Near the old Barbarian ruins of Secheron, two silent figures could be seen heading towards the drawbridge connecting the ruins to path leading out of the woods surrounding them. Both appeared to be men - stocky in build and cloaked in white capes. Furthermore, both bore an archer's quiver on their person - though both had different methods of carrying it. One of the figures, for instance, opted to wear it the traditional way whilst the other wore it on his lower back. If one was perceptive, one could see another key difference as well... the quiver that was worn in a rather unorthodox way emitted small amounts of infernal energy, signifying at least one of the two was not an average bowman. Aside from that not much could be seen of the figures, owing to the fact that they were cloaked and a snowstorm was raging. The two men were currently surveying an old and decrepit drawbridge's condition in order to determine whether or not an alternate route would have to be taken into the ruins. If that were the case, calling it an inconvenience would be putting it lightly as the two men had already had to fight their way through khazra, demons and beasts alike JUST to cross the surrounding woods. Needless to say, they were not exactly jumping with joy at the prospect of having to go through that again - as much as they loved killing the minions of evil. One of the figures broke the silence and spoke up. "I don't suppose you have some kind of grappling hook? Because looking at that bridge, I don't quite think its safe and neither am I quite sure I am willing to risk my life, even for this much potential loot and treasure. Need I remind you that I am a gentleman thief, not a Demon Hunter like you? " Upon hearing that, the other figure sighed and shook his head. "I did not ask you to come, Lyndon. If it's too dangerous for you - feel free to trek back through that forest. But I have a job to do and I am planning to finish it. " The figure named Lyndon shrugged and sighed. "Caius, you do know I was joking right? Sheesh... I would not allow those farmers to come to harm. A rogue and a scoundrel I might be, but I am not a heartless bastard... "

The other figure could be heard chuckling in response. "Do you remember what I said about the crossbow not being a weapon for weakhearted cowards, back when we first met in New Tristram? I meant all of it at the time. And while you might have made some questionable decisions in the past, you are still you - a good man at heart... Believe me, if I had not known that from the beginning I would not have allowed you to join us on our quest. You were one of the few who dared to stand with us against Diablo and the rest of the Evils, laying your life on the line to hold down the fort while we were fighting elsewhere. You were even there for Kormac when he battled the Templar order during Malthael's rise in Westmarch... " The Demon Hunter started to cross the bridge, with Lyndon following. "What I am trying to say is that as far as I am concerned, you are one of the most worthy users of the crossbow that I have met thus far. You have no reason to worry, Lyndon. I consider you not only a close friend, but a respectable ally to boot... And if I end up having to wade through the Burning Hells once more, I'd have it no other way then with you at my side as my sworn comrade. " Lyndon remained silent - after all, he was not used to this much praise. The Demon Hunter noticed and faintly smiled, hoping his little motivational speech had the rallying effect he was aiming for. Not that he hadn't meant any of the words that were spoken - on the contrary. The Demon Hunter abhorred lying and always spoke his mind honestly and freely, no matter the situation.

Not a moment later than the pair had crossed the drawbridge, rumbling could be heard whilst the pair entered what appeared to be a entry hall. The Hunter signalled his friend to halt his advance as well and sent out a shadowy familiar that he had just conjured up from a nearby patch of shadows. It was within his capabilities to summon whatever familiar he wished, but in this particular case he had chosen for a stealthy and small bat - after all, stealth was the order of the day here. As the two men ducked behind cover and waited silently, the bat had already been away for a good minute or so scouting the environment. Both men took care not to expose any part of of themselves and kept their breathing as slowly and silently as possible. After a while the Scoundrel whispered as silently as was possible, taking into account that there was quite a distance between the two men. "Well then... I suppose you are going to do that creepy thing again where you take control of your familiar and your eyes start to glow? " Caius looked at him and let out a chuckle. "Yes, I suppose for one uninitiated in the way of the Demon Hunters it looks rather disturbing. It's something you will have to get used to however, as it is a natural consequence of channeling infernal magic. Now then... time to see what our little friend sees. Cover me. " Lyndon moved away a bit - though he wasn't exactly terrified of his friend's visage, whenever he used his abilities something just seemed... off... about him. It almost seemed unnatural, for lack of a better word - unnerving Lyndon to the point where just looking at his friend in that state made him shiver a bit. Not that Caius could blame him... after all, the first time he had seen his own master channel the shadows he had reacted much the same way.

It was a well-known fact that the Demon Hunters of Sanctuary continously trod upon a knife's edge, having learned to harness the infernal energy inherently present in the shadows. Of course, this was not the only element available to them - quite a few Demon Hunters had their origins as mages and were capable of using any of the other basic elements. However, in order to become a Demon Hunter one is required to devote one's life to one's hatred, rage and despair - an act which usually by itself leads to one developing an affinity with infernal magic. Complicating matters further is the fact that hate tends to beget hate, compounded even more by the fact that utilizing infernal magic has a steep price no matter the purpose it is used for as it taps into the demonic energies that are intrinsic to any human, thus allowing its influence to spread throughout the soul of the person using the magic. Many a Demon Hunter had been lost, their falling from grace facilitated by allowing their demonic energies to run rampant, corrupting them into a demon. Only the Demon Hunters blessed with both a strong will and purity of heart would be spared from this fate - by virtue of their willpower keeping both the angelic energies and the demonic energies of their being in balance - but even they were only human and ran the risk of allowing the darkness in their soul to take root.

What seemed like minutes had passed already since Caius had started channeling. Lyndon was starting to get nervous - after all, the sound of an army on a forced march was getting closer by the second and situations like these tended to do wonders for the Scoundrel's heart... Thousands of heavy footsteps could be heard marching into their general direction, accompanied by tribal war drums and the clanging of steel. Minutes turned into hours ( or at the very least, felt like hours ) as Lyndon spotted a few enemy scouts wandering around the bend - into a position that placed the pair straight in the scout's line of sight. Luckily, the Scoundrel was no slouch with a crossbow - by the time the goatmen had opened their mouths to alert the rest their throats had already been punctured by several arrows. Unfortunately the rest of the army of goatmen had not missed the fact that several of their scouts suddenly dropped dead and their main force was now alerted to the intruders' presence - though it appeared they did not quite have an accurate idea of where they were just yet. Lyndon swore under his breath as more scouts accompanied by brutes started to spread out and investigate. The khazra are strange creatures... mindless brutes, yet with the strategical capacity of uncanny tacticians. One or two lone khazra scouts are not a threat, but when working in unison the beasts are a terrifying opponent. Whilst Lyndon was considering his options a fireball flew by and he was forced to dive out of cover and as a result, ended up taking cover next to a tree. Peeking out from behind the tree he could see mages, brutes and spearmen all preparing for a full frontal assault, with several of the scouts trying to flank him. "Huh. Looks like they really don't want to us here... " Suddenly he heard a thrusting sound from behind. "What the...!? " Narrowly avoiding being disemboweled by a spear, he rolled out of the way and took the offending scouts out as fast as he could. "Well... looks like they are done with the subtleties. Looks like it's up to me to deflect attention off off my friend for now... better get to it! "

Facing the army head on was not a wise idea, and as such he started running from cover to cover whilst being barraged by a wall of spellfire, spears and arrows as the goatmen began their assault. Lyndon was really starting to regret not accepting Caius' offer to train with him by now, as he readied a volley of bolts and shot them straight into the mass of goatmen. Several of the goatmen laughed as their brothers were impaled and continued their march onwards towards the lone Scoundrel, who only smirked in response. "Don't you idiots know? A gentleman never dies, not as long as there is loot and treasure to claim. " As soon as he had uttered the last syllable in his sentence the bolts embedded in his victims exploded, causing mass confusion amongst the ranks of the goatmen and sending them into disarray. By the time they reformed the Scoundrel had already felled several more khazra with his explosive bolts, sending them into disarray for a second time - enough for the Scoundrel to disappear in a cloud of smoke. In the midst of the confusion he slipped past the scouts trying to flank him, eventually reaching Caius. With both men taking cover behind a broken section of the Entry Hall's wall he started to try to get through to the Demon Hunter who was still channeling his abilities. "Hello? Sanctuary to Caius? You mind lending a hand instead of... whatever it is you're doing there? I'll fill in what your pet has seen for you... " Lyndon was starting to panic by now and raised his voice a bit more then he had planned. "THEY. ARE. ALL. HERE. WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED DAMNIT! "

Almost as if on command, the Hunter's eyes regained their natural state. "No need to panic, Lyndon. Keep your voice down for now... I left some presents for them. Or rather... my pet left some gifts for them. "

Lyndon was just about to open his mouth for a sarcastic retort, but was interrupted by a loud crash followed by a fiery arrow whizzing by. "Lyndon, go ahead. I'll deal with these beasts and join you later! Find out why they are here, and deal with it if you can! " Though he was loathe to leave his friend alone against these odds Lyndon gave a small nod and rolled out of cover, making a beeline for the ruins proper. He sprinted past the hordes that were approaching, loosing his last explosive bolt in the process. Unfortunately the khazra had learned and adapted, as they instantaneously spread out to mitigate the effect of the explosion whilst their scouts charged at him. One of the scouts had nearly reached Lyndon and almost plunged his spear into the scoundrel's back, when he was suddenly interrupted by an arrow puncturing his leg. Turning around to see who had the gall to resist, the goatman was faced with a man with glowing eyes wielding two hand crossbows... It was at this moment that the goatman noticed he was not the only one with an arrow embedded in his leg. Multiple khazra had been simultaneously shot at the same time, and as they were furiously trying to remove the arrow they only succeeded in driving it in deeper. Meanwhile, the man readied his weapons and started shouting. "Come, beasts! I will not lose another member of my family to you and your masters! " As the man spoke, the arrows that had been stuck in the khazra's legs started to glow with an eerie green light afore manifesting gigantic chains which proceeded to bind at least half of the present khazra. "You won't escape this one! Taste the vengeance of those you unjustly killed, and the families you've torn apart! "

And with those words, the Demon Hunter engaged the horde. Ducking and weaving between fireballs, arrows and spears alike he proceeded to unleash his vengeance upon the goatmen. The bound khazra were the first to fall - as Caius darted straight through the enemy hordes, shooting every goatman foolish enough to try and hit him whilst acrobatically dodging and rolling past every attack, he dropped off a series of small sigils near the incapacitated khazra. A second later, after running across a wall and jumping onto a ledge higher-up, he shot the first sigil - triggering a chain reaction of exploding sigils. Khazra were strewn everywhere but the army still outnumbered him hundred-ninety to one, even with their ranks thinned to such a degree. Not that it mattered - in the battle against Diablo he had faced greater odds and came out on top. This time would be no different. Jumping down and drop kicking a brute that got too close for comfort he threw multiple knives in a wide arc around him, taking out seven brutes at the same time. "I need to finish this quickly so I can rejoin Lyndon... "

At the same time, deeper into the ruins, the remaining khazra were on guard and searching for the man that got away. Unfortunately for them however, his trail was littered with a certain Hunter's explosive sigils - rendering them down to a third of their contingent by the time the last sigil exploded. Lyndon was following the search party from a safe distance the entire time, and had to suppress a chuckle or two in order to stay hidden. "Hmmm... I really should ask him to teach me how to do that. Maybe I'd make a fine Demon Hunter as well... Just imagine all the loot I could grab! " By himself he already was no slouch when it came down to it - he already possessed many of the skills a Demon Hunter needed to qualify. The only thing lacking had been a drive for vengeance, but ever since he discovered a succubus contracted to the Thieves Guild was the culprit of the murder of his brother in his cell - in the guise of his wife and with her dagger, no less - his despise towards the denizens of the Burning Hells had grown exponentially. The Scoundrel grimaced. "I'll deal with those bastards later... " He shook off his thoughts and dove behind an old barrel, taking care to make as little sound as possible so as to stay unnoticed. Trailing the by now panicking khazra scouts to a large door, he decided to finally take them out. In Lyndon's own words: "Big doors mean even bigger treasure. And even more trouble to boot... " He snuck up on the goatmen with his crossbow at the ready and silently waited untill the door opened before pulling the trigger multiple times, with each pull of the trigger resulting in a bolt hitting a khazra in the head. "I swear, if I never have to deal with these beasts again it'll not be soon enough... " Lyndon muttered. Creeping up to the door whilst stepping over the corpses, he remained alert - he only had a few bolts left and he wanted to conserve them for whatever big baddie might be thrown at him next. As Lyndon pressed himself flat against the door, he leaned out a bit to take a peek inside before ducking into the chamber.

Or so he thought - instead of a chamber he appeared to be faced with a throne room. Not only that, but the Scoundrel was not alone anymore - a spectre was sitting on the throne, watching him intently. On both sides Lyndon was now surrounded by tall, muscular ghosts as weĺ - the apparent spirits of Barbarian Warlords past. Swallowing his fear and readying for combat, the Scoundrel let out a sigh of relief when they stepped aside and pointed towards the throne. "Thank you kindly... so good to see we can talk this over like civili - OWWW! " Lyndon protested as one of the spirits shoved him forwards, towards the throne. "Sheesh... I might be a Scoundrel but that doesn't mean you blokes need to manhandle me... I was just about to greet your king, tell him how beautiful I think his beard - " He didn't get a chance to speak, as the king cut him off mid-sentence. "Silence, Scoundrel. You are here because the ancients have set upon you a mission. " Standing up from the throne, the king stepped aside and pulled up one of the throne's armrests, causing the throne to shift sideways. This in turn revealed a stairway leading deep beneath the ground. Lyndon wanted to ask many questions, but decided against it. The king continued speaking: "Your interfering in this place has allowed us to do our sacred duty once more. Down below, in our sacred burial chamber, you will find a cultist and several fallen spirits working on an artifact of tremendous power. The cult imprisoned us using the now dead khazra as wards for our prison, and corrupted the spirit of our finest warriors in order to serve their evil purpose. You must descend to the depths and stop whatever it is that they are doing, for the artifact is so powerful it warps the very essence of Sanctuary. " Lyndon absorbed the information and did not like what he heard, replying with an annoyed tone of voice. "I wouldn't be so certain about this being my fate... I am but a simple Scoundrel, not a trueblooded warrior like you all! If anything, my friend is the one who has to do this... " The king scoffed. "The ancients never lie. The potential is present in you. Go now, and fullfill your ordained fate. " Lyndon sighed and shrugged once more. "A shame I can't sell it indeed. I do agree with you on account of the artifact however... Very well. I will do whatever is in my power. " The spirits dissappeared as he trudged towards the stairway. Before he set foot on the first step, however, he heard a ghostly voice echo in his head. "Retrieve the Dagger of Secheron once you have completed your quest. It will greatly aid those who art blessed by Bul-Kathos himself, which you will surely be by then. " Lyndon couldn't help but grin after the initial shock wore off - not only was he doing the right thing, but it could even end up aiding him... If he survived, that is. "Well then Lyndon... time to shine eh? Let's get us some loot and save the day! " He started checking his remaining equipment, narrowing it down to a bottle of ale ( "Why the hell did I think this would be useful again? "), five bolts for his crossbow and a keepsake dagger. Not much to work with, but the Scoundrel had learned a couple of tricks throughout the years that might just allow him to stand a chance. As he descended further into the depths the air began to feel heavier. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the sense of dread and malice he would feel at the bottom of the stairs...

Elsewhere, the Demon Hunter stowed away his crossbows after finishing off the last goatman. All around him the scars of battle could be seen - pillars had been torn in half, and walls were starting to crumble as he started to walk across the sea of dead bodies. Minutes passed as Caius silently continued his trek, using his expertise as a Hunter to track his friend's trail to the throne room.

Shivering as a premonition came to him, he started to descend down using the staircase, jumping as he heard the sound of a clash taking place at the end.

Author's notes:

Annnnnnndddddd cut! That's all for this chapter folks. My apologies for taking so long... my muse can be a fickle little ************** sometimes.
I deliberately left the ending to this chapter as vague as possible - all will be revealed in the next chapter. I am planning to use these two chapters ( 4 & 5 ) to build on the origins of the strange creature back in chapters 1 and 2... or do I? You'll have to to wait and see. Hopefully you folks enjoy this - if not, please tell me how I can improve. Were the characters in character? Was everything clear? How was my grammar? Am I missing details or spouting exposition like it's going out of style again? Please let me know in the reviews! This goes for suggestions to the story as well...

Gamedon, Signing Out!