Worlds Apart: The Journey Begins

A year has passed since Lore vanished into the jungle below the Amazon City. In this time Vixen, Mongrelle and Tygra have completed their training as true Amazons in return for teaching AriÕel how to gain experience quickly. Vixen and Tygra have learnt how to summon Valkyrie, Mongrelle however, being undead has not had the honour bestowed upon her. Do not think that this worries Mongrelle in the least because she would rather slay monsters than have a spirit do the work for her. The three Amazonian warrioresses are about to leave the Amazon City in the treetops to find Lore, and a way home. Lore has completed her apprenticeship with Akara and has left the Rogue Encampment to slay the demoness Andariel, who has been relentlessly attacking to flush out and destroy all resistance.

It was late evening in the Amazon City and Vixen, Mongrelle and Tygra were getting ready to depart in the morning. Tye was sitting in DorianÕs lap and gazing into his eyes.

"Vee, do we really have to leave?" Tye turned to look at Vixen. The look on VixenÕs face said it all.

"But I donÕt wanna leave!" Tye whined. She appealed to Mongrelle, who ignored her and continued packing her things. Korie looked at Tye and smiled slightly.

"If itÕs any consolation, I donÕt want you to leave either." Korie said. Korie was sitting on VixenÕs bed in the middle of the room, watching the others pack up. Mongrelle finished packing and sat on her bed.

"We should leave early tomorrow morning, get a start and see if we can make the furthest point on the island so we can get a boat to the main land." Mongrelle looked at Vixen to see if she had anything to add. Vixen just nodded. She finished inspecting her crossbow and sat on the bed next to Korie. She put the crossbow into the chest at the bottom of her bed.

"Are you ready?" Korie looked at the three girls and they each nodded.

"Good, lets go have supper." Korie stood up and walked out of the room. Vixen and Mongrelle followed her, but Tye remained with Dorian.

"Tye! Are you coming?" Vixen stuck her head back inside the door.

"No, IÕm going to say good bye to Dorian." Tye looked at her friend and winked. Vixen shivered and nodded.

"Suit yourself." Vixen disappeared.

Lore walked into the cave. It was dark and dank and Lore was not impressed. She heard the cry of a Fallen, and her staff lit up. Its glow gave life to the cave and Lore could see exactly what she was up against. There were 7 Fallen creatures walking towards her with the Shaman Priest further back. Lore looked with distaste at the Fallen and she raised her right hand, palm facing the creatures, her staff in her left hand. The Fallen looked at Lore and one of them stopped advancing and backed up.

"Ugly little creatures." Lore said as a sphere of fire was launched from the palm of her hand towards the Fallen. The sphere exploded on contact with the first of the Fallen and 3 of them were banished instantly, incinerated. A spot fire flared up and covered three others. The only one left was the one that had backed up. It saw its brethren burnt to nothing and it ran towards the Shaman Priest, further back in the cave. Lore looked at it, again with distaste.

"Coward. I will put you out of your misery!" She glared at it as it vanished around a bend. Lore turned her gaze to the Shaman, who looked a little worried. It raised its staff and let out a battle cry. Lore watched as the dark magic swirled around the top of the staff and then ignited as she hurled another sphere of fire at the Shaman. The Shaman was banished and all that was left was to deal with the cowardly Fallen. Lore picked up the gold the monsters dropped and stalked through the cave. She encountered the Fallen coward as it stopped running a short distance around the bend. Not impressed with the gutless wonder, Lore sent a bolt of lightning searing towards it. The creature sizzled with the electricity then caught fire. Lore kicked the burning carcass out of the way as she continued into the depths of the cave.

"Finally, IÕve found you." Lore said as she entered the main chamber of the cave. The chamber itself was nothing amazing, it was a dome about 70 feet in diameter, so it wasnÕt very large. There was however, a horde of uniques, monsters that may be able to use a form of magical power, like an ability to curse, to have a higher elemental resistance than usual or to be stronger than your average monster, or even a combination of these. Lore looked at the monsters. There were several Head Hunters (or Rogues who had been corrupted) and numerous Shaman Priests backed them up. The Shaman Priests were acting unusual, for demons and Lore did a double take. One of the Shaman was a different colour from the others, its skin had a slightly red tint to it and Lore realised that it must be a unique, leading minions and of course their legions of Fallen followers. Lore grinned evilly.

"This is going to be fun, I can try out my babies." She said. Lore stood up straight and raised her staff above her head. She chanted a short spell and the ground began to shake and crack. Lava spewed forth and fire erupted from the gashes in the earth. The lava and fire then began to take shape, three long branches. These branches then began to solidify and a three-headed Hydra glared around the cave. One of the heads looked at Lore, who had lowered her staff, for a moment then let loose a fire bolt, directly at her.

Lore watched fascinated as the Hydra launched a fire bolt at her. She dodged it by stepping backwards and the fireball crashed against a Fallen. Lore laughed and the Hydra turned its attention to other Fallen, the three heads joining in together and launching a huge fire bolt at one of the Head Hunters. Lore looked around and held her staff parallel to the ground. A huge amount of fire blasted forward, incinerating everything in front of her. She turned slightly and the constant jet of flames incinerated another wave of Fallen and their Shamans. Lore stopped the onslaught of fire and lowered her staff again. She looked around and did a quick head count. There was one Head Hunter left and the unique Shaman. Lore ran towards the Shaman and slammed her staff into it. It crumpled beneath the force and its dead, broken body was ignited by the magical properties in LoreÕs staff, leaving nothing but a small pile of ashes. Lore twirled her staff in front of her and the Hydras launched an attack at the Head Hunter. Before the corrupt Rogue could advance more than two steps the Hydras had seared off one of its arms and were still using the carcass as target practise as it fell to the ground.

Lore stopped the flourish of her staff and turned to the Hydras. She walked towards them and stopped less than half a pace away. The Hydras reared backwards and stretched their necks as long as possible while still looking directly at their Summoner, not sure what was to happen next. Lore cocked her head to the side and the Hydras each raced towards LoreÕs face.

Lore giggled as the Hydras rubbed against her face and neck, much like a cat rubs up against a personÕs leg. She hugged them back and they each seemed to glow even brighter as Lore smiled.

"You guys are fantastic." Lore was playing up to them and they loved every second of it. Lore was in an amazing mood, she had finally managed to master summoning. The Hydras turned to each other and nodded, they then turned back to Lore and looked at her. Lore watched, again fascinated, as the Hydras stretched up and then disappeared back into the earth, where they had come from. Lore was a little disappointed the Hydras couldnÕt stay longer but she was still glowing from the adrenaline rush of summoning her own monster as she walked around the back of the cave and kicked open the gold chest. Several items spilled onto the ground and Lore looked at them curiously. She finally decided to take the amulet and the gold and she bent over to pick them up. She stood and looked around the dark cave.

"I really couldnÕt be bothered walking back." Lore said quietly to herself. She tucked the gold into a pouch in her belt and tied the amulet to her wrist. She took one final look around the cave at the scorch marks, the ashes and at the odd demon limb littering the floor.

"CanÕt say IÕm gonna miss this place though." Lore raised her staff and vanished from the cave, leaving behind nothing but the carnage and her footprints.

Vixen and Mongrelle followed Korie into the central meeting place. There were the usual long, heavy wooden tables set up in a long line, surrounded by the entire Amazon population, all there to show their support and wish the girls well. The tables were spread with an amazing array of colourful foods, fruits and drinks. VixenÕs jaw dropped.

"Would you check that outÉ" VixenÕs voice was quite with astonishment.

"Vixen! Mongrelle!" AriÕel beamed. She spread her arms wide, motioning to all the festivities. Among the food, there were several games tables, each of them different.

"What better way to farewell friends than with good food and fun games!" AriÕel stood up and wobbled a bit. One of the men at her side helped her sit in her throne again.

"Romni, I donÕt need your help. Actually, scratch that. Get me another drink!" AriÕel was quite drunk and had temporarily adopted a more modern form of speech, one that she no doubt learned from Tygra. Vixen smiled at this and walked over to join the queen. Romni bowed his head and moved away, following orders.

"Riata!" Mongrelle exclaimed as Riata walked over to AriÕel to join in the festivities. Vixen looked through hazy eyes at the approaching figure. Vixen could tell that it was female because of the colour of the clothing she wore, but that was about all she could see. She squinted her eyes so she could see better and when she realised that it wasnÕt helping she gave up. Vixen looked at the number of black marks she had drawn onto the table. There were 8. That meant she had had 8 of the very sweet, highly alcoholic blood wines. She looked at the table again and re counted the lines, thinking that she couldnÕt have had that much to drink. Sure enough, there were 8 very big, very wobbly black lines from the charred stick she had been using as a pencil.

Mongrelle stood up, somewhat off-balance herself after the 12 blood wines she had devoured and pointed in RiataÕs general direction because she could not see straight either. Riata was the only sober person in the whole city and she did not want to stay that way for long. She picked up the nearest goblet of blood nectar and downed it three swallows, which was quite a feat considering the size of the goblets.

"Did you know that Riata also means Ôlooped ropeÕ or Ônoosed ropeÕ or something like that?" Mongrelle fell back into her seat, laughing to herself. Riata looked over the table at her and giggled.

"No, I did not know that." Riata was polite to the very drunk Mongrelle, but only because Mongrelle could not control her strength when she got drunk, as a number of huts found out when they got in her way. Several peoplesÕ homes ended up with Mongrelle-shaped holes in their walls because Mongrelle either could not walk around them or didnÕt want to, so she walked straight through them (without flinching I might add) to get back to her and Vixen and TygraÕs hut.

Riata refilled her goblet and gulped the contents down. She closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness overcame her. She walked around the head of the table, behind AriÕel and sat down between Tygra and Romni. Tygra was relatively busy inspecting DorianÕs tonsils and Romni was trying very hard to wink at Riata although he was so drunk that all he was managing to do was get half his face to spasm. Riata giggled again as the blood wine took hold of her senses and suddenly her life didnÕt look that bad.

"I propose a toast!" AriÕel slowly stood, being very careful to keep both her hands on the table so she didnÕt slip and make a complete ass of herself, although she was doing a fine job of it already.

"To the Amazons!" AriÕel exclaimed as she raised her overfull goblet a little too high in the air and spilled most of its contents (more blood wine) onto the table and down her arm. The rest of the Amazons did the same, spillage included, cheered loudly and took hefty swigs from their goblets.

Mongrelle stood as AriÕel sat and raised her glass. She looked around the familiar and not so familiar faces and grinned.

"To us! And to Riata, whose name means Ôlooped ropeÕ!" At this, the Amazons cheered and again took another swig from their goblets. Vixen glared at Mongrelle as she sat back down.

"What?" Mongrelle asked innocently when she saw the look her best friend was giving her. Vixen looked away, across the table at Tygra and Dorian, Tygra had gone back to inspecting DorianÕs tonsils.

"What are you doing?" All Vixen could see was the back of TyeÕs head. Tye focused her attention on Vixen.

"I was inspecting his tonsils." Tye turned back to Dorian and he opened his mouth wide, the light from the fires reflecting off his teeth.

Mongrelle moved forward on her chair, her head continued to move forward even after her body stopped and her eyebrows came close together, a look of confusion on her face.

"You really are inspecting his tonsils?" Mongrelle enquired.

"Yeah, they look pretty good too." Tye didnÕt turn around. Mongrelle shrugged and leaned back in her chair.

"You know, Riata means"

"Enough!" Vixen, Tygra, AriÕel and Korie all snapped at the same time. Mongrelle looked down into her drink.

"But you didnÕt give me a chance to finish." She said dejectedly.

"I think its executioner. SheÕs the ironic." Mongrelle looked up, not having registered what she just said. The few people who were still listening to her laughed and refilled their goblets with the blood wine.

"Phoenix!" Akara called out as Lore appeared next to the campfire. Lore strode confidently over to AkaraÕs tent and looked down at the shorter woman.

"You called?" Lore had given up telling Akara not to call her by her Sorceriean name, just preferring to avoid the arguments that ensued when Akara insisted on calling her Phoenix. She shook her head at the thought of her graduation name. She still did not like it. ÔIf I had the choice, which I didnÕt, they would have given me a cool name, like Phsyke or something. Something that strikes terror into the hearts of demons- if demons posses hearts. Not a stupid flaming bird. And since when do I look like a scruffy little bird? Whoever came up with that idea needs to be shot.Õ Lore contemplated.

"Do not think like that Phoenix, it does not bode well for a champion." Akara read LoreÕs thoughts.

ÔWell, you can take a running leap into that river over there if your going to read my mind!Õ The expression on LoreÕs face became hostile. AkaraÕs lips curled up ever so slightly, one of the few signs Akara ever showed when she thought something was humorous. She turned away and walked into her tent and Lore relaxed. Akara returned unravelling a scroll that had 6 symbols on it. There was also symbol writing around the 6 rune looking symbols, Lore could read few of the characters. Lore looked more closely as Akara handed the scroll to her.

"This will be your first real test. There is a man, Deckard Cain, who needs rescuing. You must go to the Stony Field and touch the Cairn stones in the correct order to open the portal to Tristram. From there, you must defeat the demons that guard him. He must be freed." Akara was being careful to control her voice and not to let Lore know exactly how important Cain was.

"What? Only one?" Lore said sarcastically.

ÔAnd what am I supposed to do if he gets in the way of one of my fire spheres? Oh, sorry Akara, he ended up on the receiving end of a fire blast. Better luck next time? I donÕt think so.Õ Lore avoided AkaraÕs stare as she thought to herself.

Akara raised her eyebrow and glared up at Lore.

"This world, followed by your own, will be lost if it comes to that." Akara said forcefully.

ÔDamn it! I am going to have to find a way to stop her from being able to read my mind!Õ Lore was becoming impatient and she started to fidget. The look on AkaraÕs face softened, almost to the point of one of her smiles.

"May the Sisters smile on you, Phoenix." Akara turned and walked back into her tent.

Lore was left standing outside AkaraÕs tent, the dusk approaching thinking ÔI hate it when you call me that.Õ And wondering if Akara was talking about the quest Lore was going on or about finding a way to stop her thoughts from being read.

Vixen rolled over, trying to stop the sun from shining in her eyes. She brought her hands up to her head to stop it from thumping and slowly opened her eyes, it was becoming hot in the sun. She sat up careful not to make the thumping in her head worse and looked around. She was having de JA vu, only the clearing the she was in was only occupied by the three girls, herself, Mongrelle and Tygra. Neither Mongrelle nor Tygra stirred. Vixen looked around and saw a wharf a little way in the distance, a mid sized boat was arriving and getting ready to dock. Tygra groaned and Vixen turned her attention back to the others. Mongrelle pushed herself up into a kneeling position and looked through eyes that were more red than usual. She looked around, at Tygra who was starting to complain about her headache and at Vixen, who was attempting to get to her feet.

"Where the Hell are we anyway?" Tygra sat up and shielded her eyes from the sun with her arm. She looked around through bleary, bloodshot eyes.

"You are in Sanctuary. You must have had a big night last night to forget that." A kind voice said from behind Tygra. Tygra did not turn around.

"Did I just imagine that, or is there really someone standing behind me?" Tygra looked at Mongrelle, who just shrugged.

"If youÕre hearing voices again dude, I think its time you went and saw a psychiatrist." Mongrelle grinned and Vixen smiled. Vixen walked over to Tygra and walked straight past her.

"Hi. IÕm Vixen, this is Tygra and Mongrelle, who are you?" Vixen extended her hand for the ÔvoiceÕ to shake.

"Meshif. Nice to meet you lovely ladies." Meshif bowed and kissed the back of VixenÕs hand. Vixen giggled and looked away embarrassed.

"Charming." Mongrelle stated dryly. She stood and walked over to help Tygra up. Tygra whirled around to look at Meshif. She was a little disappointed with what she saw. She saw a man in his mid thirties, long dark coloured pants and a shirt that was stained with salt. He wore a hat, a beard and had an accent that most sea-faring people do. He was your typical Ôsea saltÕ, a charming man earning a living on the seas, regularly bathing when the waves crashed over the sides of his boat.

"So, where are we? I donÕt remember what happened last night and I canÕt remember how I got here." Tye looked to anyone who would answer.

"Well Missy, I canÕt tell you how you got here, but I can tell you where you are. You ladies would happen to be on the most northern point on Philios." Vixen looked around at Mongrelle, her eyebrows raised.

"Well, thatÕs where we want to be," Vixen stated, turning around to again face Meshif. "Do you think you could give us a lift over to the mainland?" Meshif looked a little concerned.

"I believe I do not have the supplies to take all of us over to the main land. ItÕs a 5 day, 5 night voyage," Meshif looked at the downcast faces of the three girls. "But for you lovely ladies, I will make the exception on one condition" The Amazons brightened up until the heard the last bit.

"Great. This is where he is going to try to collectÉ" Tygra mumbled to herself and trailed off.

"If you ladies can gather enough food and fresh water for all of us, then you can ride free of charge." Tygra brightened when he didnÕt give any other stipulations.

"Done." Mongrelle said quickly, before anyone else could object. Mongrelle turned to Vixen and Tygra. "Come on, letÕs get the stuff before it gets dark." She turned to Meshif. "We will meet you here at dusk." And with that said, Mongrelle turned and stalked off into the jungle, with Vixen and Tygra hurrying to catch up.

Lore appeared suddenly on the tele-pad of the Waypoint. She looked around as the branches of the trees creaked in the wind. The wind was picking up and it whistled around the trees, making the dusk seem more eerie than usual. Lore stepped off the platform and walked with long purposeful steps towards the Cairn stones, vaporising a number of demons on the way with a few strategically placed fire spheres. She walked over and stood in the middle of the stones and removed the scroll Akara had given her from her belt. She studies it for a minute and walked over to the furthest stone, where she pressed the teardrop shaped symbol carved into it. The stone itself seemed to glow, although impossible. Lore ignored it simply because she had seen stranger things. She walked around the stones, gently touching the Cairn stones in the order the scroll demanded. Lore walked over to the last stone and lightly ran her fingers over the symbol. With the touch from a pure heart, the last stone glowed and a bolt of lightning screamed towards the earth, right where Lore was standing in the middle of the formation of the five glowing stones. The bolt split when it was level with the top of the Cairn stones and the five smaller bolts slammed into a stone each. The stones, now supercharged with electricity spewed forth a huge amount of energy towards the centre of the circle and Lore. Lore remained where she was, the scroll of Inifus held above her head and each bolt of electricity curved up at the last second, meeting in an apex above Lore. Now, with a red portal opening and the shimmer of a semi-demolished town appearing on the other side, Lore waited for the portal to engulf her.

Lore looked at the shimmering town. She had not yet stepped out of the portal and was somewhere between the two existences. Lore stepped forward, out of the portal and looked around. Every building had been partially, if not totally demolished. There were spot fires everywhere and demons roamed the little town unchecked. There were many types of demons, mostly Shaman Priests and Fallen, with the odd Corrupted Rogues, a few uniques and one very big, very ugly Griswold. Griswold was inhumanly tall 9 feet in total, 3 feet taller than Lore stood, and very, very large. Griswold was bordering on human, physically, but physiologically, he had a very low IQ and was less intelligent than your average monster- making him easily corruptible by Diablo and Baal. Griswold followed some of the Fallen as they advanced towards Lore, moaning and groaning as he did so. Lore took in the hoards of monsters advancing towards her and smiled.

"A challenge, or perhaps the beginnings of one. I like that." Lore said out loud, enough for a decrepit old man, stuck in a gibbet, to hear. He started calling out for help and Lore ignored him as she focused her energy.

Lore sneered at the advancing monsters and raised her staff. A wall of fire sprung up, 8 feet high, engulfing many of the fallen. Griswold approached the fire, which stretched for tens of metres, and glared at her over it. There was no expression on his face. Only his eyes told the story of hate, terror and corruption. Nothing on his face moved as he stepped through the fire and kept walking towards Lore. LoreÕs eyes widened as Griswold walked through the fire. He moaned angrily as he stepped through it, as though it was only beginning to burn him. The fire burnt his clothes and most of them turned to ashes and blew away in the gentle breeze.

ÔThank the Heavens his pants didnÕt turn to ashes,Õ Lore thought to herself. LoreÕs eyebrows came together in concentration and she pointed the end of her staff at the now slightly ticked off Griswold. A large globe of pure ice was launched from the end of the staff, a deadly projectile, firing hundreds of ice splinters in all directions.

The orb of ice exploded over GriswoldÕs chest, freezing him solid. The mass numbers of the demons were diminishing rapidly, the ice splinters having despatched many of them, including the uniques, a number of the Rogues and even the majority of the Fallen. There were few monsters left to deal with and Lore threw a succession of small fire bolts at the remaining monsters.

With the monsters either shattered from the ice magic or sentenced to remain in Hell from the fire bolts, all who remained was the frozen Griswold and to release Deckard Cain from his prison. Lore stalked past the ice statue of Griswold and walked over to the gibbet where Cain hung, suspended in a torture cage that neither allowed him to sit or stand. Lore shook her head and pulled the rope. CainÕs cage fell to the ground, unrestrained.

Cain called out in shock and Lore grabbed the rope and held tight stopping the cage from hitting the ground by 3 feet. Lore lowered the cage slowly to the ground the rest of the way. When safely on the ground, Lore smashed the lock with her staff and pulled the door open for the old man, who was unsure how to respond. He decided to thank her instead of yell for dropping him and Lore waved her arm in the air, from her waist to her shoulder, opening a portal that led back to the Rogue Encampment.

"Deckard Cain, you must get to town. I will meet you there." And with that, Lore shoved the old man through the portal and closed it behind him before he could say anything further.

Lore turned from the sad sight of CainÕs gibbet and was greeted with a right hook from Griswold. Lore landed face first in the mud, her staff on the ground beside her, her jaw red and a burning sensation spread through it. Lore pushed herself to her feet. She was covered in mud, not impressed and she rubbed her jaw as she stood.

"You will regret that." Lore may have been able to reach his face, if she was standing on a platform. Instead, she scooped up her staff and with one swift movement she stood again and clobbered Griswold between his legs with the end of her staff. Griswold moaned, but not much else. He just stood there, taking the abuse. Finally he stepped forward and swiped at Lore again. Lore ducked as his huge fist flew over her head, glad that it had missed its target mark.

ÔThat could have taken my head offÉÕ Lore thought to herself as she stood back up, preparing to swing at Griswold again. Lore could see that her physical attacks were not fazing the giant demon much so she took a couple of large steps backwards quickly and threw another sphere if ice at him. Griswold was large and slow, not fast enough to dodge the icy attack. The attack hit him smack-bang in the middle of his chest, slowing him down dramatically. Lore grinned. She had him exactly where she wanted him. Lore looked up into the Heavens and raised her arms, her staff still clutched tightly in her right hand. LoreÕs eyes clouded over and she did not notice Griswold inching ever closer to her.

LoreÕs eyes suddenly became clear and she looked over at Griswold, lowered her arms and shrugged.

"Good night." Lore said, a moment before a huge meteor smashed into him, crushing him before it exploded in a shower of fire and rock.

With business finished, Lore gathered the gold and other valuable items the monsters had dropped. She took one last look around to make sure there were no more monsters and then she teleported back to the Rogue Encampment.

Mongrelle stepped out of the cabin of MeshifÕs little boat and she paced the length of it. It was a beautiful night, thousands of stars lit up the sky and Tygra was asleep, which was most appealing to Mongrelle. She breathed in the fresh, salty air and closed her eyes.

"Nice night for a stroll," Meshif was resting his arm on the rail that separated the bow from the cabins.

"Indeed it is," Mongrelle did not open her eyes, she was enjoying the breeze that ruffled her blue and blonde hair. She sighed and opened her eyes and faced Meshif.

"Do you ever sleep?" Mongrelle enquired of Meshif. "I donÕt think that you have taken a break since we left Philios four days ago." Meshif looked surprised.

"Has it really been four days? Hmm, I lost track of the time. Being on the seas invigorates me." Meshif laughed and shrugged it off. Mongrelle figured he was in to good a mood to disturb her. Mongrelle and Meshif stood in comfortable silence, the only sounds were the rhythmic lapping of the waves against the bow of the boat.

"What should we expect to find on the main land?" Mongrelle was the first to break the silence.

"What you will find in all of Sanctuary, a beautiful land overrun with monsters from Hell itself." Meshif said somewhat bitterly. Mongrelle was silent for a moment, before she told Meshif what happened to Lore. Meshif smiled sadly when he heard the tale and shook his head.

"IÕm sorry to say this, but from what you have told me, it sounds like you will be lucky to find your friend alive." Mongrelle nodded, disheartened to hear this but not ready to give up on Lore.

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