Thaddeus (Act V)

Template:Thaddeus nav A city built on a hill cannot be hidden;

It is a beacon in war. Look and despair!

Even now, I would that you knew the ways

Peace is brought through faith and arms.

Are any so blind, as they who will not see?

The days are come when your enemies

Surround you, hem you in on every side,

Dash you and your children to the ground... -- Visions of Akarat, c. 63, v. 4-11

It was cold and snowing in Harrogath when Thaddeus suddenly arrived, appearing through the gate Tyrael made for him. No one was nearby; the town looked deserted. Smoke rose from outside the city, and screams could be faintly heard, but Harrogath was intact. Cain was very surprised; according to Tyrael, while Thaddeus was pursuing Diablo, Baal had put together an army and cut like a scourge across the continent. The Lord of Destruction never left one stone upon another behind him. Now he was in the Barbarian highlands, where few men ventured, seeking the Worldstone.

"What is the Worldstone, Cain?"

"I have no idea. The outside world never knew what was hidden in mount Arreat. I only know because Tyrael told me, while we were in Pandemonium."

"Surely, someone must have guessed?"

"The world's sages have long debated the purpose of Mount Arreat. Among the Horadrim, at least 5 theories were considered credible, though I think the idea that it contained the egg of a new world is a bit far-fetched. Not that the idea is without merit; many seers have spoken of worlds coming into being this way, and the --"

"All right, never mind. Why was it placed here?"

"For protection, I believe. Tyrael said that the soulstones used to imprison the Prime Evils were in connected to the Worldstone, but the Worldstone is far more ancient. Apparently, the local Barbarian tribes were charged with its protection for all time, which is why they have always been so hostile towards any outsiders."

Thaddeus frowned. "Why Barbarians? From what I have heard, they do not seem to be the most... reliable of people."

"Now, now... don't believe everything you hear." Cain smiled. "I am sure Heaven had its reasons. Perhaps these hardy folk were seen as purer, less corruptible than civilized men. Or it may be that the profound isolation of these mountains makes keeping it isolated from humanity that much easier. You must admit..." Cain said, looking at the snowy peaks rising to the sky around them, "it would be difficult to find anything hidden up here."

"At least during winter," Thaddeus agreed.

"Perhaps we should part ways and explore the town. I am eager to meet these people, as I have heard many tales of their fearsome battle prowess and wild ways. Judging by the rumors, the best approach with them is to be blunt, but respectful. Candor is held in higher regard than tact."

"And to think I resolved to be more polite," Thaddeus said ruefully. "You feel you will be safe, alone among these people?"

"If I am not, it would be best if I found out now. I am sure you need not worry about whether it is safe to be here, but you must be here. Natalya failed to kill Baal, you must do so in her stead."

Cain went off to the right, along the high platform they found themselves on. Thaddeus took the left-hand route, down some stairs towards the sounds of a smithy. In one corner of the walled town, he found an enormous man hammering out a giant axe on an anvil.

"Greetings, I am Thaddeus."

The Barbarian looked up, brow knitted in confusion. "Who are you?"

Perhaps working in such a noisy environment had damaged his hearing. "I am Thaddeus, a Paladin of the order of Protectors of the Word. I am here for Baal."

Tossing aside his hammer, the Barbarian grunted, "All of us are! Won't do you any more good than it's done us. How'd you get into our city?"

Thaddeus looked around. City? He'd been in fortresses bigger than this. "If I am trespassing, I apologize."

"What are you sorry for? You own the ground under your feet until someone takes it from you. Probably wouldn't be too hard, you're a weedy little one."

"Then I will not take up much room. To judge from the few people I have seen, you have a need of warriors; I hope I can fill that need."

For some reason, this seemed to amuse the Barbarian immensely. Thaddeus wondered if he might ever stop laughing. When he finally did, he clapped Thaddeus on the shoulder, staggering him. "I haven't had a good laugh for a long time! Sure, you can be a warrior! If you want to take that tiny hammer of yours and dent a few skulls before you die, go right ahead! While you're at it, why don't you kill Shenk the Overseer?"

"I would be glad to," Thaddeus said as he straightened his helmet again. "Where might I find this Shenk?"

"Behind the besiegers! Where else would a general sit out a siege? Take your clean, shiny behind out the gates, up the hill, past that little army out there, and kill him."

"Sounds simple enough. Though I assume there is a good reason your people have not done it themselves."

The Barbarian picked up his hammer again. "You trying to be smart with me?"

An answer leapt to Thaddeus' mind, but he decided not to express it. "I meant, Baal's army must be more formidable than that."

With a groan, the Barbarian returned to the axe he'd been working on. "When Baal came, our warriors sallied forth, the way they'd been born to. Almost a quarter of them died that first day. Our elders had sacrificed their lives to put a magic dome over the city; all it did was trap us here to starve."

"A magic dome?"

"The invisible dome over the city. Didn't you see it?"

Raising an eyebrow, Thaddeus said, "It must have escaped my notice."

The Barbarian chuckled. He didn't seem like such a bad fellow, despite his rough way of greeting strangers. "You never told me how you got inside the city."

"You never told me what I can call you."

"No, never did, did I? I'm Larzuk, smith of Harrogath. I'm descended from a line going all the way back to Krugim, the personal armorer of our Immortal King himself. But my smithing days are almost over."

"There must be a great need for a smith now... unless there are so few warriors that your arms and armaments go unused?"

"Not yet. More of Qual-Kehk's men die every day. Soon, I'm going to have to put down my hammer and take up a sword myself."

"Hammers are capable weapons in the right hands. I think you'd do well to study them."

"There's no matching a sword in battle; all real warriors know that. I once had an idea of rolling a cart fitted with flailing hammers up the battlefield, to run through the enemy at high speed while keeping the warriors safe... but it's a stupid idea. No one could make it work."

"Something like that might be as dangerous for your own troops as the enemy. Who is Qual-Kehk, by the way?"

"Our chief man-at-arms. By the gate. Didn't you walk past him?"

"He... must have escaped my notice too."

"How did you get in here, anyway? You sure didn't come in the gate, and there isn't any other way!"

"I came through another gate, a magic one. I had to come a long way, you see."

Larzuk snorted, crossing his tree-trunk arms. "Do you think I'm daft? I know better than that. If a magic portal could go through a dome, Baal's forces would be in here!"

"That is true," Thaddeus nodded sagely. "You have to be right, so I guess I came in the main gate after all."

"You climbed the back wall, didn't you? No, there's a thousand-foot cliff back there..."

"That would be a difficult climb in full armor, carrying this locker."

"Yeah... so how'd you get in?"

Thaddeus shrugged. "A magic portal. I've just come from Hell, where an archangel made a gate for me to come hunt down Baal before he destroys the Worldstone."

With a snort, Larzuk returned to work. "Lying to make yourself look good is the mark of a coward. If you don't want to say, just tell me to shut up like a man would."

"I'll have to remember that. It's been good meeting you, Larzuk; I hope to be back soon, with good news."

"Wait... how did an outsider like you know about the Worldstone? Or that Baal's here after it? Word couldn't possibly have reached anyone yet!"

"The archangel told me."

Larzuk looked nonplused. "Oh."

Continuing his tour, Thaddeus found most of the city to be empty. A few very large men sat by small cooking fires, and a few very large women moved slowly about on various errands. All stared as Thaddeus went past, but no one did anything, or responded to his smile. Only one sneered: a thin, white-haired man Thaddeus detested on first sight.

"Well, well. The siege has made everything in short supply... except fools."

Thaddeus sniffed. The air smelled stale and moldy, with a hint of clotted blood. He hadn't smelled anything like that since he'd been in the tombs of Lut Gholein... except the mummies smelled nicer. "Greetings. You must be someone of importance."

The sneer changed to a smirk. "And what makes you say that? Please, enthrall me with your acumen."

Thaddeus quietly said, "You have obviously been studying necromancy. Such a man would have to be very bold, or of high standing, to show his face on a public street."

The two stared hard at each other in silence. "That is a strong accusation for a stranger to make, against an elder of Harrogath. You have some evidence to offer?"

"I will not, after you wash your hands."

After glancing down, the elder tucked his hands close to his body, as though for warmth. "As the last elder, it is my task to prepare our dead for cremation and burial. Few can keep their hands as clean as you obviously have."

"I have had blood on my hands, but it was fresh. You are the last, you say?"

"I did. The others sacrificed themselves in a useless ceremony to save this city."

"The force dome. I hope it was not as useless a gesture as that."

"Saving Harrogath would be very simple. There is no need for this battle, apart from Qual-Kehk's desire to have some purpose for his life. All could be ended easily, without bloodshed, but few have the wit to see how or the courage to do what would be necessary."

"And a sharp-witted person like yourself... ?"

"Each man must do what is right... without caring what others think."

Every instinct Thaddeus had was screaming to smash this sneering old man's head in right this moment. "Honored elder... I have been trying not to judge ill of people I have only just met, and see the good in them when I can. You are making this very difficult."

He took a step back. "You do know that if you raise one hand against me, you will never leave this city alive."

Lead me not into temptation, Thaddeus thought. "I have no intention of beginning my visit to your 'city' with armed assault. Whatever you have done, it is far less important than the things we will do now."

Nearby, a square with a well sat roughly near the center of town. The city gates were just to the north. Next to the well, Cain was talking with a white-haired and bearded man, clad head to toe in bronze and iron armor. He was huge (everyone in Harrogath was huge) and very impressive looking, with a great-sword on his back. Even at his obviously advanced age, Thaddeus would not want to meet such a man in battle.

"Here he is!" Cain exclaimed, motioning Thaddeus over. "Come over and introduce yourself to Qual-Kehk, something of a leader here."

"Hello, Cain. It is an honor to meet you, Qual-Kehk. I have heard your name spoken with great respect."

"Hail, noble Paladin," Qual-Kehk intoned. Very few people know how to intone. "You are welcome here, in our hour of need. In my youth, I considered joining your order, and making the pilgrimage to Kurast."

Thaddeus wondered, what order of Paladins might he have gravitated towards? Or would he just have taken the knowledge of the Light back to the mountain? "You would have been welcome. The church would have been glad to receive your devotion."

"Having a true man among you would have done your order good! I was young and foolish then, and should have known my place would always be here. The protection of the sacred mountain is a higher calling than anything your church could possibly offer."

Cain laughed, a bit nervously. "He means, his people received instructions directly from Heaven to protect Mt. Arreat. Leaving would mean abandoning that charge!"

"Of course," Thaddeus nodded. "The word of Heaven should not be ignored."

"Or twisted to suit slick-tongued priests, who want golden chalices where wooden cups will do. Word has reached us that your church fell under its own ponderous weight. Such is the fate of 'civilized' men, who do not respect the ways of the ancestors."

Thaddeus smiled. "You are a proud people, I perceive. My only hope is that I can make something of myself among such capable warriors."

"It will be an honor to have a warrior of the Light fighting alongside my men. Our sagas mention your ancestors, shield-bearers of noble bearing who strengthened our men by their mere presence." Qual-Kehk smiled. "Not that they could do much on their own. If you could do even that much, you would have my gratitude. But don't expect any gifts of Heaven to protect you. They haven't saved my men."

"What more can I do than my best?" Thaddeus asked.

"And that has been a very great deal!" Cain smiled. "Two of the Prime Evils have fallen, the third surely cannot be far behind. Baal is on the run, it is only a matter of time."

"Yes..." Qual-Kehk frowned thoughtfully. "You have told me of these things, Deckard Cain. Somehow... it simply does not seem likely to me."

"I understand," Thaddeus nodded. "I hardly believe it myself."

"Ha!" Qual-Kehk laughed. "Any real warrior knows what he can do. Go out with my next wave of men, and try to make a showing of yourself. Watch the catapults; I've lost many to their long range. If you mean to live, either be quick, or a coward."

"I shall be quick."