Xanthippe (Chapter 23)

Template:Xanthippe nav Moving further into Hell's outermost sphere, Xanthippe and Kasim came to a city in ruins. All the buildings were constructed of the same greyish, metallic stone, which Xanthippe suspected might be made from the souls of the damned. Maybe, with heat and pressure, the gritty remnants of crushed souls might metamorphose, like mud being pressed and baked into a hard shale. Not only would the demons get useful material, it would be a new and different way to inflict agony. From what Tyrael said, even after the people crumble, they're not really destroyed; they might continue to be aware. Being pressed into service as a paving stone could not be pleasant. Not for the first time, Xanthippe wished there was somewhere she could step where she could be sure she wasn't stepping on someone.

Looking at the buildings, Xanthippe wondered if any one block represented one soul, or a whole bunch mashed together. The former might condemn them to an eternity of isolation, without eyes or ears or anything but themselves and the void. But if the souls were broken apart and mixed up, each would be fragmented, then forever melded with people they would probably hate. Which would be worse? For all she knew, the demons carefully sifted the remains and put each soul in the fate it would like the least. They do love pain, and might not have much else to pass the time with.

But there wasn't much point in worrying about it now; though the city was a wreck, it was not uninhabited. The undead here were mages, and threw intensely hurtful barrages of elemental magic. Bigger, nastier cousins of the Balrogs played forward guard for the mages, and fat, black, tentacled beasts with huge mouths shuffled along beside them. The mages were probably the most dangerous, but the fatboys had a nasty habit of devouring any dead bodies whole, then vomiting them out with great force. Their guts could launch a 300-pound Balrog over 20 yards, something well worth dodging.

With missiles screaming through the city from all directions, Xanthippe switched to sword and shield for a while. It was useful for blocking, but the sword was so much slower for killing than the poleaxe, she was actually taking more damage because of her poor offense. After getting her mana shield knocked out several times, she went back to the poleaxe, relying on footwork to herd the monsters around, then take out specific targets. The mages always got first priority; maybe Cain was right, she was cruel to those of her own profession. But they're the ones who merit special attention the most...

Mechanically, they cleared the city, killing everything they met. Xanthippe wondered if her mana shield would be more effective if she had more mana. Or maybe, a weapon that stole mana; then her shield might never go down. Have to keep an eye out for one, ideally a halberd. She'd found one, but it was of miserably poor quality. Still, it was much better balanced and more graceful than a poleaxe, which was a clumsy-looking weapon, even with a lot of enchantment.

Tyrael still hadn't returned from wherever he'd gone. With the city empty, there was nothing left for them but a narrow staircase, leading down. That hellish red glow shone up from underneath; Xanthippe did not want to go down there. She went back to town again, by a handy waypoint next to the stairs. Did the Horadrim build those things EVERYWHERE? For a minute, Xanthippe wondered if there was a waypoint in Heaven, and if she might be able to go visit her mom up there. She hadn't seen her down here. On second thought, there's probably more to getting into Heaven than a waypoint.

"Say," Xanthippe said, "before we go down there..."

"Yeah?" Kasim said, almost eagerly. He didn't want to go charging into the fiery abyss either, it seemed.

"There's something I should do." Xanthippe bit her lip. "Maybe I'm being stupid, but I think I need to do some atonement."

"Atonement?"

"Yeah. Don't get all religious on me or anything."

Kasim looked askance at her. "Uh... you know, I have noticed we're in Hell, and I don't like it one bit. If we ever get out of here, I'm becoming a priest."

Xanthippe laughed mirthlessly. "You found religion, huh? Hey, who wouldn't? Me, I think I need to confess to some sins, seek absolution... clear my slate. Some things I've done, I think I can feel the weight of them."

By waypoint, Xanthippe willed them back to the Rogue encampment. After hanging in the scary void for a few seconds, they arrived... at an empty field. No one was there. Oh, they're all in the monastery! She went to the inner cloister, and found what was left of the sisterhood cleaning and fixing the cathedral. Everyone was very happy to see her, which was kind of surprising, considering some of the things she remembered saying to them.

Kashya looked impressed. "Hello there. You actually look like a warrior. A warrior princess even; nice crown."

Xanthippe smiled. "Yeah... I just wanted to come back, and say I'm sorry about some of the things I said and did. And I'm sorry about Gaile and Debi. I know they were just trying to help me, and I was too stupid to accept it."

Shaking her head, Kashya said, "Water under the bridge. They served the sisterhood nobly, and died the way a Rogue should. Any debt you owe to us is smaller by far than the one we owe you. You gave us our monastery back. I couldn't do that myself."

Strangely, Xanthippe felt embarrassed. Sure, she'd tried to humble Kashya, but hearing her admit to that was weird, and kind of unpleasant. "I think you could have... but it would have meant the deaths of a lot of sisters. Your order would have died, and it's probably better to survive in exile than to die out. At least you could do the world some good."

Kashya blinked, and crossed her arms, staring at Xanthippe. "What the hell's happened to you, anyway? You never used to talk like this."

"Hell" was an appropriate word choice, but Xanthippe didn't think it would be a good idea to mention why. "A lot of things... some of which meant more to me than I thought they would. But, they're water under the bridge. I shouldn't stay long. I just wanted to come back and say thank you, I'm sorry, and I hope everything's ok with you."

Still staring, Kashya slowly nodded. The other Rogues looked shocked and surprised too. "Sure... we've heard you chased Diablo out of Lut Gholein... killed a couple more Evils... you're the one I was worried about. Guess I shouldn't have?"

Now Xanthippe looked surprised. "You were worried about me?"

"Hell yes. Always was." "Oh."

Xanthippe couldn't think of a thing to say. This also surprised the Rogues. She did stay long enough to say a few goodbyes. Akara, who'd been purifying the altar, smiled sweetly and congratulated her on the progress she had made. Charsi thought her armor was spectacular (which it was) and was dying to meet the smith who'd made it so nice for her. Also, she'd recharged the Horadric Malus, and was ready to craft a rare item with it. All Xanthippe had to do was bring her an unenchanted item, and she'd work the hammer's magic on it.

Her next stop was in Lut Gholein. The city had been cleaned up since she saw it last, and the damaged buildings repaired and repainted. Colorful banners flew from the rooftops, but the streets weren't full of beautiful, scantily-clad women. Instead, she could smell smoke and the acrid tang of metal being worked, and the moist earthiness of wet clay. People of all descriptions walked the streets, some beautiful, some less so; they recognized her instantly. Kasim went to meet up with his boss, and hand over a cut of his pay; Xanthippe went to the palace, accompanied by a cheering throng. Jerhyn invited her inside.

"It is so good to know you are well. Much has been happening, and word has come to me of your exploits in the east. They say you defeated the greatest of the Prime Evils in combat."

"Yeah, I guess I did," Xanthippe said. "I've heard he wasn't the greatest in combat, though; he usually left that to his brothers. What I've come back for is... I want to say I'm sorry."

Jerhyn looked shocked. "Whatever for?"

"When you were trying to explain about the danger inside this palace... and I stood there screaming about it in the middle of the street? That was incredibly stupid of me; it got a lot of people killed, and might have destroyed the city if the demons had taken advantage."

Jerhyn smiled. "That was much more my fault than anyone else's. When those demons began pouring in from the sanctuary... I did not know what to do. This has been the first real trial of my reign, and the course of action I took led to many deaths. Some might accuse you of being impetuous; that is far, far better than standing frozen in fear."

"You weren't frozen! I mean, what could you do? You couldn't evacuate the city, you couldn't tell everyone about the danger, I don't think there was anything you could do about it, except what you did."

"Your words are kind," Jerhyn shook his head. "And my people have forgiven me. But it is much harder to forgive myself. What good is it to call yourself a leader, when you cannot find a course of action in a crisis? Drognan tells me I will grow more sure with experience, but I wonder if anyone should place their faith in me at all."

Xanthippe bit her lip. "Would you believe... I know what you're talking about a little bit? I've made some really bad decisions, and gotten people killed. As hard as it's been, I think I've gotten better. I haven't killed my hired underling for weeks now."

"I should have guessed!" Jerhyn laughed. "One such as you must be of noble blood, and accustomed to the burdens of leadership. Here I am, complaining of minor difficulties, when the ones you bear have always been far greater."

Xanthippe shook her head. "Lord Jerhyn... I am the daughter of one of this city's most often-used prostitutes. I am about as low-born as anyone can be. The most I have ever commanded is one person; I would never know what to do with an entire city. That must be so damn hard, I can't even imagine it."

Jerhyn stared at her, deeply surprised. "Oh. Well... so much for nobility, then. If I may say so, your deeds have been noble and worthy of all praises, and if such greatness comes from Lut Gholein, our city will never fall to darkness."

Oh, now she was blushing. Xanthippe looked down. "I don't mean to be rude, but there are more things I need to do."

"Of course. Whenever you wish to return to your city, I will be very glad to have you."

Xanthippe looked up, and smiled faintly. "To have me?"

Jerhyn blinked a moment, then went beet-red! "I mean, to have you in the palace!"

Wheresoever my lord commands, Xanthippe thought, but did not say. She couldn't control her smile, though, which spread into a grin. Jerhyn stammered, "To have as a guest!"

Nodding, Xanthippe tried to force the smile away, but it just wouldn't go. "Thank you, Lord Jerhyn. I hope I can come to your palace again another time."

On her way out of town, Xanthippe collected Kasim... and saw Gheed. He was lying in one of the weed bars, having gotten a huge bowl of the stuff and smoked until all sense had left his body. He was just lying there... it would be so tempting to... no, she shouldn't. She was trying to be good.

In Kurast, Xanthippe first stopped to visit Alkor. He greeted her with shock, dismay, and too much melodramatic moaning to be taken seriously. "Oh, it is you, stupid girl! I thought I had died and gone to hell. Are you a demon now, come to torment me?"

"Nah, I just wanted to tell you I won't be bothering you any more. And I got you some more licorice, to replace the stuff I took."

"No, no more licorice! If I have some, you may return again!"

Asheara was packing up stuff in her old dockside house. She was dressed about as sensibly as ever. Helping her was Vanji, looking much better now that he wasn't hanging by his heels over a pit of starving Flayers. She must be moving out, either into Kurast, or to some other part of the world where mercenaries would be in demand.

"Hello, Asheara."

"Well, well. If it isn't our little princess. You never said goodbye after you whacked Mephisto." Xanthippe nodded. "No... I guess I was kind of avoiding you."

Asheara laughed. "Don't tell me you got scared."

"You think I was more scared of you than Mephisto?" Xanthippe shook her head. "Maybe I was, I knew you'd be mad. That's why I want to apologize."

Asheara slammed a box closed, and stared at Xanthippe. "You want to apologize."

"Yes. I'm sorry I embarrassed you, and insulted you, and gave you that black eye. I was acting like a total b!tch, and I apologize."

The black eye was gone now; maybe Ormus had healed it. But Asheara didn't look ready to be apologized to. "Aw, how sweet. Isn't that nice?" she asked Vanji, who nodded obediently. Xanthippe took her crown off. "Look, if you want to give me a black eye too, that's ok. Fair is fair."

Asheara frowned. "Put that back on. Listen, you know what you did?"

"I made you a laughingstock in front of everyone in Kurast?"

"Not quite everyone. And you know what?"

Xanthippe weighed her options, and decided playing dumb was the best one. "What?"

Asheara grinned. "It was the funniest thing I've seen in YEARS. Hell yes, I was the victim, but damn, you got me good!"

Xanthippe laughed. "Well... yeah, I guess I did."

"I haven't been had that bad since this bastard named Gheed came through. And you were a hell of a lot funnier about it than him. I gotta admit... I asked for it."

"And got it. But it was still mean."

Asheara clucked. "I'd have been disappointed if it wasn't. If you think you have the guts to take on the jungle, you'd better be mean."

"I guess. Hey, what's that?"

Among the stack of spears and things Asheara had against the wall, Xanthippe spotted a tall, graceful-looking halberd. "That? One of the guys found it in Sankekur's chambers."

It was a beautiful weapon, polished to a bright finish, chased with gold and jewels, and the edge looked absolutely wicked. Xanthippe took it down to look at. The balance was perfect, the weight just right, it was obviously an amazing weapon. "This is beautiful."

With a smile, Asheara picked up a glass globe. "Actually, Hratli made it, and I put the enchantments on."

"What enchantments?" Xanthippe asked.

Asheara squeezed the globe. With a soft pop, it broke and vanished. The halberd vanished too, and so did Xanthippe. But not completely; her empty armor and equipment fell to the floor of Asheara's hut. "Ok, you two, hide that crap before she remembers she can teleport back here."

Out in the middle of town, Kasim heard a girl scream, then a loud splash. Normally, he didn't like taking orders from women who weren't paying for the privilege, but this sounded like a noble and worthy cause. He and Vanji did as they were told.

A few seconds after they'd hidden everything, Xanthippe reappeared. She was buck naked, dripping wet, and trying to cover herself while standing up straight to glare Asheara in the eye. "You... YOU... B!TCH!!"

Asheara chuckled. "Takes one to know one."

"Where is my stuff?"

"What, didn't it appear with you? Oops, I must have gotten the teleport spell wrong."

"That was some VERY EXPENSIVE gear..."

"Don't worry, we'll track it down," Asheara laughed. "Might take a few hours."

Vanji let out a low whistle. A few more men were staring in the door. Xanthippe hissed, "Dammit, Kasim, at least turn your back!"

Kasim leaned on his poleaxe. "Sorry, I can't hear you, I've got a banana in my ear."

"I thought you were going to become a priest!!"

"Not yet, anyway..."

"Then somebody give me something to wear!"

With a completely straight face, Asheara solemnly offered Xanthippe a hat.