He reached over and poked the elemental mage in the side. "I will need a new sword before we leave."
She scowled at him, but got up anyways. "The same as before, or would you like something else?"
Before the holy knight could answer, the Rogue spoke up. "Why does she owe you a sword?"
"The same if you can." The dark skinned warrior said in reply to the Sorceress, then shot the Archer a grin when he judged the spellcaster was far enough away. "She used it to kill a particularity difficult monster after I stuck it in it's chest. But the damned thing fell on top of the hilt, and we were unable to retrieve it."
"It was an impressive kick." Added the Druid without looking up from carefully wiping the blood out of his fur with a wet rag. "One of us may have gotten more injured without her interference." His nose twitched, cataloging the new scent and catching a glance of the blond woman standing near the Necromancer's skeletons.
The woman in question looked to the Barbarian. "Where would I find a blacksmith here?"
"Follow the Sorceress, she's headed there." Gesturing in the direction the other woman had gone, the wild warrior finished cleaning his axes and sunk the blades into the soft ground. "Charsi is the blacksmith for the Rogues."
A bob and a swish of long blond hair marked the Amazon's answer, as she nodded and turned to follow the green and black clad mage.
The Paladin cast a questioning glance at her back, but turned back to the other two... or rather one, the Necromancer had walked away during the conversation and was already headed for Akara with his undead in tow. "Kyoko, are you set for another jaunt, or do you need more arrows?"
After checking her quivers, the Rogue simply shook her head and took a seat across from the males. "I am fine, Sir Knight."
The Necromancer had to be the one to activate the way point to the Stony Field, seeing as the Sorceress had activated the enchanted stone in both the Cold Plains and the Dark Woods, but not that area's way point. When the seven arrived the Barbarian and the Amazon took point, leading the others to where they had marked the Cairn Stones to be on a rough map the Necromancer kept out of habit.
The less magically inclined remained outside of the circle of stones as the three mages conversed over the scroll of bark that Akara had claimed was the key to summoning the portal.
Pausing in the act of unrolling the scroll, the Sorceress inspected one of the Cairn Stones closely. "These Stones radiate powerful magic."
"Hmm, such stones are common back home." The Druid laid a hand on another of the Stones, closing his eyes as the powerful earth magic radiating through it hummed against his palm.
"I sense many spirits about these Stones." With a frown, for that meant the demons they had expelled from the area before had done something related with dark magic there, the Necromancer turned to the elemental mage. "What does the scroll say?"
Kneeling down, the brunette laid the rune inscribed bark flat on the ground and studied the inner side that would have lain close to the Tree of Inifuss. The tingle of magic against her fingers made her jerk her head back in surprise, but she kept her wits and called out the symbols as they lit up before her eyes.
The Priest of the Dead frowned, confused by what it had meant, but the wild mage nodded in understanding. "We need to activate the Stones in the order the scroll gave us." He pointed to the tops of the Stones, where the same symbols on the scroll were carved into the rock. "In the exact order, or we may end up half way to Westmarch."
Touching the first of the Stones, the Sorceress' eyebrows almost joined her hair as the runes on the Stone lit up a glowing blue. "Necromancer, the one directly behind you is next."
They continued in that order, the Druid touched his again, then the female spellcaster activated the one to her left, and the pale mage touched the last one. The sudden fall of darkness, and the bolts and arcs of red energy that lit up the space between the Stones, made all seven freeze; the three inside the circle of Stones to avoid being hit with the strong flashes of magic and the four outside to prevent any action from them adversely affecting the others.
The portal that opened up was red in color, and reflected a visage of the corner of a ruined and burning building as well as several human corpses. The red arcs of energy died down, but the area around the Stones remained darker than what the growing dusk would have that section of the Plains.
Shaking his helmeted head, the Paladin was unsure if he could have remained as still as the three closer to the portal had, he checked over his equipment and drew his new sword. "If we are ready, then."
The other six armed themselves with whatever weapon they preferred and signaled their readiness when they were sure.
Giving them a salute with his saber, the holy knight was the first one through the dimensional rift.
(ooo000ooo)
The Paladin didn't venture too far from where the portal spat him out at, simply moving slightly forward to allow another to enter the rift behind him. He internally winced as he took in the ruins of the once cozy town. "What a tragic end to Tristram."
"It's as if a great war was fought here." The Amazon, who had entered the portal after the Barbarian, had caught the holy knight's observation and looked a little stricken herself at the sight that greeted them.
"The land here is dead and lifeless." Kicking at the scorched ground they were now standing on, the wild warrior shook his head. "I wonder if anything grew before the town was ransacked."
Assisting the Sorceress through the rift, the Druid merely cast a dismissive glance at the still burning structures in sight. "Ahh, yes. Ruin, the fate of all cities."
The elemental mage poked him in the side with her staff. "Tristram was no match for Diablo's fury. Fate has little to nothing to do with this."
"All that's left of proud Tristram is ghosts and ashes." Scowling at the same visage, the Necromancer gave his companions a grim smirk. "It is impolite to mock the dead. Sometimes, they can hear you."
Shaking her head at his words, the spellcaster looked to the warriors of the group. "Do we split up to cover more ground, or do we storm the town square and search from there?"
The Paladin dismissed the idea of splitting their forces. "Given the trouble we had in the Underground Passage, we should remain within sight of one another, in case the number and strength of the monsters we find here is the same. Storming the town square would be equally as foolish, as we don't know yet what Evil remains."
"So, do we start with the river or the stone wall?" Asked the Amazon, one of the three watching for any movement out of the burning town.
The Paladin inspected both options before choosing the river. "All life needs water. We are more likely to encounter anything left alive nearby."
As the holy knight started to sprint along the bank, a flash of light heralded the transformation of the Druid into his werewolf form, then the alpha wolf and his spirit wolves followed on the dark skinned warrior's heels, with a number of undead skeletons tagging along behind. The Amazon and the Barbarian chose to remain closer to the burning husks of the town, but delayed their own pace in order to let the Necromancer, his golem, and the Sorceress get a ways before them. Bringing up the very rear, the Rogue kept looking behind them to ensure there were no foes trying to run up on the group.
They had not traveled more than a few yards before the spirit animals perked up, increasing their speed to out pace the Paladin. They had picked up on the scent of the small demons, and flushed the blue skinned monsters out from their ambush. A shaman with the same blue skin stumbled around a low wall and growled at the animals, not seeing the holy knight until it was too late to save it's head. The Paladin didn't stop, simply used his greater reach to strike out at what came into range. He didn't have to; there were more than enough summoned creatures on his heels to hunt down the Carvers in short order.
It was near the end of the river bank that had once served Tristram as a boarder that the group ran into trouble. A bloody body stumbled out of one of the burning houses closer to town, moaning in the manner of the undead as empty and bleeding eye sockets unseeingly stared in their direction. The shuffling hulk of flesh had once been a man of good size in life, and that extra muscle now would spell trouble for those that got in range of it's massive arms.
Kyoko staggered to a stop and gaped at the corpse stumbling towards them. "Griswold? The Blacksmith? How in the name of the All Seeing Eye-"
The Necromancer snapped his fingers before the shocked Rogue. "He's no longer alive now. Nothing you can do about it except send him to his proper rest." As he was speaking, his four skeletons swarmed around the undead blacksmith, only to shatter one by one under the powerful blows from the dead man.
Seeing the fate of the brittle undead warriors, the Paladin chose to evade the next clumsy punch aimed in his direction from Griswold. He had already broken one shield and refused to lose another, as well as the use of his arm, again that same day. The six other companions took heed of his caution, and ringed the walking corpse, trading off attacking the zombie to keep it's attention from focusing on just one of them. On occasion, one of them had to break off to deal with either more of the goat-men or uncontrolled skeletons, attracted by the sounds of combat.
The Druid was down to one wolf and a tree spirit, fairing better than the Necromancer, who had lost all of his summoned minions, before the corpse of the dead man fell to the ground once more and did not get up again to continue attacking. The Paladin wiped his saber's blade on the tatters of what had once been a finely woven shirt as the ranged fighters gathered more ammo and the others dealt with whatever healing or potions they needed. "Shall we head through the town, or continue to see where the boundary takes us?"
Sticking his snout in the air, the wild mage took a few deep breaths before allowing the Sorceress to pour a healing potion down his throat. "I smell something alive and human under all this soot, ash, and demon spoor. I cannot tell where it may be coming from."
"The monsters are trickling in from the direction of town, so we may be able to find this Deckard Cain, if he has any sense, on the edges of this place." Volunteered the Amazon as she inspected a rip in her leather armor.
Frowning thoughtfully, the brunette mage carefully avoided the werewolf's teeth as she poured another potion into his muzzle for him to swallow. "If these demons have taken him hostage or prisoner-"
"Would he even be alive then? How long ago did Tristram's fall?" The Necromancer inspected Griswold's corpse as he spoke, then magically pulled the bones from him and constructed another skeleton to replenish his undead ranks.
"We'll go through the town. If Cain did not at least place the river between himself and the Evil that dwells here, then it may be because he is no longer able to." Grabbing the hilt of his saber again, the Paladin turned to face the ruins still burning in the darkening twilight.
They cautiously made their way into the town square, where they made two discoveries.
One, the Horadrim Sage, Deckard Cain, was still alive. He had been forced into a crude cage and hoisted above the well that sat in the middle of town. The old man even had his wits about him, as he called out to the adventurers for help when he caught sight of them.
Two, the Evil that had ransacked Tristram all those months ago was still in residence.
Three different colored shamans, with a good half a legion of Carvers between them, six skeleton archers, a roving pack of the Night Clan goat-men, and a horde of uncontrolled skeleton fighters surged in their direction at the same time the Sage called out to them.
The Rogue nocked her arrows and fired them as rapidly as she could, aiming for one of the shamans standing close to the well. The pack of spirit wolves dove into the sea of blue skinned demons, followed closely by the skeletons under the Necromancer's control, as the Druid jumped over the heads of the smaller Carvers to get to another of the shamans, his Oak Spirit tagging along behind. The pale mage's golem barreled into the steadily marching skeletons as it's summoner threw his daggers at the archers standing in the gaping doorways of the burning buildings. Darting after the werewolf's path, the Amazon and the Barbarian started striking out at whatever came close to hand as they kept the worst of the press of Evil away from the ranged fighters standing further back. The Paladin, with the Sorceress close behind, started to hack their way to the cage holding Cain using both might and magic.
The slurping sound of soft ground giving way precluded the sprouting of the living Poison Vine, it shot off several brambles into the ranks of the small demons and poisoned a number of them before slinking back into the ground and attacking at another group of monsters. The wolves used the brambles as a spot to take a breather and to find another target, ducking underneath the sturdy branches of the venomous plant to shake off any persistent attackers.
A flair of blue light proceeded the effects of the Sorceress' cold magic, the exploding ring of frost rippled out of her and tore into the ranks of monsters surrounding the stand of Deckard's cage. With the holy knight taking out the remaining numbers close by, the elemental mage fumbled with the heavy lock keeping the Sage in the air. She finally burned the rope with her magic, sending the older man crashing to the ground in his cramped wooden and iron box. The cage hit the ground with enough force to break the other lock keeping Cain within it's confines. "Deckard Cain, get to the Rogue Camp!"
The last of the Horadrim crawled out of the pile of broken wood and twisted metal and scrabbled for a scroll of portal in his robes. With one last glance to his rescuers, the Sage activated the portal and stepped through, closing it behind him to keep anything unwanted from following him.
With their task done, the Sorceress broke for the line the blond warrior and the wild warrior was holding, alternating between her Frost Nova and Ice Blast spells. Once she dodged behind the Barbarian's back, she spun around and summoned her fire magic. A spout of fire jumped from her fingertips and spread out in the direction she pointed, setting the skeletons attacking the two warriors on fire and making their bones even more brittle.
On the other side of the town square, the Druid had finished off one shaman by getting close and ripping the demon's throat out with his teeth. Now, with both the Archer and the Necromancer aiming for the closer shaman to the well in the middle of town, the werewolf chased the third one into a burning shell of what had once been the inn. Ignoring the smell of smoldering fur rolling off him, the wild mage ripped his claws into the side of the demon trying to press farther back into the glowing embers of the building. The thing screeched, trying to hit the wolf-man with it's staff, but a second swipe of the shape shifter's claws ended the shaman's twisted life.
Picking his way out of the building that was still on fire, the Druid limped back into the town square in time to see the last of the skeletons being brought down by his two remaining spirit wolves.
The seven of them froze as the last undead crumbled, unsure if the quiet was really the end of that battle or not. When all they could hear was the hiss of burning wood and the cracks the stones gave when over heated, they slowly made their way to the center of Tristram's ruins.
All three mages slumped to the ground, putting the ancient well to their backs and looking out across the paved section of the town they had painted a slowly darkening red. None of the warriors were any better off; they knelt down near them as the group unanimously decided to take a break.
The Archer gripped the handle of her bow, trying not to look around the familiar town and remember who had once lived where. Shifting around in an attempt to find a place on his body that had not been burned, the Druid had to breathe through his mouth to keep from coughing at the stench that abused his sensitive nose.
The Paladin looked from one to the other, either the sitting mages or the kneeling fighters, and shook his head slowly. "We have Cain, we don't need to remain here any longer."
Catching sight of the wounds on the wild mage, the Sorceress took out a purple potion from her pack. "We have to have already dealt with most, if not all, of the monsters that remain. If we leave, there is no telling how many will be here whenever it is we get back." She handed the unusual looking potion to the badly charred Druid.
The Necromancer shook his head as well. "I agree. There simply is not enough room to hide any more creatures within the town itself, and we already know that the edges are easier than this."
With a shrug, the Amazon gave the holy knight an apologetic look. "I am in favor for staying."
Neither the Barbarian nor the Paladin had to talk to understand what the other wanted, the two men simply grinned at each other before the knight looked back to the Rogue. "Kyoko, do you wish to stay or leave?"
"I wish to stay." The Archer finally looked up from the hole she was trying to stare into the ground. "Nothing will get easier from here on out, I may as well deal with it now."
"Well said." Sparing a small smile to the younger woman, the elemental mage poked the Druid in an uninjured spot. "Drink. Or do you want me to pour it into your muzzle again?"
The wild mage grunted at her, but downed the odd potion anyways. The worst of his burns healed instantly, more noticeably on his feet, and the lesser blisters on his body eased until he wasn't cringing with each in drawn breath.
To the six surprised looks, the Sorceress simply shrugged in faux innocence. "Rejuvenation Potion."
Seven exhausted figures, three spirit wolves, a tree spirit, a living vine, four skeletons, and a golem stumbled out of the portal the Sorceress summoned from the Stony Field. When the last of skeletons passed through the dimensional rift, the elemental mage closed the portal to prevent any monsters from using it to attack the Encampment, then stumbled over to the fire pit the others had gathered around.
They were joined in short order by the old man they had been sent to rescue and the Priestess of the All Seeing Eye. Akara came armed with healing salves and potions, which were gratefully received as they watched intently while the Sage approached to address them. "As a token of my gratitude, I will identify items for you all at no cost."
What little humor had resided in the older man's eyes faded, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "Regrettably, I could do nothing to prevent the disaster which devastated Tristram. It would appear that our greatest fears have come to pass. Diablo, the Lord of Terror, has once again been set loose upon the world!
"As you know, some time ago Diablo was slain beneath Tristram. And when our hero emerged triumphant from the labyrinth beneath town, we held a grand celebration that lasted several days. Yet, as the weeks passed, our hero became increasingly aloof. He kept his distance from the rest of the townsfolk and seemed to lapse into a dark, brooding depression. I thought that perhaps his ordeal had been so disturbing that he simply could not put it out of his mind. The hero seemed more tormented every passing day. I remember he awoke many times – screaming in the night – always something about 'the East'.
"One day, he simply left. And shortly thereafter Tristram was attacked by legions of foul demons. Many were slain, and the demons left me to die in that cursed cage. I believe now that Tristram's hero was that Dark Wanderer who passed this way before the Monastery fell. I fear even worse, my friends... I fear that Diablo has taken possession of the hero who sought to slay him. If true, Diablo will become more powerful than ever before. You must stop him or all will be lost."