Ch20: Meeting Zoltun Kuelle
It didn't take long at all for me, mom, and our trio of Zombie Dogs to reach the ruins that held the head of Zoltun Kuelle, the scenery around us changing to one where there was glowing sand pouring from all around us and the ground we walked on being an elevated path over the glowing sand pit below us. "Well, this is very unique... never dreamed I'd be in a place that looked like this," mom admitted as we continued forward and attacked some dust imps and Skeletal Guardians of varying elemental types with our own powers, adjusting our strategies as needed by their coloring.
"This is still nothing compared to places such as places we'll be in the future, mom," I smirked at her happily. "Well, I guess I gotta believe you there... but I have a question," mom frowned. "Yeah? What is it?" I asked her curiously. "Leah's mom, Adria... is she able to read our thoughts? Or hear us from afar?" "According to Serena, she is only able to see us, not hear us. She should know since she would've smelled Adria's magic around her while we traveled if she were trying to listen to our thoughts," I said to her truthfully, since Serena literally thought it to me as we entered the ruins altogether.
We continued onward for a good bit until we arrived at a strange area that had a floating head in the middle of a magic seal. It was the head of Zoltun Kuelle without a doubt. "Okay... this is fucked up..." mom gulped as I picked up the head from the magic circle and put it in my bag, surprised to feel magic within the head when I touched it. I should've expected that, since Zoltun Kuelle's body parts didn't seem to deteriorate with age.
When I put the head in my bag, we were immediately jumped by a giant sand golem, which appeared right underneath one of our zombie dogs and threw it into the sandy ravine below! "NO! You bastard!" mom exclaimed as she hawked up a giant loogie and spat it on the giant golem, melting it completely into nothingness. "That damn monster..." mom growled as I looked at her with worry. "It's okay mom... it'll just come back the next time you vomit," I frowned at her. "Y-Yeah... we better hope so..." she frowned as I warped us back to town with the Town Portal, right in front of everyone in the camp.
"Did you get the head?" Adria asked. "Yes, but at the cost of a zombie dog," I frowned as I took out the head and Leah looked sad for mom, the zombie dogs not really caring that one of their own had gotten killed. "Okay, Leah. It is time. Use the spell I taught you on Zoltun Kuelle's head," Adria told Leah. Leah focused her powers and shot a beam of demonic energy at the head, the result being the spirit of Zoltun Kuelle appearing to us from who-knows-where. "I live again!" he said, his voice actually surprising me, since it didn't sound like the madman I was used to hearing him sound like. He actually sounded much tamer than I remembered him to be.
"Zoltun Kuelle. We need your help to find the Black Soulstone," Tyreal said to his spirit. "I remember your voice... I have known it since the day I first became a Horadrim. Tyreal," Zoltun Kuelle frowned, his face not showing malice, but rather shock. "I am, but now mortal," Tyreal frowned. "Ah... how sorry to hear," Zoltun Kuelle chuckled normally, like he thought it a lighthearted joke. "I can take you to the Black Soulstone, but if you are to use it, I must be alive once again," he said, being very truthful. "You were driven to madness before, so why should we trust you now?" Tyreal asked. "Yes, but that was before... I have had time to think about my actions in the uncertain realm of Pandemonium... and now I see the error of my ways," he said, the shock obvious on my face and Serena's when he said that.
"I-I-Is he truthful, Serena?!" I asked her in thought. "Believe it or not, he has been completely honest for all of this! I don't think this was supposed to happen..." Serena gulped. "Okay then, where do we need to go?" Leah asked, who I noticed didn't get weak at all after casting the spell. "You must go to the Desolate Sands. That is where we will need to travel," Zoltun Kuelle explained. "In order to get the Black Soulstone, we need 2 blood samples that are separately sealed in two different areas. Then we must go to my archives, use the blood to power the Horadric mechanisms, and retrieve my body from the Shadow Realm."
"Sounds like a lot of trouble to go through just to seal away a single person... were you really that much of a threat?" mom asked as I finally looked over to Haedrig's and saw that Lilith was there, getting fitted with armor by Mira. I had to admit, I never really knew who Lilith was except for reading about her online in my world, but I did know that she was a very malicious succubus queen. So seeing her be like this, forgetting everything about her past, was both a relief and me feeling sorry for her at the same time.
"Okay then, we should probably head off then," Leah said to me. "Who's coming with?" I smirked. "I'll stay behind for this one," mom frowned. "Same here..." Megan said, Leah still not trusting her at all. "I'm coming with you," Serena smiled. "Okay then. We're off," I smirked as Zoltun Kuelle's image faded into the head, which I put back in my pocket. He didn't even laugh like a madman when he disappeared! I was beginning to wonder if Zoltun Kuelle really had changed. Or if he was just pretending to be sane until we got to the Soulstone chamber... all would be revealed in due time...