Disclaimer : Obviously not mine, but the ten year love/hate affair with the game is.

Rating : The game is rated MA, so the fic will have to follow with a M for violence and graphic gore. As well as a few other ideals I'm playing with that might make their way in.

Author's Note : The playable characters are not named in this for obvious reasons, seeing as everyone has their own names for the various classes, and they differ from mine. So they will be referred by their class name only, with a few of their avatar's characteristics thrown in for variety. I have ideas for which build the Sorceress, the Necromancer, and the Druid will follow, but the others are fair game if you want to request a particular build for them. I also need suggestions for the names of the hirelings, as I have only the Rogue in mind. You don't have to leave a review, just PM me if you have an idea. This will continue even if I get none, so feel free to ignore the 'Leave a Review' button at the end. I'm using this as sort of escape from my more technical heavy fics. This will go a chapter per quest, so unless it's a long quest, or it's that one that never ends (Act II-Quest II and Act III-Quest III), the chapter will end after the hero(es) go back to the current Act's camp/town/city/home base.

Act I - The Sightless Eye

Quest I - The Den of Evil

AS the night rolled in over the temporary Rogue Encampment, set up on the edge of the Bloody Moors and past a river that made a natural barrier to the southeast of the camp, it came with another of the frequent rain storms that marked the spring season. The scattering of fat drops grew in number until the sentries that patrolled the wooden walls were soaked and cursing their limited visibility.

A shadow worked its way along the river bank and across the bridge, the glimpses of firelight that flashed between the logs highlighted the long brown hair of the woman trudging her way to the Encampment. The Rogue archers stationed at the entrance gave her and her strange appearance a suspicious look over, but did not refute her passage. The Sorceress frowned at the lack of fuss put up over her sudden appearance from out of the night, but shrugged at them and at her worries as she made her way to the fire pit set up in the middle of the camp. They had obviously seen worse if there was not even a raised eyebrow over her muddy and blood spattered appearance.

She shifted the short staff she held and slung it across her back using a length of rope, the only remains of her mentor that she had managed to snatch before she did as the elder woman had bid and ran for her life from a group of mis-happened demons that swarmed to overpower the pair of Sorceresses. The thought of the night's prior events made her lips twist bitterly, but she stubbornly ignored the pang of sadness that threaded through her as she held out her hands to be warmed by the hissing coals of the fire pit.

"Greetings, stranger." A man in blue and gray cheerfully called out to the lone Sorceress, drawing her attention from the embers glowing dully between them. "I'm not surprised to see your kind here. Many adventurers have traveled this way since the recent troubles began. No doubt you've heard about the tragedy that befell Tristram. Some say that Diablo, the Lord of Terror, walks the world again."

That drew the woman's full attention, and the green, black, and gold clad Sorceress made her way around the fire pit in a hurry, so the man wouldn't have to shout to be heard. "I take it you know something of this issue then, my good man?" she asked as she got closer to the caravan driver. Even if her mentor was no longer among the living, it would be appropriate to complete the work they both had set out to do.

"I don't know if I believe that, but a Dark Wanderer did travel this route a few weeks ago. He was headed east to the mountain pass guarded by the Rogue Monastery." Warriv passed on the information to her as he considered the woman now standing next to him, and the blood spattered on her boots. "Maybe it's nothing, but evil seems to have trailed in his wake. You see, shortly after the Wanderer went through, the Monastery's Gates to the pass were closed, and strange creatures began ravaging the countryside."

"Damn and blast." She muttered to herself sourly. Her Order had declared that the time of the Emergence of Evil was at hand, and her mentor had taken her from their Community to seek out the minions of Evil. Given that her mentor was no longer among the living, and that she had little to no experience in fighting demons on her own, she wondered what she was supposed to do now.

Unaware just where the woman's thoughts where, Warriv continued with the suggestion he had given the other adventurers he had seen so far. "Until it's safer outside the camp and the gates are re-opened, I'll remain here with my caravan. I hope to leave for Lut Gholein before the shadow that fell over Tristram consumes us all. If you're still alive then, I'll take you along."

"Oh, thanks." She replied with a wry smile. "Your faith in me is astounding."

He laughed at her dry statement. "You should talk to Akara, too." The caravan leader continued after he caught his breath "She seems to be the leader of this camp. Maybe she can tell you more."

"I'll do that. Thank you, uh..."

"Warriv."

The Sorceress inclined her head to him as she moved to pass him to explore the camp. "Thank you, Warriv. I hope to talk to you later."

As she made her way around the Encampment, she noted the location of what looked like another member of Warriv's caravan and a blacksmith, as well as a red clad rogue in armor that scowled at her as she passed half way through, but it seemed as the woman had better things to do than talk to her. That suited the Sorceress just fine, and as she noted the stone paved way point tucked behind a tent and looked over a low wall made of stone, she caught sight of an older woman in black and purple who positively radiated magic from her slightly stooped form.

Akara smiled as she caught sight of the vibrant young woman approaching her. "Greetings, young Sorceress. It is good to see more of your kind at work in the world these dark days. In my opinion, the world needs more women to fight against the great shadow. But I am forgetting my manners... I am Akara, High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. I welcome you, traveler, to our camp, but I'm afraid I can offer you but poor shelter within these rickety walls."

Using one hand to wring out her hair before stepping into the other woman's shelter, the younger spell caster stood firm before her. "Can you tell me what has gone on here?"

"I can." Bowing her hooded head, the High Priestess stared off into the distance as she recounted the events that lead to the Rogues occupying the farthest outreach of what had once been their home territory. "You see, out ancient Sisterhood has fallen under a strange curse. The mighty Citadel from which we have guarded the gates to the East for generations, has been corrupted by the evil Demoness, Andariel. I still can't believe it... but she turned many of our sister Rogues against us and drove us from our ancestral home. Now the last defenders of the Sisterhood are either dead or scattered throughout the wilderness." The Sorceress could feel empathy for the Rogues' plight, and the softened expression caused the older woman to ask her for her help. "I implore you, stranger: please help us. Find a way to lift this terrible curse and we will pledge our loyalty to you for all time."

Taken aback by the request, the Sorceress blinked in surprise before nodding that she was willing to help.

Akara gave her a warm smile. "There is a place of great evil in the wilderness. Kashya's Rogue scouts have informed me that a cave nearby is filled with shadowy creatures and horrors from beyond the grave. I fear that these creatures are massing for an attack against our Encampment. If you are sincere about helping us, find the dark labyrinth and destroy these foul beasts."

"I'll do it." Gripping the short shaft of the staff that had once belonged to her mentor, the Sorceress swore on her teacher's soul to help. "I will clear this den out for you."

"May the Great Eye watch over you." Before the brunette spell caster could turn away, the High Priestess raised a hand to stop her from leaving just yet. "I should add that many Rogue scouts have died in that horrible place. We cannot afford to lose any more. If you choose to enter that Den of Evil, you must do so alone, unless you can find the other adventurers that wander the lands."

"I thank you for the warning, Akara." The Sorceress gave the Rogue Priestess a bow and left her corner of the camp.

Retracing her steps back to the entrance of the Encampment, the young woman gripped her mentor's staff in both hands and ignored everyone else. If she was to aid the Rogues in their plight, she would need every scrap of concentration, as well as every bit of magic that she could summon. She had never gone into battle without her mentor beside her, and the prospect of fighting without her teacher's magic to aid any mistakes was enough to make the younger spell caster's hands shake.

She pulled herself out of her thoughts and her core of magic once she had cleared the bridge again, this time looking out into the Bloody Moor that the Rogue Encampment looked out over. It was nearing the end of the night, false dawn could be seen on the very top of the trees. The rain had not let up, but the Sorceress did not let that deter her. Her magic could burn even in the middle of a snowstorm. Striking off to the south-east, following the worn path that lead into the wilderness, she started to hunt for the very evil that she and her mentor had intended to fight ever since they had left their home in the far Eastern jungles.

She was still looking for the entrance of the cave that Akara spoke of when the sounds of battle reached her. Casting another Fire Bolt into the snout of yet another small quilled demon rat, the Sorceress picked up her pace to see what the disturbance was over. To her surprise, it was not another knot of the little red demons squabbling over some shiny bit of metal, but a Paladin fighting four zombies on his own. The dark skinned man had both a short sword and a buckler, but seemed hard pressed to swing his sword and avoid all four of the slow moving undead pressing in on him.

Without bothering to issue a warning, she flung another of her fire spells at the second nearest zombie to the besieged man, distracting it and allowing the holy knight to concentrate on the nearest one pressing down on him. She also cast another Fire Bolt into the face of the farthest as the Paladin finished off his undead opponent and launched himself at the second one. With a well placed swing of her short staff, she bludgeoned the third zombie's head off just as the Paladin ran his last opponent through with his short sword.

Now, without the immediate threat of being eaten hanging over them, the two turned to face each other warily. The Sorceress had heard of the Order of Paladins before, but had never seen one up close. There were a number of rumors about their conduct, and she had no clue which ones would prove true.

Likewise, the Paladin had heard of the female mage clans, but had not thought that he would ever see one. The young woman across from him radiated excess heat from her fire magic, causing her wet clothing to steam in the cold false dawn. "Well met, dear lady, and my thanks for the assistance."

"You are welcome. May I ask what it is a Knight of Westmarch is doing in these forsaken moors?" Shifting her staff to her left hand, the Sorceress extended her hand to include their immediate surroundings and the bodies of the undead they had just dispatched.

"Ah, yes, that." Rubbing the back of his dark head, the holy knight gave her a sheepish grin before he started to pull on his short sword, loosening it from the corpse of the zombie he had felled last. "I have, unfortunately, loss my fellow priest, he fell not three nights hence. I have been battling these undead horrors in an attempt to retreat to a more defensible location in order to regain my wits and my way."

"My sorrows for your loss, knight." The young woman bit her lip, looking at the warrior before her. Truth be told, she was no great force with any kind of weapon, because her studies had focused almost exclusively on her magical skills. He, on the other hand, seemed at home in the middle of a melee. "May I request your assistance, sir Knight? I am to clear out a den of monsters that have threatened the nearby encampment of Rogues, however, I am no great warrior, though I do have some skill with fire magic."

Wiping the gore off his blade using his fallen foe's rotted burial cloths, the Paladin nodded to her as he rearmed himself. "I would be pleased to assist, my lady. Betwixt your magic and my blade, we should not have any problems with your quest."

"I have yet to find this den, but I do know it does not lay behind me."

"Then follow my lead, lady, and let us strike a blow against the evil that inhabits this land." He swept her a surprisingly courtly bow, and started off in a westerly direction.

(ooo000ooo)

They found that they worked well together, the Paladin taking the lead when the numbers of enemies grew larger than four or five, the Sorceress taking out the one or two between knots of the undead and demon hoards. They split the spoils of the fight between them, evenly dividing the gold and equipment found by who could use it and what it could do. The young woman found that finding the cavern's entrance was much easier with two pairs of eyes, as she nearly missed the rocky outcropping tucked in the lee of a copse of trees. The only way the Knight had, was because of the red banner than was stuck into the moist ground before it, aside from a number of tracks going in and out of the cavern.

As the two of them stood at the entrance to the dark pit, the Sorceress tucked a few more of the blue vials of liquid that she had picked up under the sash she had retrieved from the corpse of a Fallen demon. "This place is trouble. We must be wary, Akara has told me that the Rogues have lost a number of scouts to this den."

"There is a great Evil that dwells within this cave." He agreed as he rose to his feet, having crouched to identify the tracks around the entrance, and then eyed the vials she was handling with curiosity. He knew what the crimson ones did, she had insisted he use and carry several of them, but she had kept the navy colored vials for herself. "I have never seen the like before. Pray tell, what are they?" He asked with a gesture at the strange vials.

"Minor potions of Mana, the magical energy that spell casters like me manipulate to fuel our magic spells." She gave him a wry grin of her own. "I left the encampment with far too few. It was fortunate that we found more, or my spell casting would have to be slower to conserve my energy."

"Fortunate indeed. We should-"

An almighty crash interrupted the Paladin, and caused both to start in shock and surprise. On the heels of the loud sound, was the echo of a Barbarian's loud war cry, hurled at some unseen foe. The two exchanged one look before bolting to the unknown warrior's aid. They raced through the dark tunnels, and nearly crashed into a Fallen Shaman, who was raising the dead Fallen ones as rapidly as the Barbarian could kill them. The Sorceress ducked past him to the far corner of the tunnel, she knew that she would be no good in close quarters, and spun about to start casting her spells at the demon soldiers. Having already drawn his sword, the Paladin held his shield out before him and took the Shaman to the ground with him, skewering the demon priest as he fell on top.

The Barbarian had not stopped or even faltered his fury fueled fight, and he made short work of the nearby demons as the Sorceress' fire spells struck down the ones trying to run away. As the Paladin regained his feet, the wild warrior finished off the last of the red skinned demons. Heaving for breath like a bellows, the warrior looked over his new companions once and then called to them as he started off farther into the cavern's interior. "Come, my new friends! My brother in spirit needs our assistance!"

With another look to each other, the two followed after their large fellow, both wondering who else had proceeded them into the den of monsters. They gained their answer when the Barbarian came into sight again, this time flanked with a creature that looked to be a cross between a wolf and a man. There was another wolf at the strange creature's side, and the three of them were fighting what looked like a half-score of zombies.

The Paladin leaped into the fray taking up the other side of the blue painted warrior. Without much room to move in, the zombies were unable to flank any of the warriors attacking them, but they could press into a solid group that threatened to overwhelm the four now fighting. The Sorceress, unable to cast her spells without the risk of hitting one of the warriors between her and the horde, grew frustrated and threw her short staff into the knot of undead before sweeping up a bow from the lax grip of a dead Rogue. With the same Rogue's stock of arrows, she started pouring magically flaming arrows into the first rank of the horde. She missed just as often as she scored a hit, but it was safer than unloading a barrage of spells and possibly hitting one of the warriors before her.

It took them a few nerve racking minutes, but the ranks started to thin under the assault from the four heroes and the summoned wolf spirit. Feeling a cautious sort of hope, the four pressed their attack, starting to carve their way into the horde. The pained yelp from the hazy wolf, proceeded by a burst of icy blue light, warned them that one of the zombies was not what it seemed. A second hit to the same unfortunate animal spirit caused it to fade out of existence under the flash of yellow heat.

Recognizing the sight of a magically imbued monster, the Sorceress called out to the warriors, "That one, the blue one! He is enchanted, do not be hit!" She slung the dead Rogue's bow on her back and called up her magic again, focusing on the blue zombie moving up to the wolf creature's right side.

The flash and sputter of her fire magic cast an eerie light over the three warriors as they battled the rest of the horde while the mage concentrated her efforts on distracting the more powerful zombie slowly walking towards her. By the time the three had managed to whittle the horde's numbers down to a manageable two a piece, a flair of gold light enveloped the wolf-creature, and a auburn haired man took its spot, wielding a club with deadly accuracy against the remaining zombies arrayed before him. The Sorceress, distracted by the flash of magic not her own, took her eyes off the blue zombie closing in on her, only to look back just before it connected with a wide swipe aimed in her direction.

She fell back with a pained grunt and a splash of spilled blood down her side that caught the Druid's attention, and the fur robed man whirled to concentrate his efforts against the enchanted zombie as the worn spell caster put more distance between herself and the undead slowly shuffling after her. Catching sight of her abandoned short staff sticking out of the caved in ribs of one of the Druid's zombies, the Sorceress lunged forward to pull the stout staff free, and used it like the wild mage's club to bludgeon away at the zombies still after the Druid.

The Barbarian crushed in the head of his last undead attacker, and looked around wildly at the others. Seeing that the Paladin was fairing better than the Sorceress, he spun to take on the second of the undead attacking the young woman in his spirit brother's stead. The holy knight finished his opponents not soon after, and after his own assessment of the others, he hastened to the Druid's aid with the enchanted zombie. As the wild warrior embedded his hand axes into the skull of the last of the undead minions, the Sorceress spun to cast her last few available spells at the remaining zombie, using up the last of her recovered mana reserves.

The flash of heat that indicated her spell had hit was preceded by a flash of a freezing blue light lashing out at them. It knocked the poorly prepared spell caster over, and the three men were driven to their knees as their clothing and skin frosted over from the sudden bite of cold magic.

Struggling to his feet first, the Paladin moved over to the fallen Sorceress and assured himself that she wasn't badly injured. After helping his spirit brother to his feet, the Barbarian looked around the undead littering ground with a wide grin. "There are many foes here."

"So, this is what the moors hide." The Druid gave the same surroundings a quick glance of his own before looking back at the two that had hastened to their aid. The holy knight was checking over his magic imbued comrade, still lying on the cavern floor. "Is your companion alright?"

"Simply exhausted, I believe." The dark skinned man gave the wild mage a look he hoped was reassuring. "I cannot leave her here alone, even if it might be safer to continue with clearing out this den of monsters instead of waiting for her to come to."

"You need not wait." With a groan, the Sorceress pushed herself up slowly, shivering as her magic compensated for her drained reserves of mana by decreasing her body heat, converting the physical energy to add to her store of mana. "I will only be another few moments." She pulled out one of the slim navy vials from her pilfered sash, regarding it with distaste before pulling out the cork and upending it into her mouth. Swallowing the bitter brew, the spell caster pushed herself to her feet with the Paladin's aid.

"Young lass!" The massive Barbarian swept her up into a bear hug once she was standing on her own. "Your efforts were surely the change in battle that let us overcome these evil creatures. Verily, journeying with you would be an honor."

"Um..." Blinking dazedly as she was set on her own feet once again, the Sorceress looked from the wild warrior to the wild mage. "If you are willing, we are to clear this den for the Rogues to the north. They threaten the encampment and the safety of their scouts."

With a fierce nod to her, the wild warrior returned to the last zombie he had felled and chopped off a limb, sticking it in the cracks in the cave's wall with the hand pointing to the exit. "We know we have gone this way, fellows, now we only have another two directions to clear out." He gave a loud laugh, brandishing his hand axes at the darkness. "Beware, foul demons and beasts!"

The Druid gave both a nod of his own, and followed his fellow warrior to the left. With one last look between them, the Paladin and the Sorceress made their way to the right.

(ooo000ooo)

The two groups met up not long after, the Druid and the Barbarian chasing down one last Fallen demon as the Paladin and Sorceress were finishing up with a dieing Gargantuan Beast. The wild mage gave them both a fanged grin, since he was in his beastly form again, with another spirit wolf at his side. "Heh, is that all of them?"

"This cave has been purged of evil." With a grin of her own, hers more relieved than triumphant, the young woman nodded to the other two men as the wild warrior and the wolf spirit finally cornered the cowardly demon.

A sickening crack made all three look over to the Barbarian, who had snapped the demon's neck as the spirit animal panted at his feet. "The Rogues are safe, for the moment."

"My duty here is done." The Paladin swept the Sorceress a bow as he turned away, intending to return to where he had met the Sorceress outside.

"Wait! I have a better way than walking back through the wilderness." Slinging her pack to the ground before her as the holy knight turned back to her, she dug through it to produce a scroll bound with a blue ribbon. "A portal scroll, tied to the Rogues' temporary Encampment. We can use this to return to a safe location." She tossed it to the ground after pulling off the ribbon.

The scroll glowed blue, then a rift in the air appeared, a campfire and a caravan being sprinkled with rain was clearly visible through the magic ring shimmering in the air.

"Resourceful, little lass." Pounding her on the back, and nearly knocking the spell caster into the cavern floor, the Barbarian wasted no time in walking through it. The Druid, after he made sure the Sorceress was not harmed by his spirit brother's enthusiastic approval, followed after him with his wolf spirit at his side.

Flexing her spine, certain something had been bruised by either the blue zombie or by the wild warrior, the Sorceress waved a hand for the Paladin to proceed her as she checked the surroundings one last time. He saluted her with his short sword, and stepped through. As she checked over the now empty cavern, she took note of the random splashes of blood on the walls and the ground, one of which she could identify as her own blood cooling on the ground.

With a last but fond thought of her dead mentor, and one last kick to the zombie that had injured her, the Sorceress returned to the portal, intending to return after talking to Akara and close it up so no demons could use it to invade the Rogues' Encampment after they crept back into the now empty cave.