Mizor (Act V)

Template:Mizor nav That stupid angel. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Baal was still in the mortal world, he had not joined his younger brother in Hell. While Mizor was making his way down to Diablo's fortress, the last of the Three had recovered his soulstone, and with his power complete, raised up an army and marched into the northern mountains. Tyrael knew perfectly what was hidden there, and that Mizor's people were sworn to protect it at all costs. So, once he discovered this, why hadn't Tyrael told Mizor? Diablo could sit in his fortress and raise armies forever, he didn't matter as long as the secret was intact. But if Baal fought his way into the sacred mountain, defeating Diablo and Mephisto would be meaningless.

Mizor grumbled and swore and snarled all the way into Harrogath, the Barbarian citadel which protected the least inaccessible slope of Mount Arreat. Of course, Mizor had never been there before. Druids were not welcome in Harrogath, they had severed their ties with the Barbarian tribes centuries ago, and only Barbarians are allowed on Arreat, under penalty of death. In his present mood, Mizor would have welcomed a fight, but they did not get one. The citadel was strangely empty. Looking around, fur bristling with exasperation, Mizor heard the clash of weapons and cries of pain, but they were faint and far away. Wait, there was someone moving over there. An old woman.

Malah: "I, Malah, welcome you to Harrogath. Another warrior will be very helpful in the siege, and when we must, which will be soon, we can eat your pet bears."

Bear: "Hwruff?"

Mizor: (sigh...)

Paige: "Do I look that authoritative? The tall one's the boss. A Druid. Skinchanger. You know?"

Malah: "Oh, no, the Druids would not come to Harrogath. They will not come to Arreat until the final assault, which heralds the end of the world."

Mizor: "Wwiresess." (This lady needs glasses.)

Paige: "Don't you people kill lowlanders who come up here?"

Malah: "We kill anyone who comes here, that is our duty. We defend the sacred mountain against all who would even look upon it, for no one knows by what foul means evil may creep in."

Mizor: "Rrrrowllgehhs." (I told you Barbarians are a bunch of meat-heads.)

Paige: "Look, is there someone in charge we can talk to?"

Malah: "Qual-kehk is our senior man-at-arms. The last of our elders is Nihlathak. All of the others sacrificed themselves to place a spell over the citadel, which has prevented Baals forces from overrunning us."

Paige: "Ok, that explains why the place is still standing."

Malah: "Rather than the quick death of the sword, we are condemned to the slow death of starvation under siege. While Baal's forces cannot enter, we cannot leave to find food except under their blades and missiles. If you can help us, please, I beg of you, see Qual-kehk."

The central square had a well, Deckard Cain, and a huge man in bronze armor with a flowing white beard. He recognized Mizor for what he was, and was not happy about it, but there wasn't much he could do. His warriors were either dying in the field, or having their broken limbs and lacerated flesh mended by Malah. More warriors were desperately needed, even if they were outlanders, to catch Baal. The demon lord, seeing the spell protecting the citadel, had merely laughed and gone around it, leaving a token force to lay siege while he went up the mountain. Qual-kehk's forces had been unable to break the siege; Baal had great machines, with living flesh laced through steel and bronze, hurling magical bombs. His forces seemed numberless, and feasted on the dead all night while the Barbarians were lucky to come home with a few rabbits. Trapped in Harrogath, they couldn't even reach Baal, much less stop him from reaching Arreat's holy summit.

Off to one side of the square, a sickly-looking man stood sneering beside a fire. He looked older than Qual-kehk; this must be Nihlathak. On first sight, Mizor felt like smashing his head off and pounding him into jelly. But the others in town might take the open murder of their last remaining elder amiss, so Mizor simply refrained from speaking to him. A huge man, wider than Mizor but not nearly so tall, was the town's blacksmith; he told Mizor that the way to gain Qual-kehk's trust was to lift the siege by killing Shenk, the general overseer. He was leading from the rear, behind all the catapults. Gaining Qual-kehk's trust was not high on Mizor's list of priorities. His people were the true defenders of Arreat, the Barbarian tribes had chosen the wrong path centuries ago. But Baal must be stopped, for no better reason than the fact that he had no right to defile the sacred mountain with his presence.

Outside Harrogath's gates, the demons had taken over some old fortifications the Barbarians had built, and Qual-kehk's few remaining warriors fought singly against large groups of demons. It was pathetic. Stomping his way up the mountain, Mizor began collecting Barbarians, none of whom said a word of thanks, that would have hurt their precious pride. All of them eventually died, usually by charging headfirst into a group of demons far too large for them to handle. Some were killed by the catapults, which simply weren't a threat if you moved quickly enough. Moving steadily upslope, smashing catapults and collecting rabbits (there were a lot of very cute bunny rabbits hopping around in the middle of the war zone), they eventually found Shenk, a huge, corpulent, bloated pile of squealing blubber cowering behind a crowd of minions. The only difficulty in killing him was pounding through all the thick layers of fat. They practically had to strip him to the bone to reach vulnerable spots. Without exception, it was the single most disgusting kill Mizor had ever had to make; with any luck, he'd never see another such creature ever again.