Difference between revisions of "Thaddeus (Chapter 27)"

Latest revision as of 13:35, 12 February 2017

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Thaddeus (Act IV)#Chapter 27

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-Throwing off his disguise, Lechiem said,
-"Let the names of all who fled from this sham
-Be stricken from the rolls of our order.
-Our foe is the Lord of Terror himself.
-He comes with fire and fear; the dead are his,
-All of our own who die will rise 'gainst us.
-Every horror Terror can conjure will meet us;
-Blades and hammers will not prevail where
-The heart is weak.  A cringing coward who
-Cannot stand will not be our friend tomorrow."
--- Chronicles of Zakarum, c. 20, v. 15-24
-Moving along the River of Flame, Thaddeus came to a platform of stones, laid down on the foundations of the river.  Four oversized statues of armor-clad demons glared down at a path through the center of the platform; obviously, some sort of processional area.  Thaddeus strode directly down the center of the path, though he felt wary when he noticed the heads of the statues turning to follow him.  Was this another trap?  Would they attack?  Nothing happened as he went through, but no doubt Diablo had been informed of his arrival.  Far up ahead, through the haze of heat, he could see the squat ugliness of a Hell border fortress, crouching amid the river's flames.
-Much closer at hand was a completely unexpected sight: an angel in silvery armor, floating gently above the path, never deigning to touch Hell's soil.  Thaddeus' heart sank; had Izual found a body, and he would have to fight him again?  Or was this some other false light, fallen from Heaven?  No sign of malice or corruption presented itself, but appearances can deceive.  Cautiously, Thaddeus advanced, and the angel spoke.
-"Fear not, Paladin.  I am Hadriel, come to advise you."
-"That name is known to me, noble Hadriel.  I would cherish a word from one so wise."
-"Your caution is understandable, but I am here only to tell you the way.  Diablo is in the innermost sanctuary of this fortress of chaos.  Three of his greatest lieutenants and advisors have come to him, with a few retainers.  Most did not survive the Dark Exile, and Diablo's power is at its weakest.  The sanctum is protected by five seals, all of which must be broken to open the way."
-"I thank you for your guidance, great one.  Know you of Izual's fate?"
-"That one has drifted into realms vast and wild, awaiting the reward he thinks will come for his patience.  His masters have no use for him yet, but will find one for battles to come."
-"The Brothers' power will return, then?"
-"Yes.  Humanity has been ill-used; your quest is naught but an attempt to erase the many mistakes Tyrael made centuries ago.  The most hopeful outcome is that the balance will be restored to what it would have been had Tyrael never acted.  He has always been among our most compassionate... but not our wisest."
-Past the angel, Thaddeus noticed a group of Blunderbores approaching.  Before he had time to say anything, Hadriel spoke: "They would not dare to attack me, but I can offer you no protection.  Rejoin the battle, I will not stay."
-Hadriel gently floated away, leaving a sweet scent behind.  It was quickly overwhelmed by the gamy smell of Urdar, the largest tribe of Blunderbores.  Thaddeus advanced with clouds of hammers whirling; Urdar, grotesque Flesh Mothers, and strange Strangler ghosts came and died.  On this section of the river, there were no rough floating islands, only stony platforms and avenues.  The demons fell quickly, and some could be redeemed by holy prayers, for which the Light rewarded Thaddeus with life and energy.  Without much incident, he made his way to the gates of the Hell fortress.
-Before entering, Thaddeus returned to the Pandemonium Fortress.  "Noble Tyrael, before I enter Diablo's lair, there is one question I must ask."
-"I see something troubles you, hero.  This is an inopportune time to lose your nerve."
-"On a path on the River of Flame, I met an angel, claiming to be Hadriel.  He offered me advice about Diablo's sanctuary."
-Tyrael's wings quivered.  "I cannot account for that.  In my every effort, Hadriel has long cautioned me against folly.  His words fell on deaf ears... so perhaps he might try to help you without my knowledge.  Can you tell me his words?"
-Thaddeus gave Hadriel's words about Diablo's three advisors, the five seals, and an edited version of his comments about Tyrael.  "The words sound like his, and what he says is true," Tyrael replied.  "At least, so far as I know.  The last is an opinion he has voiced to me himself... in similar terms."
-"Could it be that I was deceived, and opening these seals will release some greater horror to serve Diablo?"
-"Sealed inner chambers are to be found in all Hell's fortresses.  Whatever is within must be dealt with.  Do not despair; what greater terror could you find than Terror himself?"
-Cain, who was always nearby, replied, "Terror, and all his host with him?"
-Thaddeus shook his head.  "That would only mean more targets for me.  Thank you, Tyrael.  I shall play this out and be on my guard."
-Venom Lords greeted Thaddeus at the open door of the fortress.  Why hadn't Diablo simply closed the gates?  Then Thaddeus noticed there were no gates; they had been smashed off ages ago and never replaced.  Most of outer Hell seemed to be in poor repair.  The Venom Lords weren't very dangerous, but the next group of monsters were: Oblivion Knights, led by an Oblivion Mage.  The knights are a sad lot, the remains of the noblest warriors who fell into temptation.  Their corruption is complete when they are fit to serve an Oblivion Mage, a former necromancer of the highest station.
-Blessed Hammer rendered the knights a mere nuisance to Thaddeus, but the mages were dangerous.  Like all necromancers, they ran from combat, though undeath made them sturdy enough to withstand more than a few blows.  (The habits of a lifetime are apparently not easy to shed, even when life is gone.)  But running put them beyond the range of Blessed Hammer, or at least let them hurl many, many laughing skulls of death before the hammers reached them.  When Thaddeus tried to charge, they cursed him with a damage-reversing spell, so he was hurt more than the mage was.  Several times, he found himself being chased away by two or more flying skulls, trying to find a healing potion or a body to pray over.
-There is no shame in a tactical retreat, but Thaddeus had a terrible time when three of the cursed, cursing necros all got together at once.  Hiding (and not ashamed to call it hiding) behind a column, Thaddeus called out, "All right, come and get me."
-Dry laughter echoed off the walls.  "No.  You come get us."
-"Then stand still, damn it."
-"No.  That would be foolish.  We are not fools."
-"Not fools?  Look at where you are!!"
-"You're in the same place we are."
-Thaddeus frowned.  "Good point."  The curse was gone by now.  Taking a deep breath, Thaddeus charged out with renewed vigor and bashed one over the head with his maul.  The others hurled laughing skulls; he charged around and bashed another, killing it.  Once there were only two, he could handle them.  Three was far too inconvenient.
-In the center of the fortress was a dais shaped like a pentagram.  Iron clamps the size of Thaddeus' whole body held the top of the dais down, like some kind of lid.  He couldn't see any seals to break, so he went into one wing of the fortress.  After clearing away everything but the Oblivion Mages (and very carefully excising them) he found two strange structures: flat disks set in the floor, surmounted by metallic rings.  Their function was unclear; he hit one ring with his scepter, stepped on the disk, and finally pushed the rings down to the floor.  Glowing runes appeared on the disk, and glowing Stranglers appeared out of thin air.  A few rounds of Blessed Hammer reduced the crowd to one, who bowed to reason and followed the others into the void after a zealous beating.
-The next wing of the fortress had only one seal.  Thaddeus opened it, but nothing appeared until he returned to the center of the fortress.  Five flying skulls bit into his soul, and several crippling curses shackled onto him.  Oblivion Mages.  It had to be Oblivion Mages, probably led by Lord de Seis, an infamous necromancer still admired by that sect of mages.  Running past, Thaddeus noted 5 of them, including one who was probably de Seis.  Once the skulls had given up their chase and the curses were gone, Thaddeus tried a few spins of Blessed Hammer.  One died; the others cursed and blasted him with death again.  Switching to his maul, he charged de Seis as fast as his arthritic legs could take him, stunning the mage lord.  More charges kept him wobbling, as Thaddeus knocked him away from his retinue where they couldn't help him.  After beating him to death, Thaddeus returned and polished the flunkies off.  These must be Diablo's advisors, he thought.  As the seals are undone, Diablo was sending them out instead of coming himself.  Typical of demon lords, he would only fight his own battle if there was no possible alternative.
-The last set of seals brought out the last of Diablo's three advisors: the Infector of Souls, a powerful Venom Lord.  Hideously fast, he and his minions quickly surrounded Thaddeus.  Not that Thaddeus minded; he did his best fighting from the middle of a pack.  A concentration of Blessed Hammers quickly pounded them all to jelly, and Thaddeus opened the last seal.  A red glow shone from the center of the fortress, and the whole building shook.
-^NOT EVEN DEATH CAN SAVE YOU FROM ME,^ a voice growled.
-"At least you're not running anymore," Thaddeus called out as he approached the dais.
-^NOW IT IS YOUR TURN TO RUN.^
-"Are we taking turns, then?  I have no patience to speak with you.  Your brother was a far better conversationalist."
-Diablo leapt ponderously out of a hole in the floor of the fortress, the piles of burnt skulls surrounding the dais bouncing under the impact.  He towered over Thaddeus, angry red, covered with spines, horns, and scales.  From his forehead, a red gem protruded.  How had it wound up there, Thaddeus wondered?  Mephisto's had gone through Sankekur's heart.  With a roar, Diablo launched a bolt of lightning across the room; Thaddeus' shield took almost all of it.  Then came a wave of fire, which Thaddeus sidestepped.  Never putting his shield down, Thaddeus charged, slamming bodily into the demon lord.  To his surprise, Diablo actually fell down... right on his behind.  Thaddeus smirked.  "If you're going to frighten me, you'll have to do better than this."
-A swat from Diablo's heavy tail stunned Thaddeus; the touch was chilling, too.  Maybe the Claw Vipers learned their tricks from him.  Retreating a few steps, Thaddeus cast Blessed Hammer a few times.  Diablo avoided the hammers, and cast his lightning again.  After three hits of lightning, Thaddeus began to worry, so he took a potion and ran in to zealously strike at Diablo.  Most of the blows were turned by Diablo's many horns and spiny bits.  A few hit, but not nearly enough.
-Dissatisfied with his light scepter, Thaddeus backed up and charged Diablo with his maul.  It was a hit, a palpable hit, but Diablo's return fire hurt without his shield.  The Lord of Terror was laughing now; Thaddeus realized he must look frustrated, and Diablo was interpreting it as fear.  He tried calling on vengeful spirits, which worked well -- when he hit.  The difficulty was getting past Diablo's thick hide.  Blessed Hammer, of course, would go through Diablo's armor like it was nothing... but aiming the hammers at a single target was difficult.  Thaddeus moved to the other side of the dais and cast Blessed Hammer.  Diablo charged in, and the hammer hit him; Thaddeus cast again, but Diablo moved out of the way.  Blessed Hammer seemed to be his best way of hurting Diablo, if he could hit with it.
-For a while, Thaddeus and Diablo exchanged spells.  He cast a few hammers until Diablo hit him with lightning.  After moving, he cast a few more hammers, and the process repeated.  After enchanting his shield, the lightning wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been -- but surviving wasn't the goal.  Finally, he saw his chance.  Diablo had come between two of the firepits flanking the dais.  Placing himself to block his advance, Thaddeus cast the hammers again and again.  Caught between the pits, Diablo was hit again and again, twitching and roaring with pain and anger.  After casting so many hammers he had to drink another potion, Diablo died.  Writhing, flames bursting out of the holes pounded through his body, the beast's flaming red spirit tore loose and was drawn into the soulstone.
-Diablo's frame collapsed and shattered on the floor.  The remains might have been human, stretched beyond recognition and burnt to ash and bone.  With a sigh, Thaddeus knelt beside the body, praying for the salvation of whatever poor soul had been forced from that husk to make way for Diablo.  It was over.  At least, this was over.  After taking Diablo's soulstone to the Hellforge and taking care of it, there could only be one problem left in the world.
-Concluding thoughts:
-#If the Hammerdin has a weakness, its the Oblivion Mages.  Blessed Hammer is too slow to catch them most of the time, and standing there casting it repeatedly is a good way to get yourself killed.  Of course, de Seis and company give lots of characters problems.
-#Diablo's high blocking percentage is annoying for anyone who doesn't hit very hard.
-#Killing him with Blessed Hammer was very satisfying, though.
-#Nonetheless, his drop was one of the worst I've seen.  A rare saber almost worthy of Durf's crappy rares collection, magic padded armor, two flawed gems and an El rune.

Difference between revisions of "Thaddeus (Chapter 27)"

Latest revision as of 13:35, 12 February 2017

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