A young warrior arrived at Tristram, and saw blueness in the eyes of a bearded large man. Griswold, the blacksmith was his name. “Hello, what’s the reason you are so blue?” he asked the smith.
“Ach Sir...” he sighed. “Mischief is threatening our village. I created a huge sword and strong armor for myself to sweep the evil underneath the village. I started in the church, but the monsters were way too powerful for me. They fight like hell! If I was young, like you my friend, I might have more luck.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it, Aragorn the Hero once said to me, when I was a child still.” Griswold interrupted him. “You know Aragorn?”
“Yes, well I did when I was a kid still. Haven’t seen him for quite some time though. As far as I know he is helping some villagers in the far North to get rid of a big dragon!”
“I’ve heard two days ago he killed the fell creature!”
Gabriel sighed. “Phew, at least I know then he survived that encounter.”
“Ha! Aragorn is invincible! No one, or nothing can defeat him!”
“I know... but still it’s good to hear he is doing fine.”
“Yes, unlike we...” sighed Griswold.
“I shall destroy the evil underneath this village! It is my duty as a knight of the light!” Gabriel said.
“I cannot expect that of you! You are perhaps a bit too young! Maybe it’s better if you look for Aragorn instead, and ask him to help us. He already killed Diablo once!”
Gabriel leapt back, with a tinge of fear in his eyes. “I thought Aragorn killed Diablo already many years ago!”
“He did.” said Griswold. “Even though Diablo fought like hell in hell, Aragorn beat him. He removed the soulstone, and smashed it in his Royal circlet, which he wisely took off and buried. Unfortunately some time ago, after an earthquake, someone found that helmet again. That person must have taken the soulstone out, and couldn’t resist to smash it in his own forehead. You know what happens then, don’t you my young friend?”
“I do.” said Gabriel. “But I will face, and destroy Diablo this time.”
Griswold looked at him with a beady eye. “You do have some nice equipment there... But are you skilled enough to kill such powerful creatures?”
“I am, when I was young, Aragorn saw me practicing once. I must have been eleven or twelve years old or so... Aragorn saw how devoted I was, and decided to teach me some tips. I must say, almost all I know now, is what he told me back then.”
“Well, then I wish you good luck! Please come whenever you need something repaired!”
“Luck has nothing to do with it...., and thanks for the offer.” Said Gabriel, and walked to some other villagers to get acquainted. And after buying some pots from a healer called Pepin, he descended into a crack in the earth.
He found gold vipers and blood knights. He quickly found out the blood knights were quite fell, and had to be dealt with one or two at a time. Due to his awesome armored stuff, the monsters did not hit him too easily. He also managed to block some deadly attacks, but still got hit from time to time, especially if two were attacking him at the same time. It really hurt, and he had to guzzle quite some pots. Especially the attacks of the knights really hurt, but he managed to stay alive, and kill them.
He went slow, just like Aragorn impressed on him. “Just when you think nothing is coming, something is coming. Wait a bit longer than you think is needed.” Aragorn said once. Every now and then, Gabriel did not have the patience to wait, and activated too many foes at once. While retreating, slightly ashamed for forgetting Aragorn’s words, he thought of something else Aragorn once said: “When you activated too many enemies, stone curse some, and retreat further. Kill the moving ones on safe ground, and go slowly back to kill the ones you stoned earlier.” This he did, and he found the stairs later, without dying.
He walked a bit around in the second level of hell, and found the stairs without seeing any enemies. He descended.
“Somewhere up here Lazarus the betrayer must be. I shall find and kill that bastard!” he thought, while creating a portal that lead to town. He looked carefully at where he was and had a feeling that he was in the South Western part of the level. In the room where he stood, he saw a smaller square room. He did not walk completely around it, but only viewed it from two sides, activating some snow witches and doom guards. Fierce opponents, but not fierce enough to kill him. He walked North, and after killing some more witches and knights, he lured two unique witches out of a Lair. He decided to stone curse both, since he did not feel like chasing them. One dropped a demonspike coat, the other a shield of the tiger. He went to town, sold the shield, and bought more pots.
After creating a new portal to town when he got back, he lured two hellspawn out of the Lair, and activated Lazarus. He stone cursed and slayed them. he used a sword of Haste (without prefix) to kill some advocates who unwisely left the Lair of their master. He always used that sword to kill the mages in hell to stun them. But now they were tougher than usual, and he decided to start using his King’s sword again, after he stone cursed them. (He just couldn’t stand they kept teleporting away.) After killing most foes of the Lair, he walked in, and managed to lure Lazarus out. He killed him, went back in and killed the remaining advocate. He had guzzled quite some pots, but it was worth it.
Gabriel went back to the first room, and walked along some walls, to see if the pentagram was on the other side. “One can feel when the pentagram is near, even when it’s hidden behind a wall.” Aragorn once said. He did not feel the pentagram was close, and went North again. After killing some more witches, by throwing firewalls on them, and dodging their balls, he saw the pentagram in the North Eastern chamber. He ran in, and quickly descended, knowing that all remaining enemies would die after he killed the Dark Lord of terror.
There were two big halls, each dived into two by a big hall. The stairs were in the hall between Diablo’s room and a room with two levers in it. After guzzling a lot of pots, he managed to clear the area in front of Diablo’s lair and halfway around the lever room. He switched the levers, and went back to town. Gabriel bought more pots, and went back. He dropped them on the ground, and went to town again. He now grabbed his most important stuff, and bought some more pots. “Now is the time!” he said to the villagers before going to that deep, dark, and eerie level again.
Very carefully he walked along the wall in front of Diablo’s Lair after he created another town portal. He killed two Bloodknights, and decided that now was the time to use the famous holy bolt. After firing several of them into the dark, he hit the Dark Lord. He ran away, with Diablo on his tail. Diablo hit him in the back while he ran, but Gabriel didn’t give up. He ran to a safe place, where he had dropped the pots. Then he put his back against the wall, and threw many firewalls, while drinking some pots which not only healed him, but also restored his mana supply.
He thought of casting a golem behind Diablo, but didn’t do it. He could not tell why. Gabriel swung his sword with all his strength, and after guzzling a lot of pots, Diablo was defeated! His blood spouted out of his red chest, and after a terrifying roar, he fell with his back on the cold stone ground. Immediately after, the firewalls perished. Diablo was defeated and he himself lived! He walked towards his defeated opponent, and almost tripped over some potions. He did not get the chance to use them, since he stood in a corner, and Diablo practically stood on them. “Ah well, next time I’ll use merely one wall then.” He thought, though hoping the evil had been defeated forever this time. He wanted to go to town, but then saw the soulstone in the monster's forehead. He couldn’t leave it there! Somebody else might find it! He reached for his dagger, and got the stone out. Then reluctantly he moved the stone to his forehead. “If you don’t have a big helmet, like my Royal circlet, then you REALLY have to duck!” he remembered Aragorn saying. This he did. The soulstone got smashed into the wall behind him. After removing the brick (in which it was stuck) with his sword, he went to town again. Before bringing the people of Tristram the good news, he decided to bury the brick with the soulstone somewhere behind the cemetery.
Cain and Pepin organized a great feast in town, with a lot of food and wine. Griswold came to Gabriel, and sat down next to him. He grabbed a beer, and said: “Aragorn the hero would be proud of you!”
A big smile appeared on Gabriel’s face. “I hope so.” He said. “I hope so.”
The End.
