Amanita (Act IV)

IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, AMANITA.                          Where am I?
                T      W     I        W  E                
                H  P   O  T  N  G  T  H  V             W  
                E  O   U  A  T  R  H  E  E     S       I  H
                   R   L  K  O  A  E  R  N     U   L   T  E
             MEPHISTOS DEFEAT WAS A GREAT VICTORY FOR THE LIGHT
                E  A      N  T  P  E     Y  O  V   N   O  P
                L  L   H     H     N  N  O  U  I   G   U  
                L      A  Y  E  O  E  O  U  L  V       T  
                       V  O     F  M  T     D  E          
                       E  U        Y                      
Who are you?                                         YOU KNOW ME, AMANITA.
                                             I AM THE ARCHANGEL TYRAEL.
                          I HAVE RESTED, MY WILL IS STONG AGAIN.
      PERHAPS IT WOULD BE SAFER FOR YOU TO ARRIVE HERE,
      A                     O
      N                     R
      D         THE LAST BASTION OF HEAVEN'S POWER
      E                     R
      M                     E
      O                     S
      N      BEFORE THE GATES OF THE BURNING HELLS.        ooh pretty
      I
      U      THOUSANDS OF CHAMPIONS OF THE LIGHT,
      M      MANY OF THEM MORTAL, LIKE YOURSELF,
             HAVE HALLOWED THESE HALLS WITH THEIR BLOOD
             LOST IN BATTLE WITH ETERNAL DARKNESS
             IN A WAR WHICH NEVER TRULY ENDED.
Angels bleed? YES. Angels die? YES. I could kill an angel? PERHAPS. Wow
         AMANITA, YOU MUST PREPARE YOURSELF TO BATTLE DIABLO
                             Oh yeah, him
             THE LORD OF TERROR HAS GONE TO HIS FORTRESS
                  AND IS CALLING HIS MINIONS TO HIM
                    FOR AN ASSAULT ON YOUR WORLD.
            YOU MUST DESTROY HIM, AND CLOSE THE HELL GATE
                     AND YOU MUST FACE HIM ALONE
                                 What?
         I HAVE BEEN FORBIDDEN TO AID YOU
                          INTERVENTION
                     IS FORBIDDEN
                      BY HEAVENLY          SAVE FOR A FEW BITS OF WISDOM
                       EDICT                  THIS MUST BE THE HOUR OF
                     ASSISTANCE              MORTAL HUMANITY'S TRIUMPH.
                     DISALLOWED
                 COMPLETELY                    YOU MUST SUCCEED ALONE
        Alone?                              TWO MORTALS REMAIN HERE, AND
                                           STAND READY TO LEND YOU SUCCOR
Can I bring someone else?                    YOU DESIRE THE COMPANY OF
                                            DECKARD CAIN OF HE HORADRIM?
Yeah. Will he be safe here?                 LONG AGO I SWORE AN OATH TO
                                            PROTECT THE HORADRIM. HE IS
                                             ALSO YOUR FRIEND. NO HARM
                                              COULD COME TO HIM HERE.
Well... ok

The Pandemonium Fortress was pretty... or maybe "awesome" was a better word. Marble and bronze shone in the light of torches and lamps. Everything was so straight and white and gleaming, I felt cleaner just looking at it. I hoped I wasn't leaving a mark on the floor. Then I looked down. Everything on me was exactly in place, cleaned and polished within an inch of its life. The armor was oiled, the bow had a new coat of wax, there were even fresh strings in my pouch. I didn't know whether to be happy or annoyed.

Once I got him in, Cain was ecstatic about the Pandemonium Fortress. You've never seen anyone so happy to be dragged off to Hell before -- he must not get away from home much. Knowing him, the chance to interrogate an archangel about Horadrim history probably made going to Hell worth it.

"Can you believe this place? Did you ever dare to dream that you'd one day stand upon the crossroads between Heaven and Hell? This is truly miraculous!"

"Yeah. Cain... I'm not so good with all this angelic miracle stuff, so... I was wondering if you could do most of the talking with him?"

"I..." Cain blinked, shaking his head. "Well... I will help you in every way I can. If you do not with to, though I cannot understand why anyone would deny themselves the chance to speak with the archangel Tyrael. Such opportunities do not come often."

"Yeah, I know, it's awesome and all that... I don't know, I just don't feel comfortable."

Cain smiled, and patted me on the shoulder. I didn't quite avoid flinching. "Though well-known for his compassion, the company of angels is seldom a comfort to mortals. But I think something else is bothering you. You never did say what happened to your friend Natalya."

I shrugged. "Frozen and shattered. Happens to the best of us."

He nodded. "A terrible thing to have happen. Who could take comfort in the presence of the eternal, when our own mortality has recently been made so clear?"

"Yeah, whatever. I've gotta get busy. Diablo's in some kind of fortress, it's gotta be near here." I frowned. "He didn't say anything about Baal. Could you ask him?"

With a confused look on his face, Cain nodded, and turned towards Tyrael. I grabbed him before he could say anything. "Not now! Wait 'til I'm gone."

"Amy, this is absurd... if I didn't know you, I would say you were intimidated. Tyrael may seem powerful, and he is, but he will do you no harm!"

"I know. He's an ally. I'm just not an "ally" kind of girl, ok? I know he's compassionate and devoted and eager to help, but I... I just don't want..."

With great compassion of his own, Cain listened to me fluster and blather for a while, then patted me on the shoulder again. I wish he wouldn't do that. "Calm yourself, everything will be all right. It seems to me Natalya's death is bothering you more than you think. Perhaps, in time, you will be able to properly mourn her."

I closed my eyes, counted to ten, and very calmly said, "Cain... can we have a little less of the soppy, get-in-touch-with-your-feelings crap right now?"

"You'll hear no more from me until you are ready. Your journey is far from over. Diablo is in Hell. Only when he is beaten will our world finally have peace."

"Yeah... he's in a fortress, with the Hell gate, calling up an army. Probably got a big crowd with him already. Good thing the angel picked me up before I got there."

Cain's eyebrows rose to his hairline. I envy those eyebrows. "Tyrael picked you up?"

"Yeah, he picked me up. I'm kind of cute sometimes."

Now staring in utter confusion, Cain slowly shook his head. "I see..."

"Said the blind man. Well, sands of time and all that. I gotta get going. See ya!"

I should have known making a joke like that about an angel, especially Tyrael, might offend Cain's sensibilities, but if you're gonna go to Hell it might as well be for a good reason. At the other end of the fortress, two people were waiting -- the mortals, presumably. Halbu was a Zakarumite paladin and smith, Jamella a Zakarumite priestess and mage. Either one alone could have been the most beautiful human being I'd ever laid eyes on. The sight of both together got me to wondering if I could earn some more reasons to be in Hell, but they wouldn't say much to me. Polite, but... maybe they could tell what I was thinking.

I usually don't think like that on a job. Something was getting to me. Maybe it was Natty: there's worse ways to go than freezing, but it's pretty bad. Whatever the cause, there was no time to worry about it now. The Pandemonium Fortress had one gate. Looking down, I saw we were suspended in the middle of a black abyss. Sharing the emptiness was an empty plain not far below, looking as cold and gray and empty as the ashes of love. Naked steps barely wide enough for one person led down.