Mizor (Chapter 20)

Template:Mizor nav Inside the Worldstone Keep, the halls were small, with strong stone columns and wide corridors. Bear sniffed at a dead man lying on the floor -- at least, it was probably a man, all that was left was part of a leg, and an arm clutching a saber. The floor was tiled, sort of, with huge slabs of stone interlocked like a god's jigsaw puzzle, but here and there a shard of glowing, fiery crystal had thrust up through the pattern. A very bad sign. They pressed on.

Inside the keep were several tombs, probably those of the greatest Barbarian chiefs. A few living Barbarians had been here, but now there were only Minotaurs, little sword-swingers, and some of the flying bimbettes Mizor had encountered in other interior areas. They didn't seem to like going outside, maybe they weren't wearing enough for the cold weather, though that didn't stop the little exploding guys.

On a trip back to Harrogath, Mizor found that his war chest was overflowing with gold. He doubted he'd be able to buy anything better than what he had, but Paige might want something, so he went to Anya to gamble. After a few tries, he got a very nice rare crown. The enchantments weren't anything he or Paige really needed, but someone might like it... and he hadn't repaid the Great Bear for the gift of his current hat. Larzuk put a socket in it, and Mizor offered it up. With something that sounded uncomfortably like "Oooh, shiny!" it vanished. Strange. Another gamble netted Paige a new bow, a Static Long War Bow of Damage Amplification. That should be useful.

At the lowest level of the Keep, Mizor paused, and wondered again why everyone who builds a fortress is so fond of cellars. He'd gotten used to it, but what was with all the deep, deep dungeons, anyway? After clearing the level, they found a columned hallway, leading up to a dais, on which sat... guess who? And he was laughing. All the evil guys laugh, either before you spray their brains all over a wall, or after. The ones who do it after are the worst.

Baal: "Pathetic fool! This race was won before you were born!"

Mizor: "AWWWAAHAAP!" (AAAH, SHADDUP!!)

In they charged, but Baal just laughed and threw down a big yellow ball of lightning. It burst open, and a pack of little demon shamans appeared, squeaking and tossing fireballs. How cute. STOMP! Then Baal tossed down a group of Greater Mummies, with an attendant crowd of Burning Dead Mages firing cold blasts. STOMP! STOMP! Stinky, the big one, had nasty poison breath, Mizor actually had to drink an antidote potion. Baal followed this performance up with a group of Kurast Councilmen. Mizor was beginning to detect a trend. STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! Next was a bunch of the big demon guys from hell. Mizor flicked them away with his index finger. Even Paige snickered.

What would the next pack be? Some of the Minotaurs? That might be bad. Maybe the fat whip-wielding guys, that wouldn't be too bad. Baal tossed out a group of... things. They were big ugly things, sure, but looked like nothing they'd ever seen before, with big toothy jaws, dead pink coloring, and entirely too many legs and arms. Well, something that clumsy-looking can't be a serious threat, so...

STOMP!!!!

Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch ouch said Mizor, scampering out of the throne room like a widdle bunny wabbit, with his tail between his legs and a big yellow stripe blazing down his back. Paige came flying out soon after, leaving a nice bloody imprint on the wall.

Mizor: "Hwraooaopy." (So nice of you to drop by.)

Paige: "Oh, my spine..."

Mizor: (Pours superheal down Paige's throat.) "Hoaadadee?" (How about a strategy?)

Paige: "What, you don't want to just stuff our bodies down their throats and hope they choke on us?"

Instead, they opted for the less-fatal tactic of divide and conquer. Resummoning Bear, Mizor went just far enough into the throne room to attract one or two, then ran back to Paige and stunned them with a Shockwave when they came close. Getting back into the throne room, they were just in time to see Baal's unlovely posterior vanish into a gate. There was nothing to do but follow.

The gate led to a small chamber in the very heart of Arreat, filled with the most beautiful light... except where the giant, perfect crystal suspended in the center of the room was broken. Chips the size of houses flew away from its immensity, their perfect edges slicing through the stone walls. A few bits of gold were scattered here and there, but Baal took higher priority. And there he was, with one finger resting on the Worldstone. Laughing.

After all the trouble he'd given the world, you'd think he could put up a better fight. Mizor smashed and mauled him, resummoning Bear to take the brunt of his attack. Baal's only strategic move was to teleport next to Paige and try to eviscerate her, but she, blessed girl, had apparently learned something and ran behind Mizor every time he tried it. When Baal died, Mizor danced up and down on his puking, wretching corpse with abandon until Tyrael, who'd shown up just when he could be at his most useless, told him to stop.

The Worldstone was corrupted. In its present state, all its energy would soon drain away and it would become a conduit for dark energies to enter the world. If the Worldstone were allowed to exist, then Mount Arreat would become a permanent entry point from hell, so Tyrael had to destroy it.

Mizor: "WO! Ahhuualaeeor!" (NO! You can't destroy the soul of the world!)

Tyrael: "You do not understand the true nature of the Worldstone; the force of nature and the living things you cherish will not suffer by its loss."

Mizor: "Hrrr?! Whaawuuais?" (What?! Then why'd we go through all this?)

Tyrael: "There is more on heaven, and on earth, than is dreamt of in your philosophy. Though I cannot predict the consequences of destroying the stone, green things will still grow, and life and death will triumph, so long as guardians of the light come forth when needed. Go now, I have prepared a portal to take you to safety."

Mizor: "Bub..." (But...)

Tyrael: "There is nothing more that can be done. Go."

Concluding thoughts:

1. I wonder how many other people thought that Tyrael's final appearance must be another demonic trick? It would be so like these demons to imitate Tyrael and not destroy the Worldstone, keeping it intact for the coming invasion.
2. Werebears are not so bad, but I've found I enjoy other kinds of melee fighters more. Maul and Shockwave are very effective, but having so little variety in your attacks can be a little dull. Hunger works if you don't have a weapon with life leech, but don't put more than one point in it. Fire Claws is very weak unless you invest a lot in it, and there are better things to invest in. The slow speed running speed of the bear also makes most tactics difficult to employ, aside from "wade in and smash."
3. Players 8 does make the game more difficult, but only certain sections. It's harder at the start, then becomes much easier through act II, and harder again at the end of act III, when you start running into more elemental attacks. Baal is less dangerous than Diablo in players 1, but in players 8 he's pathetic. I spent a lot of time making all those purple potions, and never got to use them, dammit!
4. Muling is probably better for my peace of mind than the character's survival. It's frustrating to find some wonderful item with a character who doesn't need it, when another character would give a kidney for it. It's genuinely painful to have to sell it for far less than it's worth. But knowing it's sitting on the mule can take the suspense out of the game while you're playing; you know you'll get something good once you hit level 23, or whatever.

This has been fun, but its time to put Mizor to rest. He deserves a vacation, and I have to admit I'm getting a little bored of playing him. The werebear is strong and capable, but not very flexible; he seems to be a character with only one realistic attack strategy. When that strategy works, it works very well, but when it doesn't, he has nothing good to fall back on. Next on the tour is a character well known for her flexibility, the Sorceress. Not that kind of flexibility, you perverts, I mean her combat abilities.