Okay, before we go sticking bamboo into my fingernails, I want you all to know I am sorry for the wait. My excuse this time is I bought Fallout 4 and all prospects of a productive future came to a grinding halt. So in hopes of making up for it, I have a decently sized chapter this time for you all to enjoy. Now I need to prepare my bleach bath so that I never keep you all waiting again.

For most times and most ordinary people, there was always an occasion where someone wanted to be alone. This normally happened when someone was having a rough day and didn't want to handle the drama and hassle of everyday life that could be annoying when your day was particularly bad, but Leah was having second thoughts. Before Li-Ming, Kormac and hell, even Lyndon left to look for The Stranger, Leah thought she could use some alone time but, she sat on her uncle's old chair in the darkness of the house and figured she would like some company. She didn't exactly want to talk to anyone at the moment but just knowing that someone else was around would be nice.

Leah looked out the window above the kitchen sink and a daze consumed her with each little raindrop that hit the window. The rain was slow but the sky was dark and thunder clapped the sky. Days like this would have been soothing and relaxing and Leah would light some candles and read a book in content, silence with the only sounds being that of the rain hitting the house and the deep rumbling of thunder and lightning, but not today. Leah had no energy to do anything and only sat there, alone, in the dark with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company until her friends came back – alive she hoped.

As much as Leah didn't want to, she couldn't help but not think back to when she was little; when she would sit on the floor next to the fire place while her uncle Deckard told her stories of the lore's and myths he studied. Leah pinned these moments as the reason why she always loved days like these, but again, not today. Today it was weird. The sounds of the storm coaxed her into a state of relaxation but the trigger memories it brought forth only served to deepen her sadness.

It's funny the kind of things you convince yourself of when you're sure of something and these kinds of things happened to Leah a lot. But, she didn't want to feel what she was feeling right now ever again. Specifically, a lonely feeling mixed in with an anxious pull in your gut like you're sure something bad is going to happen and no matter how much you try to distract yourself from it, you find it impossible to ignore and it just keeps poking you like a mischievous child. Leah thinks that maybe if she spends more time helping Li-Ming and the others instead of watching from the sidelines than maybe she may be able to prevent this feeling from returning. Maybe now that the only reason she had for staying in Tristram was gone now than maybe she may accompany Li-Ming on her journey. It was a lot to think about and There was no real telling if Li-Ming would allow it for various reasons but no matter what, Leah didn't want to stay in Tristram anymore.

Xxxxx

The Khazra freckled the Northern Highlands and why was unknown because they tended to stick in groups and showed some signs of being at least semi competent in organization, but it wasn't long after they left the spider infested caves that they continuously ran into rag tag groups of Khazra or some that were on their own.

Lyndon was hiding among the braches of a tree observing a goatman settlement as best he could, the shadows casted by the rain clouds made it difficult to see things in greater detail but he could make out signs of a fight that happened shortly before they arrived and by the looks the Khazra had taken the beating. The settlement was surrounded by a wall made of trunks cut from sizable trees that had been the unfortunate victim in some kind of explosion, judging by the size of a chunk missing from the wall. That and a small crater and the remnants from parts of the wall that were scattered throughout a small radius.

A few fires lingered on the wall and some on the ground caused by what made the explosion, but they were small and didn't appear to be growing. Lyndon and Kormac think they had seen enough of fire for one day after what happened in the caves earlier that day.

The damnedest thing about this was the wall was guarding a narrow passage way to Leoric's hunting grounds that showed to be the shortest way there, it was either this or take a long route. The truth they were facing however was that even if he and The Templar unanimously agreed to take the long route – Li-Ming most likely would not be convinced.

"Anything worth noting?" Kormac asked at the bottom of the tree.

Lyndon peered to the left and he could make out a goatman who stood out. He was big with white fur. The creature wore a red or some sort of scarlet type cape and was gripping an ax very tightly. It was pointing and hissing in some odd language that Lyndon could not care enough to be interested in what they could possibly be saying. All he could tell was that this white goatman looked pissed, probably a result of the battle they apparently lost.

"Well…" Lyndon scratched the back of his head before continuing. "They appear to be rallying what's left and, there is one who looks to be leading the effort."

"A shaman?" Kormac was peaking passed the bushes and while he did not have the field of vision the Lyndon held right now he could still see what he was seeing and Kormac had never seen a Khazra by the likes which they were looking at.

"Uh, doesn't look like any shaman I've seen."

"Gah!" The mysteries never stop coming. "Hey, what's taking Li-Ming so long? She should have been back by now."

Lyndon didn't give an answer. He knew the question to be rhetorical, but he was beginning to wonder the same thing. She had left to circle around saying she wanted to see if she could find anything that related to this incident that could give them an idea of who the attackers were. They first assumed cultists but, none of them thought that the cultists would have the brass to take on fully grown goatmen. Especially in an area where they had a dense population.

"Hmmm, she could have been captured." Lyndon said more nonchalantly than Kormac liked.

"You're kidding! After what you have seen what Li-Ming is capable of do you honestly think she would be that foolish?"

"She has proven herself to be hasty when it suited her. Regardless of what the outcome could be."

Damn! Lyndon had a good point there. But, still. Kormac didn't believe Li-Ming would allow herself to be captured. She was far too fond of herself to let that happen. And, even if she was, her magic would see to it that she got away before any harm could come to her. That, Kormac was certain of. He'd bet his vows on that any day.

A few minutes later Li-Ming finally made her way back to the guys, looking none too pleased with herself. Her search must have left her empty handed.

"Nothing?" Kormac asked.

"Nothing." She echoed. "Not a single damned thing. It's like whoever did this just upped and disappeared! I had suspicions that it could have been Maghda herself. Even if it doesn't fit her repertoire – she was the only one I could think of who would have the skill to do this. But, I felt no traces of her disgusting magic anywhere!"

"Did you see anything else? Like maybe another way around these guys."

"I did, and came up nil. That pathway is the way we need to go if we want to get to Leoric's manner quickly."

Lyndon climbed down from the tree and Li-Ming raised her eyebrow when he came to ground level. "How long have you been up there?" She asked.

"Long enough to eat a squirrel," He joked. "And, get a good look at what we're facing."

"You guys have seen the Albino too I assume."

"Yeah!" Both men answered at the same time. "And," Kormac continued. "He isn't in an agreeable mood."

Li-Ming shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, what's a bit of adventure without a little danger."

Xxxxx

The Albino stomped across the pathway. Each step he took a loud huff of his nostrils warned the others to keep their space. One made the mistake of not moving out of the way in time and was violently pushed out of the way. The lower Khazra slowly and fearfully picked itself back up and moved away from its Alpha.

A thud sounded when it placed its hands against the wooden doors of a make shift enclosure that was originally meant for traps, but now only served as a pit for the bodies of their dead. The beast huffed louder and louder with increasing anger. The sight of its dead Khazra sons, each born from a strong mate and were training to be strong, now laid amongst the bodies.

A human, clad in black with the gift of great agility and speed was to blame for this. Humans were always such nasty creatures. They killed and took whatever they wanted. They took too much from their lands and they will be made to suffer as they were now in time.

The shaman was dead. The Shaman was weak. But he, he was strong. He was a leader worth having and would lead these khazra to a new beginning and would revolt against the humans responsible for their pain. He would bring a new generation of Khazra of only the strongest in the lands and all too weak to fight back will perish beneath the pounding of their mighty hooves.

Xxxxx

The Khazra that was the victim of the Albino's abuse made itself scarce amongst its clan and kept guard at the ruined front gate and watched as a few of its brothers and sisters picked up their dead from the battle field.

It looked towards the ground and casually scraped the ground with its hoof. It heard something wisp through the air and smack into something. The Khazra stood attentive and saw one of its brothers on the ground with an arrow in its neck.

Lyndon eyed the goatman standing guard at the gate and fired an arrow right into its eye socket before it had time to alert the other goatmen. The animal whined and pulled the arrow free but Lyndon followed up with two more arrows in its broad neck.

Kormac snuck behind two others just some ways down from the main gate and grabbed one by the head and snapped its neck. The extra strength provided by the jewel that Li-Ming had given was indeed proved most helpful when the other Khazra attacked but Kormac strafed out of the way, grabbed its horn and pulled the beast to the ground. Kormac then jumped on it, grabbed the monsters jaw and pulled its jaw apart.

Last and not Least, Li-Ming's attack was the alarm setter as she casted a red and purple beam from her hands. Her energy disintegrated all it touched and cut the Khazra's wall in half like a knife onto butter. She bottle-necked the gateway as best she could so that any assaulting Khazra were stopped dead in their tracks.

Any Khazra that jumped from the wall in the hopes of being able to escape danger so they could attack, soon found their efforts to be fruitless. Kormac was standing by the wall, waiting for any trying to escape Li-Ming's scorching energy beam and sunk his ax into their flesh and Lyndon gave back up fire with his bow so none could sneak up on Kormac.

The albino rushed down the pathway in a mighty rage, pushing away Khazra that stood in his path. He eyed Kormac and with one jump, he hurled himself over what was left of their now destroyed wall. Kormac looked up in time and rolled out of the Albino's way. He picked himself back up to block a blow from the albino with his shield.

The two stared each other down and the albino huffed then pushed Kormac with all its might. Kormac pushed back but the albino proved stronger and Kormac's feet slid against the dirt. Kormac managed to stop himself from sliding further and the albino resorted to bashing its head against his shield repeatedly. It was trying to make Kormac stagger, but Lyndon shot two arrows and one stuck into the monster's right bicep. It did not make it stop.

Li-Ming was in a difficult position. She would have helped Kormac but her focus was on the main gate and Kormac was in the way of the albino and she wasn't about to risk hitting him.

Damn it to hell!

Lyndon ran out from his hiding place and rushed in closer to Kormac and the albino. He stopped and aimed his bow. Waiting to get the right shot. The albino changed tactics. It grabbed Kormac's shield and pulled hard enough to make Kormac land on his belly and that's when Lyndon saw his chance. He let go of the string and the arrow found its place in the albino's back.

The beast glared at Lyndon and forgot about Kormac and Kormac grabbed the albino's leg and pulled, causing it to fall as well.

In that moment, the scale of the battle tipped in their favor and Li-Ming succeeded in pushing the Khazra back enough for her to change spells. She placed her hands together and a surge of energy rushed through her being. The clouds churned and twisted above the she had created and energy twister. Unlike the one she used against the undead in the Old Tristram ruins, this one was big and way more dangerous, but she was able to direct a course for it along the narrow pathway where it would devastate everything that was unlucky enough to be to close.

Xxxxx

In Tristram, people looked towards the highlands where they saw the twister be formed. Lightening danced around it and the people were at awe at the show. Leah, hearing all of the commotion outside, stepped out from the house and looked where the towns attention was focused. Her eyes widened and she immediately knew that what they were watching was Li-Ming's handy work and as did the rest of Tristram.

"What is the troublesome wizard up too." One of the towns people said.

"She's probably trying to help someone over there." Another said.

"Humph! More like causing more problems if you ask me."

Leah hadn't the energy to speak in Li-Ming's defense. All she could do was stand there and hope that Li-Ming knew what she was doing. Be careful, guys. Leah thought to herself.

She never much believed in the possibility of a high power, but if there was one she hoped it would see to it that her friends will make it through alive and well.

Xxxxx

Getting a running start, Lyndon assaulted the albino. He jumped on the creatures back, with his trusty dagger and jammed the thing in the creature's shoulder blade. The albino howled. It reached behind it's shoulders and grabbed him and then slammed him into the ground. Lyndon screamed and he had the wind knocked out of him.

Kormac grabbed the dagger from the albinos back and cut it across its back. The albino turned and Kormac got another cut in across its face. The albino growled.

The twister stopped.

Kormac looked past the albino to where Lyndon laid on the ground. He was in rough shape and he was still trying to get a hold of his breath. Damn, this thing was tough! Kormac wanted to get Lyndon out of there. He prayed that the albino wouldn't wise up and use Lyndon as a hostage.

And, his prayer was answered.

Unbeknownst to the albino, a purple light flashed quickly and a sword pierced its way through the animal's torso. The albino screamed and craned its neck to see Li-Ming standing there, gripping the handle of the sword tightly with a smirk on her face.

"You know for a beast…you're pretty skilled." The albino stared silently as Li-Ming spoke. "But, you never had a chance of winning to begin with."

Electricity surged through Li-Ming's body and through the sword. The albino roared and howled as it was electrocuted. Its body convulsed and the creature pulled forward, agonizingly freeing itself. It fell to its knees and breathed heavily. Blood seeped and dripped across its hand as it covered its wound. It had lost. It no longer had the energy to fight. Li-Ming's attack had done it in.

"Kill me!" It said.

Li-Ming and Kormac looked at one another and Lyndon got up on one knee and the same thought went through all of their minds. It could speak their language.

"Kill me!"

A long time ago, Kormac recited a code of conduct that he took to heart more than anything else. Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, "If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven." Such is the rule of honor. To him. There was nothing purer. He had repeated that code many times in his tenure and he believed that this Khazra had proven itself worthy of it. It may not have lived by the same code, but regardless, Kormac believed it deserved a death worthy of it.

"Let me." Kormac held out his hand for Li-Ming's sword and she handed it to him. He held it above the albino Khazra's neck and nodded to it. You are worthy. Warrior of the Khazra. With one swing of the sword the creatures head dropped from its body. The body fell forward and blood soaked the ground beneath it.

He handed the sword back to Li-Ming and she begrudgingly took it back from him. It was stained with the Khazra's blood and she took a rag from her satchel and wiped it clean.

"How are you doing?" Kormac asked Lyndon, holding his hand out to him.

"Terrific! Next silly question."

"Don't be smart." Kormac replied, pulling Lyndon to his feet. "Anything broken?"

Lyndon felt around his body and from the feel of things nothing seemed wrong, all things considered. "No. No, I think I am still in one piece."

"We'll take a better look at you when we have the time, okay." Li-Ming said. When she had seen what happened to him, she was genuinely worried about the danger he was in. She couldn't tell how injured he was when she saw it happen and she was glad to see that he seemed to be doing okay.

"Honestly, I'm fine. I've got a splitting headache but that's it."

"If you say so. Come on. Let's get moving before any more Khazra show up."

The snake like pathway was completely obliterated by Li-Ming's spell. Chunks of wood protruded from the ground and dead Khazra laid in disarray. It was like walking into a true warzone and stumbling across the aftermath where nothing but the bodies and signs of battle were left.

It served as a reminder to Kormac that ugly things like this happened all of the time. It was one of the harshest truths of reality that he forced himself to accept.

Xxxxx

The day has been so dreadfully boring. Why Maghda deemed it necessary to keep this abandoned, broken down, church under their guard he would never know. They were unstoppable by now. They had the angel and that wizard, whoever she was, was no match for Maghda. The cultist laughed to himself thinking about how abysmal the wizard's attempts have been and will continue to be. He hoped that when Maghda was done with her that he and his men would be able to have their way with her first before they executed her. It's been a while.

He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in the manner that always showed ambivalence towards everything and looked over to his men who were helping themselves to playing some cards. This was the most mundane the life of a cultist could get and it really was quite frustrating. They were servants of a great demon lord and this is what they were doing! It was pathetic.

At least it soon wouldn't be too bad. They saw that twister appear seemingly out of nowhere and they knew the wizard was approaching. Soon the day was about to get a lot more interesting.

Little did the cultist know of the woman in the black hooded cloak hiding behind a wall of the broken down church, with her weapon ready for an attack. If the Khazra were unable to stop her then what chance did these foolish murderers have?

Xxxxx

Li-Ming fired an arcane missile and the magic hit a Khazra in the back and killed it. Things had been going fine since the attack at the Khazra settlement until they encountered a small hunting party.

Lyndon was keeping his distance and fired his bow with lethal efficiency. This was becoming the rouotine. Li-Ming and Kormac in the front lines while Lyndon stayed back and gave covering fire. It was effective for now. Li-Ming and Kormac kept the enemy away from Lyndon and should the enemy get to close he was ready to go hand to hand.

Kormac sunk his ax in the neck of the last Khazra and it made a sick, wet, squelching sound as he pulled his ax out of the Khazra's body.

"Come on! We have no time to waste." Li-Ming commanded.

The moment that Leoric's manner was in sight, Li-Ming had increased their pace and they have hardly slowed down since then. They were close! They were so damned close! Li-Ming could feel her hands tremble. It was her motivation that fueled her adrenaline. Soon so very soon, she was finally going to have her answers. And, her revenge on Maghda.

Kormac and Lyndon followed behind as best they could. They were only a few steps behind Li-Ming and had no troubles navigating through the grasslands, stopping if only for a few seconds to a minute before running again.

The sun was on its way down and dusk was approaching when they finally made to a stone bridge adorned with the statues of winged Lions on the railings, and beyond it, stood Leoric's manor in all of its terrible glory.

Kormac tightened the strap that held The Strangers sword for reassurance that it was tight and that it would stay.

The Courtyard was floored with old marble stones. The walls of the manor were covered in vines that housed newly bloomed flowers. Adding a since of beauty to the grim, Gothic façade of the castle. The flower beds hide a varied assortment of exotic flowers.

Two statues of men clad in bulky armor, holding their axes at their feet stood sentinel at the front doors which to all of their surprise were open. How foolish for the cultists to invite them in so easily. Li-Ming soot on either ends of the door and Lyndon stood behind Li-Ming. They listened and heard nothing. They coast seemed clear and so Kormac held his ax readily and Lyndon had an arrow against his bow's string, pinched between his fingers and they went in.

A stone stairwell covered in an old, moth eaten carpet greeted their entry. Li-Ming and Kormac had a feeling of Déjà vu, since the castle looked similar to the crypts where they had first met. When Kormac was being tortured by the cultists.

The main hall was only a shadow of what it once was. Most of the left side had been completely caved in while the right side only had but a few of its old statues still in one piece.

Moss covered the corners and crevices of the walls and also wrapped itself around the many stone pillars and columns that stood on either end of the hall. A balcony sat over them to a room none could see from where they were standing.

A bigger stairwell awaited them with the same winged lion statues on either end, only these ones were bigger and more detailed. Atop the first ten steps sat a statue of King Leoric himself dressed in what looked like the same armor he was wearing when Li-Ming and Kormac had fought him, but now he looked human, but there still wasn't something right about it. His expression looked…defeated. His sad a solemn expression painted the image of a man who was once a warm and caring man who after much strife, finally gave in to the torments that Diablo had beseeched upon him.

The stairwell separated into two different pathways upward, but the one on the right had been caved in with boulders that were too big to move by hand. Li-Ming could easily blast her way through them, but for obvious reasons she wasn't going to do that. There would be no point anyway since the stairwell on the left was still accessible.

Lightined flashed outside, followed by the sounds of thunder clapping seconds after. The stairway lead them to a corridor that was blocked of by large chunks of rubble but there was a room to their right that lead to another room. The place was like a small maze. But, one most easy to pass.

Finally, to their left was a door where they heard the sounds of a heating discussion making themselves known. Li-Ming and the guys slowly and quietly opened the door and crawled on their knees to the railing so as not to be spotted by the cultists that stood below them.

Below them was a cultist on his knees pleading to Maghda, or another apparition of Maghda. Damn her and her Illusions! Damned coward!Many other cultists stood behind him, like he was on trial and they were waiting to pass final judgement. The cultist recounted the events of Wortham in great detail, apparently, having been one to have survived that most terrible night and tried his best to explain his failure to Maghda.

"She was unstoppable! No mortal could slaughter our brethren with such ease!" He was desperate. He had been locked up in the Leoric's dungeon since his return and had not eaten or drunken anything since. He was so hungry. He needed Maghda to see reason.

Personally, Li-Ming felt flattered by his compliments.

"Is there anything else?" Maghda asked.

One of the other cultists stepped forward and said, "Ma'am. Some of the others have said there is another warrior lurking about. Not any of the wizard's friends. We do not know who this fighter is, but they have proven to be just as dangerous."

"Then die well. Master Belial will award your sacrifice." Maghda said before she disappeared. Personally she believed she was condemning the all to die for their failure to stop the wizard, but she did not make the rules.

"I believe it is time to kill more cultists." Li-Ming whispered to neither of the men in particular.

"After you." Lyndon said.

In a flash, Li-Ming vanished into a haze of purple light and reappeared in the center of the group of cultists. Before they had much of a chance to do anything Li-Ming swiped her hand down towards the floor and ice spread in all directions freezing most of the cultists in their place. Then she raised her arms high above her with her hands spread open and a wave of force pulsed from her body and broke the frozen cultists into many thousands of pieces.

She was using a lot of arcane power since they started the journey. She was going to waste no time in trying to use her magic sparingly. She was in too much of a hurry.

Kormac jumped from the balcony and killed three of the cultists that Li-Ming missed to her right and Lyndon shot one cultist in the head and another in the in the shoulder.

Li-Ming jumped at the chance to interrogate the cultist. She jumped on him and used her knees to pin his arms to the ground. She knocked off the cultists head gear, grabbed him by the collar and shouted, "Where is The Stranger? The man in rags?

The cultist spit in her face and Li-Ming felt a surge of disgust crash over her and her left eye started twitching. She took his sleeve and wiped his saliva away. She then grabbed the arrow in his shoulder and twisted it. The cultist's face contorted and he screamed. "I'm going to keep doing this until you tell me where he is!" Li-Ming twisted and stirred the arrow and the cultist tried to get her off of him but with his arms pinned there was little he could do.

Kormac and Lyndon stood back and watched not really knowing what to think. Both did not feel sympathy for the cultist who Li-Ming was currently torturing but just knowing that Li-Ming was willing to commit to such shows of force was mind boggling. Kormac, having fought alongside her the longest never would have guessed.

"Please…stop!" The cultist screamed.

"Spill it!"

"In the dungeons below us! He's in the dungeons! Just outside to the left there will be a stairwell that will lead you there. Now please!"

Li-Ming calmly got up and the cultist panted in relief more than anything. Before he could get up Li-Ming kicked him in the face, making him unconscious.

"Li-Ming, I never thought you to have that kind of thing in you." Lyndon said.

She chuckled. "Where I am from – those who have committed the worst offenses towards his fellow man are forced to undergo worse than that." She said nothing more and left her comrades there to wonder what sort of things happened to such people. Kormac was familiar with many different torture methods, but he wasn't aware of which ones hailed from Xiansai. Lyndon simply didn't want to know.

A stairwell stood outside as the cultists had told them and sure enough it lead to the lower levels of the castle. None of them knew what horrors awaited them inside or what terrible things they may see, but one thing was certain. The Stranger was down there and this may be their only chance of getting him back. So they readied themselves, opened the doors and walked inside, into Leoric's dungeons.

First off I would like to thank Runty Grunty for your review. Each time I read what you all have to say iit makes me feel so good inside. And, I truly mean that.

Can you feel it. Oh I can. The next chapter will be exciting. We'll finally know who The Woman in Black is. Although I'm sure some of you have already wagered your guesses, so next chapter we'll see who was right.

Not only will we learn who The Woman in Black is but we will also meet the new permanent character that I mentioned in previous annotations as well. I hope you all will like it when I reveal who it is.

Man we're almost done with Tristram after almost a whole year of writing this story. In a few more weeks will be a whole year and I am still not close to done. But, I will continue to kick myself in the ass to finish this all the way. I don't care if I some lose all of my fingers. I will pound my face into the keyboard if that is what it took. Lol. Anyway, I have some things I must go take care of and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will try to be back with another one very soon, hopefully. PEACE!