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The Hunter and the Templar	By : BurneHazard Category: +A through F > Diablo III Views: 6471 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Diablo III (3) and all content therein is the property of Blizzard Entertainment. This story is for entertainment purposes only and I make no money from writing it.

Chapter List
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Author's Note:
            After doing extensive reading and research for the material you'll read in this chapter, I have found nothing provided by Blizzard itself, only theory-craft posted by those playing the game. With the lore pretty much left open--and my lack of knowledge on any Diablo content prior to Diablo 3--I will be exercising some artistic freedoms concerning the Towers part of the act.
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            The floor was almost as soft as...well, not even snow underfoot. Snow had give but was solid. As they moved further into the crater's gateway, the floor became distinctly...leather like. It drew Killashandra's attention as she walked along. There were no stairs, just a strange ramp that looked like...skin stretched over skeletal ribs. Not overly surprising since it was the stuff of nightmare. It was tough enough that even jabbing it with her heel did not damage it.
            Satisfied the way was safe to proceed, she moved forward. Although one arrow was already notched and ready, she drew a second on a strange feeling. Once it was ready the feeling faded. Although it was dark below, there was no need to use the wizard-light. Fires shimmered and glowed both faintly and quite intensely around them. Kormac stuck close on her heels without stepping on them or impeding her.
            "This place is an abomination!"(1) he said as he, too, examined what they walked over. "The ground is yielding like flesh. This does not bode well."(2)
            "Anything concerning demons rarely does."
            Reaching the bottom of the ramp, they moved onto a slightly more stable floor. The ground was still the same material but there were fewer bones beneath it save areas to shape it. Kormac focused on the darkness around them as his eyes adjusted to the firelight. It shone crimson gold from the hunter's armor in some places but the rest of it blended in without giving hint to her pose.
            "You've killed one of my playthings..." came an extremely sultry voice that flowed along the nerves like rich chocolate and made them both freeze, turning back to back. "Now you have my undivided attention."(3)
            "I don't like the sound of this demon wench,"(4) Kormac muttered.
            Killa said nothing. Giving him a nudge with her elbow, she proceeded forward. Now she knew for certain that they were being watched. Her hunt had progressed to another level at long last. Now...it was a game. And she had no intention of losing. Not even when she saw the boiling mass of darkness and flashing firelight off weapons. They were boiling toward her and she grinned as she took aim.
            "Templar!"
            Turning, he immediately moved around her. The great shield came down in front of him as he secured his footing and braced. Dropping to one knee, the hunter leaned behind the barrier as the first wave of flame and magic struck the metal. Several larger impacts made the shield ring as the leading tormented stingers struck it. Screeching cries of pain rose as the spells of the demons behind them caught them instead of the two they aimed for.
            Ducking around the edge of the shield, Killa opened fire. Kormac remained braced as a living shield for another moment or two. Wrenching it free of the strange floor, he charged forward with sword drawn to crash into the midst of their enemies. For the next few minutes the only sounds either knew were demonic screams of pain and the din of battle. Fire roared around them and they did not hear it.
            When the last firemage fell before the hunter's arrows, they had a moment to catch their breath. Kormac used the scarf that had fallen loosely about his throat to mop at the sweat soaking his face. It was futile but it did serve to mop the stinging liquid out of his eyes once more. Then, both were nearly blinded by a flaming image erupting before them. Shield rising, the templar shielded the hunter without blocking her aim.
            "Nephalem," Azmodan's swollen visage said as it hovered before them. "Your misbegotten kind is creation's greatest sin! But your time is done. You will find only death in my realm."(5)
            "I do not find death, Azmodan. I bring it with me!" she shouted back as the fire in her eyes flared. The vision faded without any hint of the laughter that had accompanied it previously.
            "We must head deeper!"(6) Kormac said.
            "Let's go," was her only reply as she made her way through the corpses and further into the darkness.

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            The sudden end of the leathery ground made them both stumble in surprise. But the unforgiving presence of stone was again under their boots as they emerged from the foul passage into a great chasm. The ceiling--if there even was one--was concealed in a gloomy haze. To either side of the stairs was an endless drop. And there was something in that void that left the hunter and the templar staring to try and comprehend what they saw.
            Giants. They were little more than flesh over bones. And the flesh burned like live embers, or like meat that had been roasted too long in fire. Their great, skeletal limbs were twisted around their tortured bodies and pinned by huge spikes driven through their palms into their flesh. The skeletal heads were bound in different masks of metal secured by great shafts piercing the eye sockets, slicing and pulling the flesh away from their teeth. Some were gagged as others had only a metal bar stretched between exposed teeth.
            All were chained like living columns around the tower and stone paths. In the cavernous expanse, their moaning cries of agony were somehow muffled like nothing either of the two had ever heard before. The stench of burned flesh and agony was thick upon the air along with the choking presence of despair. Kormac felt almost light-headed as he stared at the horror before him, all blood draining from his face beneath the helm. Beside him, the hunter stood silent in her own observations.
            "By the Light, what are these creatures? Are these demons?"
            "I do not know. This place is too dark for me to sense anything but corruption. Come, we must continue. Our task does not include these things, regardless of what they are."
            It took the templar a few tries to get his feet to obey the commands of his brain. By that time, Killa had already moved further down the wide, shallow stairs toward one of the stone paths circling the tower itself.
            "These poor things live in eternal torment,"(7) came that rich, beautiful voice once more.
            Although her head rose to signal she heard, Killa did not stop. Kormac chose to follow her lead and keep moving as well. His eyes searched for the source of the voice. Because he was searching, he saw the first horde of brutes heading directly for them. Hefting his shield, he focused on the charging demons even as the hunter began to fire upon them. Neither forgot the steep drops to either side of the wide path they stood upon so they kept close during the conflict.
            Demons fell before them or flew over the sides, screaming into the void as they vanished into the haze below. Not once did the hunter's aim waver. She did not stop. And Kormac again felt awe in watching her fight. While he could keep them busy, she was the one that brought them down. Every so often, one of their attackers would realize it too. A charge from the templar either sent them flying over the edge or pulled their focus back to him an instant before they died from hungering bolts.
            "I feast on their agony. Their eternal anguish,"(8) the voice came again, sounding much closer. But there was only gloom and nothing nearby.
            Nevertheless, Killa paused and scanned the gloom with glowing, narrowed eyes. Kormac noticed her distraction and readied himself for another attack, straining to get his eyes to focus through the growing heat. A strange hiss was on the air like something was drawing a breath. The heat increased as a few golden embers spiraled around them suddenly. Without warning, the hunter spun and slammed into the templar, sending them both flying to the side just as a demonic carving opened its maw to spew a jet of flame where they had been standing.
            Picking herself up, Killa merely notched another arrow and moved on. Kormac was left to rise on his own. Adrenaline from the near-miss served to aid him in his haste and he jogged the short distance to catch up with the demonic figure. As they followed the circular paths to another set of stairs leading downward, he found himself panting far more heavily than he should have. Still, Killa appeared entirely unaffected. Not even a drop of sweat glistened on her face.
            While she was likely not possessed by a demon, she was possessed with her hunt. All her burning eyes showed was that focus and her hatred. As they passed into a dark passage to descend further, her eyes lit their way as if they were small pools of fire. And everything he had read came back to him. Trying to moisten parched lips, he swallowed. Even if he had refused to let her ask him to kill her, it hung over his head along with the knowledge that he may have no other choice in the end. An end that was approaching as quickly as the light at the end of the passage they moved through.

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Author's Note:
            This chapter was shortened. I realize I've lost Killa's point of view and intend on returning to it. It's a necessity if I want to use these plot-bunnies. So, next chapter we'll see if I can again focus through those burning eyes for Cydaea's part in the new game. Poor Kormac...and (possible spoiler) poor Lyndon?
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The Hunter and the Templar