[Pale_Horse]

Part 2

"Now were do ye suppose we stay, my kind is not welcomed here? Outside of the town, nay, that acursed vegetable may have kin."
"Calm ye'self, for ye surely are still injured." Calmly replies the Paladin.
Together they walk supporting each other to walk, to the corner they stumble. A sound of a disturbed puddle from behind, alarms them.
"Forgive me, for I did not mean to startle you. I could help but not to overhear your troubles. I may be of some assisstence with lodging, their will be no trouble for either of you. Only thing I ask for in return, is your help in a small matter."
Zavier and Horris look at one another and ponder for a second. With no objections, the changling nods his head in agreement.
"Excellent, my name is Seriph, my dwellings are this way. We shall get aquanited there, but for now we must hurry, outsiders are not all to welcomed in this lands."
Seriph, walks with a quickness to his step, as the traveling pair follow. Seriph is a pale man, corpselike if you will. His garb is pure black, with ashin skulls adorned. Long flowing white hair whips in the wind. Their is a musky oder the trails off of him, it burns the nostrils of Horris the druid.
A brisk walk of four blocks brings our trio to what appears to be a run down abandoned home.
"Quickly this way." Seriph wispers. A nervous glance over his shoulders, makes Zavier start to wonder if this is the right thing.
Opening the door Horris is bombarded with candle light, it takes a second or two to adjust to the differece from the darkness outside. Finally when his sight recovers, he notices a collossus of iron standing on the opposite end of the room. As a reaction both travelers grab for their wepontry.
"A trap ye set." Zavier crys.
The metal giant who stands a easy ten foot tall steps to advance the intruders. Seriph, rushing over, seperates the line of combat. He puts his hand out on both sides.
"This be no trap, friends." He motions for the monster to stand down.
"It is only for protection, a conjuring of mine known as a golem, it is a guard of sorts when I not within my home. Please, put away the weapons, you are safe, I assure you no harm will come to either while here. Like a fog in sunlight the golem fades away.
"A golem, ye be a necromancer. A follower of the horde!" Protests Zavier.
"Ha ha ha, a necromancer yes, but no follower of the horde am I. Once I was a street child, till I was shown the ways of the black magics. I am on a quest to save the one known as Deckard Cain, an elder who is wise beyond his years. This is where your help is needed. I know of the wereabouts of Cain, but their is a mass of daemon too many for me to handle by myself. If you are ab ........"
A look in both the druid and paladins eyes tells Seriph, that he has picked the right choice in travelers to help in his quest.
Already knowing the answer, he asks anyway. "Do you know of this Decard Cain?"
"By thy gods, I am Zavier thy friend is Horris, both seek the wisdom of Cain too."
"Excellent, rest we shall leave at dawn. Surely you must be tired and of need of rest and nurishment. I shall prepare a meal, then we can talk."
"There is a land known as Tristrum, once a wonderful town to anyones standards. You could buy weres and stay before traveling on, it lay over the mountains to the east. I had ventured their to find Cain, but on inspection, I noticed, he was caged at the heart of the town, guarded by a legion of evil. Most disturbing is, I fear the towns people have all but died to be reborn as minions themselves. I fear Cain will not last any longer. His will is strong, but is it strong enough? We need to reach him before it is too late. Can I count on your aid?"
"Yes, ye will accompany you in this endevor. He may be the only one to help in the coming evil to thy land. A great daemon known as Diablo is on thy rise. It roams the land searching for clues to where thy may find its kin Mephisto and Baal." Retorts the Paladin.
"Iye, my lands to the far south, have seen the walking of this monster in times long past. The writings say that if, he returns all is lost. I seek the monks aid for similar matters. Baal, you have mentioned, he seeks. Our lands guard his emprisoned body. Unfortunitlly time has forgotten where the prison stands. Without knowledge of such a place, we surely can do nothing to guard Diablo from attaining his goal. They talk late into the night. Slowly one by one they drift to sleep.
A noise faint at first, increases slowly. It is the sound of a people outside. This noise awakes the three. Peeking out of the doorway Seriph turns his head back to his guests, with a worried but somewhat grin on his face.
"I think we have overstayed our welcome friends!"
Quickly he shuts the door and dons his armor and weapontry. Zavier and Horris are way ahead of him, already fully armored, and ready for battle.
A quick chant and a drop of his blood the necromancer creates another golem, but this time it is forming with bone at its core, slowly muscles wrap and tendens bind. It glistens with blood coating its body. Hands elongate creating claws with razorsharp nails. A blood golem is born. Eyes red and glassy, look at Zavier, with the understanding he and Horris are allies. But this still does not settle well for the Paladin.
Another chant from Seriph and a vortex of bones surround him creating a magical armor. A wink to Horris is followed by silence.
"Let them see what they fear we are, let them think that we are the ones who will pull hell up from its depths, to fight for us. Let their minds wonder with the thoughts of evil, for this is all that they see us for, but we know different." Proclaims Seriph.
"Touching, very much so, it pulls at thy heart of thee." Jokes Horris. He pretends to wipe a phantom tear from his eye.
Eyes closed, a blue and white glow eminates from Zavier. A feeling of comfort and protection embraces him, then expands to the others as well as the golem.
"A protection for thy uncertain confrontation."
Explains the Paladin. Seeing a quimsical look on the necromancers face as he inspects the aura.
A torch bursts threw a dirt covered window. It flies threw the air landing on cloth at the far end floor. It ignites quickly and spreads up the wall eatting all in its path. Within seconds it consumes the far wall. More tourches soon follow.
"Let our presents strike fear." Shouts the man of god.
The golem rushes forward threw the forward wall, creating a shutter for the foundation, as one section explodes outward. This causes some of the mob to jump in fear, and scurry away screaming for their life.
"Changling, for the death of thy beloved Hammerhilt, Ye are ordered to death. Resist and ye die most painfully. Necromancer, for thy harboring of this abomination, and for the use of thy black majics, ye are ordered to death thy same. Paladin, leave with god, for ye done no wrong, stay and ye fate is thy same." Yells a squire, shakely reading from a scroll.
Seriph chuckles as he chants. A curse hits the crowd, the weaker of the remaining mob see their fears come to life before their eyes. Some picture huge daemons sprouting up from the earth, others see the sky turning red as blood and their own skin peeling away from acid rain. They run screaming in terror. One helpless member screams "Get them off!" as he rips his clothing looking behind him. Dosent even realize he is about to hit a building wall. He hits the wall so hard that his neck compacts, and pops. He falls limp to the ground. When he awakins he will no longer be able to walk for he has broken his back.
All that remain are twenty three of Lord Byrans men. Twenty knights with two paladins, and a mage. More than enough for problem to the allied travelers. They encircle the quartet the paladins start swirling magical hammers, but are cautious, hknowing that the greatest of them was felled by Zavier. The knights sword at the ready are in stance ready to fight, while the mage produces a spell for them to turn their swords into fire.
In the center of this ring Zavier, Horris, Seriph, and the blood golem, stand back to back waiting for the first move.