The rain had stopped and a baking heat wave had come over Darkwind. People who had no business in the streets hid in doorways and covered entrances, anything to avoid the heat. The rain that had fell had formed great puddles that were now steaming in the heat creating a small, private Hell for the citizens of Darkwind. A small price to pay considering Hell was a better place than Darkwind.
Valentine and Blaise were summoned to their superior's office immediately after awakening from their slumber. Valentine wore a simple black tunic with leather leggings and polished steel boots. His long hair fell around him like a tangled mass and seemed to fit his mood. He wore a headband to keep the hair out of his eyes and wore a long, flowing purple cloak with implanted steelmesh on his shoulders.
Blaise on the other hand had the extreme opposite tendencies of the current fashions. She wore long leather leggings and large bounty hunter furs. In the heat they seemed to suggest unbearable conditions, but instead, kept the cool in and heat out. She also wore steel boots, but they were dull and pitted with dents. Her long red hair was tied back with a silver clasp and she wore a dark green cape, a perfect match for her dark green eyes.
As they strode into the headquarters they noticed several closed door meetings were taking place. No one seemed to care but them. They passed the Archives wing on their way to Commander Renner's office in the west wing of the building. It looked like someone had firebombed the area, kicked over a few of the cabinets and then torn up the other files that they had missed. They had given up organizing the files for fear of someone messing them up again, but most of the time you could find what you wanted.
Finally, they reached Renner's office. It was a very spartan room with only a desk and chair, and some scattered manuscripts. He was a very military like man. They saluted him as they came to parade rest inside the room. He hated that and they loved it. He fixed them with a brooding gaze and began to speak.
"Captain Valentine, Blaise, glad to see you. Don't be surprised if I don't hand you a medal for taking down the vampire last night."
Just then Renner's face grew red and he looked like he was about to explode. He bolted from his seat and loomed above him. His massive frame bulging from under his clothes.
"Just doing your job," he replied questioningly with a hint of hysteria. "You burned down several city blocks, killed one of the most important men in Darkwind and failed to bring in any conclusive evidence that there was any vampire at all! If anything you should be fired!"
"So I'm guessing this means we don't get any raise," joked Blaise.
That remark pushed him over the edge and Renner flipped his desk over and charged towards her. However Valentine intercepted him and casually backhanded him, sending him to the floor.
"Never touch her, do you hear me?"
Renner replied, "Yes, I hear you, now help me up damnit!"
"Ah, my knight in shining armor. But next time, let me handle it, it's bad for my image," Blaise added.
As Valentine helped Renner to his feet, and return his desk to its normal position, Renner produced a packet from his tunic and handed to him. He turned to them and spoke thickly.
"Here is your next assignment. Consider yourselves transferred, indefinitely."
"What the hell is this Renner," Blaine yelled angrily.
"It's very simple, you are being assigned to the Hell Squads, have a nice time, and get the hell out of my office . . ."
And with that, he left them.
Valentine and Blaise looked at each other stunned. The Hell Squads, not exactly your ideal vacation spot but it beat Darkwind any day of the week. Supposedly, the kingdom of Stormguard was having a problem with demon infestations, possessions, and dark rituals, nothing uncommon. However, it was the intensity of the problems that worried the King of Stormguard the most. So he put out an all call to any warriors, mages, and sorcerers that would help.
Anyone could enter the problem areas and were given special objects of power to help them in their quest to drive the darkness from the land. There were also some ground rules. Adventurers were allowed to keep up to fifty percent of the value of anything they found and any gold found would be immediately transferred to Stormguard's stores, which were low due to the crisis.
All in all Valentine and Blaise saw this as the perfect opportunity to test their mettle, hone their skills, and pick up some loot in the process. So they packed what they needed, gathered their supplies and set out for Stormguard the next morning.
~~~
After being herded through Darkwind's customs gate, they came to the edge of the Darkslide, a patch of forest that was full of creeping, misshapen creatures that hungered for human flesh. Nothing to get worried about. The sun was low in the morning sky and its amber light cast a golden haze over the wooded area. As they urged their forces onward, shadows began to move on the periphery of the forest.
Inside the forest, there was no singing birds, squirrels, or anything of the like. It was dead. Large looming trees shaded the path and cast a large shadow over the trail. There were several marks on the trees were warnings of the dangers ahead, but they paid them no heed and continued onward. Blaise was first to break the silence.
"You know, I hope we get a break and strike it rich, wouldn't that be the ultimate insult to Renner?"
He shook his head and said seriously, "Ha, you know that we haven't faced anything like this before. If anything, we need to discuss what we are going to do when we get there and how to deal with our money situation. We only have four hundred gold pieces on us."
"Well, there is that. I suppose we will stick to the less dangerous areas gather money and items while taking down the demon authorities. I mean when we get there I would really like to invest in some magical items and such, they can do wonders for you."
"I know what you mean. I took the liberty of liberating a few magical items from Darkwind's own stash . . ."
With that he tossed a medium sized leather pouch to Blaise and she opened it carefully. Outside the bag, there were protective runes and defensive spells etched into the thick hide. Inside she saw two rings, a necklace, a few scrolls and a dagger.
"What do they do," she asked.
"Well, the rings are for both of us, one for me one for you. Yours gives you heightened reflexes and reaction times, a little something from the High Sorcerer Gram. And for me, a ring that steals the life forces from attacking creatures, very handy indeed. The necklace is for you also. It gives you protection from magical spells and influences. The scrolls are used on magical items that we need to identify before selling them and the dagger is coated with a special poison which will take down any demon."
"That explains a lot."
A branch snapped in front of them. They turned away from each other to identify the source of the noise. They got off their horses, drew their swords and advanced on the source, hoping to catch the attacker off guard. Before they knew it shadows were moving out into the midday light and sweeping over them.
"Shit, I thought this might happen," Valentine yelled.
"What, what," Blaise yelled frantically.
"Time to kick some demon ass."
And with that, he moved to face the new threat. He spoke a word of power and his sword lit up like a candle. Flames roared around it and cast light on the demons of the underworld. They did not look like much, mostly they were human in form, with overgrown arms and furrowed brows; but their eyes and claws betrayed them. Long nails, hard as iron protruded from their fingers and their eyes blazed red with insanity. Blaise drew her sword and advanced on the nearest demon she could find.
She and the demon locked up in combat and began to test each other's defenses. A sword would flash a claw fly forward, both looking for weak spots but finding none. She then launched a furious attack on the demon. Her sword struck several times and black blood flew on the air. The demon howled with rage. The sun began to beat down through the trees protective covering and the two fighters were becoming drenched in their own sweat.
She fought the demon and through sheer force of will was able to beat aside its attacks and land a devastating, but not critical blow. Her giant sword had sliced cleanly through the demon's wrist, severing it from the rest of the arm. Black blood spurted everywhere and the ground became slippery. Both of them saw the need to end the fight quickly, but they were too evenly matched.
The two of them battled on and neither of them could maintain this pace for much longer. Blaise drew back for a killing lunge and the demon, which seemed to sense this, charged her. She expected this and flung a dagger directly into the demon's left eye socket, effectively ending the fight. She retrieved her dagger and moved on, there was no shortage of enemies.
Valentine on the other hand had been surrounded by several of the hellspawn creations. He swung his sword back and forth to keep them at bay. One of the demons was to close to the flaming sword and its greasy hair caught fire; it ran off into the forest. The others sensing the power within Valentine began to assault him and drive him back systematically until his back was to a tree. Valentine swung his sword double handed through the thick trunk of the ancient tree and dove out of its path as it fell. The demons, which were a bit slower, scrambled to get out of the shadow of the tree but to no avail. They were crushed and mangled and some items fell off their person. Valentine moved to pocket them.
More demons began to pour out of the forest around them. It seemed there was no end to their numbers. Valentine and Blaise fought back to back trying to increase the odds of survival, or perhaps divine intervention.
However, for every demon they cut down another was there to take its place until they found they were unable to defeat them. As the demons closed in for the killing blow, several blasts of fire came from behind the demons, striking them down. A man dressed in sorcerers' black advanced on the demons and began to destroy them one by one. Lighting, ice, and fire flew on the air, and the arrival of the mysterious visitor had given Valentine and Blaise a renewed hope.
They watched the newcomer wield his powers with a practiced ease. His hand movements, conjuring abilities, and speech awed them. He opened a large hole in the demon ranks with a ball of fire that consumed many of the hellspawns, while Valentine and Blaise covered him from physical attacks. He cast devastating lightning spells that electrified demons where they stood, and they all watched as they fell to the ground, dead. However, his ice attacks were the most deadly. It was a simple orb of ice that rotated and threw smaller particles from within. It froze many of the demons and killed many more.
The three of them fought side by side and managed to rout the demons. As they watched them run off into the trees, Valentine turned to their hooded savior and began to question him.
"Where did you come from, I swore there was no one behind us on the trail."
The man looked at Valentine, pushed back his cloak, and revealed a battle hardened face that seemed to frighten Valentine just a little more than usual. He did not look like much, long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a perfect smile. Valentine didn't trust people who smiled too much. His black clothes were changing colors now and were beginning to turn the color of the forest. "Camouflage," he responded.
Blaise looked him over and asked, "What's you name?"
He turned to her and looked her in the eye, "Roderick, Roderick Blaine. I am a sorcerer who happens to be on his way to Stormguard. I don't suppose you're going there as well?"
Valentine began to laugh. "Yes we are headed there as well. Tell us, how did you hear of the situation there. Any information would be most helpful."
"My pleasure," he said cheerfully. "It all happened about ten years ago when an anonymous hero emerged from the depths below the Cathedral in Tristram. He did not speak much or warm up to anyone after coming out of the depths below, and most people thought that was normal. Anyone who had seen that much killing should have some problems with them. He had defeated Diablo, the Lord of Terror, and nothing should have stood in his way.
"Anyway, a few years later, the town was utterly destroyed and its populace decimated. All except for one man, Deckard Cain. He was the last surviving member of a once glorious order, the Horadrim, a group of mortal spellshapers who fought for the cause of light in the mortal realm. He was rescued by a group of adventurers who went on to defeat the forces of darkness across the Eastern Hemisphere. They ended up defeating Mephisto and the newly freed Diablo by destroying the Soulstones that bound them to the mortal realm.
"All was well and good, except for one thing. A man, who had been traveling with the Wanderer, gave up Baal's Soulstone to 'Tyreal' who was Baal in disguise. Baal killed the man after revealing his true nature to the man and began to spread destruction across the land. Tyreal and Cain saw this pass and sent their heroes out again only to see them slaughtered by Baal, who was now at full power. Baal has taken up residence under the halls of Stormguard and its up to us mortals to take him down. I'll travel with you to Stormguard and introduce you to the king."
Valentine and Blaise were shocked. It was not everyday they heard that kind of talk.
"What," he said. "I am the King's most trusted advisor. I think you two will do well in the catacombs below. Tell you what, I will shave a few days off your journey. Stand close."
His hands rose above his head, his eyes shut, and blood ran from his nose. A bright blue light shone around everyone and the next thing they saw was a great sprawling courtyard filled horses, peddlers, and shopkeepers. Blaine collapsed to the ground and both Valentine and Blaise helped him up. He brought a potion, the color of blood, to his lips and drank. His wounds closed and the blood stopped flowing. As he collapsed to the ground Valentine and Blaise grabbed his arms and brought him down slowly.
