Personally, there is nothing more satisfying as writer then getting to a part that you couldn't wait to get too. I have been anticipating writing this one for quite a bit now and god it feels good. I sincerely hope I did a great job with this and I hope you all get a kick out of this one. This is a very plot heavy chapter with things I took from the game and hopefully used them in a creative manner that you all will find interesting. Please, oh please enjoy.
No matter where you go, the places you see and the buildings you glance at have their own sense of a personality attached to them. Leoric's manor, for example had an air of something that was once great until it became dark and grim and the exterior symbolized that perfectly. The insides were much darker. From the moment they entered the Halls of Agony, there was an uneasiness that followed them all. A since of constant dread veiled over their minds.
These dungeons were hot. Li-Ming swallowed and she felt sweat trickle down her neck. It was like walking into the intestines of a hungry beast.
The architecture was strange. Sloppily constructed metal grills stood erect on the railings to their right and each one had five jagged, curved tips that reached out like hands that threatened to grab anyone who walked beneath them. The pathway they walked was only the second floor to a more massive room. The could see past the railings to the second floor. Looking down made Kormac dizzy so he backed away and refrained from looking down again. What they saw down there was numerous torture devices; each one looking just as painful as the other.
The cultists had utilized these dungeons well. Each torch was lit. Thick sheets of smoke rose from grates in the wall. That explained the absurd heat. There were furnaces here and who knows what kinds of painful torture methods the cultists used them for. The fires of the torches and furnaces gave the halls a more hellish appearance. The walls were orange and red because of all the fires. It was like they were in a whole other world.
Li-Ming, having lived in Caldeum for most of her life, was very used to temperatures like this. In fact, she had a little trick she liked to use to keep herself comfortable in extreme heat. She would cast a thin lair of frost around herself that would keep herself cool. Her old master never liked it when she would use so brazenly out in the open. She could never gather as to why when it was one of the most harmless things she could do with her magic.
Here though she found no need to use it. The heat in Halls of Agony was hardly comparable to Caldeum's desert landscapes.
When she was last there, the droughts drank all water from the villages and countless people died from dehydration, starvation and heat stroke. Some suffered from third degree sun burns that made their skin blister and swell.
"Hold on, you guys." Li-Ming said. There was a split corridor in front of them and one lead to the lower level while the other one went straight with a discernable left turn ahead.
"What do you think guys? Maybe we should split up?" Kormac suggested. Since the Festering Woods they made it a habit to stick together but this wasn't a wood possessed by some kind of dark entity.
"Excellent idea, my friend!" Lyndon exclaimed. "You can search the lower level, while you and I…" He walked to Li-Ming and placed his arm around her shoulder. "Can search this level together." He gave her a wink.
xxxxx
Li-Ming searched the lower tier by herself while Kormac and Lyndon searched the top floor. "You two are no fun." Lyndon said to Kormac.
"I don't know what you thought was going to happen. Li-Ming has made her positions against you quite clear."
Lyndon sighed dramatically. "It is so sad to see a man who doesn't understand women."
"It isn't about understanding women, Lyndon. This is about understanding Li-Ming." Kormac couldn't even find the energy to be disgusted with Lyndon anymore. However, that didn't mean he couldn't have fun in trying to ruin Lyndon's libido and try to make him understand that women weren't objects for his pleasure.
"Oh, and you're saying that you understand her."
"No. Not fully at least. All I know is that for a nineteen-year-old, she is one of the most ambitious people I have ever met and that things like personal pleasures, things you indulge too often, are the least of her worries."
"How tragic."
"You know, I find it amazing that, even though we're on the job right now, you still continue to come onto Li-Ming. I can't imagine anyone, but you, who would rather flirt and attempt to seduce someone in a place like this at the most inconvenient and irrational times."
"Well, when death is a possibility; what's the harm in thinking about things you enjoy the most."
"You're impossible."
"And, you're old."
Komac smirked at Lyndon's childish remark. "Come on. We need to focus on the mission."
"Right behind you."
Xxxxx
In the lower levels Li-Ming strolled the torture chambers feeling more disgusted by the second. There were Iron Maidens lined up against the wall, like prisoners ready to be executed. Some had been recently used too. Blood stains covered the inside and the scent of stale blood and decomposed bodies was vomit inducing. Li-Ming, against her better judgment opened one that had been closed and backed away horrified when she saw that someone was still inside of it. His entire body was punctured with holes and small streams of blood leaked from all of them.
She cast a fire ball into her hand and torched the Iron Maiden.
She took a deep breath and relaxed herself. This was no place to lose your composure. Now relaxed, Li-Ming felt a sudden pull of magic coming from somewhere nearby. It was neither that of Maghda's for The Strangers. It was so very odd and she was compelled to follow it.
She was lead around the corner and underneath an arch built into the walk way above her for people to walk through. It was like she was following the smell to the most delicious pastry every made. She was almost in a trance.
The unknown magic wasn't the only strange thing about this place, but she also noticed that there were no cultists to be found here. When she, Kormac and Lyndon first entered here, she thought this place was going to be teaming with Maghda's vile coven; but it wasn't. Where could they be?
The magic she felt brought her to a room. She opened the door and walked inside and it looked like it was an office of some sort once. There were book shelves on all walls with red curtains decorating each end. There was a desk made of oak in front of her that looked more pristine than it had any right too, in this place. Whosoever office this used to be was very neat. Everything was clean and orderly. The ornaments on the desk were meticulously placed and there were old papers strewed about on the desk and on the floor.
On the desk was a wooden, hand carved box. There was no insignia or symbol on to indicate who crafted it, but whatever was inside was responsible for the magic Li-Ming was feeling. She opened the box and inside was a golden ring made of interlocking pieces that rotated and shifted and revealed strange glowing symbols. A piece of paper sat folded below it. Curious, Li-Ming picked it up and there was a title. The most unusual of ones who covet. Li-Ming glanced it over and recognized the format. It was a poem.
A realm of mystery and intrigue
Lived by horrors and thieves
There is one, Greed bestows to thee.
From a realm of fortune and power
Housing those that neither battle or siege
But only those who covet and cower
Behold the ring that upon your hand will see.
Li-Ming picked up the ring and looked it over. There was something special about it. She had never felt this kind of magic before and was eager to see what it could do. If Leah were here, Li-Ming was sure that she would urge her to leave it be, but Li-Ming simply could not. She needed to know what it could do. It was something new to her and her curiosity would not be sated otherwise.
She removed her right hand's glove and slipped it onto her ring finger. It was a perfect fit. For a moment nothing happened and Li-Ming was about to take it off until the interlocking parts started moving. The ring made little click-clackling sounds as each part moved and then the symbols grew brighter and a powerful light spontaneously appeared from behind her. Li-Ming covered her eyes, it was like the sun's rays were right next to her and then…it was gone.
Li-Ming blinked as her eyes readjusted. She stood quietly and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Li-Ming was going to lose hope for this ring until she heard something rummaging behind her. She turned and had no idea what it was she now looking at. On the desk there was now a little pygmy like creature going through the desks contents. It had pale, golden skin and a reptilian like face with little razor sharp teeth. Its eyes were big and yellow and it had a little grey hood on its head.
"What the hell are you?" Li-Ming asked perplexed.
The little creature jumped in a fright and then just stood there; staring blankly at Li-Ming , sniffing curiously at her with no readable emotion. It unexpectedly perked up. A big smile crossed its face and it stood up on its lizard like feet and said, "You…" It was breathing irregularly. "You, new master!" Its voice was nasally and high pitched.
"What! What are you on about? Make sense!"
The creature jumped off of the desk and onto the floor. It wasn't tall by any means. It was about the size of a child that came up to her knees. Li-Ming backed away, not really wanting this thing to touch her. It reached its hand out trying to grab for Li-Ming's hand and Li-Ming pulled her hand away and she kicked the creature in the chest sending it crashing into the desk.
Li-Ming all of a sudden felt a sudden throbbing pain in her chest and she leaned back against the wall. She was all of a sudden was out of breath and her head was aching now. Where the hell did this come from?
The creature stood up clumsily, but shook its head and marched its way to Li-Ming who was sitting on the floor to gather herself. The creature grabbed her hand and pointed to the ring.
"You have puzzle ring." It laughed with a toothy smile. "You, new master." It let go of her hand and plopped down in front of her. It rotated its head and smiled its same lengthy smile and said. "You put on ring. I come from portal."
That light was a portal?
"Wait. So the moment I put this on..." She held her hand up and wiggled her finger that had the ring on it. "It opened a portal and summoned you."
The creature laughed and said, "Yes!" excitedly.
Li-Ming smiled now too. "Okay, so what happens if I take it off." She wasn't about to have this thing following her where ever she went and if putting the ring on sent it here then maybe taking it off will make it go away. She pulled on the ring but was surprised when it wouldn't slide off. It was stuck to her finger and no matter how hard Li-Ming pulled and twisted the blasted thing wouldn't leave her finger.
"You have got to be kidding me!" She tried pulling the ring off again but it stayed perfectly on her finger. "Why won't this thing come off!"
"Hehehe! Ring cursed! Cannot take it off!"
"What?" The ring was cursed! "Care to repeat that?"
"Ring is cursed. No taking it off. Not possible."
NO! This, literally, could not be happening to her right now. She could not believe, did not want to believe that she was stuck with whatever this thing was. That did beg to question though.
"Hey! What are you exactly? A demon?" It nodded joyously. "Okay, what kind of demon?"
It pinched its chin between its thumb and index finger in contemplation. It paced back and forth until it smiled and jumped in glee. "I remember! Goblin! Treasure Goblin! You humans call us."
This treasure goblin was going to make her life so much more difficult if she could not find a way to remove the ring. Li-Ming rubbed her eyes and face as she thought about how she was going to handle this. She couldn't show up in Tristram with this thing and she didn't want it following her around either. She would just have to kill it.
"Sorry about this, but having you around would only make things complicated." Li-Ming raised her hand and summoned a fire ball.
The Treasure Goblin laughed and said, "Can't kill me."
"Why not? Who's stopping me?"
It laughed again. "You are."
She raised an eyebrow and said, "Explain yourself."
"We are one." It giggled. "Same life. Your life."
She mouthed the words silently and there was only one thing she could think of that it could be referring too. "We're…life linked?"
"Yep, yep, yep!"
Oh gods, this was annoying her more and more. She had read about life linking enchantments before. It allowed for two, sometimes more, beings to share the same pains and power. Which meant if one was struck, the others would feel it too as if it happened to them. That would explain why Li-Ming felt sore in her chest after she kicked him. And, normally with those who are life linked, the life force was held by one, and in their case; Li-Ming was the life force. For the treasure goblin to die; she would have to die.
She read the poem over and could find no references to any of the conditions with this ring.
She sighed.
"No matter. Listen...you…thing! Do not get to comfortable here. Once we're out of here, I will have this curse removed and you can go back to…where ever it is you came from." The treasure gobbling nodded with joy.
Xxxxx
Lyndon and Kormac had entered a corridor full with metal door and a furnace for each one. This place was particularly hot. Lyndon took off his trench coat and tied it around his waist. Kormac on the other hand had to bare it because of his bulky armor.
"Here." Lyndon tossed him a flask and surprisingly it was full of water instead of something alcoholic and Kormac took a drink then dumped some over his head and face.
"Thanks." Kormac said giving Lyndon his flask back.
Lyndon took his flask and placed back in his jacket pocket. They continued forward until Kormac held his hand out. They stopped.
"What?" Kormac held his finger in front of his mouth and they listened. There was a banging noise, coming from around the corner and they slowly marched towards the sound. It sounded like someone was on the other side of one of the metal doors and was desperately trying to get out.
They found the door and they stood on either side of it. The nagging was getting louder and more intense.
"We should open it." Lyndon said.
"Hold on. We don't know what's on the other side of that door. It could be anything."
"Like what? If we're wrong, we could be leaving somebody in there and then they'll die! Do you want to live with that chance? Who am I kidding, of course you don't. Now show us what being a Templar is all about and let's open it."
Kormac unlatched the arm bar and pulled the door open slowly. Smoke oozed out and an orange glow shown through. Kormac was pushed out of the way when a flaming, screaming zombie charged out from the door alongside a few others.
Kormac rushed to his feet and drew his ax. He and Lyndon stood side by side ready to fight, but the undead were not paying attention to them. They instead ran to more if the metal doors and opened them up, letting more and more of the charred and burning out.
"What kind of tormented souls are these?" Kormac asked.
"I don't know, but look alive because here they come."
Xxxxx
The treasure goblin walked briskly behind Li-Ming and matter how much she quickened her pace, the little demon managed to keep up without error. Despite her annoyance and want to remove the curse from the ring she was now forced to wear until she could figure out a way to remove it, she was greatly intrigued by the rings properties. The way the ring worked was so deliberate that whoever made it must have done so with mischievous intent.
The Treasure goblin stopped moving and sniffed the air. Li-Ming turned and asked, "What are you doing?"
He sniffed. "Something's coming. Yes, yes. Ahead."
Li-Ming drew her sword and readied herself. This thing was a demon after all and if it sensed something approaching, it could just be something troubling. She waited and a Ferret scurried across the floor. It stood on its hind legs and sniffed. It sniffed at the bottom of every single closed door and stopped. It sniffed in their direction, saw them and ran away.
"Something's coming, huh!" Li-Ming was beyond irritated with the Treasure Goblin. "You continue to prove that you are a waste of my time." She turned to scold the Treasure Goblin further and saw someone standing a few yards away. She couldn't see who they were. They were covered in a black cloak with a hood that hid their face.
Wait! Didn't Malachi warn them of someone like that? "I didn't see her face. She was wearing a black cloak…"
Li-Ming was on guard because she didn't know who this woman was and if she was working with Maghda. Li-Ming intended to find out. If she was, this woman must know something valuable because of the way she stood out.
In a flash, the woman pulled out a cross bow and fired an arrow. The woman did not aim for Li-Ming but instead aimed for the Treasure Goblin and hit him square in the heart.
The treasure goblin fell back and Li-Ming gripped her chest and screamed and landed on her knees. She took deep, raspy breaths. Never before had she ever experienced this before. She had been shot with an arrow before, but this felt like death. A sharp pain centered around her heart like she was the one who had been shot and she could feel her heart beating hard beneath her breast as if she was having a heart attack. Sweat beaded and trickled down Li-Ming's face and the she screamed some more when the Treasure Goblin started pulling the arrow from his own body.
The woman re-loaded her crossbow and Li-Ming, not daring to go through that again, teleported right in front of the woman and back handed the weapon out of the mysterious woman's hands and then she went in to punch the woman against the face but the woman moved to the right and kneed Li-Ming in the stomach. She followed it up with an uppercut and then a heel kick to Li-Ming's chest and Li-Ming fell on her back.
Li-Ming stood back up and winced. The woman ran and jumped high enough to sit on Li-Ming's shoulders. She leaned back and tilted to the right, so that Li-Ming was slammed to the ground.
The woman shot up and lifted her leg up high and swung it down. Li-Ming rolled out of the way before she was stomped on and swatted the woman's fists away as she threw punch, after punch, after punch. When an opening was presented, Li-Ming punched the woman in the stomach and then once again in the lower jaw. The woman used the momentum and returned with a round house kick to Li-Ming's cheek and she rolled back to the wall.
They stopped for a moment and Li-Ming leaned back against the wall. One eye closed and her mouth full of blood.
Damn! This lady is good! The Woman in Black unsheathed a dagger. Li-Ming stared at her sword which was sitting on the floor, a few feet away. Her treasure goblin friend was nowhere to be seen.
The woman lunged her dagger upward from the hip trying to stab Li-Ming in the stomach but Li-Ming grabbed the woman's arm. She quickly caught a glimpse at the woman's burning red eyes before she head-butted her. The woman stepped back, holding onto her fore head and then saw Li-Ming running towards her. Li-Ming tried to throw a punch but the woman grabbed her arm and twisted it. Being open, the woman punched Li-Ming in the side, then she hit Li-Ming in the mouth with the palm of her other hand and then landed one more back handed punch to her side. After, the woman landed a hard punch into Li-Ming's stomach; Li-Ming was struggling to stand.
She staggered back and the woman calmly walked towards her and that's when Li-Ming threw the bottom of her palm upward and struck the woman hard across the face.
The two stood there and breathed heavily in exhaustion. The woman's hood had fallen off during the initial fight and Li-Ming saw a woman whom must have been at least in her early thirties. She had full lips and smooth, black hair that had been cut to her shoulders but her most defining feature were her glowing red eyes.
"Wha…" Li-Ming panted between syllables. "What are you."
"Your worst nightmare." The woman replied in a mature, calm and smooth voice.
Li-Ming chuckled. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into here, lady."
"The name, is Valla." The woman replied undeterred by what Li-Ming claimed, which frustrated her a bit. "And, it's you, who has no idea what you're getting into." Valla didn't know if this girl was foolish or crazy. So far, Valla had been ahead in this fight. This girl had potential but lacked true experience. She was young and air headed and had made countless errors in her fighting. Valla doubted that this girl was even anticipating any tricks that she still had up her sleeve.
"Ha! Try me!" This woman, Valla. Had no idea what she was capable of. She was a wizard who could bend time and space and all Li-Ming has shown is that she could teleport. Li-Ming was smirking with confidence. This woman had no idea the hell that she was going to unleash upon her.
Only the sounds of the furnaces blooming and dying again was heard. Both women were silent, waiting to see who would make the first move.
Valla reached behind her cloak and swiftly pulled out three metal balls. She chucked them at Li-Ming's feet and Li-Ming quickly shielded herself with an energy armor spell to protect herself as each ball erupted into a small but effective explosion. Li-Ming returned fire with spectral blade spells that Valla dodged in unbelievable fashions. Li-Ming swiped her hands through the air, each finger releasing a spectral blade and Valla jumped gracefully in between them. She effortlessly jumped over them and slid on her knees underneath them.
Such dexterity! This was beyond anything that Maghda's cultists could do. None of them had shown nowhere near this level of skill.
Valla jumped and tried to land a punch but Li-Ming jumped out of the way and then clapped her hands together and separated herself into three beings with her mirror image spell. Valla blinked twice to make sure she wasn't seeing things and all three Li-Ming's charged.
One tried to throw a kick but missed as Valla jumped to the left but was caught, as another Li-Ming wrapped her arms underneath Valla's and over her neck. Struggling to get free, a Li-Ming got a left cross in but Valla kicked her away. Valla then straightened out her arms and snaked her way out of Li-Ming's hold and vaulted forward where she blocked another kick with her hands but was too late to avoid getting kicked in the torso by another clone.
This was getting out of hand! Valla pinched some throwing knives between her fingers and threw them haphazardly at the Li-Ming trio. She missed when two of the Li-Ming's withered into purple streams of light and surrounded the original, then dissipated.
Li-Ming teleported and gave a ferocious right cross to Valla's temple. Valla reached into a pouch and threw a smoke bomb at her feet. Li-Ming covered her eyes and Valla's hands reached out from the smoke. Valla grabbed the back of Li-Ming's head, pulled her towards her and elbowed her in the in the right cheek.
Both warriors were worn out. They stood and caught their breath, when the smoke from Valla's bomb cleared. Li-Ming ran and grabbed Valla's armor. They spun around and Valla pulled away far enough to land a left cross. Li-Ming fell back but gabbed onto Valla's armor tightly to keep herself from falling and pulled herself back to land a hard punch to Valla's stomach with her left fist and then another to Valla's face with her right.
Valla hunched over but regained composure quickly. She threw her right then her left fists at Li-Ming but Li-Ming slapped them away. She then landed a blow to Valla's face with a right hook.
Li-Ming tried to go for another punch but Valla rammed her shoulder into her which pushed her away.
Neither of them will be able to continue this fight much longer. Both were getting tired and neither were backing down.
Valla rubbed her mouth clean of blood with the back of her hand and spat. "You're stubborn." Valla spoke between each breath she took. "I'll give you that much."
"It's Li-Ming, thank you!" Li-Ming was breathing heavily too. "It seems Maghda has chosen well this time."
Valla had no idea what she meant. "What are you talking about? Who is Maghda?"
"Don't play dumb with me! Maghda, the leader of The Coven! Why else would you be here!"
"I'm here to hunt down a demon you fool!"
"Wait what?" A demon. Did she mean the treasure goblin? What was she on about?
"There are rumors that inside this castle, there is a massive demon responsible for torturing countless innocents! That's why I am here!"
The treasure goblin stepped out from its hiding place – one of the iron maidens – and slowly made its way back to Li-Ming. It was content in the belief that the fighting had ceased.
"If that's true then why did you attack me!" Li-Ming yelled.
"Because of that!" Valla pointed towards the treasure goblin. She had to fight with every ounce of her being not to kill it on sight. "That thing is a wretched stain on existence and must be eradicated with extreme prejudice!"
Li-Ming cursed herself. Her luck today was getting worse. "Look, if you could kill it, I couldn't care less. But today I happened to stumble upon this." Li-Ming removed her glove and showed Valla the ring. "And, because of my carelessness. I am now stuck with it." Li-Ming explained the story about the ring and the reasons why she couldn't take it off or why the treasure goblin couldn't be killed.
Valla stood doubtfully but had to accept the fact that when she shot the demon, it should have died. Should have, but didn't. She casually grabbed her crossbow up off of the floor and loaded it with an arrow. "So to kill him. I need to kill you." She said, pointing the crossbow at Li-Ming's head.
To Valla's surprise, Li-Ming did not flinch or look the slightest bit worried.
Li-Ming smirked and said, "You've already tried that "Valla." But tell me, how many of those arrows do you have? How many gadgets? They won't last. I am a wizard, and I have refrained from using some of my more devastating spells." Li-Ming had five spells in particular that she was thinking of that would have ended Valla quickly that, she would not have been able to escape. Then there were her powerful telekinetic abilities. She could crumble this room into ruble if she so desired. "You're only alive because I chose to keep you that way. In case you were working for Maghda. I wanted to interrogate you for information. Information I now know that you do not have. So tell me, Valla. Do you want to take the chance on my life? I guarantee, you will not win."
She was quiet. Valla held herself there, holding her cross bow to Li-Ming's forehead. Thinking. Despite her calm and stoic, outward expression; there was a battle of epic proportions waging inside of her mind. Here, in front of her was a demon. Everything that she despised that created her reason for being. Her reason was revenge. She needed to take revenge on all demons yet this, simple, insignificant little wretch of a demon could not simply be killed. This "wizard" talked of things that Valla could not fully understand and it wasn't worth the risk. If Li-Ming was right, she would die without exacting her revenge, and that, simply could not happen. Not now. Not ever.
"Very well." Valla said calmly and withdrew her crossbow and placed back in its holster.
"Good." Li-Ming replied smugly. "Now, as it turns out; our paths are leaning in the same direction. We both need to get to the lower levels so why don't we get over this petty squabble and assist each other until we're finished."
"Fine. But, keep that thing away from me." The treasure goblin smiled at her in a mock expression. He was pushing his luck.
"Deal! Now before we do anything else; I have some friends on the upper level. I need to find them and tell them that there is nothing down here and then we can crack on."
Valla whistled and after a few seconds the same ferret that Li-Ming saw before she and Valla started fighting ran up to them. It climbed onto Valla's leg, up her body and wrapped itself around her neck comfortably. Valla gave it a pat on the head and stroked her head against it, lovingly.
"That's yours?"
"Yes. Rasputin is my most trusted ally. He helps me hunt demons. He sniffs them out. That's how I came to find you."
"Charming. Can we get going, now?"
Xxxxx
Lyndon and Kormac were still fighting their way through the burning horde of undead. Lyndon was running out of arrows and that was bad because he didn't trust himself to fight these things in hand to hand combat. They were on fire, for crying out loud! Kormac was faring better. A zombie rushed for him and he held his foot up to stop it and pushed it away and then struck another in the neck with his ax.
One got past him and went for Lyndon. He held his bow up and the zombie screamed at him. Lyndon kicked its knee in, then shot it in the head.
The whole corridor was packed withi zombies and there was no way to get around them. Kormac did the only thing he could think of; he held his shield out in front of him and run into the horde. The zombies bounced of Kormac's shield with loud bangs, and thunks. Lyndon followed behind him and cut down any zombie with his dagger that got to close.
They ran down the corridor and Kormac saw a chandelier on Lyndon's side of the hallway. It was held up by a rope that was secured to the lower part of stone column. Kormac tapped Lyndon on the shoulder, pointed to the chandelier and commanded the Lyndon cut the rope. Lyndon held the rope and begin cutting through it. Each tiny little strand gave way until finally the entire thing snapped and the chandelier fell. The zombies that had been underneath were crushed.
The two men cheered as they ran.
"Good thinking, Templar! I guess you're not as dense as I thought you were!"
"Is that a challenge?" Kormac asked with a grin.
"Oh, you don't want to challenge a swash buckler!"
The game was on!
A common wartime strategy was implemented. The two men ran with the horde following behind them and they would quickly turn to kill the one ahead of the group and then continue running again. It was a simple strategy for people who were outnumbered and with each kill made, they kept score to see who was ahead.
So far Kormac was winning.
Xxxxx
The two ladies walked side by side and the treasure goblin kept pace behind them. They were on the top floor now in search for Li-Ming's comrades. Valla occasionally stole glances at Li-Ming and at first Li-Ming pretended not to notice, until she became annoyed.
Valla looked again and shook her head.
"You know, one of my comrades likes to stare too. Perhaps you and he should sit down and talk about your mutual problem." Li-Ming said.
Valla shook her head again and sighed. "I since much anger in you."
"Oh! Please share your brilliant deduction." She replied sarcastically.
"Do you know anything about a Demon Hunter's training?"
"The Demon Hunters, yes. Their training, no." Li-Ming had heard about the group before and about their ultimate mission to seek vengeance on all demons that plague the human world. Li-Ming remembered thinking that it was an admirable goal and believed that they were people to be admired for their high ambitions.
"We are taught to hate all demons with every fiber of our hearts. It is this hatred that is the fuel for our vengeance. However, hatred can only take someone so far if you do not know discipline. Otherwise our hatred threatens to consume us and blacken our minds from seeing reason."
"What are you getting at?"
"Your anger, will lead you down a path of self-destruction if you continue to let it cloud you." When they fought, Valla discovered this very quickly in the way that Li-Ming fought when she became agitated. She would be too straight forward without giving her technique any forethought and her punches were hard, like she wanted to inflict pain for its own sake. It was only when Li-Ming started using her magic did Valla notice Li-Ming become more effective and it wasn't because the magic gave her an advantage, it was how much more fluid her fighting was. "If you do not mind me asking; were you a part of what happened in that village? Wortham?" Li-Ming looked at her wide eyed at first before her brows subtly furrowed and twitched. "What happened?"
"That's none of your damned business!" Li-Ming retorted.
Li-Ming didn't know it but Valla had proven her point.
"Wait what's the sound?" Valla asked. She and Li-Ming stopped and looked around. Kormac and Lyndon came running from the adjacent corridor. Behind them Li-Ming and Valla saw burning zombies following them and to her delight, the guys seemed to be handling the seven that were left. She personally had her fill of the undead after saving Tristram and defeating the Skeleton King, but she wasn't in the modd to satnd around and wait for them.
Lyndon turned and shot an accurate arrow into one of the zombies heads and shouted "Eleven!" afterwards. Kormac swung his shield into one, making it twirl in the air and fall limp on the ground. He shouted fourteen.
One of the zombies ran past the guys and headed for Li-Ming. She wasn't remotely concerned, she simply stood there with her arms crossed and Valla did the honors of shooting the zombie in the head without even flinching. Li-Ming raised her arm, flicked her wrist and a cool breeze surrounded them and the ground froze, freezing all of the undead with it. Valla finished them if with a casually thrown grenade and blew them to bits.
Kormac noticed the woman standing next to Li-Ming with a ferret resting on her shoulder and despite her lovely appearance, he didn't much like the look of her. She gave off a really dark and closed off vibe. He also didn't fail to notice the cuts, bruises, swells and bloody lips the two had. Did they do that to each other? Kormac was very curious and he got even more curious when he noticed a little yellow, bipedal, reptilian looking creature standing by Li-Ming's leg.
"Li-Ming…what did you get yourself into in the short time we were split up?"
Li-Ming pinched the bridge of her nose and Valla glanced at her as Li-Ming looked for the appropriate way to explain the situation.
"Guys, this is Valla. She is a Demon Hunter and the woman in black that Malachi warned us of. She is helping us for the moment because she's heading in the same direction we are."
"Helloooo, Valla!" Lyndon droned.
"And, this…" Li-Ming looked down to the treasure goblin. "This is the result of a cursed ring that I cannot remove. He is a demon."
"Why don't you just kill it?" Lyndon asked. He was a little uncomfortable with the way the hideous thing was looking at him. It was a kind of look that said, "I know you! It's good to see you." He wanted to shoot it.
"I tried." Valla said. "But turns out it can't be killed unless you kill her."
"What does she mean?" Kormac asked.
Li-Ming sighed. "This demon and I are life linked. Basically what it means is that any pain you inflict on it also happens to me, and as long as I am alive; he can't be killed since it is my life that enables the link."
"Sounds annoying!" Lyndon quipped.
"It is." Li-Ming replied, bitterly. "Did you guys find anything before you stumbled across these things." Li-Ming tapped one of the dead zombies with her foot.
"No. We didn't have the time before we were attacked." Kormac replied.
"I know where to go." Valla said. "I saw the exit and was about to continue before that thing assaulted Rasputin's nostrils with its hideous, disgusting scent." The treasure goblin just giggled and Valla felt blood rush to her face.
"You lead the way, then." Li-Ming said. "And, please don't get to hasty with your crossbow. I would hate for a stray shot to hit my treasure goblin." Shots fired.
"Just as long as you don't hurt yourself. I would hate to see a teenage girl fall prey to something nasty." Shots fired back. Lyndon and Kormac decided to keep their distance in the back. Whatever their problem was, it was obvious that they hadn't settled it.
Valla was as good as her word and lead them to a thick wooden door where that lead them to the deeper levels of Leoric's twisted manor.
I really hope you all liked this chapter. I hope you liked the fight, I hope you guys like the way I'm using the puzzle ring. I just hope this was good because some of the things I have implemented here will be very, very relevant way later on in the story; which is why it's important to the plot.
I know I have said this before but this time I mean it when I say that, I think Tristram has about two, maybe three chapters left before we're done with it. I can't wait to move on to Caldeum. Because, there we're going to go deeper into Li-Ming's character. Her culture in xiansai (or at least the way I perceive it), her ideologies to name a few things and I can not wait.
By the way, I saw Deadpool and while I can see why a lot of people like it, I wasn't all to impressed with it. I'm not saying it's a bad movie, I think it was awesome. But, it isn't anything I haven't seen before.
Okay, I'm sighing off for now. I REALLY hope you all liked this chapter and I will be back with the next one hopefully soon. PEACE!