- "Fascinating".
Dana waited for Akara to elaborate, but the priestess offered nothing more as she pored over the scroll of Innifus, her eyes darting across the pattern of glowing runes. When she was done, her gaze shifted to the trio of adventurers that stood expectantly before her. She silently studied each in turn, until finally she spoke.
- "A northern barbarian. A paladin of Westmarch. An amazon from the southern isles. It seems the hand of fate guides you, my friends. Were there five of you, I would be certain of it." She turned to her second in command. "Kashya, summon Warriv and Gheed. I need a word with them."
A look of irritation flitted across Kashya's face; she liked Warriv well enough to exchange pleasantries, but she was loath to even breathe in Gheed's general direction. However, she trusted her elder's will and set off to accomplish it.
- "What's this about?" asked Galen.
- "The ritual to open the portal requires a precise order of activation, and one more thing; the same thing you used to awaken the waypoints," Akara paused meaningfully. "Blood."
- "Please don't tell me it involves a virgin sacrifice," the paladin replied half-jokingly.
- "Alas, dear boy," Dana said with affected melancholy, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I was starting to get fond of you."
- "Wait, what? Why would you assume I'm a virgin?" he asked as a blush crept over his face.
- "You're a paladin, aren't you? Isn't chastity a part of your vows? Besides, you have this innocence about you".
- "I'll have you know..." he began.
- "...yes?" she asked expectantly.
- "I'm not...I... chastity is not a part of our vows. You're thinking of monks. My grandfather was a paladin, remember?" he finished, averting his gaze.
- "Among my people," Aan interjected, "healers are women. Many of them believe that they must remain pure or risk losing their powers. You are a powerful healer, friend Galen, you must be very pure."
- "A paladin's powers don't work like that!" the young man sounded outraged.
The amazon's laughter died on her lips when she noticed Akara's weary expression, the kind worn by old people when dealing with noisy children.
- "As I was saying," the priestess continued, "blood is required for the ritual, but nothing as dramatic as a sacrifice. Only a small vial's worth. However, you will need the blood of five people, people born and raised in five different compass points. Fortunately for you, you three hail from three of those directions, and I just so happen to know a couple of individuals who were born in the remaining two. Ah, speak of the devil."
Kashya was returning with Warriv and Gheed in tow. The latter was complaining loudly.
- "You're wasting my time, and time is coin. These are my most lucrative business hours you know. My wares won't sell themselves!"
The rogue commander simply ignored his ranting, though a dangerous glint shone in her eye.
- "Night has fallen," Warriv offered helpfully. "Surely you must be closing your shop by now."
- "Commerce never sleeps, my friend," the rotund merchant countered. "People make their most...rash decisions in the lull of the night. That includes frivolous purchases. Throw in a few drinks at the tavern and you've got yourself a recipe for a great bargain...for me, at least."
- "I apologize for the abrupt summons." Akara announced. "These brave warriors are undertaking a task of importance to the sisterhood, and by extension the whole camp. We need your help with the matter."
- "You've been more than gracious in hosting us here," Warriv replied. "We'll do anything we can to repay your kindness."
- "Ah, you've brought us here to talk business!" Gheed's face lit up. "Well why didn't you say so? I assume our friends here require equipment for their journey? I can provide them with the best weapons and armor ever forged by mortal smith. And, if the price is right, a few that weren't; legendary items enchanted with mysterious magics from a time before man..."
- "We don't require anything from your stock," the priestess interrupted him before he could continue. "What we need is your blood."
Gheed's expression went from disappointed to terrified in the span of a few seconds. Kashya took secret pleasure in his discomfiture, though only Akara knew her well enough to tell.
- "M...my blood?! Is this about an unsatisfactory purchase? I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement. I have a strict no refund policy, but for you lovely ladies I can make an exception. I'll offer compensation...though not for the full price, you understand."
- "Calm yourself, man," the caravaneer bid him. "I'm sure the sisters mean us no harm."
- "Indeed not," the priestess confirmed. "We only need a small vial of blood, one from each of you. Warriv, you're from Lut Gholein, yes?"
- "That's right," he responded.
- "And you, Gheed," she continued. "You're originally from Ivgorod if I remember correctly."
- "...yes," the merchant replied, still eyeing her suspiciously.
- "Your blood will aid us in our fight against Andariel," she explained. "I myself will heal your cuts as soon as we have enough. Will you help us?"
- "Of course, priestess," Warriv immediately answered. "I offer mine freely."
They all turned to Gheed.
- "Nothing in life is free," he countered. "How do I know you won't be using my blood for some dark sorcery? No, it's absolutely out of the question. Now, perhaps I could be persuaded with a small...contribution to my supplies. Say from Charsi's smithy? The girl has no business sense anyway, I'd do a much better job selling some of her wares."
- "Pink boar," Aan spoke up. The others looked at him quizzically. "That's what you remind me of," he elaborated, looking intently at Gheed while thumbing the edge of his axe. "A pink boar. I wonder if you taste the same. Pink boars must be bled dry before cooking anyway. Two birds with one stone."
The merchant blanched at the vicious gaze the massive barbarian was directing towards him. Dana stifled a chuckle while Galen gave the northman a look of disapproval.
- "Now now, let's not get carried away," Gheed protested in a panicked voice. "We're all friends here. I'll give you what you need. I'll even throw in a discount for any wares you might fancy at my shop."
- "That's uncharacteristically generous of you, Gheed," Kashya chimed in with a hint of sarcasm. "Now both of you give me your hands; I'll do the honors," she said as she drew a dagger from her belt.
- "I'd prefer doing it myself," the merchant squeaked.
- "Suit yourself," the rogue captain replied.
When the deed was done and Akara had healed Warriv and Gheed's palms, she turned back to the three warriors, offering them the two vials of blood her second in command had collected.
- "Starting with the northern stone and moving west to east, counter to the movement of the sun, you must place the blood from each of the five directions on the corresponding monolith," she instructed. "Once this is done, the blood that matches the direction of your destination must be placed on the sixth cairn stone, the one that stands at the center. Tristram is to the west, so it must be Galen who activates it."
- "Time is not on our side," the man in question asserted. "We'll set out immediately. Thank you, priestess."
As he led his allies back to the waypoint, he addressed Aan without turning.
- "That wasn't very nice, what you did to that poor fellow."
- "I was only posturing. More fool he for taking me seriously. I swear you folk will believe anything about my people. What kind of idiot thinks northmen are cannibals?"
- "The same kind that believes paladins must be virgins, I suspect," the paladin suggested wryly.
Though night had fallen and the land was dark, they made good speed as they knew the path and no enemies barred their way.
That all changed when they finally neared their destination. The first time they had glimpsed the cairn stones was from afar during the day, and they had been nothing but vague silhouettes in the distance. Now a multitude of campfires burned in the night, and Dana could make out small shadows flickering in the firelight.
- "Fallen," she stated simply. Judging by how far their camp seemed to spread, she guessed a small army of the diminutive demons occupied the circle of stones.
- "We can't perform the ritual as long as they're here. We'll have to take them on," Galen proposed.
- "I'll open hostilities by picking off isolated targets from afar. You two get ready to charge in as soon as they sound the alarm." Her companions exchanged a look and nodded in unison.
Arrows whistled in the night, dispatching stragglers around camp before they could so much as utter a cry of surprise. Dana did not imbue any of her missiles with magic so that they would remain invisible in the dark, and she made sure each shaft found an instantly fatal mark. Over a dozen imps fell to her silent barrage before fallen began stumbling upon the bodies of their dead comrades and a call to arms went up around the camp.
Aan and Galen suddenly materialized at the edge of the firelight like vengeful apparitions, their weapons flashing with deadly intent. The amazon's arrows kept their flanks secure as they carved a bloody path through the scrambling fallen, but the initial surprise of their assault began to fade and soon the demons were organizing into ranks, launching themselves at the two warriors in waves that retreated every time too many of them fell. But each time they came back bolder, scrambling over each other in a frenzied assault that held a growing disregard for their own lives. Their numbers seemed limitless; though they were small, their lithe frames belied a rabid strength, and though their weaponry was crude, it was viciously made.
Aan sent demonic limbs flying with great swings of his axe, but this left him open to the sharp blades and spear tips that gnawed at his defenses, wearing him down with a thousand cuts. Galen was protected by his shield but he could only dispatch his foes one blow at a time, and he was much more hard-pressed than the barbarian.
- "Is there no end to these things?" Aan shouted over the din of battle.
Galen offered no reply, keeping his focus on his tight defense. Just then, he noticed some of the dead imps rising again, dark smoke seeping into their wounds and twisting them back to unnatural life; the fallen shaman were weaving spells to reanimate their fallen warriors.
The name finally makes sense the paladin thought to himself with a grim chuckle. The sorcerous backline started flinging fireballs and his shield shook with the impacts while Aan was forced back, his armor scorched under the withering fire. To make matters worse, the twang of Dana's bow had gone silent.
Galen began to worry something had happened to her when a shaman was silenced mid spell by an arrow through the throat. The amazon had repositioned herself to get a clear shot at the enemy's backline, which became much too preoccupied with her to think about resurrecting their warriors. She danced among their fireballs, loosing shots in between her graceful evasions. Galen and Aan pushed forward, and the fallen line fell back before their onslaught.
Just as it seemed the tide was turning Dana witnessed a sight that chilled her blood. Fallen shaman were being raised just like their warriors as the others took up a strange chant.
Bishibosh! Bishibosh! BISHIBOSH!
A big shaman, almost as tall as a man, stepped forth, summoning fire from the tip of his bone staff. The amazon understood that unless she killed that champion, there would be no victory here. She immediately strafed to avoid incoming fire while aiming shot after shot at the leader of the shaman, but each time one of their number would step in front of him to protect him, forming a shield of flesh.
Dana stopped in her tracks, realizing she would run out of arrows before winning by attrition. She took cover behind a rock and summoned the fires of Hefaetrus into an arrow that would immolate all the shaman in one great conflagration, but as fireballs crashed against her cover she noticed the champion was not joining in the barrage, instead weaving a fiery incantation that carried on the wind and seemed to ignite it. The fiery wind carved a burning pentagram on the ground, and she was at its center.
She loosed the arrow before it was ready, catching a couple of shaman in the blast, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Just as she made it to the edge of the burning circle the incantation reached its climax. She jumped as the pentagram burst in a fountain of infernal fire, as if the very gates of Hell had opened beneath her feet. The eruption sent her flying, badly scorching her legs.
Galen saw what was happening and immediately burst into action. He braced his shield, the golden light that encased his body burning brighter, and charged headlong into the fallen line, which parted before his implacable assault. Even in a phalanx the imps could not oppose his momentum, and he burst onto the backline of shaman, laying into them with complete disregard for protecting his now exposed back.
His gamble paid off, distracting the shaman long enough for the amazon to recover and drink a healing potion, but as he hammered into them he suddenly felt cold steel bite into his back. He swiveled instantly with the blow and turned to strike his new assailant. A shock of lightning traveled up his arm as he struck a blue fallen whose skin crackled with electricity just like the tainted beast they had met in the tunnel.
It was huge, at least compared to the rest of its kin, and though the paladin's blow had stunned it, it recovered and jumped back into the fray to the war cry of RAKANISHU! It took all of Galen's willpower to bring his spasming body under control and meet the leaping champion with a devastating shield bash that sent it sailing into the fallen line, where it fried those unlucky enough to be on the receiving end.
But the second shock had sent the paladin to his knee, and fireballs struck his back. He screamed in pain and turned to raise his shield, but his twitching arm refused to comply. Just as the shaman were about to unleash another volley a dazzling bolt of lightning pierced two of them and buried itself in the shaman champion. It was one of Dana's javelins.
Galen turned his attention back to the lightning enchanted fallen who was on his feet again and running at him, but he simply smiled as from behind the figure of the barbarian leaped over the other imps with a great shout and landed with an overhead chop that split the blue champion's skull. Aan shook with the crackling power that burst from his victim's corpse.
- "N-n-not t-this ag-g-gainnnnnN!" he managed to articulate through chattering teeth.
The paladin stifled a laugh and moved to help his ally, but with both of their champions dead, the fallen scattered and fled screeching into the night.
Helping the barbarian to his feet, he set about healing his wounds as well as his own, while the twang of a bow informed him the amazon was picking off what remained of the fleeing demons. She soon made her way back to them.
- "Whatever happened to ladies first?" she called out as she neared, and Galen noticed she was still limping. He rushed to her side so she could lean on him and took her to one of the cairn stones, against which he lay her down to examine her legs. Though the healing potion had undone much of the damage, they were still lightly singed. He placed his hands on them and called on the light.
- "Oh sure," Aan teased, "tend to the pretty one before you're done healing me".
- "Come now, we all know I'm the pretty one here," Galen shot back, which earned him a friendly punch on the shoulder from the amazon.
He was quick to mime a retraction that signified that he had no intention of challenging her for the position. The thought that she wouldn't begrudge him the title briefly flickered in her mind before she pulled her focus back to the task at hand.
- "Time to see if our journey to the dark woods was worth it," she said as she rose to her feet. "You all remember what needs to be done?"
- "Yes. It does seem strangely fortunate that we already meet most of the requirements for the ritual," the paladin mused.
- "Let's just hope the fallen haven't tampered with the stones somehow," Aan chimed in as he examined the menhirs up close. They had been vandalized with crude depictions of the small demons engaging in acts that would inspire horror were they not drawn in such a comical fashion.
- "Only one way to find out," Dana asserted as she pulled out a dagger. She placed it against her right palm and drew it deliberately. Galen offered her his hand and she took it, cutting a bloody gash in his palm as well. Aan received the same treatment. They then went their separate ways, each walking up to a monolith: the northman placed his bloody palm on the northernmost stone; the knight of Westmarch on the westernmost stone; the amazon from Skovos on the southwestern one. All three began to hum, their runes glowing white hot. Galen then produced two small vials filled with blood, which he used on the last two monoliths, then moved to a sixth that stood at the center of the circle and pressed his bleeding palm against it.
The circle came alive with magic, its hum amplified a thousand-fold until the sound seemed to rip a tear in the fabric of reality and a storm of lightning struck from a clear sky, hitting each cairn stone repeatedly and playing between them until the light grew blinding and drowned the landscape. When it faded, a glowing portal stood on the surface of the central stone. Impossible colors danced within. The barbarian edged closer, eyeing it with suspicion.
- "Have I ever told you I hate magic? Especially the zappy kind. Especially today," he said to his companions as they stood before the swirling gateway.
- "Shocking," the amazon quipped.
- "Aren't you from the Thunder Tribe?" Galen was laughing.
- "I don't mind thunder. Thunder is the laughter of Bul-Kathos. It's what comes before that worries me."
Still chuckling, the paladin took both of their wounded hands in his.
- "Wait!" Aan exclaimed. "Don't heal us yet. In case this portal leads me to the ancestors, I want to have good company on the way." He drew each of his companions in a warrior's greeting, bloody palm against bloody palm, and made them do the same together. "There. Now we are blood brothers."
- "And sister," Dana finished with a grin.
Galen placed a hand on each of their shoulders and light spread from his body to theirs, breathing fresh vitality into their tired limbs.
- "This won't be the last time we shed blood together," he declared. "I could wish for no better allies." A playful smirk edged its way upon his lips. "Now which one of my brave allies volunteers to step through the portal first?"
- "I've made my position perfectly clear," the barbarian said stone-faced. "The amazon is our pathfinder, isn't she?"
- "Oh no," Dana replied, "everyone knows paladins lead the way."
- "Whatever happened to ladies first?" Galen teased.
The amazon pretended to be terribly interested in some unseen point in the distance. The paladin chuckled, taking the shield from his back and the war scepter from his side. He took one big breath, as if he were about to dive into a lake, and stepped through the portal. The other two followed close behind.
