Not surprisingly, the wade through Khazra territory didn't make either Kormac nor Dahlia any happier with each other. Lyndon could sense the unease, but even his sarcasm and wit didn't cut through. It only made Kormac attack him instead.
"If you were any more useless, Lyndon, we'd be better off killing you and taking your things," Kormac said.
"Please. As though you could go without my charm and levity. You two would have already killed each other."
Dahlia and Kormac glanced at each other briefly as they walked up to King Leoric's old castle, wondering if it were true. They had clear, strong morals that refused to complement each other, and instead made them fight all the more. The night before was just the first time they had really noticed.
"Now this is more like it!" Lyndon said, running to the gate. "There has to be loot still inside."
"I wouldn't count on it," Dahlia said, as she raised her staff. Three cultists were coming towards them, charged with the same magical energy as her. The doors were thrown open, and they were swept into battle. Lyndon rolled out of the way, firing his poisoned arrows at the cultists who clearly didn't have the same amount of power. The entire courtyard was filled with them. Kormac charged at the closest enemy, and Dahlia let out a burst of electrical energy that shot through all the cultists now surrounding them. The magically charged cultists threw out a range of different elements, hitting Kormac and Dahlia hard. She bounced back fairly easily, having resistance against any magic like hers, but Kormac was immediately immobilized by the sheer amount of power. He collapsed to the ground.
"Kormac!" Dahlia yelled. She dodged another attack as she rushed to his side, her aura still attacking the cultists even as she handed him a healing potion. He could barely lift himself to drink it, so Dahlia had to go on the defensive as Lyndon finished with the cultist fodder. She aimed at the most powerful cultist and tried to use fire to burn him, but nothing happened. He laughed at her, and she was too shocked to move until she saw something falling from the sky. Something burning and large. It slammed down on him and the other two still left alive, killing them instantly.
Dahlia was breathless and shaken by what might have been a miracle, but might have also come from her. Lyndon appeared from behind the rock as it dissolved, which had left the corpses as though they hadn't been burnt at all, but crushed. His face echoed her surprise.
"Nephelam?" he asked. He said it slowly, as though it were a difficult word, one from beyond his memories, but the only appropriate one.
"Don't say that," Dahlia said, turning from him to help Kormac drink the potion. Kormac immediately looked better, but he had the same look of reverence and awe. Dahlia stood up. "Stop it, both of you. I'm sure wizards have done that before. Powerful, amazing wizards. It just proves that I'm one of the best. But we already knew that." She flipped her hair. "Come on, we have to find Magdha and the stranger."
They entered the temple, only to be met with more cultists and their summoned monsters. It was almost a swarm, but it hardly seemed a challenge for them after the last fight. They raced up the crumbling stars and through the massive doors, where Magdha's unreal form was floating in the middle of her minions, demanding that they keep Dahlia distracted while she went below to finish her plans. Dahlia was sickened by this. Magdha knew that these people weren't going to live through the encounter. They were merely a group of fanatics waiting to die for her, mad with the idea that they would keep their new powers and be saved from torture when they finished their service in Sanctuary.
She had no time for her morals, however. She killed them with the rage she was holding for Magdha, and when she spoke with the remaining survivor, someone who had nothing to do with the war, her rage refused to dissipate.
"I will murder Magdha for what she's done. Her blood will be my revenge, and her agony will be my healing," she said, kicking out the doors to go outside. Kormac and Lyndon looked at each other with concern. They both realized how quickly this was becoming personal to Dahlia, how she was taking every defeat and death as a punishment for her own failings. Kormac reached out to her gently, putting a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, the anger still burning in her every feature. "What?"
"This was never meant to be your war. There are forces fighting on every side, and the losses we have are the fault of evil."
"I know it's not my fucking war, Kormac!" She shoved him away. "This isn't my fight or my destiny, but everyone is depending on me. Leah, New Tristam, the stranger, even you and Lyndon! And Cain certainly didn't want Magdha to win. So I'm sorry if this is too much for you. You can abandon me and go back to your order with your books, but I will never stop."
Kormac cringed when she spoke of abandoning her. He looked to the ground, feeling a strange heat under them, even through his armor. "And I won't stop you. I know this isn't what you wanted, but you may be the only one powerful enough to help. When I see you fighting for humanity, you are the Light. I don't want to see such a beautiful glow grow dim."
"I..." Dahlia blushed a little. She seemed either encouraged or embarrassed by his words, but she couldn't decide before Lyndon walked past them to the stairs.
"Come on, you guys," he said, "people always keep their treasure in the catacombs. We should get down there so I can loot you along with it." He winked at Dahlia, and she groaned. "I know, I know. It hurts to fall for me, but it's worth it."
Kormac rolled his eyes, but quickly followed the two down the stairs. It was a long, strange journey, and it was far from over.