Difference between revisions of "Thaddeus (Chapter 33)"

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Thaddeus (Act V)#Chapter 33

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-Hadst I a hammer,
-I would hammer in the morning!
-I would hammer in the evening!
-All over this land!
--- The Book of the Hammer, c. 10, v. 17-20
-"Nihlathak didn't have the relic?" Anya asked Thaddeus.
-"Before he died, he said he gave the relic to Baal.  I have brought you everything I could carry away from the temple.  If the relic is not here, it is lost."
-"Then you must go to the summit.  The path to take is through the ice caves you found me in, by way of a hidden passage next to a river."  Sighing, she lowered her head.  "You must think me presumptuous.  I cannot ask this, you have already done so much."
-"There is no presumption; you need not ask.  The Worldstone must be protected by any means you or I possess.  My hope is that we can cooperate, but you have not spoken of yourself.  All this must be galling for you; I know you are a proud people."
-She stared hard at him for a moment, before her eyes fell.  "Yes.  Which makes Nihlathak's betrayal all the more mystifying.  The Worldstone is the source of our pride; it is our whole purpose.  How could he have done this?"
-For a minute, Thaddeus was silent.  Not that he couldn't think of anything to say; if Anya honestly wanted answers, he could easily spend an hour answering her.  A dozen different answers came to mind, none of them good things to say.  Finally, Anya asked, "Before you killed him, he said things about me, didn't he?"
-"Yes."
-"I know he wanted me for himself..."
-"Yes.  But I do not think he was fond of you.  If I might speculate... ?"
-"Speak freely, outlander.  It is our way."
-"You are the great chief's daughter.  Marrying you would be an act of taking power."
-Anya frowned.  "Here in the north, a man must make his own way.  He may not marry into power and expect to keep it."
-"That is not quite what I meant.  Nihlathak was a proud man; in fact, he felt he was better than anyone else.  I cannot help but notice that all the men in Harrogath admire you.  Taking you from them would have suited his pride."
-"He was never any more proud than the other elders," she murmured.  "But his misguided pride will be our undoing.  I wonder if our ways confuse you.  When I first saw you, I thought you must be quite a man to have come so far up the mountain, through so much danger."
-Laughing a bit, he replied, "And now you think differently?"
-"I did, but I changed my mind again.  You confuse me.  You stand up and look men in the eye, but have no pride in yourself.  Your confidence seems absolute, but you will not allow others to see it.  Qual-Kehk tells me he and his men, down to the lowest, insulted you to your face.  Your reply was to walk out our gates and defeat Baal's army.  You have great strength; why are you ashamed of it, to hide and belittle it so?"
-"Anya, in my religion, pride is considered a terrible sin.  A mortal sin.  It is... how should I explain this?" After some thought, Thaddeus said, "I know a story written in the chronicles of Zakarum about the Nephalem.  I don't suppose you have heard of them; they were a race of giants, mighty men of ancient times."
-Very quietly, Anya said, "Go on."
-"When the angels descended from Heaven, some made congress with mortals, and children came of their union.  These were the Nephalem.  Favoring their own blood over all others, the angels gave them power and privileges, saying 'You are first among all mortals.  Let our blessings be upon you, that you might be a blessing for the world.'  They became humanity's first guardians, and the first kings."
-"They must have been great indeed," Anya said with a smile.
-"They learned of power from their heavenly parents.  The discernment of Heaven, peaceful for eons beyond our knowing, was theirs.  So great was their power, they grew proud."
-Anya nodded.  "The mighty are always proud."
-"But pride led to contempt.  Their strength was such that none could stand against them, and they did as they liked.  People everywhere groaned under the weight of their demands for land and wealth.  In time, they grew arrogant and withdrew from humanity, and could not be bothered with the concerns of lesser mortals."
-"And Heaven?"
-"Heaven turned a blind eye towards her favored sons.  The angels, whose wisdom is not infinite, felt their children would be so wise they would not fall into sin.  But the Nephalem remembered only that they had been blessed, not why. After long ages, Hell did invade. The Nephalem said to themselves, 'These devils have not threatened my place.  They do not walk in my house, or take my cattle.  Let other men fight for their things; they have great fear of us, and will not come to our places.'"
-"I see," Anya said.
-"Hell took realm after realm, until finally the stench of them rose up to Heaven.  When the angels came to their children, they found them laughing and at play, racing each other or hunting in the woods.  The angels said to them, 'Your enemy is upon you, they are shaping evil for you, what stubbornness is this?'  The Nephalem replied, 'They are far away, and will not come today.  Any who come here, we will strike down.'  Meant to be a blessing for all, pride made them a hated curse."
-"What became of them?"
-"The chronicles are not clear on that.  They do not walk the earth now."
-"That is an interesting story, Paladin.  Perhaps, when we first heard rumors of troubles in the south, the elders ought to have sent our warriors out to destroy it.  Evil would not have had time to grow as strong as it is now."
-"Though I risk speaking ill of your father, it is your way, so I will speak.  I do not think your elders would ever do so.  Since I came here, I have heard nothing but talk of the greatness of Barbarians, what mightiness you possess."
-"And you think that is arrogance?  Outlander, it is nothing but a statement of fact, clear to any with eyes to see.  Even you must admit it."
-"Whether it is true is not important.  But since you are so mighty, blessed by Heaven with a great and noble guardianship... why would you bother to help other, lesser men?  You and your father heard rumors before Baal reached you.  Did you have any thought of going forth into the world to help others?"
-Anya stared quietly at Thaddeus.  "No.  It never entered our minds."
-"Your elders, Heaven bless them, sacrificed themselves to protect Harrogath.  But they were meant to protect the Worldstone!  Why wasn't this shield put up over Arreat?"
-"Do you suggest that my father was willing to forget the Worldstone?  A father must keep his children safe!  And a chief must see to his people!"
-"I do not mean to imply that.  But protecting something means you must be willing to sacrifice yourselves for its safety, not sacrifice it for yours."
-"Only Nihlathak did that!" Anya spat, glaring at Thaddeus.  Standing at her full and not-inconsiderable height, she began to speak... then stopped and lowered her eyes.  "Maybe you are right.  Cain has told me you spoke poorly of our warriors.  You feel they fight with pride but no strategy, in ways that assure their defeat."
-"That is not quite what I said.  I said their strategy was born of pride, and I believe it is their undoing.  A warrior here fights first, for his own glory and reputation; second, for the glory of his clan and tribe; third, for the loot of the battlefield to enhance his family's wealth; fourth, and last, to defeat Baal's army."
-"That is the way we have always fought.  The endless war between our clans has made us strong, but perhaps you southlanders know more of fighting armies.  Baal's minions are slaves who receive no glory.  I always thought that would be a weakness, but it is a strength for them.  They have no fear of cowardice."
-"It is not cowardice.  Working together can defeat a mighty foe.  A soldier must forget himself and fight for the common good of his people."
-Anya shook her head.  "Your words are wise, but my heart will not listen.  This is not our way.  I am glad you are here; you have all of our gratitude, even those too proud to express it.  Perhaps things would have been different if we had asked for help from the neighboring kingdoms.  The walls might have been manned, the fortresses full of spears; catapults of our own might have rained death on the demons as they came."
-Quietly, Thaddeus nodded.  "I must be going, while there is still hope.  The summit of Mt. Arreat is sacred for you, but I must know what I will find there."
-"The Nephalem."
-Thaddeus blinked. "The who?"
-Faintly smiling, Anya answered, "The Nephalem.  They are our ancestors.  The Ancient Ones came to these mountains long ago, led by our immortal king Bul-Kathos.  He is the only king Barbarians have ever bowed to.  Our blood has thinned and weakened since those days; we are less than what we were, so do not be surprised when you see them.  The first time I went to the peak, I knew I was in the presence of gods."
-"Oh," Thaddeus mumbled intelligently.
-Qual-Kehk laughed when Thaddeus asked him about the Ancients.  "I have never dared to venture there.  I am sure I would be found unworthy.  Anya is the one to ask."
-"Please! I was insulting her father, insulting her people, and then I find out I was insulting her ancestors.  I couldn't speak to her again."
-"What's wrong with that?  Maybe they deserved it!" Qual-Kehk laughed and clapped Thaddeus on the shoulder again.  "Besides, they're my ancestors too, and you're speaking to me.  What of it?"
-"Well... maybe.  I was embarrassed."
-"Why?"
-Smiling, Cain interjected, "You must consider, Qual-Kehk, you're not nearly as attractive as Anya."
-"What does he care?  Don't these armored priests take vows?"
-Cain began, "Well, actually --" when he was suddenly cut off by Thaddeus stepping on his foot.  As he stumbled off, Thaddeus laughed.  "Anya is such a vision of loveliness, most any man's vows would be put to the test.  You do grow 'em nice up here!  I'd better get back on that mountain right now, or I might lose complete control of myself."
-Qual-Kehk frowned dubiously.  "You're not getting any funny ideas, are you?"
-"Oh, no!  Perish the thought.  Well, must run.  Bye now!"
-Where did that come from? Thaddeus wondered as he went back to the ice caves.  Anya is an attractive girl, but no one should even suggest that he might like her.  She's the chief's daughter, and he's got the wrong set of ancestors.  Damn; maybe it was too long since he had been with a woman.  There hadn't been much time for it.  On the other hand, it could just be nerves.  Nihlathak's betrayal was a serious blow to his quest.
-The ice caves were full again, with Ice Demons, Maulers, and Succubi.  Ice Demons might be dangerous if they ever got to melee range; they were so slow, Blessed Hammer bashed them to bits while they were still creeping in.  The Succubi were annoying if their curses struck while a group of Maulers was attacking.  Otherwise, nothing prevented Thaddeus from finding the path to Arreat's heights.  The Barbarians had hidden the entrance behind a wicker barrier covered with a thick layer of ice; Thaddeus never would have found it by himself, and Baal probably wouldn't have either.
-A few last rings of forts, covered with ice, sat on the high frozen tundra surrounding the summit.  One last set of caves, and he was through to the peak, thrust above every other mountain in the range.  Thaddeus had to take a moment to look down on the rest of the world.  There was Harrogath; he couldn't see any people.  The Worldstone was not on the peak, nor were any angels or sons of angels visible.  Stairs led down into the mountain, but they were locked behind a closed gate.  An altar surrounded by three statues of Barbarian warriors stood at the center of the summit.  Unlike anything else in Barbarian art, the statues were very realistic, and obviously extremely ancient.  They were also huge, far larger than life.  The one's sword was taller than any man.
-Tribal cultures often have "sky temples", particularly on mountain tops.  Though this was not the way of Zakarum, this was holy ground, and out of deference to his hosts Thaddeus knelt in prayer before approaching the altar.  As he stepped inside the ring of statues, three male voices spoke in unison.
-)We are the Nephalem, the ancient ones of the mountains.  Ages ago, Heaven made our kind guardians of the world and all that is in it. Now, we have been chosen to guard sacred Mount Arreat, wherin the Worldstone rests.  Before you enter, you must defeat us.(
-In a flare of light, the statues came to life.  Of course, Thaddeus thought, I should have known.  And, getting in to the Worldstone would be a trial of combat.  Barbarians.  Winning a fight makes you a good fighter, not a worthy person.  As two throwing axes whistled through the air, he quickly moved out of the way and started casting Blessed Hammer.  One of the Barbarians, armed with sword and shield, charged in a peculiar fashion, spinning around and screaming as he whirled through the temple.  Thaddeus stepped aside and let him pass; he must have taken 6 hammers as he went through.  That was interesting to watch, but then Thaddeus noticed a shadow beside his own.  Another Barbarian crashed to the earth next to him, his axe clanging off Thaddeus' shield.
-Moving back a bit, Thaddeus got right next to the axe Barbarian and started casting Blessed Hammer. The swordsman was smarter than he looked, and didn't try that mad whirling charge again.  Instead, he closed and stood next to his partner, pounding away at Thaddeus' shield.  Smiling a bit, Thaddeus moved two steps over and recast; from here, the hammers went right through both Barbarians.  The third Barbarian, the one with throwing axes, stood back and pelted Thaddeus.  It was annoying, but tolerable.
-When the axe Barbarian died, his body vanishing in a puff of luminescence, they changed strategies.  The swordsman began whirling again, but stayed almost in one place, raining blow after powerful blow on Thaddeus far faster than he could block them.  When he tried to get away, the swordsman followed him, spinning through in quick, sweeping charges.  After quaffing a mana potion, Thaddeus hid behind a pillar near the thrower.  As expected, the swordsman came for him again, but by then he had half a dozen hammers in the air, whirling around the pillar to strike both Barbarians.  Another trip through the cloud of hammers at full speed was too much for the swordsman; he died and vanished like his comrade.
-Looking around, Thaddeus noted two of the Nephalem statues had reappeared.  Instead of rusty iron, they looked like solid gold now; they must have been standing there beside that altar for a very, very long time.  Did Heaven do that as a punishment?  He couldn't believe anyone would desire immortality if the price was standing on a mountain top, frozen forever.  The thought crossed his mind in a moment -- the last Barbarian was still standing there, peppering him with throwing axes.
-"You there," Thaddeus called.  "Must we do this?  You are not my enemy."
-)Your enemy is below.  We may not open the gate for you unless we have been defeated in honorable combat.(
-"Heaven has so decreed this?  You must stand on this mountain forever?"
-)We must.  Finish this quickly, warrior.  Baal will not wait for you!(
-For once, a Barbarian was making sense.  As he threw axes, Thaddeus switched to his maul and charged.  The huge man didn't budge from the charge, or the second one.  The third finished him, though; he vanished to his pedestal, and the gates into the mountain opened.

Difference between revisions of "Thaddeus (Chapter 33)"

Latest revision as of 13:44, 12 February 2017

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