AN: Thanks again guys for all the reviews, emails, and fan art. Your support gives me motivation like you wouldn't believe, and I'm really touched that everyone enjoyed Sands of Ages as much as you did. Thanks again to everyone for reading. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo or Diablo 2, all credit and copyrights are due to Blizzard Entertainment. I'm just messing around in their world for fun.

Into the east

Chyemme

It was a somber morning. When dawn's pale light swept through the windows of Ryelass' house, it seemed to carry with it a dark grey aura. It was one of foreboding, and of dread. So much had happened last night. Talk about a disaster . . . I took only a small consolation in the fact that within the next few hours, I would be boarding a ship and leaving Lut Gholeign. I was wise enough to know that even though I left the location physically, the dramatic turn of events and the consequences were going to follow me well beyond the borders of this land. That was painfully obvious when I looked at Laurella, whom above all else seemed to have been hit the hardest with emotional recoil.

She glared at me spitefully for a moment, before focusing on packing arrows into her quiver with much more force than was necessary. I could feel the angered vibe brewing over her entire body and it wasn't long before she broke the iron head off of one of the arrows in an accidental rage. The blade sliced the top of her index finger and she hissed as a thin layer of her blood appeared on the surface of her skin.

"Are you-?" I started to ask in concern.

"Fine," she growled flatly. "It's none of your concern anyway," she continued venomously, and thereafter fell silent, though she continued to give me a dangerous leer.

I sighed heavily. For all my attempts at reconciliation with her last night after Maria's shocking disappearance, Laurella refused to listen to anything I had to say and to be blunt, had been quite hostile towards me. I decided to try one last time, seeing as we were very shortly going to be leaving here and like Piricus had told me on the way to Lut Gholein weeks ago, you never knew something was going to happen. I needed her to understand and cooperate with me should things go south.

"Laurella, listen to me," I started, taking on a more firm tone of voice.

"I don't want to hear it, Chyemme," Laurella snapped. "I'm not going to listen to you lie about what happened just because you feel bad for poor, little stupid Laurella," she hissed with animosity. "Did you think that I wouldn't figure it out? Oh wait—don't answer that. I'm just a silly little girl, aren't I?" she said furiously. "How would I know there's a nose on the end of my face?"

"Laurella, you know that's not tr—" I tried, swiftly beginning to lose patience with her juvenile accusations that were completely off target. I'd been hearing this more or less all night and hadn't even had a chance to defend myself. At first I had just listened to her ranting, thinking that she just needed to blow off steam, but after a while, it had become clear that these crazy theories of hers were what she actually believed.

"—Yeah, like I believe that. And oh, and not to mention did you think that I wouldn't care?" she continued, with her tone growing increasingly louder. "For him to just toy with my heart like that and you not having the decency to say something? I figured you for a better person, but I was obviously wrong," she spat hatefully.

"Stop," I said immediately, feeling my own temper flare. "Laurella you have no idea what's going on because you won't listen to a wo—" I started defensively.

"—listen to you. I don't know anything? You sound just like Piricus and you're just as arrogant. If it's not true then why are you getting so worked up over it?" she snarled. "Yeah, you—" she started with malice.

"Why don't you hear her out instead of taking her head off for something she had no control over?" Vendra interjected irritably from where she packed her things by the doorway, "You keep saying you're an adult, same as us, try acting like one. Right now the only thing I've heard from you all night is complaining with a clueless attitude," Vendra continued in aggravation, coming to my defense. After the party last night and the assassin fiasco, we all came to the conclusion it was best that they should stay with us in case something else were to happen.

Like me, Vendra had spent the whole night listening to Laurella's bitterness. In fact, she'd probably gotten an earful that I didn't, seeing as she had also tried to calm her down after I failed last night. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen when I told Vendra all about the events of last night when we had returned to Ryelass'. She hadn't been that surprised to learn about Maria's betrayal, but she'd been genuinely surprised by Ryelass' confession. But Vendra already knew that my affections were elsewhere. She'd seen them in the arcane sanctuary. I knew I could trust her to back me up in the truth of things.

"Of course, you'd take her side," Laurella said bitterly. "What, you two disappear for a few days and suddenly become best friends and all," she continued sourly.

Vendra actually stood up and turned to face her with her own ill temper. "You're really getting on my nerves right now," she said bluntly, true to her own nature. "I'm on the side of reason, and right now you're ignoring it," Vendra snapped briskly. "Acting like an adult would mean you listen to both sides of things, even if you don't like what's being said, which you clearly aren't. More than that, it's putting the blame where it actually belongs. All night long you've been bitching to me about Chyemme, when you've never said a word about Ryelass. Wake up and smell the roses, he's the one who hurt you," Vendra said impatiently. "This was his decision alone and Chyemme doesn't return his feelings. If you had an ounce of belief in her character, or even let her speak, you'd already know that. And here's another life lesson: Rejection happens and it hurts. You can deal with it one of two ways. You can do what you're doing and act like a petulant little brat, or you can be a big girl and accept it gracefully," Vendra added like a parent lecturing an angry child.

"I'd like to see your reaction if Sovellis suddenly dropped you on your ass too, after everything you've been through. What would you do if he just suddenly up and left you for someone he thinks is better than you?" she retorted sorely.

"He never said that about you or me!" I said, exasperated.

"Not aloud," Laurella added with her lip curling.

I had had enough. "What you did was a complete invasion of privacy! I don't care if you were upset. You don't have any respect for him, let alone yourself and that's what this comes down to," I said with anger.

Laurella's fists balled at her sides. "You were listening all along. I knew it. Liar," she snapped with a fiery ill-will.

"What's this?" Vendra asked slowly, frowning.

"She read Ryelass' mind with her inner sight when he upset her last night. She used his emotional turmoil against him, knowing that it would be the strongest thing on his mind. She was able to tap into it without a problem," I said simply with a scowl of my own forming.

"I'm sure you've done it too at some point, knowing how you are," Laurella shot back.

I sighed heavily. "Actually, no I haven't," I said pointedly. "Not ever."

"I wasn't talking about you," she hissed at me, looking directly at Vendra.

Vendra rolled her eyes. "Oh, so you're going to round on me now too? Let me tell you something, even though I'm connected to Sovellis, I've never, EVER done something like that to him. We respect each other and that means even when he does something I don't like or vice versa, we give each other space and what's more, guess what, being in love with someone also means you forgive them when they hurt you," Vendra replied bluntly.

"And you think you know how the world works," Laurella said darkly. "You probably grew up in some sheltered little mage convent and never had anything bad happen to you before you came to the West March," she added with distain.

"For your information—" Vendra growled in rage. I saw small tendrils of smoke begin to rise from Vendra's colored fists and knew she was dangerously close to casting magic I'm sure she wasn't aware of. My head immediately turned back to the murder the assassins committed last night for less reason than this.

"Vendra, calm down," I said urgently, grabbing her wrist.

She looked down and noticed her own smoking flesh with an odd expression. She closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders back, immediately stilling her magical powers. "Okay. I've had enough of this bullshit," Vendra snapped. "I'll see you downstairs," she said with tension as she exited the room swiftly.

Laurella glowered at me nastily before walking out the door a few moments afterwards, leaving me alone in the room in silence. I closed my own eyes and rubbed my temple which was beginning to throb. I said a momentary prayer that things would return to normal soon, but somehow I seriously believed that prayer would be in vain.

I grabbed my spear that lay against the wall next to the open window and briefly stared down into the bustling street below. There was so much ignorance here. A murder was committed in cold blood last night and none of them noticed or cared. I walked towards the doorway and paused to look at myself in the standing mirror on Yvette's wall as I passed by. I had tied my hair back into its original ponytail, and secured it with my headband. I had replaced my evening gown from last night with my original armor, and it was a welcomed relief. My weapons were sharpened and stowed in their proper carrying places on my gear and every muscle of my body was rippling with tension. My eyes had bags starting to form under them, not a good way to begin the day. I was still weary from last night, both in body and mind.

The vibrantly colored feathers of Ahmad's necklace peaked out from beneath my armor in the dusty sunlight, and I sighed again. Duty calls. I would have to rest later, right now we needed to up and leave.

I walked down to the atrium where all the rest of the group had gathered. All of us looked exhausted; there wasn't one speck of relief or even excitement as I looked around. I'd have to say out of all of us, Cloudyous looked the least affected. He had returned to his normal fur and linen armor and Belthem and Sky lingered restlessly by his left side. Bibo was perched on his right shoulder and even Gaia was present in the house in the hallway behind him. Her enormous bear body was packed between the stucco walls of the narrow atrium, but she didn't seem to mind. I watched the grizzly carefully, noting that she was doing her best to maintain a three inch space between her body and Cloudyous' despite the confines of the building.

All four animals hadn't left his side last night since the second he returned to Ryelass'. Sky and Belthem had even come running to him up a side street before he had even gotten off the steps of the palace. Cloudyous had seemed to know what happened before I told him; I guess his wolves had told him first. He said that they had come to protect him, and I didn't need to ask from what. Cloudyous was a mage too when it came down to it, and that put him equally among the threatened.

Sovellis was off talking to Vendra in a corner. They weren't speaking aloud, but the troubled glance on his face and the irritated one on hers said everything. I knew she was mentally filling him in on the fight upstairs if he didn't already know. Alminus was standing next to Ryelass, whom was trying to console a teary Yvette. Ryelass had his back turned to Laurella, and I clearly understood he wasn't ready to face her yet. Alminus caught my eyes and we shared an exhausted expression between us. I questioned him with my eyes to Laurella and then to Ryelass. He sighed wearily and then shrugged his massive shoulders. Apparently, he was just as confused.

Worst of all, though not surprising to me, was Scorpious. My paladin friend was dressed solidly in his silver platemail that had the appearance of being recently polished. His blessed sword was neatly on his belt and his holy targe was hung steadily onto his back. Everything about him physically appeared steady, like it had since the first moment I met him. But looks were so deceiving. On the inside, I knew demon ice was breaking him apart. I was immensely saddened when I looked into his eyes. Ice wasn't the only thing destroying him. I thought that heartbreak might kill him first.

The rueful expression in his soft eyes made me think of the two people missing from our original group. Maria. . . What in hell had happened? It just didn't make sense. She was so collected and in her own way, almost as righteous as Scorpious. Was rejection really the cause of this sudden personality switch? I cringed when I thought about Laurella's reaction. I sincerely hoped that she wouldn't become murderous in that same manner.

Murderous . . . the look in Piricus' eyes had been murderous. He wasn't present with this group either, though no one, not even me, expected him to be. I had no idea what had even happened to him last night, and I seriously doubted he had gone back to the inn. I kicked myself inwardly. I should have chased after him. I should have made sure that nothing else happened, but in my state of shock, I hadn't been thinking straight. I sincerely regretted it and that was at the forefront of my mind last night when we had returned here. I couldn't get him off my mind and needless to say between him and Laurella, I didn't really sleep last night.

"Mom, mom," Ryelass soothed, "It will be alright. I promise," he said gently. "I will write as often as I can, but I have to go now," he explained gingerly as he tried desperately to pull away from his crying mother.

"I know, it's just so hard," Yvette said miserably, "I was just getting used to having you home again."

"And someday I will be," Ryelass promised, as he embraced her lovingly one last time.

"Well, you be careful young man," she said quietly. "And send word often," she hiccupped as she returned his embrace. "All of you," she added sweetly and seized Alminus in a motherly fuss when she had let go of Ryelass.

Alminus smiled softly and patted her on the back with great care. "There, there Yvie. It'll be alrigh' now. Jus' ya wait n' see. We'll prolly be back 'fore ya know it," he said fondly.

"I hope so," she said sincerely, drying her eyes as someone handed her a handkerchief. I looked over to see the elderly sage, Deckard Cain.

"Thanks," Yvette said as she blew her nose as well, attempting to quell her motherly depression. "You'll take good care of them, won't you?" she asked the elder, turning to him.

"The best, dear Yvette. Do not be sad, my dear. Take heart in what Alminus has said. I have faith that you'll all be together again soon," elder Cain said optimistically.

"That I will," she said, seeming to perk up slightly. "Fair winds and good sails to all of you. I'm pleased to have met you," she said as she made the rounds to hug all of us in turn. I returned Yvette's embrace with a slight cringe when I realized that Ryelass was watching me. When she let go I swiftly turned away, and made to scratch Belthem's ears as a distraction, particularly because Yvette made to hug Laurella next and I didn't want to see her face.

The grey wolf was slightly jumpy when I made to touch him and by the time he realized it was me, I'd almost lost a few fingers. I recoiled hastily, cursing myself inwardly. After all, Belthem wasn't a tame yard dog. I thought I'd done something wrong and apologized outwardly in reflex, even though I knew he probably wouldn't understand me.

"Sorry," I said absently, not caring how absurd it must have looked for me to be speaking with a wolf.

Belthem eyed me carefully for a moment, then sat down and whined. He opened his mouth and yawned with a high pitched sound.

"It's not you," Cloudyous answered for him. "You'll have to excuse all of them. They're on edge and they're really focused on protecting me," he added apologetically.

"I figured that," I said stupidly. "After the fact. I also thought he might be angry for what I did to his tail," I added with a grimace as I eyed the healing nub.

Cloudyous ruffled the hair of Belthem's head affectionately, then shook his head. "No, he's not angry. He realized you saved his life and he's very grateful. He wants you to know he's sorry for trying to bite you just now, like I said, they're just all a little distracted," he repeated kindly.

"They feel remorse?" Sovellis asked with interest as he watched the scene play out.

Cloudyous nodded. "Indeed. Probably not the same was humans do, but believe it or not animals do have emotions."

"What you mean?" Sovellis futhered. "What difference?"

"Well, the best way I can explain it is that just now Belthem wasn't "sorry" that he hurt Chyemme's feelings when he tried to bite her, he was "remorseful" that he acted aggressively towards a member of his pack on accident. It wasn't a human version of sadness, but there was regret there just the same," Cloudyous explained.

"Well, it's a good thing somebody can translate for them, because I wouldn't have gotten any of that out of an attempted bite," Vendra said sarcastically.

"True enough," Ryelass said as he finished his farewell to his mother. "Let's get going."
"Where are we going?" Laurella asked Deckard Cain, instead of asking Ryelass.

"Lord Jerhyn wants to speak with you at the docks and from there, I believe we will be boarding a ship," he answered simply.

"Then let's not keep him waiting," she answered bluntly and took the lead out the door.

Our group left for the dockside with Yvette waving goodbye from her doorstep. We moved quickly through the crowd with Ryelass escorting Elder Cain, whom seemed to know the way. The city noise seemed like a buzz, and if I hadn't been so tense, it would have dulled my senses as we made our way through town. We passed the tavern, and within its open frame I could see Atma, hard at work serving a large man a plate of some type of food. She looked up for a moment to see our procession and waved slightly, before turning to scold a small boy that ran out from behind the counter too fast, carrying a goblet of wine. I saw a small smile on her face as she helped to clean up the mess the child made, before it disappeared back into an expression of business. At the very least, there was one small measure of hope we had kindled here.

I gave the bathhouse an ill-begotten look as we walked by, making Vendra laugh when she noticed it. Sovellis laughed too, a sign she'd said something to him psychically. The mass of brightly colored townspeople began to thin out the further east we went until the manner of people had been replaced solidly by a much more rugged lot. Many of these men had muscles that held a chance at comparison with Alminus and several had rough-looking scars and stubby facial hair. Their clothing wasn't bright with the dyes of Lut Gholeign, instead it was simple, faded linen mostly in brown hues. I could distinctly smell the salt on them and see the sun on their skin, though it was a different shade from the native desert tan.

These men were sailors and they eyed our group strangely as we passed by. Most seemed to be hard at work carrying large barrels and crates up and down a wooden walkway we had now stepped onto, though I couldn't see the ocean yet for all the buildings. I tuned my ears, trying to listen past the hustle and bustle of human activity for sounds of the sea. It wasn't long before I started to hear them. It made my heart sink slightly. The last time I had been on a ship and crossed a sea, Piricus had been with me. I desperately wanted to find him, but I knew that I couldn't leave the group and we had no time to waste on things like a sentimental goodbye.

We rounded a corner where the walkway became a pier and as we passed a high stack of crates, I received my first view of the eastern seas. There were several piers scattered over this walkway over about a two mile span and it seemed to me like every inch of harbor contained a moored ship of some type or other, with barely enough water between them to move. My guess was that Lord Jerhyn had to have sealed the ports a while ago for this many vessels to have accumulated.

The water itself was a murky emerald green, you could barely see anything beneath the water's waving surface. The water was nearly the same color as his eyes. I blinked and shook my head when I started to notice an image of his face in the moving water. Did I really care for him that much? Was I also that desperate? To hallucinate?

"Keep your eyes above water, amazon. Watch where you're walking so it's not into me, like you always do," an icy voice said with barely no emotion.

"Well, well, look who it is," Vendra said with distain in her voice.

I instantly brought my head back to forward and found that the image in the water wasn't an illusion at all; Piricus was standing in front of us, and in front of him was an odd assortment of people. Fara the paladin was standing next to Adria the Witch, and next to her was Lord Jerhyn guarded by Rasheed and a few others. To Rasheed's right was a man I'd never seen before; he was dressed in a simple black outfit with loose pants secured in place by a simple leather belt and worn, leather boots. His shirt was black and sleeveless, though he did have a red band of fabric across his chest with the imperial seal. He wore a turban, not unlike Jerhyn and carried a saber with a distinct curve in a decorated scabbard.

Lord Jerhyn's face brightened when he saw us. "Ah, the rest have arrived, but I could have sworn, wasn't there one more?" he asked, ignorantly.

I heard a nasty snarl escape Piricus' lips, and I quickly ended that conversation. "She's not coming with us. Everyone that's going is here," I informed swiftly.

Jerhyn seemed surprised, but then nodded. At least he knew better than to ask. "Very well, then. Heroes, I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me and my beloved city. Your service to us is nothing short of chivalrous, and I will never be able to fully repay you. It has come to my knowledge what your current quest entails," he started, slightly more serious with a look at Adria, "And therefore I understand that I shouldn't keep you here. I have arranged passage for all of you on one of my fastest ships, and Captain Meshif has graciously obliged to take you to Kurast immediately. May fortune smile upon you always, and know that all of you will always be welcome in Lut Gholeign," he said with a bow to all of us.

All of us bowed as well, save Piricus, whom managed for the sake of manners, a slight nod.

"Rasheed, let us return now," Jerhyn said politely as the Captain nodded.

Before he left, Rasheed turned to us as well. "Before you leave, Lady amazon," he said, pulling a paper from his waist pouch, "I told Greiz of what happened to your friend, Ahmad. He suggests that you go see his friend, Asheara, upon your arrival in Kurast. That has her last known information," he said respectfully, and bowed once more before he took his leave.

"Doesn't have a clue what just happened, does he?" Laurella said sarcastically as she watched the emperor leave.

"Don' look li' it," Alminus agreed with a strong nod.

"Out of the way, paladin filth," Piricus hissed nastily as he made to edge around Fara whom was standing by the causeway to board our ship, maintaining a large distance between them.

"Have more respect for a lady," Adria reprimanded. She eyed him for a moment, then a grim look came to her face. "I see," she said simply, leaving the rest of us as confused as ever.

Piricus cast her a leery glance, then answered her just a briskly. "I'm through with you as well, gypsy conjurer. I don't ever want to look upon your face again," he snapped rudely and to my surprise, he actually elbowed Fara harshly as he shoved past her onto the plank of the ship. He disappeared within seconds without another word.

To my surprise, Fara made no move or noise of retaliation. "I see what you mean, my brother," she said simply as she watched Piricus fade from view.

Scorpious walked forward apologetically. "My lady, I'll apologize for him," he said humbly.

"Why would you? For him that was actually as close to polite as he'd ever get for a paladin," Ryelass said snidely.

"That's probably true," Scorpious said with a sigh, "but it's the principle of the thing. My apologies," Scorpious said to her politely.

"Why are you here?" Laurella asked her indifferently.

"I needed to deliver these two scrolls to brother Scorpious," she said simply. "One is for the elder, you know of what I speak, and the other is from a Commander Kyeman of the new order of Zakarum. It arrived here just an hour ago actually," she said respectfully and handed them both to him.

"I will delay you no longer. Farewell, be safe and may God watch over you every step of the way," she said to us stoutly and she and Scorpious embraced before she saluted him and quickly left as well.

"That leaves you, Lady Adria," Cloudyous said respectfully.

The witch nodded. "It seems you'll have quite the literature for your trip, Chyemme. I have a letter for you from the amazon isles," she said simply. "That, and I wanted to see you all off," she added.

There is also box in your cabin, Chyemme. It's for your friend, Laurella, but she's not to open it until the vanquishing of the stone of red, do you understand? Adria said to me telepathically.

Not really, I replied ethereally. And we're not exactly on the greatest of terms now anyway, I added bitterly.

It's simple. Don't open the box. Not you or her, until the time comes. You'll know when that is, she clarified as she handed me the letter bearing the royal crest of Queen Chelsea.

I reached for the letter, and the ocean breeze caught in the folds. The paper fluttered in her grip and in my attempt to take it I ended up accidently brushing Adria's hand with my own. The moment I touched her, my inner sight activated. This vision was slightly different from the rest I had been experiencing since I was here. This time, I only heard voices, as if it were a recording of some script. I didn't see anything with my eyes.

"What have you got for us, Adria?" Came a female voice that was somehow familiar. I listened intently, having an odd feeling I knew who it belonged to, even though I'd only heard it once before.

"That will depend on what you need. From the looks of things, you need more help than I can give you," Adria responded simply.

"Probably so," came a male voice I didn't recognize. "But please try. You, alone, are the only one left here that still has the power to help."

"I know what you're after. You'll never succeed. Not with a hundred Horadrim and the archangel himself could this be done, let alone the three of you," Adria said dubiously.

"Funny you should mention him, considering he was the one to do it in the first place. Have a little more faith in us, Adria," came the male voice again.

"Please, great witch. We have to try, or all is lost anyway," came another, slightly accented male voice.

"Cyrim is right. If we don't do something soon, he'll be powerful enough to come topside," came the female voice. "We need to be proactive, there is still a chance that we will hold the upper hand if we strike first and bring the fight to him," she added.

"You know what must happen then," Adria said, a tone sounding very much like regret in her voice.

"We must fight him in the plain which he is grounded in, if we are to seal him away again completely. We have to enter hell itself, but that won't be the hard part," the female voice said grimly, "a tear into that dimension has already opened."

"I'll tell you what is a problem," the voice of the man named Cyrim answered. "The rift has opened on the edge of town and it's going to consume this entire place if we don't close it," he added.

"I always thought this place was going to hell in a hand basket anyway," came a morbid laugh from the first man. "I guess now it's true."

"This is not a laughing matter," Adria reprimanded. "And that joke was in especially poor taste, coming from you."

"I'm trying to lighten the mood," came the first male voice gently. "You've never seen this place before Leoric, have you Adria?"

"I have," she answered stiffly. "Once before."

"Then you know why I said what I just said," the first responded simply.

"All ill-mannered humor aside," Adria said gravely, "the only way to close that rift is from within, and that won't happen until the Lord of Terror is vanquished," Adria warned.

"So the problem becomes how we're going to seal it without being trapped ourselves," came the sharp assessment of the female voice.

"Astute as ever, Celeste," Adria said simply. "And for this problem, I have no solution. The gates between dimensions, be they heaven, hell, or Sanctuary, are sealed by the worldstone, and none but the creators have the power to alter that. My attempts to restore you to Sanctuary across the barrier from the nether once it has closed would be like me trying to move Mt. Arreat to the amazon isles physically using only my bare hands. It would be impossible," she informed gravely.

"What do you think, Marcus? You always seem to be able to find a way around the problems I notice," Celeste, the Blood Raven asked intently.

Marcus . . . .now it struck me. I was hearing Laurella's sister and Ryelass' brother in this auditory vision.

"I'm sure when I see it, I'll think of something. Maybe there's something on that damned bastard's bookshelves that will help us. He's only been communing with the monster since the start of this disaster. Priest of Zakarum my ass," Marcus snarled. "I never trusted Lazarus from the moment I met him, and that was over twelve years ago. Mom thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I just always had the worst feeling about him," he growled.

"And it turns out for good reason," Cyrim said sarcastically. "Look at Celeste's shoulder."

I heard Blood Raven laugh, though it was entirely human this time. "Well, the conjurer may have gotten a piece of my shoulder, but I put his lights out permanently. One less piece on this demented chess board to worry about," she said stoutly.

"I never liked the idea of using you as his bait," Marcus said protectively.

"That's because you love me," Celeste said lightly, the closest thing to humor I'd heard from her. "I'm a big girl Marcus, I can fend for myself when I need to," she insisted.

"Speaking of injuries, Celeste, you should stay here, maybe go see Pepin," Marcus suggested stubbornly, though I could clearly hear the tenderness in his voice.

Celeste snorted. "To hell with that notion. Literally. If you two are going, so am I. I'll not suffer my love to enter hell and face terror alone."

"He wouldn't be alone," Cyrim said with heart.

"Well, you're both stuck with me. If we go out, we will go together. None of this "the woman will survive and live alone"," Celeste said strongly. "We will live or die together as it should be."

"I agree. What do you have to say, Marcus?" Cyrim asked in agreement.

"I think we're a family now. After everything we've seen down there I think it would be hard to live alone because we can't really relate to anyone up here. I don't think even my little brother could erase this ordeal from my mind and he could always lighten my mood no matter what," Marcus admitted sadly.

"You did the right thing," Celeste said gently. "He'd have followed you into hell, you know."

"And that's what scares me the most," Marcus said grimly. "I want mom and Ryelass never to know this evil," he said powerfully, causing a hurt in my own heart.

"Well, we're resolved never to let that happen. Live or die, we are bound together," Cyrim announced.

"I'm sure when he's old enough, he'll understand. If I live, he'll hear this tale from me, and if I die then I know he's in good hands and that I died trying to keep Sanctuary safe so he will never have to face the demonic," Marcus said softly after a few moments. "Adria, we're decided. Now what will you decide? Will you help us?" he continued, addressing the witch, whom had fallen silent.

"Why are you looking at him like that?" Celeste asked in confusion.

"What do you see, great witch?" Cyrim asked intently. My guess was she had been looking at him.

"There is someone close to your heart, a young boy as you remember him, but I sense this as a distant memory. You've been thinking of him often as of lately. What is his name, Cyrim?" Adria asked interestedly.

Cyrim paused before answering. His voice when he responded was concerned. "His name is Sovellis. He's my godson, why do you ask? What is it that you see?"

"The future is what it is. For good or ill I cannot say. Telling you could alter things beyond my mortal comprehension," she said gravely. "Besides, I only asked his name. What I saw could be someone else entirely," she added mysteriously.

"Fair enough," Cyrim said, though not without dread.

"What about your sister, Celeste?" Marcus asked gently.

"Laurella has been under my wing her entire life. My leaving was hard on both of us, but it is good for her in a way. Now she must stand on her own feet. She doesn't believe it, but I've always told her that I have a feeling that one day, she'll be an even greater warrior than me. That aside, as with Cyrim's godson and your brother, she is in good hands now and nothing, life or death, will change the fact that she is in my heart and I will love her until the end," Celeste vowed.

"They are safe," Adria said simply. "All of them, for the moment. Of that much I will say. I will help you as much as I am able, though I don't think it will do you much good in all honesty," Adria said simply. Moments passed in silence and although I couldn't see, I knew Adria was armoring them up.

"It is done," Adria announced. "I have given you my best."

"Thank you," Marcus said genuinely. "There is only one more matter than needs attendance."

"What's that?" Celeste asked, confused.

"Celeste, my love, I have next to nothing but my life, but all that I do have I would be honored to share with you forever. If we should survive this, will you marry me?" he asked lovingly.

"Of course," she said, though I could clearly tell she was crying. She laughed suddenly. "If you didn't ask me just now, I was going to ask you."

Cyrim laughed too. "Well, that was what I was expecting. For Celeste to take charge. You surprised me, Marcus."

"Okay. Fun's over," Marcus said with a snort at Cyrim's laughter. "Let's go."

"I love you, Marcus," Celeste said tenderly.

"I love you too," he vowed, before things fell into silence. I thought everything was over, until I heard Celeste's voice again. This time, she was screaming.

"NO! NO! MARCUS! CYRIM DO SOMETHING!" she screeched vehemently.

"I can't. It's already closed," Cyrim said in a heartbroken dismay.

"HOW COULD HE? MARCUS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED WE'D FIGHT AND DIE TOGETHER! MARCUS!" she thundered in anguish. She continued to shout her misery for moments afterwards and then she began crying profusely. "Cyrim . . . Diablo . . ." she choked at last.

"He got him, Celeste. I know he did. It wouldn't have closed and Diablo would be here on the ground with us if he hadn't," Cyrim said quietly.

"But he . . .Diablo . . .he's . . he's . . ." she wailed in misery, unable to find the words 'Marcus is dead'.

"We owe him our lives. We would have died and so would have everything else in Sanctuary. I already miss him too. He was my best friend. But what he did was out of pure love. And I know that if there is one person that could have ended that monster, it was him. Diablo is gone, Celeste. Marcus saw to that. I know it's hard, but I know he wouldn't have wanted us to cry and he wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life in mourning, Celeste," Cyrim said ruefully.

"I won't. I won't move on," she growled in pain. "Don't ask me to just toss him aside."

"I'm not asking you to forget him, but rather remember his sacrifice and what you have left. Come, we will leave this place together and go home; there's nothing left for us here but painful memories now. But first we will mark a grave for Marcus and say our goodbyes," Cyrim said softly.

"Cyrim, you're crying," Celeste sobbed.

"I loved him too, he was as much my brother as any blood bond I've ever had. He was my brother as you are my sister. Let's go Celeste. I will take you back to your sister and then I will go back to my wife, and then I must find my godson," Cyrim said in a grief-filled voice. "Marcus will rest well with Tyrael, of that I'm sure."

Celeste sniffled. "He'd better. If I ever find out otherwise, I'll go mad."

I blinked when the sounds died away. That one, sound memory answered a lot of questions, but still left many more. Adria was staring at me interestedly, and so was everyone else.

"How long does it take to get a paper from someone's hand?" Laurella asked with an impolite snort.

"A long time, when you're seeing the memories of others," Adria said simply, though aloud which surprised me.

"I'm sorry, it was accidental," I admitted truthfully.

Adria waved her hand dismissively. "It happens. Hurry now, all of you," she said vaguely. "Captain, I would plot a course through the far west quadrant below Mercury and above Venus. A violent storm is brewing to the direct east, and you don't want to be caught in that," she said matter-of-factly and promptly vanished on the spot. Though her physical form vanished, her mental voice remained in my mind.

Now you understand my guilt on this matter. To see such a thing happen, and not be able to act is unbearable. I could do nothing, but you can. Chyemme, seek the wanderer, you and your friends. Find, him, and put an end to the Lord of Terror. Succeed where I have failed and perhaps there is yet chance for redemption. You might even end up saving someone you did not expect. Farewell, may we meet again in better times. Her voice faded with that cryptic message, same as she always was in person.

"Hmm. Well, better not waste time," the man named Meshif said keenly as he surveyed the morning waters and sky above. "Terrance, Dan—" he called loudly to two people at the end of the docks, "help our guests load their belongings pronto, we need to set sail within the hour!" he ordered.

"I'd go ahead and board now," he said, turning to us. "My men will help you if you need to carry any extra belongings or provisions on board."

"What's the rush?" Vendra asked, eyeing the boat sarcastically.

Meshif shrugged. "Well, I don't see anything right now but I have a feeling in my bones that your friend was right. I think a major storm is coming soon."

"I hope not," Ryelass snorted. "That would be the last thing we need."

"Yeah," I said vaguely, examining the Amazonian letter in my hands. "Let's get out of here before something else happens."