Well, it has been a while since I have updated this frequently but I wanted to get another one up before the end of the month and hey I am not complaining. This chapter gets pretty dark in some areas but I hope you all like it. This is another chapter that I couldn't wait to write and I hope I did a good job with it. I hope you all enjoy it.
Moonlight shined brightly over the woods, it was a full moon and Li-Ming stared deeply at it. She and the others were all very tired. Since they left the temple they jogged through the forest back, it helped to save them time but their legs hurt and they all wanted to rest. Before they had the chance to call it a night however, Leah upheld to what she said and examined everyone's wounds. Lyndon had a bandage around his arm that had been dabbed with the only healing potion that Leah had thought to bring with her, and Kormac was dabbing his swollen lip with a wet rag. He winced a few times, it stung but he put the rag back on despite the stinging. Li-Ming had a swell on her cheek from where the mummy had punched her and there was where the arrow had pierced her.
She had to undo the buttons to her armor so Leah could see and clean the wound. They faced away from the boys because Li-Ming wasn't exactly decent at the moment. Leah grabbed a rag and spilled some of what was left of the health potion onto it-she would need to remember to bring more next time-and held it against Li-Ming's injury. Li-Ming winced but the pain subsided after a few seconds. Her wound was messy. She had bled, not as much as Lyndon had when the skeleton cut his arm, but it trickled down her side and had stained her armor. That whole fight was a mess. It was a lot tougher than they had originally believed and Leah was the only one of them to come out unscathed. None of the others blamed her, in fact that is how they preferred it. Leah didn't know if that made her feel better or not because that made it sound like she wasn't capable of holding her own. Sure she may not have been a fighter like these guys were but she didn't like feeling useless.
"You're lucky that skeleton didn't have very good aim." Leah said.
"I doubt luck had much to do with it." Leah drenched the rag again, twisted it and then placed it back on the wound. Li-Ming winced again and quietly said, "Damn!" She had never been shot before, but then again, all that she has done in the past few weeks she has never done before either. She was reminded about how free she felt now. No longer tethered to the rules and fears of selfish cowards. Already she had made a difference for the lives of the people in New Tristram, something of which she was very proud of. Li-Ming would stand to get shot one-hundred times over if it would produce the same ends. And, now she was close to getting her answers as well. They had two of the three shards now and soon The Stranger may finally be able to lead her to her next destination in her quest to fulfill her destiny.
"Sorry. It should start feeling better when the potion starts to kick in."
"You know what would make you feel even better, Li-Ming?" Lyndon asked walking towards the girls. "A nice shoulder rub to help ease the tension. How about it?" He had given many women massages before and he was actually pretty good at from what he has been told before in the past, and that usually led to him giving them massages in other ways later on. It was how he won his way into Sasha's heart and how he later ended up in bed with her numerous times. What could he say? He just knew how to worm his way into hearts of women.
"How about you go sit back down and keep your hands to yourself." Li-Ming replied.
"Are you sure? You won't know what you're missing?"
"You know Lyndon, there's a river over there you can jump in if you need to cool yourself off." Leah said.
Ouch! Lyndon had to sit down after that one. When Li-Ming and Leah turn you down they really let you know it.
"You shouldn't waste time chasing women." Li-Ming informed him and she meant this in all seriousness. He was a skilled fighter and could make much better use of his time and skills doing greater and better things for the good of humanity. It was tragic to see such skill only being used on personal and selfish desires that Lyndon seemed so content on doing, no matter who it hurt or left heartbroken, like that farmer's daughter when she realizes that she had been taken advantage of.
"Waste?! Time is scarcely better spent." At least he thought so. He was a simple man. So when he laid eyes on a beautiful woman his natural instincts took over. He was surprised that Li-Ming and Leah didn't bother trying to look for a man themselves. They were both young and beautiful and life was so dreadfully short in this gods forsaken world that they could easily entice a man to be with them. More and more as Lyndon spent time with them he found himself more intrigued by these two young ladies. He wasn't at all interested in Kormac's life. Lyndon pretty much knew the kind of person he was just from their first conversation with each other.
"But, you do not keep any of them."
"I've only found one worth keeping…" Lyndon paused like he was stuck on something before he continued. "But she slipped away from me."
Oh, so he was in love once. Li-Ming felt kind of bad now but did that give him the right to do what he did all of the time. Didn't people eventually get over it, move on and find someone else to love? She couldn't tell, maybe it depended on certain things.
"Still, you shouldn't bother every woman that crosses your path."
"Well, no. Sometimes they should bother me!" He laughed. He would really like it if Li-Ming or Leah bothered him a little bit.
Both Leah and Li-Ming shook their heads, but Li-Ming felt there was more to Lyndon's attitude than what he lead on but she wasn't going to question him any further. There was no point really. Once they were back in Tristram he was going to go on his own way and they'll never have to hear of him again. And they'll be free to continue their journey without any further interruptions. They've already had too many of those. First the Skeleton King and now Maghda and they would have to eventually deal with her. She seemed intent on trying stop and she somehow knew about Leah and her mother.
"There we go. That should be good for now." Leah said. She had cleaned up Li-Ming's injury as best she could and the healing potion was already showing signs of working. At least they wouldn't have to worry about the wound going septic, that was a relief. For now they will just have to let the healing potion do its job and other than that, there was nothing else that could be done at the moment. They were ill prepared to begin and Leah could only bring so much with her. It was a shame that Kormac's and Li-Ming's travel bags got destroyed. She could have had them pack some essentials before they left. Maybe Haedrig will have leather satchels for sale. The man was working tirelessly now days and he was sure to have some. When they got back to town, Leah thought she would buy some new ones for them.
Li-Ming buttoned her armor back up and said, "Thank you."
"My pleasure." Leah replied. She was glad that Li-Ming made it easier for her this time instead of pouting like she did when she made her go to Brother Malachi. "I don't know about the rest of you but I am pretty tired. I think it's time we all got some rest."
"I agree." Kormac said through a yawn.
After they all laid down, they were all asleep before they knew it. Everyone was sound asleep except for Li-Ming who tossed and turned. She dreamt she was in an unnatural world and she was all alone. Or she thought she was. The word Nemesis was branded in her mind. She saw something drip from her brow. When she went to wipe it off, she looked at her hand and saw blood. She had a cut on her head and then her nose started bleeding. She was struggling to breath and her chest hurt. Her right arm throbbed and she rubbed it. A cold and unnatural wind blew and it chilled her to the bone.
The sky was covered with black clouds and the only light came from the lanterns that lit up the empty streets with fire that gave no heat. There were buildings all around but no light shown through any windows that Li-Ming could see and the buildings looked old and decadent. Like they had been without occupants for a long, long time.
"You!" A deep, threatening voice said. She looked around but could not find the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from all around her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end and she knew she was being watched. "Hitherto shalt though come; but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed."
"Show yourself, coward!" Li-Ming demanded.
"Hahaha! In time. For now, cherish what little time you have left because when you step into my realm, when I see you. I will devour you, and your soul will rot in hell. You will be a slave to the masters. A puppet to do their bidding."
"Quite the boast for something that doesn't understand what they're dealing with."
"Your arrogance will be your undoing. But, I shall make you see and after I am finished, you will die!"
The ground started shaking and the buildings collapsed all around her. Li-Ming shielded her face from the dust the erupted. She caught a glance at two orange, glowing eyes before the ground shattered, revealing a pit of pitch darkness beneath and Li-Ming fell. She held her hand up as if trying to grab something but failed. All she could is watch as the hole she fell into got smaller and smaller as she fell until she woke up.
Li-Ming bolted up right from her sleep. She was breathing heavily and she was sweating. It took her a moment to remember where she was. She looked around and she remembered she was out in the woods with Leah and Kormac. She looked down at Leah who was sleeping right beside her but Li-Ming must have been tossing and turning because Leah stirred and looked back at Li-Ming with tired eyes. She quickly noticed Li-Ming's distress and sat up.
"Li-Ming, is everything okay. You look terrible."
Taking a moment to compose herself, Li-Ming swept her sweaty bangs from her face and took a few deep breaths. "I'm fine, Leah. You can go back to sleep."
"You don't look fine to me. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes. Just a bad dream, that's all. Go back to sleep. I'll be fine."
"Okay, but I'm here if you need anything"
"Thanks." Leah went back to sleep and Li-Ming laid back down. She closed her eyes and swallowed. She didn't know what it was about that dream but something about it was not right. She decided she was too tired to give it any real thought and stopped thinking about it for now. They had a long day ahead of them and she needed as much rest as she could get. She did manage to fall back to sleep after a while and this time there was no dreams and Li-Ming slept all through the rest of the night undisturbed.
Xxxxx
It was a beautiful day in New Tristram. The people were going about their day in peace and the guards performed the daily duties and routines. Rumford was standing outside the gate with one of his men enjoying some funny stories and good jokes. "And then I said, "Beat him? Damn near killed him!" The guard said and he and Rumford burst out laughing. Rumford had to hold onto his gut after that one and the guard was laughing against the wall. It was such a good joke. When they got over it, the guard wiped away a tear and asked, "So, Rumford. What's the story between you and that girl?"
"What girl?" Rumford raised an eyebrow.
"You know the magic one. The one who helped us kill the walking dead."
"Oh, Li-Ming. Nothing why?"
"Oh, come on! I see the way you look at her." Rumford blushed. "Hey, I get it man. She's a real looker and not to mention she knows how to fight!"
"That she does." He agreed and nodded. Come to think of it. He wondered if she and Leah have found the second sword fragment yet. They've been gone for a couple of days so they must have found it by now unless something bad has happened to any of them. Nah! What was he saying, of course nothing bad has happened to them. Li-Ming was a powerful wizard and if she could take on a whole horde of the undead by herself, Rumford was sure she can take on the Khazra and anything else that they may encounter. And, they had that big guy with them. That man was a mountain and looked like he could pop a man's head off with one punch. Rumford liked to think he was pretty tough, but compared to Kormac, he was nothing.
"Speak of the devil here she comes." The guard pointed out and Rumford saw Li-Ming and the others walking down the path. And, who was that with them? Rumford didn't recognize him and he didn't think any man in town had a mustache like that. He must have been some straggler they picked up along the way. Wait, was that blood Rumford saw? Li-Ming's armor was stained and Kormac looked like he suffered a few bruises to the face but he looked to be healing and the other guy had a blood stain that ran all the way down his sleeve. Whatever these guys faced really gave them hell, but as Rumford believed, they came out alive and relatively well.
Welcome back, guys!" Rumford greeted. Nobody gave him the light of day. Leah waved and smiled at least but Kormac and Lyndon walked right past them and didn't say a single word or give them a glance. They were tired and wanted nothing to do with anyone right now. Lyndon wanted to leave as soon as possible, he had a relic to sell after all and being around these people didn't guarantee a long life and what good was money if you weren't alive to spend it? "You guys look like you've been through hell."
"You could say that." Li-Ming replied. While it wasn't hell; the skeletons and the evil energy they all knew was there was a second best.
"So, did you find the second sword piece?"
"We fought tooth and nail to get it but yes we have it. It's in Leah's bag and she's on her way to hand to the stranger right now as we speak."
"Excellent news!" Rumford cheered. How exciting that soon that they will soon be finished with this nonsense. No more attacks by the undead, no more threats of the Skeleton King or the wild Khazra. Tristram can finally be safe after what seemed like an eternity and they had this young wizard to thank for it. "Tristram, owes you a debt of gratitude, Li-Ming."
"I still have quite a bit to accomplish, I'm afraid." Li-Ming replied with a smile.
"Nothing that you can't handle, I'm certain." Rumford chuckled. When he first met Li-Ming he was put off by her arrogance and confidence in her abilities and never once did she fail to prove that she was capable of anything. Her confidence was well placed and he sincerely believed that none would ever be able to defeat Li-Ming no matter how hard they tried. He truly admired her.
"What's wrong, Captain? You seem somewhat disappointed."
"Well it's just…" He looked over at his fellow guard and he had a smug smile across his face. The kind of smile that said I knew it and I was right the whole time. Rumford wasn't going to take that. He guessed now would be a good time to spill it before Li-Ming left Tristram for good. "Once you find the last shard you'll be leaving and I can't help but think about what a guy like me is going to do without a girl like you in his life"
"You have affections for me?" Li-Ming asked with a raised eyebrow and Rumford nodded.
How odd. As far as Li-Ming knew, nobody ever felt about her like that before and she didn't know exactly how to respond. Rumford was a genuine and honorable man who was bound for great things now that he was captain of the militia. The poor man.
"I certainly appreciate it Rumford. Truly I do. But, my path will take me too many dangers and I can't simply ignore my destiny. It's what I've wanted to do for a long time. I hope you understand. Besides you're a handsome man and a good man. You will find someone who will be able to take care of you and you them, and that is something I cannot do."
"I understand, Li-Ming. Wherever your journey takes you-I wish you the best of luck."
She smiled and walked into town and Rumford watched her leave. He was going to miss her after she left because he had never met anyone like her before and he didn't think he was ever going to again, but she was right. She was on a path that was dangerous and she didn't bother with things that weren't a part of it. He hoped that in her quest that nothing bad will ever happen to her. There were many powerful mysteries in the world and one day she may stumble onto one that may be too much for her to handle.
Xxxxx
Deckard Cain and The stranger were looking over and studying old tomes when Leah walked in along with Li-Ming and Kormac. Leah walked up the table where Cain and The Stranger were sitting and pulled the sword piece from her bag and placed it on the table. Li-Ming stepped up and said, "We were only one step ahead of Maghda, but now we have the second sword piece."
The Stranger grabbed the sword piece and he could remember something now. "Stranger, what is it? What do you see?" Kormac asked.
"I remember a glow streaking towards…a fishing village."
What? Leah wished he hadn't said that because the only place that came to mind was Wortham and it was just across the river and not that far away either. There were many reasons why this was frustrating. It was the closest location out of the three shards and they had completely overlooked it. Leah could tell Li-Ming was thinking the same thing and she hoped that Li-Ming wouldn't be upset with her about this. Secondly if Maghda got there before they did, those poor people would be at her mercy and her cultists and imagination what those evil people would do was enough to make Leah feel sick to her stomach. Damn it all! So much for resting.
"That must be Wortham!" Leah said out loud.
"Ah…brilliant, dear Leah. Have the ferryman take you there."
"You two can stay and rest." Li-Ming said to Leah and Kormac. "I'll go. You two are tired and frankly neither of you will be good to me if you're too tired to fight."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Kormac said. "I'll be in the Inn." He left and Leah stayed in her uncle's house, sat down and looked like she was on the verge of falling asleep when she got comfortable.
Outside, Li-Ming found Lyndon talking to a carriage driver. No doubt talking about leaving and trying to settle on price. Li-Ming walked up to him and asked, "You leaving?"
He turned and smiled. How nice of it for Li-Ming to stop by before he left. He would have hated to leave without seeing her pretty face one more time. "Yeah, I'm getting a few things settled first than I am out of here." He put his satchel in the back of the carriage, turned back to Li-Ming and said, "You know you should come with me. I could use a good partner and not to mention a "good partner."
"Sorry, but I am not a criminal and I am sure there are plenty of other women you can find to be a", She coughed and said in her best mock voice, "Good partner."
Well he tried but it looked like Li-Ming would be a rare occasion where he couldn't get his chance with her. But, no matter. Fortunes awaited him and many lonely women were beckoning to him to help warm their beds and he couldn't refuse such a call.
"What is that?" One of the towns people and said and pointed. People gathered around, Li-Ming and Lyndon shoved their way through and they saw a huge plume of smoke over the horizon. "It must be coming from Wortham." Another town's person said. No, no, no!
"Li-Ming, where are you going?" Lyndon shouted.
Li-Ming ran towards the Slaughtered calf in, barged through the door and into Leah's bedroom where Kormac was laying down. "Kormac you need to come outside right now, we are leaving!" Li-Ming was back out of the room before Kormac could get a sentence in. He grabbed his ax and ran out the door and looked for Li-Ming. When he got outside he saw a crowd of people looking in the distance and when he saw the smoke he grew greatly concerned. Had Maghda gotten to the last shard before they did? They couldn't let that happen. They needed to get there as soon as possible.
"Kormac, we should hurry to ferryman right now!" Li-Ming suggested with great urgency.
"I agree, let's go! Lyndon are you coming?"
"What? No." he chuckled. "Whatever is happening is not my business and I am positive you two can handle it."
Kormac grabbed fistfuls of Lyndon's jacket and pushed him against the cart. "You listen here you selfish bastard! Do you not give one wit for the people who could be getting slaughtered over there right now? Do you ever think about anyone other than yourself?"
"Look, what's happening over there is tragic but it is not my fight and nor do I intend to make my fight."
"Let him go Kormac." Li-Ming demanded.
"What? Li-Ming!" Kormac was out raged. He turned to look at her but she was staring off into the distance at the smoke that rose into the sky. Was she really going to side with the piece of filth? Was she going to do nothing what so ever? Has the whole world gone mad? What ever happened to justice? Whatever happened to a time where you did onto others as you would have them do onto you? It wasn't fair Dammit!
"Lyndon has made up his mind and he is right, this is not his fight. He lives his own life and we can do nothing about it." Kormac let Lyndon go, sneered at him and headed towards the ferryman. "So is that it than Lyndon?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Right, you do have a relic that needs selling after all."
"Right you are."
"Alright, but Lyndon one more thing." She turned around to look him in the eye and said very politely, "May you find whatever it is you're looking for." And left.
Why did life seem to curse him so? Lyndon straightened himself out and thought about what Li-Ming and Kormac said. Why should he help? He didn't owe those people in that town anything. It was terrible what was happening, it really was, but it wasn't his affair. Why should he get mixed up in it? He even told himself the moment he got to town he was leaving and he could leave these past few days behind him. He looked over at the smoke again and punched the carriage. Forget it.
He reached into his pocket and pulled the relic out. Wait a moment this relic was a fake! Gods he should've known. He growled and threw the damned thing away. He leaned back against the carriage and became even more frustrated. What was he supposed to do now? The relic was a forgery and if he tried to sell it someone would try for his head. He looked again at the smoke and then he thought about when he first met Li-Ming and Leah and Kormac and how they helped him. Oh for heaven's sake! They helped him when they had no reason to and they could have left him at any moment they wanted but they didn't. He hated life sometimes.
Xxxxx
"God, that man. I hope he gets what's coming to him someday." Kormac exclaimed.
"I know you're angry Kormac, but he is a man of his own making. We cannot change who he is."
"That's not the point. What ever happened to do onto others as you would have them do onto you?"
The dock was up ahead and there stood a short bald man. His boat was a dodgy looking thing. But, this was there only option as there was no other boats and they had no time for waiting. The people in Wortham needed their help now and Maghda wasn't going to wait for them to arrive. She was no doubt looking for the piece already and the slaughtering of innocent lives was just for fun. Li-Ming hoped that Maghda had the guts to show herself for real this time because she wanted to let Maghda know what it was to be helpless.
"We need to take the ferry to Wortham." Li-Ming informed the bald man. Whether this old man was going to or not she was going to use this boat one way or another. She didn't want to do it, but if she had to she was going to force this man to do it. Lives were being taken and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"I will take you, but be warned; smoke rises from the village."
They got on board then they heard someone shout, "Wait!"
Kormac couldn't believe his ears when he heard that voice. Was that seriously who it sounded like? Lyndon came running down the road and he was hurrying. He reached the ferry, looked down and asked, "Is there room for one more?" The ferryman motioned for him to hurry and climb aboard. He got in and sat down, took a breath and leaned back. Kormac was actually smiling in disbelief. He didn't know whether to be pleased or what, but he was not anticipating for Lyndon to change his mind. Li-Ming on the other hand wore a small smile and she was glad to see Lyndon did have a heart. Unlike what the others seemingly believed.
"Good to see you changed your mind, Lyndon." Li-Ming said.
"Yeah well, turns out that relic was phony and you guys are always adventuring; chances are good I'll find a new treasure."
"You just might."
"What about Leah?" Kormac asked.
No answer at first. Li-Ming had a serious look about her and she looked deep in thought. Li-Ming never did anything without a reason. "She's staying behind. She'll be safer that way."
Smoke hovered above the water and Li-Ming and the others became impatient. They could see the orange coming from the fire of the burning buildings and Li-Ming almost had half a mind to jump out and swim the rest of the way. The boat was moving fast enough and with every passing second, Maghda and her coven were getting closer to the sword piece. They've come too far and too close to lose it now. Li-Ming was so close to getting her answers and she wasn't about to have it tarnished by some witch.
When they got close enough to the dock, Li-Ming jumped from the boat unto the dock and ran straight into the village. Kormac and Lyndon rushed to join her but it was hard to see. Smoke was everywhere and it hurt their eyes. Lyndon was coughing hard and Kormac's nostrils burned. A man came running at them and at first they thought it was one of the cultists but as he got closer they noticed he was but a simple townsman. He was sweating and covered with blood and ash. He had a look of total horror on his face.
"Get out now! They're destroying the town!" The townsman said.
"Wait, wait!" Lyndon shouted, grabbing the man by the arm before he could run away. "Have you seen a young woman run through here? She has black hair in a ponytail and was wearing purple and white. Hard to miss. Have you seen her!?"
"I think I may have seen someone like that running into town. She's trying to help town people but it's no use, they're all dying and we need to leave."
"Just at the dock, you'll see a ferryman! Have him take you to Tristram!" The man nodded and ran.
Chaos was everywhere. People could be seen running and screaming in every direction as their homes and businesses burned to the ground. The cultists killed at random, showing no mercy. They were like animals. Even once their victim was dead, they continued to mutilate the body. Kormac saw a young woman holding on to a screaming child. She was cornered by three of the cultists. She held onto the child and held him close so he couldn't see. She begged for mercy but the cultists only laughed. Kormac ran to her as fast he could. He held his ax up as he ran and with one might blow, cut one of the cultists head clean off. Lyndon wasn't far behind and he shot two arrows into each of their skulls.
Kormac held out his hand to the young woman and while horrified, she slowly took and Kormac helped her to her feet. "Ma'am, are you hurt." She didn't answer. She only stared with hide horrified eyes. Kormac looked down at the child in her arms and asked, "Is this your son?" She nodded. "Get him out of here quickly, do you understand?" She nodded again. "Down by the docks a ferryman man will be there to get you. You'll be safe." The woman reached into her pocket and handed him a necklace with a cross on it. It was for luck and then she left with her son in her arms.
The two ran further into the burning town. The smoke was thick and suffocating and the fires burned hot. Both men were sweating and were covered in ash. They heard a scream come from inside one of the buildings and a man who was caught on fire fell out of a top floor window and died as he fell to the ground. All around them mutilated bodies filled the streets, some with their torso's and stomachs cut wide open and their internal organs spewed about. There was still no sign of Li-Ming and they started to fear the worst. What if she couldn't see and was ambushed by cultists or worse went inside a building to try and help someone and was caught in the inferno. It was worrying but they kept their hopes that Li-Ming was alive.
"It's no use! We'll never find in her in this!" Lyndon said. She tried his best to shield his eyes from the smoke. His eyes hurt and he was tearing up because of the smoke and he was coughing on and off.
"We have to keep trying! Li-Ming is tough, she won't go down without a fight! We gave to keep searching!"
Xxxxx
Li-Ming was running until she heard the cry of a young child nearby. She stopped and looked around trying to pinpoint the source of the crying. She was standing next to a burning Inn and she couldn't exactly tell but she swore that was where the crying was coming from. She took a chance and went inside. The smoke bombarded her and she covered her face from the smoke and heat of the flames. Crying came from the top floor and Li-Ming quickly ran up the steps. Because the wood had gotten so weak her foot fell through one of the steps and she tripped. The smoke was unbearable on the top floor and so she crawled.
"Hello!" Li-Ming shouted. The child did not answer but kept crying. Li-Ming followed the sounds and crawled into a room where she saw a little girl who looked no more than six years old hiding in the closet as she cried. Li-Ming crawled to the young girl and grabbed her arm. The little girl struggled, she was so frightened.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you, sweetheart. I'm going to get you out of here."
"My daddy, where's my daddy!" The little girl cried.
"I don't know, but I'm sure he's looking for you." She doubted it, but she did not have the heart to tell this girl that her father was most likely dead. "I'm Li-Ming, what's your name?"
The little girl wiped her face with her arm and said, "Athena."
"Athena. Well look Athena, I need to get you out of here. Will you come with me?" The little girl was going with her regardless. She wasn't going to leave this child to die. The little girl nodded and Li-Ming picked her up and covered her face with her robe to keep the smoke from getting to her. She walked out of the room trying to be as low as possible so she could breathe and see. A burning support beam from the roof fell and blocked the way to the stairs. "Great!" Li-Ming exclaimed as calmly as she could. She looked around but could see no other way out, but she needed to get Athena to safety so she kept moving.
Li-Ming rounded the corridor and down the hall a bedroom door was open and inside stood a large, blue, ogre like creature. It had a club in its hand and it had someone's arm in the other. It saw Li-Ming with Athena and stood. It was about seven feet tall and it was heading in their direction. Li-Ming saw a window next to her and opened it. The smoke poured from the window and Li-Ming looked down. It wasn't too high so she was surely able to get Athena out. With one arm she held onto Athena and tryed to get her as low as possible.
"Athena, I need you to let go sweetie!"
She looked down and said, "I'm scared!"
Li-Ming looked back inside, the blue creature was almost there. She looked down at Athena and said, "I know it's scary but you have to trust me! I need you to be brave! Be brave for me!" Athena felt encouraged by Li-Ming's words and slowly let go. She fell a few feet and landed. It hurt a little but she was fine. Li-Ming was about to jump down until the creature grabbed Li-Ming by the collar of her robes and pulled her back in before throwing her into a burning wall that crashed as she collided with it and she landed in a bedroom.
Xxxxx
Kormac and Lyndon were running down the streets. Nothing but bodies filled the streets and Kormac grew suspicious. They haven't seen any cultists since the three they killed when they just arrived. Where were all of the others? It made it him feel uncomfortable and his imagination wasn't doing him any favors in that regard.
"Kormac, look!" Lyndon pointed out to a little girl running down the streets. She was terrified and bare feet were covered in the spilled blood of her former neighbors. Lyndon and Kormac ran up to meet her before she could get away. Neither of them wanted her to stray or get lost. There were way too many dangers right now for her to be by herself.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lyndon shouted. He knelt down next to the tired little girl and asked, "What's your name?"
"You have to help! She's in trouble!" The little girl shouted.
"Wait, who?" Lyndon replied.
"Li-Ming!"
This little girl knew where Li-Ming was! Lyndon looked back at Kormac and he stepped up and asked, "Where did you see her? We need to know!"
"She's in the Tavern! Some monster took her!" Lyndon picked up the little girl and they ran in the direction she said. Lyndon felt disgusted with himself. This little girl already had to face the horrors that were happening around her and now they were pulling her back in because she knew Li-Ming's whereabouts. He wanted to puke. This whole situation was out of hand and crowed control was a joke. There was nothing to control, the people were either hiding or dead and they haven't seen any cultists for a while. Where the hell was everyone?
"There! She's in there!" The little girl said and pointed. They were in front of an Inn that was burning beyond control. The flames roared and the windows had all but broken down and the fire raged to get out. If Li-Ming was in there she was in serious danger or probably worse.
"Lyndon, there's no way we can get in there!" Kormac pointed out.
"Well, it's not like that's not obvious!" Lyndon replied smartly.
An explosion happened from inside and Lyndon and Kormac got down. There was no way Li-Ming could be alive in there, or maybe this little girl simply made a mistake. It was possible, she was young with an active imagination and there was chaos happening all around her, she probably got confused.
"Look, honey. What's your name?" Lyndon asked.
"Athena." She replied.
"Athena, are you sure this is the right place?"
Before she could answer Lyndon got his answer another way. A wall on the top floor blew apart and a big blue creature flew out of the hole and into the streets. Kormac recognized Li-Ming when she jumped out completely covered in diamonds after the blue beast. She was shouting, holding her sword high above her head. The monster watched and yelled before Li-Ming's sword pierced its forehead and killed it.
Li-Ming stood, her diamond skin wore off and she sheathed her sword. She looked like a mess. Her hair was down and her robes had been singed and tattered and her armor had cuts going across the side like something tried to scratch her. Athena rushed to Li-Ming's side and hugged her leg. Li-Ming got down and wrapped her arms around the child, hugging her back. She lifted Athena up and said, "See, I knew you could be brave."
"You gave us one heck of a scare." Kormac said. "After you ran off, Lyndon and I weren't sure if we'd be able to find you."
"I'm fully capable of looking out for myself. Besides there were people who needed saving and I wasn't going to wait." Neither men had anything to say in response. She had a point but with everything that was happening even the best warriors would have stuck to being in a group than to just wonder off head first like that.
"Look, this town is ruined and Lyndon and I haven't seen much of anyone. This concerns me."
"When I ran in, I kept seeing people run up the street. Maybe there's a place up there where everyone's taking shelter."
"There's a church up there." Athena pointed. Li-Ming gave Athena a kiss on the cheek and the followed the road. Li-Ming had Athena lay her ahead against her chest to keep her from seeing any of the bodies they ran across. They could see light coming from the church tower window and they hurried even more when they noticed that it too was on fire.
At the base of the temple they saw many cultists standing near the front door attempting to get in. Some of the cultists wore different robes and more elaborate robes and they were casting fire at the church. Before they could do anything, an apparition of Maghda appeared before them. Li-Ming was growing tired of Maghda's cowardice. When the moment presented itself, she was going to make Maghda regret ever going after them.
"Fools!" You cannot keep the sword from me!" Maghda yelled and all of her cultists turned to face them, but they made to attempt to attack just yet. "My servants will burn this church to the ground along with all inside!" Maghda disappeared and the cultists stood, waiting for them to make the first move.
"Athena, listen very carefully. I'm going to set you down and I need you to run and find a place to hide, okay." Li-Ming said. Athena nodded and Li-Ming set her down. Athena hugged Li-Ming one more time before she ran away and hid from the cultists. Li-Ming could feel a rage boiling inside of her. It has been since she first ran into the town and witnessed the slaughter of many innocent lives and now it threatened to spill over.
"Are you boys, ready?" Li-Ming asked.
"Yes." Kormac answered.
"Indeed, although I am far from a boy." Lyndon answered.
The cultists charged and right from the get go it was turning badly for them. Li-Ming went mad. Without her hair up she looked wild. She cut down every cultist that came into range of her without hesitation or regret. Kormac did the same. He was thinking about that woman she saved who was holding her son and it fueled him. He was returning the same brutality they showed her. He broke their bones with his shield with the strength of an ox and cut their flesh with his ax. Lyndon was the most relaxed of the three and his focus was sharp. He took deep breaths and his arrow flew right into the chest of a cultist who tried to flank Li-Ming. Another tried to get behind Kormac but Lyndon shot him in the back three times. He did not care how dirty it was, whatever did the job was enough for him.
"Stop!" A cultist shouted. The group turned around and they saw he was holding Athena with a blade close to her neck. "If any of you make one wrong move, I will cut this little ones throat, you understand!" Li-Ming tightened her grip on her sword. She clenched her teeth and tried to think of some way to save her. "You! Archer! Drop your weapon first!" The cultists ordered.
He did not and the cultist pressed his knife closer to Athena's throat. Li-Ming looked him and the eye and saw a question. A question she couldn't vocalize for fear the cultist would kill Athena but it was there. He knew what she was pleading.
He didn't have much time to focus, he aimed for the cultists head, took a breath when he was confident he fired and the arrow flew and shot the cultist right in between the eyes and he fell. Athena screamed and Li-Ming ran straight for her. Lyndon took a deep breath. Kormac walked up behind him and gave him a slap on the shoulder. Lyndon's heart raced, he was so scared that he might hit Athena but there was no time to think of another plan and he was relieved that their first plan worked.
Li-Ming got on one knee, hugged Athena tightly and gave her a little on the lips. The church door opened and a priest stepped out. He and all who were inside walked over to them and applauded them. They had watched outside from the window and they were happy to have been saved from their attackers.
A man barged and pushed through the crowed, "Athena! Athena!"
"Daddy!" Li-Ming walked Athena to her father and grabbed Athena immediately and planted small kisses all over her face. Li-Ming was happy to see that Athena's father was alive after she had doubted that he was. Her father held her tightly and cried, happy to have his daughter back, alive and well.
"Thank you so much, miss. I cannot tell you enough how thankful I am."
Li-Ming smiled and bowed her head. The priest stepped up, heads behind his back and said, "Yes, we are all thankful for what you have done. Tell us what brought you guys here?"
"We seek a sword piece that fell from the sky. It glows with a powerful magic. Do you know of it?" Li-Ming replied.
"Ah, yes I do. We found it weeks ago. I wish we'd never brought it here then maybe all of this could have been avoided. Come, we have it locked in the cellar. We will be glad to be rid of it." The old priest led them to the cellar door and opened it for them. They walked in and instantly Lyndon was feeling off.
"Something isn't right here." Lyndon said.
They made their way through the carpeted corridor and opened the door to the next room only to find that another apparition of Maghda was waiting for them and the sword piece was gone.
"Maghda!" Li-Ming shouted.
"While you were on your hero's errand here. I captured all three sword pieces and your friends. How does it make you feel? To have come so close, only to fail in the end. It must be enraging." Maghda laughed.
"Maghda! You worthless, sadistic, bitch! Show yourself!" Li-Ming charged but Maghda had disappeared and Li-Ming ran into the table. She pounded her fist against the concrete and feared for Leah. "We need to get back to the shore." Li-Ming said and she ran and the other two followed. She ran through the still burning town and through the bloody streets until she came to the shore. The ferryman had not returned yet. Li-Min pulled her hair and started to panic. What can she do? Wait, She knew what she can do. It was tricky but if she focused hard enough she could make it.
"Li-Ming, what are you doing?" Kormac asked.
"Stand back!" she ordered. She imagined Tristram in her head, every street corner, every building and every stall. When she had it she ran and vanished in a ball of light, leaving Kormac and Lyndon behind.
When she landed Li-Ming was in a lot of pain. She never tried teleporting that far and it hurt a lot. She couldn't think about the pain and so she got up and ran straight for Deckard Cain's home. The town square was full of people. Outside the house was Rumford's body and Li-Ming stopped in her tracks. She fell to her knees and crawled to the Captain's body. The chest plate to his armor had been crushed and he had blood coming from his mouth. She placed her ear near his heart but she could not hear it. Her eyes were stinging with tears that threatened to fall but she wouldn't allow it, not now. She got back up and opened the door to Deckard's home, hoping they would be okay at least but was only met with more tragedy.
Leah was crying over her uncle's body, holding him close. The sword was now in one piece but the Stranger was missing. "She took him." Leah said.
"What?" Li-Ming replied.
"Maghda took The Stranger." Li-Ming was on the verge of a meltdown. What was happening? They had everything under control. Maghda used Wortham as distraction and it worked. How could she had been so stupid! How could she not see this coming! She had all of it, everything under control! Why did this have to happen this way! "I hope you're pleased with yourself." Leah said. "My uncle believed in you. He repaired the sword as you wanted only to die in the end?"
Li-Ming's heart raced and she felt her legs growing weak. "Leah, please understand…" She said in weak voice before Leah interrupted her.
"NO, YOU UNDERSTAND! None of this would have ever happened if it wasn't for you! If you weren't here my uncle would still be alive, but you couldn't leave it alone, could you? You're so obsessed with yourself that you couldn't think about what all of this was doing to elderly man! The moment Maghda first appeared we should have abandoned all of this but you just couldn't allow it!"
"Leah, I…" She tried to get a word out but it was impossible. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Leah was blaming her for what happened. But why? She did everything she could save the people of Tristram and her uncle. None of this was her fault. Was it? No! Of course it wasn't! It couldn't be.
Leah sprung to her feet and pushed Li-Ming out the door. "Get out of here!" Li-Ming couldn't move. She only stood there wide eyed, wondering what was going on. "I said move! Go on, get out of here!"
Li-Ming looked around and suddenly felt exposed. Everyone in Tristram was staring at her and she couldn't tell what they must have thought about her now. She couldn't tell if they pitied her or if they also blamed her for what happened. She couldn't tell which one she would have preferred. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked away, leaving Leah and Tristram behind.
xxxxx
"Can't you make this thing go any faster?" Lyndon asked. The ferryman shook his head no. He was trying to remain calm. Someone had too. It's not easy going back and forth across a body of water over and over again to collect people and bring them to safety. "Try at least, would you? We're in a hurry." The ferryman only went as fast as he was comfortable with. The bout was old and wobbly in areas. He wanted to be gentle with it.
Refugees from Wortham sat at the docks and the town's folk and guards tended to their needs. They had been stuck in Wortham for too long after Li-Ming left them there and they were very tired. They had a long walk from the Drowned Temple only to come back and find the neighboring town was under attack. People should forgive them for being so cranky but things only got worse when someone told them what happened and they headed straight for Deckard's home.
Leah placed her uncle's body in his bed a little after she forced Li-Ming away but now she wished she had her wisdom. She felt so stupid. The one person who would care enough to help her through all of this was the person she pushed away and now she didn't know what to do. She didn't even know where Li-Ming was or if she was ever coming back, and that thought worried her more. She tried to clear her mind as Li-Ming would have suggested but it was hard. The man who raised her, who she saw as her father was gone and was never coming back. How can she clear her mind when she lost the most important person in her life?
She heard the door open and heard two sets of footsteps walk in, she lifted her head and saw Kormac and Lyndon come around the corner. She got up from the chair she was sitting in and wrapped her arms around Kormac who did the same to her. "What happened, Leah? Where's Li-Ming?"
"I-I was angry. I didn't know who to blame so I blamed her so I told her to leave. I-I think I hurt her. I would go look for her but I don't know where she is."
"Shhh. You're not going to go anywhere. Lyndon will find Li-Ming."
"And, how exactly do you propose I do that?" Lyndon asked.
"Do you know where the Old Tristram ruins are?
"Yeah, they up the road a bit. Past the bridge."
"That's where she is most likely. She goes there sometimes to be alone when she needs to think. I am sure she's there."
Lyndon waved his hand and understood. Before he could leave Leah said, "Lyndon? If you find her, please tell I said I was sorry and that I want her to come back."
"Will do." He replied then left the house but before he could leave, he needed to make a stop at the Slaughtered Calf Inn.
Xxxxx
She was mad! Li-Ming laid the ruins of Old Tristram to waste in her fury and rage. She destroyed whole houses and kicked, pushed, threw, punched and shoved anything she could. How could this be happening to her again? First Isendra with Lut Bahadur and now this. Was she cursed? If not, that's what it felt like and now Leah had pushed her away and she had nowhere to go and no leads on the whereabouts of The Stranger. Damn it all to hell! Li-Ming pounded the ground with her fist, trying desperately to keep to herself from crying. She needed to sort all of this out. She pounded her head with her fists in frustration.
Xxxxx
Whoever owned the Slaughtered Calf Inn was sur in for a treat when he noticed his most expensive bottle of rum was missing. It always made him laugh. Lyndon was half way to the old ruins and hoped to god Li-Ming wasn't in a murderous mood. He was way too tired and he didn't think he would be able to react in time if Li-Ming decided to attack him. It was ludicrous obviously since Li-Ming dedicated herself to helping others but she wasn't beyond brutality.
He made to the steps leading up to the ruins but what he saw intrigued him. It was only for an instant but he knew it was there. He saw quick little flashes of golden light coming from the ruins. His only guess it was Li-Ming venting and he hesitated to go up there, but he had come all the way out here to find her and he wasn't about to turn back now. The ruins were exactly like he thought they would be, ruined, alongside of being old. He no longer saw the quick sparks of light anymore, so now it was matter of trying to find which building she was hiding in.
He had all night and so he looked inside each and every single building as he passed them. He came across an old house that was mostly missing aside from a few walls and part of the second story floor and he found Li-Ming sitting against a wall on the floor with a blank face. She looked defeated and it was sad to see this proud confident in such a state.
He coughed to get her attention but she did not react. He walked in front of her and got down. She moved her eyes to look at him finally and said, "What do you want?"
"I think you ought to know, Leah says she is sorry and that she wants you to come back."
Li-Ming forged a smile on her face and she felt some part of her energy to move come back. "It's such a mess isn't it?"
He sat down next to her and said, "Yep. Things certainly could have gone better."
She chuckled. "I'm not going to stand for this. Maghda, will pay for what she has done."
"How about we focus on finding out where she is first." He pulled the bottle of rum from his inside jacket pocket and said, "Here. A little something to make you feel better."
"Did you steal this?" She said taking the bottle and twisting the cap off.
"Yeah, but no one was tending to the bar so I helped myself." They both chuckled this time and Li-Ming took a big gulp of the spicy liquid and handed it to Lyndon and he took a few swigs as well.
"Thank you." She said to him.
"Hey, a little bit of the hair of the dog that bit you never hurts."
They were quiet for a moment then Li-Ming said. "If it's all the same to you. I think I'll accept that shoulder rub."
"Are you serious?" She must be joking. She made her position very clear when he brought it up to her a few days ago when they were out in the woods. What changed?
"I'm very stressed. I need something to help me calm down."
"Alright." Li-Ming sat in front of him with her back facing towards him. She removed her robes and the best thing about her armor was her shoulders were already exposed so there were no further complications. Lyndon cracked his knuckles, rolled his sleeves up and warmed up his hands before he started rubbing Li-Ming's shoulders.
"You have soft skin by the way." He said.
"Don't get any funny ideas." He chortled and continued to rub. Li-Ming was becoming less tense and she honestly couldn't figure out why she had never had a massage before. It was has he said, relaxing. "You are good at this." She commented.
"What can I say? I know how to treat the ladies."
"Don't flatter yourself. Once you're finished, take me back to Tristram. I want to know how Leah is doing." She couldn't stop thinking about how Leah acted and it really got to head. But what made it worse was that she couldn't do anything to try and help her. She was happy that Leah had forgiven her and she was happy Lyndon was nice enough to tell her. They're job was far from finished. It wouldn't be until Maghda was dead.
I don't have a lot to say at the moment, other than I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We're getting close to a lot of parts that I can't wait to get too because I think they'll be pretty interesting and they're just a bunch of things I'm taking from the game that I have figured out a way to incorporate into the story in a way I think is cool. So I'm signing off for now and I'll try to be back with another chapter soon.