Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo 2 or its expansion.

This is my first fanfiction though, and it is based on the new Necromancer character and his adventures. Other characters from other professions might come in sooner or later in time. Please begin to give your votes about which character class should appear next.

Chapter 4: Search for Cain Part 2

Haimler stirred awake, after sleeping for what seems as several hours. He opened his eyes slowly, and looked around, and smiled. Blood Raven had already awakened an hour before him and now was talking to Paige. He rose to his feet and then approached them. Paige smiled as she saw him approaching and then walked over. "I trust that you both had a great sleep brother? I swear the loving expressions that you two have for each other are starting to make me feel envious." She teased him. She then had a dreamy expression on her face. "Ahh, I hope someday I would find someone to love as well."

Blood Raven smiled and then hugged Paige. "I am sure that you will, Paige." Haimler chuckled and said. "Aye, I agree, little sister…" He then paused and then said. "Now then, I wish to share something with both of you before we leave this dank place to resume our journey. My foster father, and my Master, was not the honorable Necromancer that he is now once. He was an evil man, causing havoc at the same time Diablo began to corrupt King Leoric and the Archbishop Lazarus two years ago. He was almost killed by a Paladin of the Zakarum, but the holy warrior spared his life. Instead, he befriended my foster father, urging him to repent and to walk in the Light. During the years that passed by, my father not only repented, but he adopted part of the Paladin's code of honor as his own. That is why he is the way he is now." He then paused again. "And if you noticed, the advanced knowledge that had been imparted to me by my foster father enables me to cast an advanced form of the basic Clay Golem that we novice necromancers can summon. I can now summon a Rock Golem, but it is definitely more taxing and draining on my mana reserves."

Blood Raven then said softly. "It is interesting, of the records that I have read before, every encounter of a Necromancer and a Paladin of a Zakarum had always ended with the death of either party, though most cases ended with the death of the Necromancer. It is certainly unheard of for a Paladin to spare a Necromancer, especially not after what they had done two years ago, when they lent their strength to Diablo's forces. But I suppose there is no harm done, when we observe the outcome. Your foster father has done well in raising you to be an honorable person."

Haimler nodded, but then grimaced. "I know, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of my brethren are working with Diablo again, or at least try to help him again. That explains the number of the undead creatures that had risen to fill the ranks of his forces. They must be stopped at all costs."

They nodded and then Paige said. "I believe we have to resume our journey, brother. We have to get to Tristram and rescue Elder Cain as soon as possible." They nodded in agreement and then left the Cave, moving across, dispatching more Fallen, the occasional zombie and Corrupted Rogues. Soon, they reached another pass, and Haimler asked. "Where does this lead to?"

Blood Raven looked at him and said. "This pass leads to the Stony Field, where the entrance of the Underground Passage to the Dark Woods and the Tree of Inifuss, where the scroll we seek is located."

He nodded and said. "Then let us proceed… it would be best if we kept our wits about us, there is no telling what kind of new dangers awaits us there."

They nodded and then stepped into the Stony Fields. Haimler took a good look around the surroundings. Blood Raven then went to his side, and said. "It is still hard to believe the tale about your master and Foster Father. A Necromancer with the sense of honor of a Paladin… is unheard of."

Haimler nodded and said. "Indeed it is, but the truth is, it is not easy for my Foster Father to achieve that in the beginning. But I believe we need to locate the entrance of the Underground Passage… and the waypoint marker here to allow us to return to the Encampment if need be."

Blood Raven nodded and said. "I am quite familiar with the location of all the Waypoints in and out of the Monastery, but as to where the entrance of the Underground Passage is, I must admit that it eludes me." Paige then raised her bow and fired in succession, three arrows whistling and the heard shrieks as the shafts hit their target. "I hate to interrupt your conversation, brother... but it seems that more beasts have located us. I believe they come from that direction." They then rushed forward and then saw three avian looking creatures, which had also reptilian features. "These are Blood Hawks... this one would be one of their weaker kinds, called Foul Crows, though I do not see why they are called as such. If you personally ask me… they look like a hideous mix of bird and lizard to me." Blood Raven observed. "And it can be also determined, that since some of them are here... their nest should be somewhere near by. These foul avians are never too far away from their nests."

Paige nodded and said. "She is right, brother… I would suggest that we should find this nest and destroy it, as well as any other demons that might inhabit this place." Haimler nodded and said. "Agreed… I think I shall summon up some help." He said, as he focused on the three corpses of the Foul Crows. A geyser of blood and sinew spurted as the corpses erupted as three new skeletons rose up. Due to the rest and the study that Haimler had undertook during his rest, these skeletons were much stronger and sturdier than their predecessors. All three of them had now horned helmets, as well as sturdier boots and shields. In addition to the usual maces and axes, which they usually wielded, only sharper, one of them now wielded a wicked looking flail in one of his skeletal hand. He then focused on the ground nearby. As before, there was a rumble heard as the rocks surrounding the area from them rose from the ground, some of them erupting from the ground, and merged into a Rock Golem that was slightly larger and sturdier that the one summoned before.

Haimler shuddered as he sat on the ground with weariness, and then took out a blue colored potion bottle from his belt. He grimaced at the bitterness, but soon found himself slightly refreshed. He then rose to his feet and smiled wearily at the two women, who had concerned expressions on their faces. "I am perfectly all right. Now let's go and find the nest, shall we?"

Blood Raven and Paige looked at each other, and then back at him and nodded. "I suppose we should..." Haimler nodded and then they started scouring the area. It was Paige who spotted the Nest first and she pointed to it. "There it is… never have I seen such a foul looking structure in my entire life." As Haimler and Blood Raven gazed upon it, they reached the same conclusion as well. The Nest was a dark grayish structure, pulsating grotesquely. It looked like a grotesque parody of a tree. On occasions, its opening convulsed and released a new Foul Crow out of its leathery sac, followed by some blood. He grimaced and then said. "You are right; little sister, that foul structure, must be destroyed." He then commanded his rock golem to attack. They watched as the golem lumbered towards the Nest. Many of the critters rushed to defend their nest, pecking and scratching futilely at the rock hard skin on the golem.

The golem ignored the weak blows of the critters and raised a massive fist, sweeping it sideways, killing many of the critters, then struck against the pulsating Nest, and they began to see it crumble. After a while, the Golem used its two mighty hands, and ripped the Nest apart, spraying the area with blood and the demonic ichors of the critters that were inside the nest.

"Good riddance to that filth…" Blood Raven said dryly. "Though I don't think we have enough time or cause to celebrate yet. It seems that little blast attracted more trouble…" She the pointed at a pack of creatures that were seen moving towards their location. She then continued. "I advise you to be ready, these few are not so easy to defeat." As the creatures began to draw closer, they realized how true her words are.

The creatures resembled a humanoid version of goats, though that is where the resemblance ends. Their eyes were full of malevolence, and they wielded maces and nasty looking pole arms. Blood Raven then said. "These are known as goat demons… and these are the so called weakest of the bunch. The Moon Clan is the name that they go by." Haimler nodded and said. "Is there a way to defeat them?" Paige then said. "The creatures are tough to defeat at close range, but we can whittle down their ranks with our arrows, while you and your minions can help to mop up the survivors." Haimler nodded. "Agreed..."

Blood Raven and Paige nodded, nocking their arrows. Blood Raven then said. "Let's fire some cold and fire arrows at these beasts; they are easier to fell that way." Paige nodded and fired arrows with a bluish tinge on their tips. When they struck, Haimler noticed that shuddered and shivered as though they were cold, and slowed down to regain their warmth. At the same time, Blood Raven let fly with a volley of fiery tipped arrows, striking many of the goat men, badly singing and burning their light colored fur. Some of them fell before the hail of arrows, while the remaining ones let out bleats of rage as they charged towards the archers… only to have their bodies and skulls crushed by the fists of the rock golem. Many of them were flung to the air, and landed in a broken heap a few metres away.

Haimler sighed and said. "Well, that takes care of that... now, I believe we should locate the waypoint marker and activate it… and then proceed to find the Passage." They nodded in agreement and Blood Raven said. "Then let us go… this way." She led them though the fields, and along the way, they were greeted by more of Fallen, and several other Fallen that had a slightly different coloration. These few looked more intelligent and vicious, and they had a light blue tinge on their skin, instead of the blood red of the normal Fallen.

"These are part of the Carver Clan." Paige said softly. "I believe the 'Rakanishu' cry that we often heard from these critters would suggest that it is their leader in this area. I also believe that we would have to face him sooner or later, before we get to Tristram." Blood Raven nodded and replied. "She is right… the Fallen were once disorganized, easy to defeat... but it seems that they have recently banded together, formed some sort of unity that makes them stronger… and the logical deduction would be that they follow a leader now, one that is able to command respect and bring order to their ranks. It could only mean trouble, and we have to remove that focal point, in order to minimize the threat of a organized assault on the Encampment."

Haimler nodded and said "Then we are in agreement in this matter…" They then began to scour the wilderness. They encountered many more roving bands of Corrupted Rogues, some Gargantuan Beasts, which looked like a huge mountainous bulk of fur, and more goat demons. Although with the help of his minions, the battles were relatively easier to end, the attacks were definitely detrimental. He could see many chips and chunks of rocks that had fallen off his Rock Golem by the time they waded through the throng of enemies that impeded their progress.

Paige then cried out in alarm. "Big brother... I think you want to take a look at this… you might be interested." Haimler walked over to where Paige was and was surprised at what he saw. On a small elevated ground, surrounded by some crumbling walls, lies a single stone pedestal. On the pedestal was a worn old tome. As he opened it, he grimaced, as the tome reeked of old mold. He guessed that the tome was left here, exposed to the elements.

As he read the tome, he then frowned. Soon he closed the tome and then looked at the two women. "Have you heard of the legend of the Countess of Blood?"

Blood Raven and Paige nodded; a look of disdain on their faces. Paige then said. "She was once a brilliant Sister… before she was driven mad by the thought of her growing old. She was a beauty, you see, and rather vain. She was obsessed about remaining young forever… and her irrational behavior forced us to banish her from the Monastery. Since then, we have heard the horrifying tales about young virgins being spirited away in the dead of the night by our former sister, who took pleasure in killing them and bathing in their blood. It is believed that she was in a delusion that led her to believe that the blood of young virgins could preserve her youth. She managed to abduct and kill a hundred virgin girls before we were able to destroy her, and the tower that she resided was burnt to the ground, or so we thought."

Blood Raven then continued. "A week before my capture, we then heard rumors of activity in the proximity of the site of the ruins of the Tower. Although there is much skepticism about who was behind it, it is told that the Blood Countess is alive again, no thanks to that demon queen, Andariel and Diablo. The powers of Hell itself are certainly powerful to raise that evil woman back from the dead."

Haimler nodded and said. "Agreed... then we shall investigate and destroy that twisted abomination once and for all, once we have rescued Deckard Cain. Do you have any idea where this ruined tower would be?"

Blood Raven nodded and said. "It is in the Black Marsh, quite an inhospitable area adjacent to the Dark Woods."

"Agreed… "Haimler stated as they continued to scour the wilderness, till they reached a series of craggy cliff walls. It seems to be a dead end to them when Blood Raven said. "I believe I have found it." She then pointed to a dark opening on the side of the cliff walls. It was slightly concealed by some bushes, almost impossible to spot. Haimler smiled and sai. "Well done… now, let us tread cautiously. We do not know what dangers might lie ahead."

Both women nodded as they stepped into the cave, the dank, musty air of the cavern bothering their noses. Haimler then noted that his skeleton minions seemed agitated, and then, without warning, they rushed off into the darkness, the Rock Golem lumbering in their trail. He then looked at both women and commented. "It seems that we have company, if that is any indication."

Blood Raven grinned and said. "Well…. I do not think that would be a problem." Paige nodded and said. "Indeed… battle seems to bring out the best of us." Haimler chuckled and said. "Then let us join in the fray…." He said as he drew his blade and charged towards the sounds of scuffling, while Paige and Blood Raven let loose with a volley of arrows. When Haimler reached the site of the battle, he found many crushed bodies of Carvers, Corrupted Rogues, many Tainted and some Zombies and Skeletons. But he could also see that his Rock Golem was battling with a group of Gargantuan Beasts, their massive fists pounding hard on the golem's side, chipping the golem's body bit by bit. Though some of them already bore injuries made by the skeleton's weapons, and some of them lay dead, arrows sticking out of their bodies, they continued their assault with relentless fury. Blood Raven and Paige aimed at the group and showered them with another hail of arrows, killing some of them. He then let out a loud crash and saw that his Golem has fallen apart. One Gargantuan Beast was advancing towards him, its body littered with gashes. One of its arms hung limply from its shoulder, as it limped on one leg, indicating the amount of injuries it suffered.

He grimaced as he raised a hand and let fly with some magical teeth, grazing grazing against the beast's flaks. A massive fist rose and hit him squarely on his shoulder, and he crumpled, letting out a cry in pain as he felt the blow cracking his shoulder blade. He gasped for breath, trying to fight the pain, as he struggled to get up, inching away from the beast. The beast was about to strike him again, and then it keeled over with a roar of pain as it died. Haimler winced as the pain shot through him as he saw who shot the arrow.

He saw Blood Raven's eyes filled with fury and concern as she lowered the bow and then rushed to his side. She merely said to him. "Are you hurt badly? Do not move too much..." She then said. "Paige, please get me some cloth..." Paige nodded, taking some pieces of cloth from her pack; her face had a similar, worried expression. She handed them to Blood Raven, which proceeded to wrap them around the affected shoulder. Haimler winced, gritting his teeth at the pain that shot through him.

She then said. "That should do it for a moment… we need to get you back to camp for Akara to thoroughly heal you, but we need to get to our main mission. Are you able to continue?" Haimler smiled weakly at them. "I am not so frail that a minor injury like this can slow me down. Let us go…."

They nodded, as Haimler rose to his feet steadily, but still winced slightly as the arm gave him some trouble. They soon traversed through the maze of the underground passage and then Paige said. "There is a light up ahead; I think it might be the exit of the passage to the Dark Wood." Haimler nodded and said. "Then let us go…"

They quickened their steps, briskly walking towards the light in the distance, and when they stepped out into the light, they smelled the fresh air of the outdoors… and saw a dark, ominous forest looming in front of them.

"We seemed to be at the right place…" Blood Raven said. "But I believe we all need a short rest. I propose we make camp here, and take a few hours of rest. Especially you, my dear… I and Paige will take turns guarding this camp and you."

Haimler smiled. It was the first time that he had ever heard her calling him with such an endearment. He nodded and said. "As you wish, my darling."

Blood Raven smiled and Paige rolled her eyes, at the sight of the lovey-dovey expressions on her companion's faces. They soon made camp, and then Haimler entered the tent and lay down. He soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Paige and Blood Raven sat outside. Paige then said. "I never knew that his past life was so… sad and lonely." Blood Raven nodded and said. "Nor I. But he has us now, and we both know that we will protect him from harm… at any cost."

Paige nodded and said. "You can be sure of that." She then looked into the fire as Blood Raven sat close to the tent, both of them watching the woods warily.

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