Woe to me! I promised myself I wouldn't write ahead... and here I am, having written ahead! I've already written the next chapter but it'll take some refining and stuff... so expect to wait, still.
This is finished at three in the morning. So if you find any mistakes, by all means point them out, but please sympathise...
I have also started a Deviantart account. You can find the link on my profile page. I've only got two deviations, both from this 'fic, one of which is a scene from this chapter.
Again, as ever, I am in debt to my reviewers. You guys make my day!
Disclaimer: I don't own Diablo, Blizzard does; but this screwed-up version of Natalya is mine. MINE!!
Chapter 24
Spar
"A gibbon?" Oread asked, eyebrows cocked in childish confusion. "Why are we out to find some monkey?"
"The Gidbinn." Hratli the sorcerer-turned-blacksmith sighed and continued in his soft voice – one that is easily missed should the mind wander. "Ancient, sacred blade of Skatsimi. She has the ability to restore the crumbling enchantment placed over this city. It would do much good if you will retrieve it."
Oread, Natalya and I looked at each other; Leaf looked on from my side, her small hand clinging onto my belt.
"I'm not finding a stupid blade." Natalya refused uncouthly.
"I dunno what Natalya owes you, but Celadon and I don't owe you anything, and we're not risking our life for some piece of metal with a weird name." Oread was equally nonchalant about the idea.
"Then why do you still dwell here, traveller?" Asked Ormus, in his dreary tone.
"I have no idea, actually; but now that you've reminded me, I'll try and find one soon."
"Oread, I know we can trust you on this." Cain's tone was close to begging. "We've recently confirmed that a mysterious wanderer around here is the weakened form of Diablo himself, occupying the body of one who slain him years ago–"
"Where is he?" Oread had cut Cain off, her voice deep, dark and dead-serious.
Everyone was taken aback by her sudden shift of attitude. Leaf gripped my clothes with both hands and Cain stuttered some strange sounds before he managed to get proper words out. "He's… gone now. No trace of him."
"Damn it all!" Oread shouted and stamped her foot on the ground; Natalya sidestepped away from her.
"… Though we do have some ideas why he was here. We think that he was seeking to revive his brother, Mephisto, Lord of Hatred. He was sealed many years ago by Khalim, a powerful Zakarum Priest who was able to avert from Mephisto's corruption. He'd sealed Mephisto within the holy temple of Travincal, inside the central Guardian Tower. The seal and sacred land itself held Mephisto in a powerless state–"
"Right, right. So now it's not working so well anymore and it's all gonna blow in our faces if we don't do anything. What do you want us to do?" Oread was impatient, and eager anticipation shimmered in her eyes, which scared me quite a bit, frankly.
"I thought you didn't owe this city. Why are you so willing to carry out this difficult task?" Hratli did a bad job of containing a smirk, and hastily rubbed his chin to divert attention.
His words seemed to bite physically into my master, who flinched and narrowed her eyes as a visual threat. "Would you rather have me not so?"
Cain was not taking the tension well, and attempted to ease it. "Mephisto used the Compelling Orb, an artefact of dark magic, to overtake the Zakarum followers. Now that he's begun to regain his powers, the corruption had once again overtaken the Travincal, as he tries to completely break the seal upon him. If you get past the corrupted council members of the temple and destroy the Compelling Orb, you should be able to access the place where Mephisto's imprisoned."
"And how do we do that?" Oread just would not let the old Horadrim stop until she got what she wanted out of him.
"Khalim used a magical flail to weaken Mephisto before sealing him in his prison, and the flail had since been safeguarded at the temple; that is, until the corruption started again." Cain ran a hand over his face; the old man was scared as he remembered all the horrifying details of the story, I realised, and felt a little sorry for him. "The flail should have lost most of its powers due to both Mephisto and Diablo's powers. One way we can think of that may restore its powers is to gather Khalim's relics and fuse them to his weapon using the Horadric Cube."
"So where are these relics?" Oread pushed on.
"… Khalim had no possessions, and he died a very violent death amongst monsters in these forests."
Oread visibly paled. Natalya shifted her weight onto her other leg, staring at Oread out of the corner of her eye with an amused grin.
"Don't tell me… you want us to go out there and find his guts?!" Oread was annoyed now, and her eyes seemed a little sad, a little hopeless.
"Oh, we don't know how much of his body we'll need to restore the weapon's powers…" Cain rubbed between his eyes.
"Wouldn't they have rotted by now?"
"A priest of Khalim's virtue might have the honour of their body exempted from being reclaimed by the earth."
"Now… that's even worse." Oread's expression was a mix of disgust and defeat. "That's just disgusting."
"As petty as it seems, I'd rather go for the blade now." Said Natalya.
"It mightn't be the guts, you know." Hratli chimed as Cain trailed off. "It could be eyes, brain, lungs, heart, kidneys–"
"You can stop now. I'm gonna go and get on with that anyway." Oread spun around, accompanying the movement with an aggravated grunt.
As I turned to follow my master, I could hear Hratli's smirk in his voice. "So Natalya, I suppose you'll have to make do with going after the Gidbinn."
"I'm not doing that boring errand and trudging through the place by myself!" Natalya protested loudly. "Oread! Can I join you?"
"No. Didn't you just say that you'd rather do the boring errand?"
"Come on, I want some company. Why do you want go for the bits of Khalim anyway? Can't I help?"
"That's none of your business and no thank you."
"Why can't I come with you?"
"Because," Oread shot a cold glance over her shoulder. "I don't like you, and I'm not prepared to follow an Assassin's orders."
Oread turned back, but as she was about to take another step, Natalya grabbed her by the shoulder. By Oread's soft utterance as she stopped, Natalya gripped hard. "I'm not an Assassin anymore, and I'm not gonna put up with the way you're treating me. You don't trust me, fine; but at least respect me as a warrior."
When Oread's head turned slowly towards Natalya's face, there was no fear in her eyes, just cold defiance. "Once an Assassin, always an Assassin – that's the way the Vizjerei and other orders like the Zakarum and the Zann Esu works; yet you betrayed your order and did so again just then as you refuted what you are. That's enough reason for me to assume that you lack the commitment and loyalty of a warrior."
I had never heard my master speak like this, with such loathing. "Please, Oread. Natalya, why don't we discuss this later–"
"Why don't we sort it out now?" Natalya smiled, but her eyes were like daggers. "I may no longer be of the Vizjerei, but I still know a few tricks of the trade."
"We're on the same side, aren't we? Oread, stop this!" I was anxious; the fuse has been lit, and I had no idea how much explosive there was.
Oread just retained her iciness as Natalya's smile widened, brandishing her straight, white teeth. "I've heard about the so-called 'passive skills' of the Amazonian arts, and I've always wondered how it measures up to the martial arts of Vizjerei."
Oread's eyes enlarged briefly, but I did not miss her shock. Natalya's way of tackling the dispute was unexpected. "What are you saying? Don't tell me–"
"Come on, Oread. This is a friendly way to sort this out." Natalya's posture straightened out a little; she lifted her chin and looked Oread in the eye. "What say you?" Her smile faded. "Give me a chance to earn your respect. To be honest, I think the converse applies."
I had never thought that Natalya would say such things straight up – even more unembellished than Oread's speech. My master was visibly taken aback as well. "Natalya, I..." Her eyelids drooped, and a smile stretched across her lips. "Fine. You got it. We'll have a civil spar. Just for the sake of 'sharing our own arts', right?"
"Yep." Natalya's eyes narrowed, gleaming.
I was about to rebuke my master's decision when I felt a pull about my waist. I looked back at Leaf, and she was shaking her head, her eyes shining in anticipation.
I sighed, knowing that I had no say in this matter to begin with. Oread can be so immature sometimes.
"So, shall we remind everyone of the rules again?" Natalya asked, putting her hands upon her hips. For the fight, she had added guards for the forearms and wrists, a belt, and kneepads to her casual attire.
"No magic, no weapons, no metaphysical stuff." Oread stood opposite Natalya, strapping a length of cloth around her hands and wrists, as she did before we went out to battle. "Loser is the one who surrenders, or is knocked out, or forced outside of this confined zone as defined by the crowd." She finished, clasped her hands behind her and looked around at the crowd that had gathered, populating the usually-barren early-morning marketplace. "Have I covered everything?"
"You also lose if you kill the other person." Natalya added.
"That's a useless rule, and it doesn't make sense." She bowed her head.
"It's there for the sake of etiquette." Natalya stretched. "We're not intending to kill, remember?"
"Oh yes." Oread lifted her head; her eyes would be levelled with Natalya's if she had them open. She did not speak after that.
After a few tense moments, Natalya had sensed the commencement of the fight.
Then, like a flash, she leapt up to Oread, and swung a kick to her head.
Oread ducked casually. Her eyes snapped open as Natalya sank low to sweep at her feet. Oread bounced off her hands and landed beside Natalya. The latter retaliated by swinging her elbow at Oread's face; Oread bent back a little, the elbow gliding past, and rammed her shoulder into Natalya's unguarded ribcage.
The former-Assassin dissipated most of the force by moving her upper body in the same direction of the blow. She landed on her hands, did a cartwheel-type trick as her legs kicked upwards, potentially giving Oread a double-uppercut.
I did not see Oread's move clearly, but her feet moved backwards and she seemed to slither away from the attacks. Then her foot slid forward in a huge stride, as she advanced again. By the time Natalya had landed on both feet, Oread was in front of her.
As she swiped at Natalya's face with an opened hand, it was Natalya's turn to dodge. Her right arm reached behind Oread; then as Oread's body moved forward, she slammed on Oread's back with her forearm. When Oread's body was past Natalya's waist, the latter's right knee came up and caught Oread in the guts.
There was a shocked exclamation in the audience as Oread fell onto the stone floor, wheezing. Natalya turned to her and smiled. Oread coughed twice, and then managed a grin. "This would be so much more convenient if I could use my Inner Sight."
"Are you admitting defeat?"
"Bite me, bitch." Oread got on her feet again.
Natalya was visibly enraged by Oread's provocation; she let out a shout and launched a fist at Oread's midsection. Oread allowed herself to fall backwards; as the fist skimmed past her from above, she hit the ground with her hands and shoulders, and her legs shot up.
She locked Natalya's wrist around her ankles, and rolled backwards. Natalya, her momentum continuing to move her forward, was pulled along and managed a forward flip to stop from smashing her face onto the floor as Oread's roll was completed. Meanwhile, Oread had launched off the floor and smashed into Natalya from the back, before the latter could turn around. As Natalya stumbled, Oread kicked her in the back of the left knee, and Natalya was forced to kneel.
Oread's other leg came down fast onto her head, and while the crowd held their breath, Natalya looked surprisingly calm. She reached up with her right hand; her fingers locked around Oread's ankle, and tightened.
A yelp came from Oread as her assault was instantly nullified. Natalya stood and swung around, still gripping onto Oread' ankle, then threw a punch with her left fist at Oread's face. Oread caught that with an open hand; in the meanwhile, Natalya had let go of Oread's ankle, and her right fist slammed straight into my master's guts.
Oread staggered backwards, swaying a little, but stayed on her feet. "Whatever happened to the supposedly 'friendly' nature of this fight…" She broke off, coughing into one hand, her other hand over her midsection.
"I'm sorry; I'd expected that you'd be able to counter that one." Natalya smirked, not a hint of remorse in her voice. "I'd expected you to realise when an attack's only a diversion for something more powerful."
"Damn you…" Oread's body shook as she coughed again, then she collapsed.
The crowd was silent. Natalya strode up to Oread and looked at the open palm of the hand that she coughed into – the white material that Oread had strapped her hand up with was stained red. Natalya took another half-step and stopped.
"I win, Oread." Seeing my master out cold, she smiled heartily.
Then Oread's hand moved. Out of the corner of her eye Natalya must have noticed it, but her reaction came a little late. The hand clamped down onto her left foot, and the force got stronger as Oread shifted her entire weight onto her hands. She pushed herself off the ground in a handstand, her leg straightening out, her eyes opened and aiming –
The kick hit Natalya square in the jaw. Meshif, who had come for the spectacle of the spar, caught her as she fell back into the crowd. Natalya straightened out and glared angrily, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she rubbed her bruised jaw.
I looked back at my master, and found her lying on the ground again. My Inner Sight told me that she really was unconscious this time.
"So… who won?" Asked Asheara – the buxom, scantily-clad leader of the Iron Wolves of Kurast – her dreadlocked-ponytail trailed wildly in the air as she inquired those around her.
"I suppose it's… a draw." Hratli finally concluded. His voice was almost drowned out by the intensifying murmurings of the crowd.
"She cheated!" Natalya shouted.
"It was as what you have said unto her, Natalya. Your preparation fell short." Ormus spoke up; the chattering quietened a little. "You, formerly of the Vizjerei, now of the Khral-Harzhek… your vigilance was blunted by conceit."
Leaf and I got up to Oread, and she came around when Leaf touched her. "It was a draw, Oread." I explained.
"Damn… if only I'd stayed up for a little longer." She tried to get up, then gave up and just sat. "Natalya, I guess the only way this is gonna work is a swap."
Natalya walked up to us, and crouched down so that she could look her rival in the eye. "No, I'll pass on gathering the body parts of a dead priest. I'm stuck here until my superiors are satisfied, so I'll just have to make do with the damn blade."
"Then why d– OW!"
Two large hands had given both Oread and Natalya a sound smack on the back of the head. I looked up and saw Asheara, her face furious as her hands returned to her hips. She was quite tall to begin with, but from this low level, she was… looming over us.
I heard a gulp from Leaf, before Asheara's deep voice bellowed. "What was the point of that fight?" She was in her mid-thirties, and had already established herself as both a tough mother figure and a friend amongst our company. Right now, she was the former. "You're on the same side, and that fight didn't even change anything! What if one of you did get killed, huh?"
"But we didn't." Natalya retorted, rubbing her head gingerly. A bruise was deepening into a faint violet smudge on her chin.
"It was more of a… personal matter that we sorted out." Oread smiled. "I still wouldn't work with you, but I guess I can trust you to stay alive out there."
"Speak for yourself." Came the reply, but Natalya's smile was genuinely well-meant.
"Whatever!" Asheara snorted and started walking off. "I'm not taking care of those injuries. You broke it, you fix it."
While Ormus healed with magic, prayers and blessings, Asheara was the most practical healer of the city. She took care of us when we first arrived here. As she stomped away angrily, Oread and Natalya made almost-identical grimaces.
Two days later, we set out towards the Spider Forest again. Natalya went on ahead, having heard news from Hratli that the Gidbinn was possibly in the jungles beyond.
We found an eye, bloody with bits of muscle, nerve and dirt-caked fat tissues still attached, and radiating off a silvery-white aura, in the caverns beneath the Spider Forest. By the time we got out, the sun was about fully set, and rain clouds had gathered overhead. Oread insisted that we go on ahead, and see what else we could find, but we only ended up in a stinking marsh, the sky dark and storming above us.
We had decided to head back when we found ourselves caught up in battle. There were demons with the small nimble bodies of tribal children, and, like the carvers in Westmarch, they had their associated shamanic summoners that could bring them back to life. They were fast and agile, and a lot of the time even our arrows were not fast enough. Oread's Immolation Arrows worked well for a while, but by the time we finally managed to buy enough time to get the hell out of there before another monster jumped on us, she was exhausted. I was exhausted. Trudging around in mud was hard work, made all the more difficult by the persistent downpour.
Then, just as Oread had started to chant the incantations for a Portal, she froze. The sharp spark of awareness returned to her eyes, and she looked intently into the dense vegetation.
I followed her gaze and saw a skeleton, the bones of a natural ivory, neither bleached by magic nor tainted by time. It was missing the right arm and a large chunk of the right collar bone and shoulder blade. The lower ribs on the left were cracked; the left side of the pelvis had deep scratches in it.
Falcon's; there was someone else behind the skeleton.
"Bloody summoning bastards." Oread cursed in her dangerous tone. She threw me her weapons. "I'm gonna rip that monster apart with my own hands."
Crimson flashed in my vision, filled my nostrils and down my throat.
Running up to the enemy with unexpected speed, she threw a punch to its face with her right hand. There was a low groan as it collapsed. Falcon's bones shattered into large, splintery fragments.
The sound of the groan concerned me; summoning up my remaining reserve of mana, I cast Inner Sight as Oread kicked at the foe's stomach.
Damn.
I got up to Oread as fast as I could, and grabbed her about the waist as I lost my balance at the last few steps. Her next kick stopped mid-strike as she fought for balance. "Stop it, Oread!" I pleaded. This was bad.
"This thing used Falcon's body, Celadon!" She yelled into my ear.
"Oread, listen to me." I panted against her struggles. "Firstly, he's already injured before you hit him." I explained, trying my best to hold her back, and wondered how she would react as I continued –
"Secondly, I think he's human."
Oread's jerking stopped instantly; for a whole two seconds, she stared motionlessly at the huddled shape on the ground. When she turned to me, her expression was one of blank, innocent fear.
Her eyes met mine; they were a little widened, and strangely shiny.
"Shit."
