Ch9: Two Zombie Nephalem

Upon warping ourselves back to the Fields of Misery, our group of 2 zombies, 2 zombie dogs, an imp, and a human girl began our trek to the northern part of the area, the way being slightly easier for us since me and Serena had gotten rid of a majority of the enemies that lined the path. "I'm not so different from you two, you know?" Leah asked us as we made our way through the farmer's field, where, once again, there were no helpers around. Just the farmer's daughter and some ranch handlers that kindly let us through after we explained ourselves... and surprising the hell out of them when me and mom spoke!

"Oh really? You mean you're also a zombie, you come from a different dimension, or you have intense power?" I asked her sarcastically. "The third one, miss sass," Leah chuckled at me. I knew she was joking as well, so I let her name calling slide for now. "So what kind of power is it?" mom asked her. "Well, it's a bit difficult to explain, but I have immeasurable power pent up within me. The only difference between the two of us is that I have no control over mine," Leah frowned.

"Sounds troubling... but not as much as a very strange scent I smell on you... I know I've smelled it before in my past life as an Oppressor..." Serena frowned as she sniffed Leah's leg once, making her weirded out and me very nervous. "Er... is there something that you want to tell me, Serena?" Leah asked when her eyes went wide after sniffing again. "N-No, there's nothing wrong D- er- Leah, heehee..." Serena giggled nervously. "Okay then..." Leah frowned.

I was very grateful to Serena for not ratting out the most important part of the story, since I had told her on our way to Maghda in secret the whole truth and to not reveal anything that was important to the plot, especially anything concerning Leah's origins. But I could tell that she was very shocked to smell the scent of the Lord of Terror on her person, given that she was fearful of Diablo for all the correct reasons. Her near-slip-up on Leah's name was proof of that much.

We finally arrived at the Drowned Temple where Leah and our group headed for the lowest part and saw a singular spirit there in the form of Alaric. "You must be Alaric, the keeper of the Temple, correct? We need to get through because of something important," Leah explained. "Are you a Nephalem?" Alaric asked as my mom wiped her eyes to make sure that she wasn't seeing a ghost. "No... they died out long ago," Leah frowned. "Heh. Yet another myth. If you wish to get through, you must pass the trials of the Nephalem," Alaric explained.

"You must go into the Festering Woods. Follow me to gain access," Alaric said as he walked us up to the northeastern part of the area and the bridge resurfaced once again. "You must find and bring back 2 beacons from the Warrior's Rest and the Crypt of the Ancients." "Thanks for the info. We'll be on the lookout," Serena smirked as she tried to venture off with us... only to be stopped in place by some kind of barrier.

"W-What? Why did that hurt me?" Serena asked as she fell on her ass on the same side of the bridge as Alaric. "Demons are forbidden from entering the Festering Woods and the temple. You may be a good demon rather than evil... but the demonic barrier is set for all demonic beings," Alaric explained to Serena. "Well poop... I guess I'll see you guys back in town then," Serena frowned as she teleported back to town with her imp magic.

"Well, we're short one member now, so let's get on with it," mom frowned, moving onward with a face of worry. "She'll be fine, Janet. That imp's a tough one," Leah smiled at mom. "Thanks Leah..." mom smirked. "Now let's go get these beacons and look awesome while doing so," I smirked as I led the charge and obliterated some spectres and ghouls with my Disintegrate spell and we eventually found the first temple.

"So Leah... are you beginning to believe in all the strange stuff you're seeing? Because I sure am," I asked her as we walked across a long bridge and killed any evil enemies that came in our way in the form of Skeletons, Carrion Bats, and ghouls. "There's the first beacon," I smirked as I touched the blue orb and it magically jumped into my bag, making me surprised and pleased at the same time.

"Well, to answer your question, Lisa, I am beginning to believe in this... you, your mom, and Serena are proof enough that this world is full of strange happenings," Leah admitted as we then exited the temple and we were soon on our way to the next, the enemies not standing a chance against our combined might. "Thanks for the compliment, hon," I smiled at her with a wink. "Yeah... sorry about my lesser enthusiasm, but I'm just not used to being around women as kind as you while having green skin," Leah admitted.

"And you could say that we're still trying to accustom to the point that our skin is able to fall off and that we need to keep it together with sewing thread," mom frowned as we eventually entered the Crypt of the Ancients. I led our group to the top right corner of the ruins all while destroying the hordes of enemies with my zombie wizard abilities and mom finding out that she could hock up large bubbles that collided on the ground to create a pool of acid. And the strange thing about it? It didn't harm me, mom, or Leah at all! It seemed to only have an effect on the land-based monsters that weren't allies.

"Well, that's handy!" mom smirked happily as I touched the second beacon and it jumped into my bag just as the last one. "Now that we've got the beacons, let's get back to Alaric," I smiled. We made it back within the course of 1 minute and I immediately placed the two beacons on the pedestals. Upon doing so, the temple doors opened, the waterfall stopped flowing down, and the bridge rose once again to form our entry. "The temple is open. Venture inside and defeat the Nephalem guardians to complete the test," Alaric said as we all entered the temple.

Upon entering the large structure, I made sure that our group crossed the wooden plank bridge with care as a few of the boards fell off on our way across it. "That bridge isn't really safe," mom frowned as she got over it last. And upon getting across it and onto the rocks again, the bridge broke the rest of the way, leaving our only means of returning to town being the Town Portal I had on my person. "Well, we can't go back, so let's go forward," I said as we defeated some more skeletons and we eventually found the main Nephalem guardian skeleton.

"None may enter the royal sanctum!" he exclaimed as I simply shot him with a disintegration ray, his bones beginning to burn as he then let loose a large flurry of bolts at the different tombs. "Rise my brothers, and protect the inner sanctum!" he exclaimed, the bolts subsiding as well as his body, the three other guardians appearing seconds after. "Mom? If you may?" I smirked at her. "Right!" she smiled as she hocked up a large loogee and spat it onto the different skeleton guardians, their forms evaporating into nothingness as the acid ate away at both their bones and their armor.

"Your power rivals that of our greatest warriors, undead women. What now do you think you are?" Alaric asked me and mom specifically, making me blush when I realized that both me AND mom were Zombie Nephalem. "Well, the door is open now, so let's get that sword piece," I smirked as I sent us through the door, Maghda appearing over the shard as a grabbed it, just as before.

"Well, it appears that some pests got past the Nephalem Trials. I must say, I'm very impressed," Maghda said sarcastically. "Old Haghda," I growled at her. "Hmph! And who is this? Is that Leah? The daughter of the Witch, Adria? How quaint that you're still alive after all this time. But your mother will soon share your fate. Minions! Fill this temple with their blood!" Maghda exclaimed as her visage disappeared and the cultists soon came in. But just as before, they were no match for my magic, mom's acidic puke, or Leah's arrows. They were all dead within 20 seconds.

"What did she mean by 'my mother will soon share my fate'? Could my mother be alive after all this time?" Leah asked. She's trying to play with your mind. Don't listen to that old bag," I sighed at her, warping us back to town in a snap. It was there that we saw Serena going over to Haedrig's shop and actually getting a weapon forged for her. What weapon was she getting? A weapon that someone her size could easily handle, a spear. "Thanks a lot, Mister Haedrig!" she smiled as we approached her, a smile on my face.

"How was your time off, Serena?" I smiled at her. "It was fun! I got to play with the different zombie kids and I got a few materials from the local merchant so I could get myself a weapon. We're gonna need it for our adventures," Serena smirked happily. "Well that sounds like a fun time," mom smiled at her. "Now why don't we get this sword piece back to Uncle Deckard and the Stranger? We still need to find the last one, after all," Leah suggested. "Good thinking, babe," I smiled at her, making Leah blush immediately upon getting called that by me. "Young love is very cute, isn't it?" mom smiled. "I know that's the case for me and Mira. Still is today," Haedrig chuckled. "Good to know," I smiled as our group went over to talk to Uncle Deckard... but I knew and hated the fact that it would be the last time I would ever talk to him...