Diablo 2: Visions of You

Diablo 2 - Visions of You (Part 6)
By Lady Jasmine
____________________________________________________________________________

Voices whispered.... a conspiracy building in the dense and dark vegetation
of the tropical forest that was alive with myth, magicks and darkness.

"It is just as I said.... She is the same as her mother."

A deep voice boomed of majestic authority with a tinge of righteousness. "I
have heard the same. Perhaps you are right. The tribute needs to be grander.
Have everything ready before the blood moon departs."

The old man nodded his head, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Of
course. Thank you, Ormus... you are doing the village a great deed."

***

Krysta shook her head. She couldn't understand what was going on. She always
figured Rune to be moody, but she considered his stone silence weird for even
him.

As she glanced back, an irritated flash poked her mind. Spikey was still
faithfully following her. The faint torchlights that lined the wooden walks
glinted off of its metallic surface in an offbeat rhythm compared to the sound
of their steps on the wood.

"Why are you still following me?" she muttered, not really expecting an
answer and saying it more to herself than to the metal golem.

She turned her eyes forward, looking back towards the rickety building that
she was previously inside and engaged in a serious conversation that made her
question Rune's emotional stability even more.

(Thirty minutes ago)

"By the ancient Skatsimi, they are known as the Children of the light,"
Asheara explained, her eyes half-lidded with mystery and strength. Her back was
ramrod straight as she leaned back upon the wooden chair until her shoulder
blades contacted against the rough wood. "As you know, they dominate the
jungles."

Rune nodded slowly, rubbing his mouth and glancing at the two mercenary mages
postefensfensively beside the female Iron Wolves leader. They regarded him with
a cautious and assessing gaze. "I already know most of this, my lady--"

"--Asheara," she immediately corrected him with a wry smile and her nostrils
flaring so briefly that Rune could've easily dismissed it.

"Asheara, my apologies," he gave a curt nod before returning to his previous
sentence. "I'm more concerned about what's being done about Mephisto and
Diablo."

Her exotically slanted eyes narrowed as her lips tightened into a firm line.
"That is the responsibility of the Iron wolves. The only help I ask of you is
for easy tasks."

"Easy?" Rune echoed, irritation laced in his deep voice as his nostrils
flared in mirror imitation of Asheara's. The small indoor torches flickered;
strange shadows crept across the druid's face in a most foreboding way. "You
under-estimate our worth."

"Diablo and Mephisto are OUR concern," she returned stubbornly. "They are in
our domain... we have no reason to ask outsiders to meddle in our--"

"Meddle?" A derisive snort followed the reply.

"--Affairs. Diablo is being tracked by our finest. He will be dead within one
night," she folded her arms across her breasts with an arrogant smirk on her
face. "We shall also get rid of Mephisto."

"A simple plan and yet completely insane," he shook his head with a frown. "I
hate to inform you of this, Asheara, but your men will die in one night."

It seemed to Krysta that Rune had caused the female warrior to bristle
angrily. The dark-skinned beauty's fists were clenched tightly and, if she
could, her eyes would shoot poison darts at the druid for his insult.

Krysta knew that if she didn't step in right now, they'd be stuck here
forever while the two played their odd little verbal game or she'd be reading
Rune's eulogy in a moment. Even the two mercenary mages guarding their leader
looked ready to kill... but that was no surprise.

Her voice cut in to heir argument, demanding their attentions. "Look! We'll
do whatever you have for us." With a glare, she silenced Rune from speaking once
his mouth opened. "Anything will be fine, even guarding the entrances. Just give
us something to do so we can make ourselveefuleful."

Rune shook his head, grinding his teeth as Asheara smiled warmly at the
assassin as though they had formed a female conspiratorial comradery against the
druid. He still wanted to argue until he was the victor. That need bubbled even
more when Asheara tossed her hair over her shoulder before throwing a pointy
look accompanied by a smirk at him.

Krysta ignored the spectacle and prompted Asheara.

Asheara nodded, pulling out a small and primitive lookingger ger to toy with
the dangerous edge of the lethal metal. "This is something Hralti fashioned just
recently. It is a replica of an ancient Skatsimi relic, the Gidbinn." Her voice
had lowered to a dark whisper as she spoke the foreign name as though it were a
curse.

>From where Rune sat, he noticed both male guards shift uncomfortably at
"Gidbinn." Their lips moved rapidly and silently, murmuring prayers most likely.

"The Gidbinn is a powerful relic. It will not har..."..." she hesitated, her
gaze flicking at the door. "The Children of the Light... they want it and they
fear it at the same time." Her lips twitched as she leaned forward in her chair.
"They have it. We used its power to protect our village. Unfortunately, the
Gidbinn's power was weakened at this time and they managed to get past the
barrier and steal it."

As she spoke of the location of the "mini-evils'" camp, Rune shook his head,
slightly impressed and aed wed with the horde of demons that had lay siege to
the tiny village. Just more proof that there is more to the eye and you cannot
allow your self to underestimate any creature of evil. Though the attack seemed
chaotic... it was planned to have the strike at one moment. It seemed even
unbelievable to him at first since the miniature evils seemed so disorderly.

"I have one question: How did the barrier weaken though?" he finally spoke
up, rubbing his mouth thoughtfully. Fingers drumming on the table as her eyes
darted around, she was trying to find the appropriate words. She tossed an
errant lock of raven hair out of her face as her eyes turned upon a
broad-shouldered man entering the room.

A quiet rage was suddenly dancing in the exotic woman's eyes. "Ehgrid..." Her
voice was tinged with a pinch of animosity. The icy tone of her voice was enough
to send he brawny man leaving--however sending an equally frozen glare at her.

The Iron Wolves leader apologized, shaking her head and asking for Krysta and
Rune to ignore the "baffoon for intruding." She rolled her eyes. "He should know
his place by now." She immediately launched back into her explanation once being
prompted by Rune as to where she left off.

"We have an ancient ritual performed around this time. A lamb is usually
sacrificed in tribute to the Gidbinn. The Blood moon ritual must happen before
tomorrow's sunse we we need the Gidbinn by then or..." her voice trailed as she
shook her head.

"What is it?" the assassin queried.

Asheara hesitated. "It's some superstition the village folk have about the
dagger." Her shoulders shook in a light silent chuckle. "They believe that if
the tribute isn't given, the Ageion Destroyer will be revived. It is after all
the dagger that the Destroyer created..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes
drifted to the druid who had remained silent for quite awhile. "Are you okay?"

His gaze was empty and focused on her. His dark pupils had shrunk and the
colour had drained from his face--as though he had been frozen from being
slapped by a slab of ice.

"No," he shook his head, his eyes narrowing at the female warrior. "You must
be mistaken."

Krysta made a face, "Rune, you don't look so good."

He nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat as he got up from his seat and
headed for the door, not bothering to respond to Krysta's calling out of his
name.

(Back to the present)

Krysta sighed, she had been staring down at Spikey for a good twenty minutes
as she thought things through. She could recall stories about the Ageion
Destroyer. A demon of the worst kind: a destroyer of countless villages. It was
all for the sake of amusement. The village of Ageion, a land hidden from all,
shrouded in mists and secrecy, and well known for being populated with
intelligent herbalists whom could treat various illnesses and injuries, was one
of the demon's conquests.

Ageion was well known to the people of the Druidic College, Tur Dulra. When
the Destroyer was coming for their lands, Tur Dulra offered an alliance with the
Ageions as well as the Zann Esus.... sadly, the Ageions declined, believing that
they could avoid bloodshed because of their disclosed location. They fell in
less than one hour. Tur Dulra was also attacked by the Destroyer….

That's it! Krysta realized, shaking her head. Rune was acting so weird
just because the demon rang so close to his home. She lowered her head, also
wondering if Rune had lost any of his friends to the demon like he had with the
Enchantress. Great, just what he needs… more ghosts to fuck with his
head…

Jingle jingle jingle.... Spikey was at it again, pacing around Krysta while
she stood rooted to the spot, submerged in her deep thoughts. The golem finally
stopped, folded its blade-hands across its broad and jagged chest while tapping
its foot on the ground.

Staring down, the assassin stared at the small metal creature with a sigh.
The Gidbinn was her primary target for now. "I don't suppose you can pick up
Rune's scent, huh little one?"

The golem didn't even respond to that jibe.

"Oh screw it," she gritted her teeth and glancing around. That strange man...
the one with a powerful air to him and an authoritative voice was no longer
there.

Looks like I'll have to come back to buy the town portal scrolls
later, she thought, spinning on her heel and walking with quick strides
towards he marketplace to prepare herself. Two feet away, Spikey followed,
jingling as he went.

***

Ferrum loosened his grip on Alys' wrist, realizing that he was being much to
rough. "You can't hide from me, Alys."

Alys sighed, hating to admit that Ferrum was getting sneakier. Months ago,
she could hide from him and if she didn't reveal her position, he'd end up
running back to the village, frantic and spouting obscenities that she was lost
in the jungle. .... it was hard not to chuckle.

"You think it's funny?" he smiled wryly, shaking his head as his voice turned
serious. "Alys... are you really gonna go through life taking everything lying
down? Why can't you fight back?"

She shook headhead rapidly. "No.... Ferrum... I..."

SNAP!

Boerruerrum and Alys jumped, ducking down low and spinning towards the source
of the sound. In a flash, a crude bone wand appeared in Ferrum's fist. Forcing
open Alys' hand, he placed an identically crude dagger in her hand. "Hide it,
get ready to use it," he whispered to her in a low voice and nodded as she
tucked it away under her skirt and blouse. He pressed a quick kiss to her
forehead and crawled away, shifting into predator mode, ready to kill to protect
Alys and himsif nif need be.

Another snap! He crawled closer, creeping up to a lush bush of broad leaves
reaching up to the darkened sky. The sound was a dry twig being snapped under
pressure. Under pressure of what though? He peered through the dense green
growth.

... Under the pressure of Rune's foot.

"Rune?!" he groaned, standing up from his position. "God... not you..."

The druid whirled around, an odd expression on his face. "Nice to see you
too, Ferrum."

The necromancer sighed, tucking his bonewand away and resting his hands on
his lean hips. "Thought you were something threatening."

"You mean I'm not?"

Ferrum grinned, "Of course not, right Alys?" He looked over his shoulder,
expecting to see a relieved on her face.

... Seeing her face would've been a start though.

"Alys?"

The young lady would've heard him if she weren't making her escape for the
second time in one hour.

Ferrum sighed with a small curse, The little minx.... I hate it when she does
that..."

Rune half-smiled, shaking his head. "You better go after her." He nodded
towards the endless stretch of jungle. "Wouldn't want to leave her with all the
monsters roaming around."

Ferrum grimaced, plodding off, "Hmph, I know, I know...."

As the necromancer left, weaving through the trees, Rune could hear him
mutter to himself something that soundeke "ke "I'm gonna tie her to her bed so
she can't go anywhere when I get the chance."

***

Alys's breath came out in small huffs as her sprint slowed into a leisurely
stride. She was close to the village now. A playful yet naughty smile crossed
her lips. She felt triumphant. "I had to have lost Ferrum... he wouldn't think
me to return so easily."

She leaned against the nearby tree to catch her breath. Her head tilted back,
leaning against the rough trunk, her hair rubbing its surface.

As much as she loved Ferrum, he was quite irritating. Whenever she wanted to
run from him, he always chased her. He never let her be alone to have her
thoughts to herself, to have a moment to cry, a moment to escape everything...

Is that really bad though? A voice in her head asked her and she found
herself without a proper answer.

Yes, he did seem to ease a part of her that often ached. ... No... who was
she kidding? He didn't SEEM to and that was clearly obvious. He did soothe all
the hurt she felt. With him, life just felt bearable, as though all the pain she
had felt in her life was worth it if it meant she had someone as wonderful as
him to call her own. And isn't that by itself something precious?

She stared down at her dirty bare feet and dug her toe into the lush soil
with a grimace. A thin string of guilt cut through her. Should she really be
running away from him? Ferrum was trying so hard to get her to open up to him.
He had opened up to her, why couldn't she?

"What's wrong with me...?" she murmured softly, shaking her head and feeling
the thick locks rub against her face. A hand snatched her wrist again and she
jumped. "Ferrum..." she turned her head, about to scold him but the words froze
in her throat.

What stared back was an old face, skin sagging off the bones with wrinkles
marring it further with the age-spots. The white hair, coarse and greasy
looking, was mussed as usual. Dark and beady narrowed eyes gazed upon her, cruel
amusement in their depths.

"Whore's taint, what else could be wrong with you!" he snapped, his voice
causing his niece to cringe.

Alys stared back at her uncle's austere face. Aghast, her hand trembled as
she parted her lips to reply, but no words came out, only tremulous sounds.
Despite Ferrum's resolve for her to come out of her shell, she was still
incapable of defending herself against the supercilious bastard. She knew Ferrum
wasn't hoping for her to suddenly turn into a virago, but as she was being led
past the entrance of the village and caught sight of her home, a ball of energy
lodged deep in her chest swelled until it burst.

"I should've thrown you into the jungle to die like your mother. Better you
dead than servicing men on your knees or lying on your back," the venomous sound
of her uncle's voice pricked her ear and was tearing at her shell which, day by
day, was wearing thin.

Are you really gonna go through life taking everything lying down? Ferrum's
voice whispered to her and she could feel a soft brush of his lips against her
temple as the pressure built. You have to fight back...

Do I really have to listen to his stupid prattle? she thought to herself,
wrenching her wrist free from his grip.

"Get away from me," she whispered in a low voice, stepping back and regarding
him with a cautious gaze as he looked her up and down. "I don't have to listen
to you."

"Damn girl, can't stand the truth, can you?" he hissed. "Just like your
mother."

"I'm not my mother!" the words leapt off her tongue like bolts of fire. Her
hands were balled into tight fists, each hand tempted to plant itself square in
his face but lacking the guts to launch her arm out. "She chose to be like that!
I would never choose that!"

He laughed, ignoring her claim and shaking his head, mocking her as his eyes
glinted. "Poor Alys, the blonde boy still has not come to his senses?" He
sneered. "Once he realizes you are an impure little trollop who services
everyone, do you think he'll stay by your side?"

Several profanities came to mind for her to scream out, but instead, all the
hatred, all the anger and spite she had endured her life had culminated in her
body, enabling her to move at a lightning speed. "Don't you dare talk about
Ferrum that way!!" she cried out, stepping forward angrily. "You horrible old
man! Full of spite, that's what you are!" All her fury spewed forth into her
heated words as tears leaked from her eyes. "You've always been like that to me!
I'm related to you, yet you treat me like dirt!"

Alkor was still sputtering seconds after he had been knocked off his feet. He
never would've expected mousy Alys to finally find her backbone and strike him
back.

She placed her hands on her hips and glared down at him. "Let me tell you
another thing! You know what fate holds in store for a bitter old man like you?
You will die alone. Alone, no one will care about you... No one will gave a damn
when you die, not one person will shed a tear for you." Her eyes, her hazel eyes
were alive with triumph as she stared down at him as his eyes watered from the
broken bridge of his nose.

Wiping her tears with a large grin on her face, Alys spun and ran back into
the jungle, determined to find Ferrum and tell him the wonderful news; she had
just broken her uncle's nose and it felt great.

***

Pivoting expertly on his right leg, the druid pointed his left hand out at
the remainder of the demons that scurried about angrily, screaming like
banshees.

The wolves, bear, crows and creatures guided by his will jumped into action,
tearing into evil limbs, splattering blood, guts and chewed up flesh on the
rust-coloured earth.

Rune's body ached. He had spent that past few hours trekking through the
jungle, tracking down the horde of demons that dared to attack Kurast and steal
the relic he now held in his hand.

The Gidbinn looked rather primitive... crude. The dagger seemed to be made of
a bone-like material, but not as fragile as bone... it felt as though it rivaled
the durability of metal despite the countless chips on its edges.

As his animal army finished the rest of the demons until all that remained of
them was a mass of corpse piled on a pool of blood, Rune smiled grimly to
himself as he pulled out a town portal scroll.

***

Something's not right... Krysta thought, shaking her head at the
spectacle she had witnessed. Minutes ago, she had seen Alys being dragged back
to the village. No surprise... but once she stepped on the bridge, she engaged
in a heated debate with her uncle. Before the assassin could jump in to defend
the young lady, Alys reared back and sucker-punched the old man.

For that, she deserved a standivativation. Krysta couldn't help but feel
proud for the woman even though she really didn't know too much about her
besides her relationship with Ferrum. Her dark eyes flittered over from the
bridge, to the metal golem staring into the dark waters in fascination, to the
house that she was most likely being dragged towards.

Sure, the house looked fine now, but when Alys took off, tearing back into
the forest like a free spirit, a horrible sense of foreboding had entrapped
Krysta. Despite her thoughts spoke up with I should go after her, she didn't get
that far.

Yes, she had started to walk away, leaving her location which kept her well
hidden from Alkor, when a faint tickle of intuition, or premonition, made him
pause--that same sixth-sense that had kept her alive from all her years of
barely escaping the perils of an assassin's life. She simply narrowed her eyes
in suspicions and pulled Spikey back into the shadows to see what scene would
unfold.

In her shadowy hiding spot, she saw two men, two very unsavoury looking men,
exit from Alkor's house and walk up to the old man. She gritted her teeth,
something foul was going to happen.

Craning her neck, she concentrated on trying to hear their exchange of words,
but it was no use.

Krysta looked down at Spikey, shaking her head. "I don't suppose you can
locate either Ferrum or Alys for me..."

<

In the cool and dark evening air, Ferrum narrowed his eyes, ducking low
behind a broad-leafed bush of a vibrant green. He could feel it... something was
out there, running, something had been chasing him as he headed towards the
abandoned temple that once was his and Alys' special meeting place.

Evil... it had to be evil... a really lightweight evil judging by the light
sound of the motions.

He closed his eyes, training his mind to seek out the disturbances in nature
like a druid had once taught him. "Touch the earth... feel it... can you feel it
speaking to you? Sense it. Sense what movement there is, what hooves move, what
feet move, what life there is near you," the faded voice of his old companion
had once said.

This time, Ralehn's advice had paid off. There! the nerves in his body
screamed in unison, arousing an unfamiliar frisson of fear.

He whirled around and nearly beaned Alys in the head with his wand. Luckily,
cried out in shock just in time for him to pull his attack, the wand a mere inch
from her forehead.

"Alys," he breathed, putting his weapon away. He drew her into hims, ms,
pulling her tight against him with the pillow of her breasts flattening against
his armor-clad chest. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

He pulled her out of his embrace to gaze deep into her eyes. His sapphire
irises shone with worry. "I could've killed you."

"But you didn't," she responded, a smile splitting her face.

"And you're happy I could've killed you??"

Words flew from her mouth rapidly. Sentences retelling the events, her
thoughts, her conclusion, her attack. "He toppled over, right on his behind,"
she gushed happily. "And his face!" She scrunched her face up then looked up at
Ferrum in shock--a perfect imitation of her uncle. "He looked at me just like
that!"

Ferrum stared down at her as a stark silence stretched between the two of
them. Noises of the jungle night echoed through, reaching their ears. First
bats, then nocturnal birds, then nocturnal predators screeched through the
night.

Alys shivered, her bravado dropping as she hugged herself and glanced around
nervously. "Uh... Ferrum..." She inched closer to him, wrapping her arms around
him and burying her face into his shoulder.

He chuckled, nuzzling the top of her head and inhaling the soft scent of
sunshine in her hair. "Sweet minx... brave enough to punch her asshole of an
uncle, yet still scared of the dark." As she defended herself from his
accusation, Ferrum gathered her into his arms, carrying her towards the empty
temple.

"Shouldn't we go home?" she asked softly as Ferrum set her down to retrieve
his flints to start a fire at the olurdyurdy wooden torches discarded on the
ground.

He struck the stones together effortlessly, sparks igniting. "That's not a
good idea," he replied, another spark illuminating his face. "Your uncle will
probably be even more of an ass to you for giving him what he deserves."

She nodded. "True... but, is it okay to stay here the night? Aren't there
monsters lurking in there?"

Ferrum smiled with a nod. A burst of energy shot from his hand, splitting and
falling like incandescent rain to the ground. From the spot the light landed,
the earth rumbled, soil gathering up, growing, morphing. The ball of earth
slowly sprouted human-like features. Legs first, then arms, and then a head...
barely a trace of a neck.

He turned to her, a gentle look to his eyes. "Alys, there are a lot of
dangers lurking down there, that is why we're going to clean it out first. This
place was yours and mine before, remember?" When she blushed, he continued on.
"I don't like exposing you to danger, but in this case, it's not really
avoidable. I could leave you out here--"

"--NO!"

She was rewarded with a nod. "Of course, I won't. That's even riskier. Do you
still have that dagger?"

On cue, she pulled it out from the waist of her skirt and held it out to him.
He pushed it back to her, "No, you keep it, just in case." He then handed her a
small bottle of a thick red fluid from his belt. "This too, you might need it."

"What about you?"

"Heh, don't worry about me, love, I'll be fine," he pulled out his bonewand,
gripping it tightly then releasing his hold. "Just stay close to me. As long as
I'm here," he held his hand out to her, "I'll protect you."

Without any hesitation, she placed her hand in his. She trusted him
implicitly.