Difference between revisions of "Xanthippe (Chapter 33)"

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Xanthippe (Act V)#Chapter 33

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-There were several totem-like things in Nihlathak's temple, but Xanthippe and Kasim couldn't tell which might be the important one, so they gathered them all up and took them back to Harrogath.  It was dark, and Anya was sleeping, but Xanthippe didn't feel like talking to anybody anyway.  That night, her dreams were strange and disturbing.  She usually slept deeply enough not to remember any dreams in the morning, but this night her mind simply couldn't rest.  Just before dawn, Anya knocked on her door.  Xanthippe was already up -- having gotten no real rest.
-With increasing worry, Anya went through the totem collection twice.  "It isn't here."
-"It isn't here?" Xanthippe repeated numbly.
-"It isn't here!  The Relic of the Ancients!  It's gone!"
-"Oh."
-Anya stared at Xanthippe.  "Have yoo gone mad?  That is our most holy totem!"
-Xanthippe sighed.  "I have a killer headache.  I'm sorry.  Now please, you haven't told me what's so important about this relic.  Why do you want it?"
-"The Relic is the sign of our pact with the Ancient Ones, our ancestors.  They were as gods, far greater than any who live today.  When they took on the task of guarding Mt. Arreat, three of their greatest champions were given the gift of immortality, and stand eternally on the peak of the mountain.  Any who approach are challenged to combat -- unless they bear the relic.  All who bear the relic may pass."
-Ancestor worship.  Ok, but how those primitive beliefs can blend with the religion of light is anyone's guess.  Thinking about religion would only make her head hurt more, so Xanthippe just said, "You think they'll just let Baal pass."
-"Nihlathak must have given the relic to Baal.  He will not be challenged.  It is imperative to find him and stop him!"
-Privately, Xanthippe wondered how anyone could let Baal go where he pleased, just because he had some fancy totem.  He shouldn't be that hard to recognize for what he is.  For all this stuff about the ancestors being greater than anyone living, Anya didn't seem to place much faith in their intelligence.  However, voicing doubts about Anya's judgment, or someone she worships, would not be very nice.  "Find him and stop him.  Right.  Guess I'll get to the summit, then.  That's where he's going."
-"I do not know if this will help yoo, but please take it," Anya said, handing Xanthippe a small crystal orb mounted on a wand.  "It was among my father's things, and I know magicians use them.  Yoo might want something larger, but it is all I have for yoo."
-The orb wasn't anything special, or even useful, but Xanthippe tucked it into her belt and mumbled something about it being lovely.  Before going out, she stopped to talk with Cain.
-"Can I ask you about something?"
-"Please, stay a while and listen!  While I know time is of the essence, your efforts are best guided by knowledge and --"
-"Thank you.  I was wondering... what can you tell me about Succubi?"
-Cain looked a bit surprised. "Ah, yes.  The Succubi are the handmaidens of Andariel, but often given by her to other demon lords to curry favor.  Combat is not their forte, to say the least, but they are zealous in their bloodthirst.  Many were found under Tristram, and I had thought they were all but wiped out in the battles there."
-Xanthippe slowly nodded.  "They can't... like... see into your soul, or anything?"
-Now Cain looked puzzled. "Hmm.  All demons study human weaknesses, as their intelligence allows.  Even during times of supposed peace, some walk among mortals, creating havoc in subtler ways.  The helpers of the Maiden of Anguish are well suited to this task, and I am sure many of them have been deceiving men, in one disguise or another, for centuries.  They would be very familiar with the darker sides of human nature.  Where is Kasim, by the way?"
-"I don't think he and I are speaking to each other right now."  Xanthippe stared at the ground.  "But they can't... just KNOW what's in your heart, by looking at you?"
-"No more so than any other student of humanity," Cain said, raising an eyebrow.  "You know, when I went to see Anya, she asked about you.  Your mood confused her, but I assured her that you were merely impatient to be about your business."
-Her face flushing, Xanthippe nodded. "I'm sorry.  I was beyond rude.  And I will apologize, but I can't really face her right now.  I have to sort out my head.  Better go.  Thank you."
-As she walked to the waypoint, Cain frowned deeply, and thought for a while.  Deciding that he didn't have enough information, he went upstairs to speak with Malah.
-"Malah," Cain asked, "may I ask you for a moment of your time?"
-"Of course, young man."  Malah cackled a bit.  "You don't often hear that, I think."
-"Not so often, these days," Cain sat down on a bunk. "Many my age or older were unable to flee the invasion; it is still not clear to me why I was spared.  But now, it is the young who worry me.  Tell me, what did Xanthippe say, when she met Anya?"
-"That girl never learned how to behave!"  Malah snorted.  "When Anya praised her strength, she was met only with harsh words.  Her man was ill-behaved, though she did fetch him a goodly clout.  She was ill-spoken, curt, and insulting to elder Nihlathak long before his betrayal was known."
-Cain nodded slowly.  "Well... she is under a terrible burden."
-"There is a child who was not beaten enough," Malah scowled.  "Here, children learn to respect their betters."  Then she sighed.  "But you are right, we must be generous.  It is a great burden, which may be what makes her company so difficult to bear."
-Cain smiled. "Especially for people who must seem strange to her."
-"What is so strange about us, then?"  Malah smiled cannily.  "Yoors are the ways that are strange.  It is Anya who has call to take offense.  When Baal has been defeated, it is my hope that Anya will teach your little tyro a lesson she won't soon forget."
-Remembering the "mud wrestling" incident, Cain said, "It would not be the first time, or the last, I am sure.  Let me warn you, she forgets lessons easily."
-"We are not in the way of letting children forget their lessons."
-"As you said," Cain nodded.  "That is all I wished to ask about.  I hope that all goes well."
-Xanthippe's safety was never a worry for Cain, no matter how much she offended the Barbarians' ways.  As thick-boned as these people were, he was sure her skull was thicker.  For herself, Xanthippe was threading the maze of ice caves with Kasim.  Despite several attempts on her part, Kasim was not speaking to her.  He fought along with her, protected her, and watched her back as she watched his, but he wouldn't acknowledge anything she said -- not even a grunt to show he'd heard her.  As they went through one blind alley and looping passage after another, she finally gave up trying to get a response, and just went on talking.  She had to get this off her chest.
-"You're right, I was mean to Anya, the things I said about her were wrong.  I was upset.  I'm still not sure why.  Ok, I am sure, I was jealous.  For no good reason at all."
-Kasim actually favored her with a glare before turning away.
-"What were you going to say?  You can say something, I won't tell."
-Kasim found a couple of Minotaurs, and they started chopping them up. "I think I started getting mad when Cain said he was going to seek her out for her council.  Why all this over her, I was thinking?  I don't think she's any older than me, and nobody seeks me out for my council.  I know lots of things!"
-Kasim grunted as he ran a Minotaur through, killing it.  Xanthippe continued, "Ok, you're thinking, why would anyone ask a total bitch anything.  Doesn't matter what I know, nobody wants to talk to me anyway.  But everybody wanted to talk to Anya."
-As her lightning killed a last earth demon, Xanthippe said, "She gets a ton of respect, she hasn't even done anything, just has well-placed relatives.  I'm not getting jealous again, that's just a statement of fact.  But you know, I gotta admit, thinking about the things she says, I respect her too.  She's smart, a lot smarter than I thought anyone here would be."
-As they continued, Kasim in the lead (keeping his back to her at all costs) they finally found an opening that led to the surface. "And she is beautiful.  Ok, I admit, it should not matter, but it does.  Maybe it was just the last nail in the coffin... or maybe I worry about my looks more than I want to think.  I mean, I've kept my hair long, and let it hang out of my helmet.  That's not a good idea in combat.  I thought about cutting it off after what those Succubi said, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  Vanity, right?  I like my hair."
-Outside the cave was an icy tundra, covered with snow and slick ice.  The wind was thin and bitingly cold.  "I know, vanity begets envy, envy begets vanity.  That's how Succubi can work on people, right?  Even women.  And you were right, they were seducing me.  It had nothing to do with sex, but it was a seduction nonetheless."
-The tundra was lousy with Imps and big thunder beasts.  Imps are obnoxious little bastards, but Xanthippe's lightning could kill them in one shot now.  Kasim still ran from Imp to Imp, with Xanthippe trotting along behind. "They found a weakness, and exploited it.  You know the really ironic thing?  When I thought men were looking at me, I didn't mind.  It didn't upset me, even though it should have.  But when you looked at Anya... I completely overreacted."
-"You went apesh!t," Kasim finally said.
-She almost jumped, she was so startled.  "Yeah!  I went apesh!t!  I mean, why shouldn't anybody look at anybody they want to, right?  It's just looking!"
-They found another set of Barbarian fortresses; Kasim began smashing towers.  "Just looking does not mean a lack of respect!  When men were looking at me, I didn't think they thought any less of my strength, or my power, just because they also thought I had a nice rear.  And maybe my legs too.  Actually, I think my legs have gotten better since I started wearing the heavy armor, they get more of a workout."
-Kicking down a door, Kasim found a catapult stand with some slaves, who looked surprised to see them both.  "My shoulders are broader too, I think, my old top doesn't fit anymore.  And... you know, maybe I am developing some more.  I'll be 18 in a couple of months.  Had to happen sometime, right?"
-Kasim was kicking down a door, ignoring the blast of flame from an Imp in a tower.  Xanthippe ignored them too; they both had so much fire resistance, and it was so cold up there, getting hit with a flame-thrower actually felt kind of nice.  "Ok, I'll never be as big as Anya, in any direction, but that's ok!  She looks great the way she is.  I kind of wish you hadn't let your jaw hit the ground, but I understand why.  I really do!"
-Looking around, Kasim found some more Imps.  Xanthippe ran into the crowd with him.  "We are all human, and some of us look so good, that other humans go ga-ga over them.  Maybe it shouldn't be that way, but it is, so no one should think it's wrong."
-Silently, Kasim killed Imps, and slaves, and thundering beasts, until Xanthippe screamed, "DAMN IT, ANSWER ME!!  Say SOMETHING!!  You're the only one I have to talk to!  No one else has seen what I've seen!  You've got to say SOMETHING to me..."
-With a sigh, Kasim turned and glared at her.  "What?!"
-"Just... say something."  She was almost in tears now.
-"Sure.  How do you keep up all that yapping in this thin air, anyway?"
-As soon as he said it, Kasim regretted it.  She just stood there, quiet, tears freezing on her cheeks.  Damn it... he never could take it when a girl cried.  "Hey... I didn't mean it."
-She started sobbing. "Yesh you did... everbody hatesh me..."
-"Look, not everybody hates you.  Some people don't know you well enough."
-THAT sure helped.  Xanthippe started whimpering and crying more than ever.  "Hey, Anya doesn't hate you!  She's trying to like you!"
-"Yeah!" Xanthippe sobbed, "sheesh one of tha big dogs!"
-After thinking about that, Kasim said, "Uh, look: don't call her a big dog to her face, ok?  She probably won't get it."
-Now Kasim didn't know if Xanthippe was crying, laughing, or both.  "Come on.  Just calm down, relax, you're gonna turn this place around and liberate all the women, and they'll all love you for it.  Well, maybe not Malah, she's kind of reactionary.  But old women get like that!  Look at what you're doing!  Everybody thinks you're great!"
-"I don' think I could liberate anybody," Xanthippe sobbed.  "I'm just a..."
-"Sure you can liberate 'em!  It'll be easy, you told me how a million times.  You're gonna bring women's rights to the Barbarians, show 'em the error of their ways, all that stuff.  It'll be great!"
-Slowly, Xanthippe stopped crying.  "Nobody's gonna listen to me..."
-"Sure they will.  Just say what you got to say.  Be the big dog."
-Sniffling, Xanthippe rubbed her nose on her sleeve.  "I don't know how."
-Kasim sighed.  "What does Anya do?  She's a big dog, act like her."
-"She's tall and strong and her dad was a chief."
-Kasim shrugged.  "You're the one who killed Diablo.  Think that's chicken feed?"
-"They don't believe I did that," Xanthippe complained.
-"I dunno.  Ever since we killed Nihlathak, I think some of them are getting convinced."
-"What about him?  He was easy."
-"Yeah." Kasim grinned.  "Tribal elder, the most powerful guy in the city, and he was easy."
-Xanthippe laughed. "Uh... yeah.  That's true.  Heh.  Never thought about it that way."
-"Yeah.  Now, we gotta get movin'.  The summit's a long ways up."
-Xanthippe looked up, up the mountain, where the peak shone against indigo skies.  "Wonder what's up there.  Think we're too late?"
-"We will be if we hang around here."
-"Right.  Let's kill things."
-The slope of the mountain was steep now, and the icy ground was slippery.  More than once, one or both of them slipped and skidded across patches of ice as they chased the monsters.  At the top of the tundra slope was another cave, under a thick wall of ice that surrounded the peak.  Trying to climb the ice would be pointless, so the cave was the only option.  It was full of the usual horrors, including several dead Barbarians.  Had they been up here, this high on the mountain?  Or were they just dragged up for entertainment, and food?
-As they got back to town that evening, Qual-kehk greeted Xanthippe.  "Yoo have reached the Ancient's Way, which holds the entrance to the summit.  Every time I hear from yoo, your deeds have grown more legendary.  Yoo are entering into the realm of myths."
-"They're caves, like any other.  I'm sorry, but I've seen worse."
-Qual-kehk stared straight at Xanthippe, shaking his head slightly.  "Yoo really did descend into the burning hells, didn't yoo?  And battled to the death with Terror and Hate."
-Turning away, Kasim smirked a bit.  Xanthippe looked down, but nodded. "I wasn't lying.  It was what I had to do, and I did it."
-"I think I believe yoo now.  It makes me wonder if all the training, all the devotion and care I have given to this mountain was for nothing."  Qual-kehk cast his eyes down.  "A woman, who I scoffed at, succeeds where I can only offer failure."
-"You didn't fail... you just didn't know what you were fighting."
-"That is a failure, to have forgotten so much, or thought it unimportant.  I sent hundreds of men to their deaths.  Thousands more died on the slopes while I could not break out of a box of my own making."  Qual-kehk looked up at Arreat's summit.  "The defense of this place was my life.  I have never been to the peak, where yoo are going.  It never seemed to me that I was worthy of it.  But I may tell yoo what is there."
-"The Ancient Ones?"
-"Aye, the Ancient Ones.  They stand eternally vigilant, cast in unbreakable metal.  The gates to the interior of the mountain will not open unless they let yoo pass.  Or, if you have the relic that will open the gates without their say."
-Xanthippe nodded.  "You go into the mountain?"
-"Yoo will, I am sure of it.  Inside the mountain is the greatest charge a people could have, the key to the safety of everything that is: the Worldstone."
-The word meant nothing to Xanthippe.  The Barbarians had the task of protecting Mt. Arreat, but no one outside of the highlands knew why.  Sages had debated possibilities for ages, but with no knowledge possible, argument was pointless.  Declaring that the great secret was a thing called the Worldstone was interesting, but told Xanthippe absolutely nothing.  "What is the Worldstone?"
-"I do not know," Qual-kehk replied.  "Not exactly.  It is the soul of the world.  If all that is were wrapped up in a single thing, that would be it.  The energy it creates keeps Hellspawn from drawing on their full power while in our world.  What more it does, I cannot say.  But I know this: if Baal corrupts it, as he corrupted the shard of it used for his Soulstone, all is lost.  Instead of preventing Hell's power from flowing in the world, it would make it easier, and every demon would become as 100 of what it was.  We would be doomed."

Difference between revisions of "Xanthippe (Chapter 33)"

Latest revision as of 08:37, 12 February 2017

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