Slaying Radament came with a bonus, he was hoarding a chest that contained an ancient horadric scroll. Cain was able decypher its language and determine Baal's burial chamged is locked behind a magical seal that requires The Horadric Staff to open. It was split into two pieces, the shaft and headpiece, and hidden throughout the desert. Moreover, Drognan discerned Tal Rasha's Tomb is hidden amongst 6 other tombs and the correct one will bear his seal. That seal can only be found in the Arcane Sanctuary. I must find this sanctuary before Diablo does and assemble the staff. Outside the desert town was a barren wasteland known as the Rocky Waste. No path to leading me to what I seek. Only droves of sand leapers that jump 20 feet in the air and attack from above and scavenging birds that fly away once they realize my strength. I could only find the edge of the wasteland and follow it until I came to an opening, leading me into a desert hilly area with the same emptiness. The demons of the waste gathered around an old tomb, they might as well have guided me right to it. I entered the tomb after slaughtering the masses, suspecting it would lead me to something useful. Why else would they be guarding it so? The tomb was brimming with more returned mummies and skeletal warriors being risen by tomb guardians. They are brittle and frail and fall with ease. Deep within the tomb was a chest, filled with a mysterious cube and surrounded by shocking bats and cat men. I squashed them and collected the cube. Cain was in disbelief of this relic of the past. It had been noted in the archives of the Arreat Summit it could transmute a great many things but more importantly, be used to join the 2 staff pieces together to form the Horadric Staff. The light shines upon me this day.



Returning to the barren desert, all I could do was follow the edges until I came to another opening, leading me deeper into the sandy nothingness. New enemies appear to be calling this place home, signifying I am on the right path. Hordes of giant maggots, electrified beetles, and swarms of bugs guard this place. Why does it have to be bugs? I despise bugs. And why are so many hell spawns endowed with powers of lightning? They tingle me as I decapitate them. I leap through the air using my barbaric strength and squash the bugs as if they were nothing. I am an expert at leaping through the air with a mighty force, that is why I was named Hopper. With conviction, I came to a narrow hole in the ground with a grand stench that permeated the air around. No mistake, it is the stench of hoarding bugs. I hate bugs greatly and must cleanse this nest. The narrow path only assists me in eradicating them all 1 by 1 until I reached the mother of all bugs. I giant maggot guarded by beetles. I swung until my arms gave out and it let out a cry I will never forget. Unbeknownst to me, this bug cavern was the home to the first piece I have been searching for, The Staff of Kings. I must rest, my arms grow weak from the sheer amount of swings it took to cleanse this earth of all those bugs. I get a drink and pass out in Atma's tavern, dreaming of my beloved Charsi.



A great wealth of charms added to my collection.

I returned to the entrance of The Maggot Lair and began searching for a sign. I have no guidance, I can only follow the wake of demons and undead in hopes they guide me to solving this puzzle. Once again, I found a clearing in the rocks, leading me into a new land. Once I entered, day to turned to night in an instant, an eclipse blocked out the sun and the land was plunged into darkness. Fearing the worst, I returned to Lut Gholein for insight on this cosmic event. Drognan believes it is the work of the claw vipers, a clan of humanoid snake mutants. The only way to return the sun to its shining glory is to seek out their temple beyond the Lost City and stop their lunar ritual. I accept this challenge and return to the eclipsed land, moving slowly through the darkness to prevent being inundated with enemies beyond my sight. I found a temple guarded by a large trap, shooting fireballs in all directions as I move close to the entrance. I leap past the trap and enter the temple. Immediately, I am surrounded by hellish snakes. At least they are not bugs. 1 swing from either of my mighty swords chop the snake people in half, unlike worms, they do not continue to move afterwards. Making my way through this temple of slithering devils, they give me warning. I can hear them hissing through the corridors, giving me time to prepare to face them room by room. I killed them by the hundreds before reaching another level. They fall with ease but charge quickly and land cold, crushing blows on me. My strength grows weak, but I must push on and cleanse the temple. The second level had a tomb, guarded by a sizeable pack of snakes and their leader pulses with electricity as I strike him. Despite his shocking appeal, he is no match for me. I successfully squandered their ritual and opened the tomb and was met with a trinket Cain identified as the Amulet of the Viper, the second piece of the Horadric Staff. With Cain's guidance, I put both pieces within the magical cube, closed it up and pressed the button. It became suspended in space, spinning and whirring then dropping back down and opening. The 2 pieces have been merged as one, I now possess the Horadric Staff.



Cain requests that I meet with Drognan to inform him of my victory over the claw vipers. Drognan is pleased, he confides in me that Jerhyn is hiding a secret entrance to another world in his harem. This the final piece of the puzzle, all I require is the symbol of Tal Rasha to find his tomb. Drognan encourages me to confront Jerhyn about his secret but warns the symbol will be guarded by a powerful mage, The Summoner, who wields magic to vanquish his foes. I do not fear mages, their skin is soft and unhardened to steel. I vow to cut him to bits. I confront Jerhyn and he admits the girls of his harem are being slaughtered by demons that appeared out of a portal within. This portal must be the entranceway to the Arcane Sanctuary. I agree to clear his harem of demons on the condition that any living girls must be freed from this harem and to be mated with the townsfolk of Lut Gholein. No man should claim that many women, despicable practices of the western world. Charsi would be mortified. He hesitantly agrees and I enter his cursed home, making my way down to the lower levels. It is over run with gigantic ogres wielding clubs. Their strikes cause great pain but they are slow and not agile. I quickly move around them, slicing steadily until they fall. Finally, I reach the portal and enter. I am teleported to an unfamiliar land, a magical walkway suspended in space. No apparent light source, just stars in the distance. I am presented with 4 paths. Each winding in a different way. I suspect the Summoner is at the end of one of these paths. They are narrow and unprotected, one wrong step and I will fall into space indefinitely until I finally reach my demise through starvation or extreme cold. Carefully, I make my way through each path. Narrow walkways are always a benefit for me, the enemies come at me one by one. The only way I fall to these weak goat men is if they swarm me in great numbers, but they cannot. I come across a new type of demon, a floating ghoul holding a serpent staff that wields power over fire. Little do they know I spent my life hardening my skin to the elements, their magic is no threat to me. I have no sense of time in this place, it feels as if it took ages to traverse the first 3 paths. No luck finding the Summoner, he must be at the end of this final path.




At long last, I found him. As I surmised, his magic is not what Drognan made it out to be. I taunt him, standing and letting him engulf me in flames. I let out a a mighty cry and swing each of my swords. His body explodes into a fine dust and nothing remains but his robes. He was guarding a book, I do not know if it was written in my language or if this magical place gave me the ability to decipher it, but as soon as I did a portal to a canyon opened and I went through armed with the knowledge of the symbol, Triangle.

I am transported to yet another desolate desert area. I roam the lands and see 7 tombs, slaying many along the way. Each of them etched with a symbol, I run down the line and find the triangle tomb and enter. The tomb is enormous and brimming with skeletal warriors and mummy risers. Clearing room by room, it takes hours, but I finally come to an orifice with a slot sized for a staff. This is it. I place the staff in the orifice and light flickers all around me. Then, a giant flash and beam of lightning blow a hole in the wall. I try to slowly peer through the hole but fall into a cavern and realize I am stuck in a tiny room with the largest cockroach I have ever laid eyes on. He has mandibles the size of my body and presents with a cold aura around him. Any time I go near, I am chilled to the bone. If he catches me with those mandibles, it will be my end. None of the townsfolk mentioned this horrific demon bug I am faced with. The battle lasts a great length, I can barely swing at him as I grow more frozen with each blow. My poisoned blades are ineffective against him, he relentlessly chases me around the tiny cavern. My only hope is to leap beyond his aura, swing once or twice and leap again. I do this repeatedly until he falls. Upon the final blow, his body disintegrates and reduces to a toxic sludge. A fiery reaction occurs all around and a hole opens in the wall. It leads be down to where Baal was trapped but he is not there. Only an angel like figure who calls himself Tyrael. Tyrael confirms that Baal was released by Diablo after a devastating battle and they head east to Kurast in search of their brother, Mephisto, The Lord of Hated. I have failed. If all 3 prime evils are released into the world, surely we all are doomed. I rush to town and relay the terrible news. Jerhyn clears the merchant Meshif to ferry me to Kurast in hopes we can catch Diablo and Baal.



Meshif and I arrive at The Kurast Docks and speak with the townsfolk. Diablo has certainly been here already, though I don't know how he made it across the sea. Hratli says their jungle has been corrupted by demons all around and the Zakarum have taken over the lands. He has placed a magical enchantment on the city as a protection but they can't step outside the barrier. Food is dwindling, they will surely perish soon if something does not change. I have no direction, just an immense jungle to pass through to make it to Kurast. I have to start somewhere so I will venture out of the barrier and begin making my way. First, I purchase myself some new gloves and belt, my old ones are worn and worthless.

I head out into the jungle. The demons here are different than before. Large groups of pygmie like men swarm me usually paired with a shaman that spits fire. Some of them are armed with daggers and some shoot at me from range with tiny pellets. They have no force backing them, they bounce off my steel skin without damaging me. The pygmies are tiny, I crush them with little effort. Occasionally, gigantic mosquitoes the size of birds pounce on me. They are of no threat. I slay the pygmies by the hundreds and one of them dropped a green trinket. I returned back to the docks to rest, I tire not of taking damage but swinging my own swords. Cain inspects the trinket and realizes Meshif collects these. We trade for another trinket that Alkor, the alchemist is interested in. He trades me for a potion that permanently increases my endurance.




Before heading back out, I speak with Cain. He tells me the story of Khalim, the que-hegan of the High Council. Mephisto's tomb lay beneath the city or Kurast that is guarded by the High Council and Zakarum . Khalim stood against Mephisto, but Mephisto created a compelling orb that corrupted the souls around. Only Khalim resisted its lure and he alone can destroy the orb. The other members or the High Council were turned to evil and betrayed Khalim. They cut him to bits and scattered his parts across the land so that he would never be able to crush the orb. Cain advised I must retrieve his eye, brain, heart and flail if I hope to crush the orb and free the corrupted brethren of Kurast and enter the resting place of Mephisto. I return to the jungle and hack my way through the pygmies. Eventually, I came to a silk infested area with a large nest. It looks like I will have to face more bugs. Why is it bugs? Hell empowers the worst of creatures. Inside the nest are overgrown arachnids, empowered with strong venom. They were guarding a chest that contained an eye. This must be Khalim's eye that Cain mentioned. I returned to him and he confirms. One piece down, I come for you, Mephisto.



Hratli warns the enchantment around the city is weakening, and there is a magical blade that is needed to restore its strength called the Gibdinn. It is hidden deep in the forest. I assure Hratli I will find the blade and save his town. Making my way back through the forest, I slay more pygmies. The numbers must be in the thousands by now but I do not stop. I reach a pyre and light it out of instinct. Pygmies swarm me and but they are just as weak as all the others. I squash the little demons and retrieve the blade Hratli requires. The enchantment is strengthened, the town can sleep easy tonight, considering...

For all those souls I took, I was rewarded with a charm that will surely strengthen my spirit.



I return to the jungle once more and search the surrounding area where the Gibdinn was located. There was a manmade structure nearby, a stairwell leading down to a dungeon. This does not appear to be a natural creation, the Zakarum must have hidden something here. I enter and clear a path through the overgrown dungeon. Pygmies have made this place their home, they dwell here in large numbers along with accursed doll like demons that explode their bones outward when struck. Their bones can not pierce me, my skin in simply too thick. On the final level of the dungeon, it is mostly empty with cages all around. I find my way around the maze and am met with just a small group of pygmies that guard a chest. I hack them away and retrieve its contents. Just as I suspected, it contained an eye. I return to Cain and he identifies it as Khalim's.



Growing closer to victory I rest for the night before venturing out again. I have nightmares of the thousands I have slaughtered in these lands. I will endure to save this world. I follow the path back to the entrance of the dungeon and make my way deeper into the forest. As time passes, I come to the entrance of a city that is guarded by trees that have been brought to life. They wield massive power in their blows and stun me with each hit. I prevail and cut their branches off 1 by 1. The final tree shocking me each time I slice it. Another electrified foe, what is Diablo's obsession with this enchantment? I best him and enter the city. The Zakarum are here all around, they travels in packs. 1 sits back and heals them while throwing magic as the others advance. It's no use, they all meet their end. I scour the city, looking for anything that may contain the brain. There are massive temples all around the city, but they are abandoned. All except 1, that was guarded by corrupted Sisters of the Sightless Eye. How did they make it this far from the Rogue's Encampment? It matters not, I put them all to the grave. Kashya would be proud. They were guarding a book. There was no mention of this book from Cain but I take it to be inspected anyway. Alkor rewarded me with an enchantment from the book, permanently increasing my strength yet again.

More charms to add to my collection. I grow stronger by the day.





Ormus was kind enough to supply me with a staff that will allow me to instantly jump a small distance, just in case I get in a dangerous position.

I returned to the city, searching for anything of note and came across an entrance to a damp sewer. I enter and explore around. This sewer must span the entire length of the city, it is enormous. Luckily, with the help of my new staff, I am able to dash quickly around and find a lever that leads to another level guarded by a small group of empowered shocking bats. I cut them out of the sky and enter the lower level. It is unguarded, unusual... It contained a golden chest and within, the final body part. I return to Cain and he confirms this is Khalim's Heart. I am so close.



Making my way to the head of the city, I traverse a long travincal and come across a 3 slotted barbarian helm made just for me. This may come in handy later, I will store it for now.



Finally reaching the end, I found the orb that compels the Zakarum. However, it is heavily guarded by the corrupted High Council. These are the strongest foes I have tangled with. They spawn magical hydras in mass that spit fire balls at me. I dance around carefully as to not succumb to their flame. The council members curse me increasing the damage I take when they physically strike me. They wound me greatly. I take shelter repeatedly, allowing myself time to recover. Though they are strong, they are not very wise. I lure them away 1 by 1 and dwindle their numbers. They seem to heal each other if they are grouped. Half of their bodies are encased in steel. My poisoned blades slowly widdle them down, these weapons are no longer efficiently striking down my enemies. The hell spawns gain strength as I progress, I may need to find new weapons soon. I was able to overcome them after an extended battle and reveal one of them was carrying the final piece, Khalim's Flail. I return to Cain and he instructs me to do the same as I did with the Horadric Staff, I place them in the cube and press the button. They are all joined together as one. I return to the orb and use the remnants of Khalim to smash the orb. An ominous red cloud seeps into the area and reveals a staircase leading down into Mephisto's lair. We are at the precipice of this journey.



This post was edited by lilpsychokilla on Apr 30 2024 02:00pm

I enter the staircase. Certainly, this must be where Mephisto's prison can be found. There are rotting bodies and bones all around, zombies and skeletal dolls loom about the halls. Does Mephisto engage in slaughtering his own demons or are these remains from when he was imprisoned? I carefully and slowly scurry through the prison like building as to not alert many demons to my presence, but it is difficult, large pools of blood eek around every corner. The amount of blood must be from thousands of dead. Finally, I come to the third level of the durance. This floor is not like the ones before. I am met with another grouping of council members. I am close, they must be guarding their master. I slowly but swiftly take them down. Making my up, I see a massive glowing red portal surrounded by the largest pool of blood. A river of blood. I can see in the distance a heinous demon, ugly as sin. He has no legs and floats miraculously above the ground. His body is a gigantic spinal figure with 3 mandibles on each arm. Horns protruding up above his head. Surely this is Mephisto. He sees me and whispers, "My brothers have escaped you". Baal and Diablo have already gone through the portal, I have failed yet again. I leap across the river of blood and begin mortal combat with him. Despite his frail appearance, he is strong and endures many blows. He swipes at me rigorously with a freezing touch. Spawning poison clouds intermittently, I must be careful to work around them. I try to stay in melee range but have to dance in and out. If I go to far he switches to a ranged assault of lighting or a freezing ball of hate. They are slow projectiles and easy to dodge, granting me time to lick my wounds. We engage repeatedly and after a long winded battle, I strike him down. He drops a glowing stone that sparks my interest. I collect it and and march directly through the portal to find Diablo and Baal.




I am transported into a small guarded structure, Cain is already here. How is he here, I do not understand. Then, I see the angel from before, Tyrael. He must have transported him. Tyrael warns of a fallen angel outside the structure that has turned to evil. Unacceptable, I can not allow this heavenly figure to assist the demons. I make my way out but this world is not the one I knew. There are structures all around with humanoids stuck to them with their human like attributes stripped. They must have been enduring long periods of torture to end looking this way. I set them free by blade as I pass them. The demons here are fierce and unrecognizable. Ghost like creatures shooting red beams that drain my energy, they fall with a few swings of my swords. But those are they weakest of the creatures. Several new demons I have not come across roam these unholy lands. One in particular hurls up miniature versions right out of its mouth, despicable... Another roams by, eats the corpses I leave behind and spits them at me with great force, rejuvenating itself with each corpse. Lastly, the embodiment of a demon children would imagine. A large green body with massive wings that spit fire. All of these foes are mighty, it takes dozens of strike each to lay them at rest. My swords are dull, they will not serve me much longer. I can only hope they do not break while hacking away at these hardened enemies. It takes a lifetime to make it through the cursed lands. Eventually, I come across a figure such as Tyrael, but different. He does not glow with heavenly light. This must be the fallen angel. His body is harder than steel but his blows are pathetically week. Charsi hits harder than him. Periodically he shoots a pulse of frozen air, it slows me down, but just for a short period. 400...401..402... I lose track of my swing count. His endurance is endless, why don't the angels help us take down the hell spawns if they wield such power? Finally, I strike the killing blow. His body falls but his spirit rises. I return to Tyrael and he is pleased, rewarding me with increased skill.




Cain sees the stone I collected from Mephisto sticking out of my pocket. "That is a soulstone, you must destroy it!" he announces. He explains if I destroy the stone, Mephisto will never be able to manifest in this world again. There is a mighty forge and hammer somewhere in these lands that I can use to destroy it. I will locate the forge and end Mephisto forever. I rest a while then head back into the dark cursed lands. I come to staircase, brimming with light. I make my way down to a fuming hot land. Lava is flowing all around and puffs of fire and smoke appearing ever so often. Now I know, I have left my world and entered hell. Will I be able to return? It's a long journey but eventually come to a secluded area with a hellish anvil. A mighty warrior guards it yielding the hammer required to destroy the stone. He pummels me relentlessly into the dirt. Another foe with remarkable strength, but not enough. I am stronger. I reign victoriously over him and smash the stone, forever dooming Mephisto's spirit to remain in hell.

Continuing on through the river of flame I come to archway guarded by another angel, Hadriel. He warns that Diablo is near but protected by 5 seals. Each seal must be broken to release his guard. No mention of Baal passing through, did he separate from his brother? I push forward but have to take care to not fall into the flames. The large rocky platforms have changed to narrow pathways filled with demons. My favorite way to face them. I make my way further and further through the heated terrain, carefully leaping from path to path to skip past many foes. I must make haste and take Diablo down. Finally, I reach a large platform protected from the rivers of lava. Eventually, I come to a giant symbol in the floor, it's the sign of the beast. Diablo is near, I can smell his filthy scales lurking about. I follow each point of the symbol, first to the left and see 2 seals. I break the seals and a horde of ghosts fall down on me. The seals are booby trapped, I should have know. Lucky for me, the ghosts are the weakest of creatures in hell. I swiftly end them and make my way to the next point of the star, upwards. This channel only has 1 seal, I break it and a group of humanoid warriors appear with one mage lord to lead them. They wield mighty blows, I can't take them on all at once. I slowly lead them to me 1 by 1 away from their master and take them down. Now it's just the mage. He runs away like a coward and curses me while shooting projectiles but they do no harm. I quickly smash his face and move to the last point. The last 2 seals. I prepare myself before breaking them so I'm ready for the last ambush. The deed is done and a group of winged demons appear. I can't let them corner me, they will easily burn me to a crisp. The leap over their heads out of the narrow channel and make it back to the star. They are fast and chase me around endlessly. They do not go down easy. I swing once then twice and run in fear of them melting my skin with their hot breaths of flame. If they were to all catch me at once, I would die. I can't let happen. I run circles around the symbol slowly taking jabs at them, my pathetic blades do nearly nothing to them. They must be resistant to poison. After a long drawn out battle I widdle them all down and kill them. All of the demon bodies go up in a puff of smoke and I hear a terrifying voice say "Not even death can save you from me!". It's the final hour, Diablo appears in the middle of the star. His image makes me tremble, the devil incarnate. He has a long spiked tail with massive horns coming out of his back and thick muscular arms and legs with an ugly horned devliish face. Despite his size, he moves quickly dashing near me to strike. I strike him with both my swords but it does not phase him. His skin is harder than mine. I let out a roar to let him know I'm not afraid hoping to taunt him and lower his defenses. He roars back and lets out a nova of flame that seems to go on endlessly. It damages me badly. As we battle, I strike him repeatedly, weaving in out before he can strike me. He gets angry and holds up his hands to his mouth and shoots out a combination of fire and lightning. I swiftly dodge it but it touches me briefly and almost entirely drains my life force. No wonder he empowered so many demons with lightning, he is the master of lightning. If he catches me in that beam, it will be my end. We battle for what seems like an eternity but he begins to waver. I can tell he is tired, I make my way toward him and deal the final blow. He groans loudly and I cut of his head. His body falls to the ground and turns to black.



I return to Tyrael and inform him of my victory of hell. He is pleased, but it's not enough. Baal escaped and moved onto my homelands. Tyrael says he's searching for the worldstone, the creator of all the soulstones at the top of Mount Arreat. He seeks to destroy it and the entire realm along with it so that he may rule over the ashes. This is not how I hoped to return to the lands of my people. Tyrael opens a portal that will lead me to them, I enter. I appear in the old town of Harrogath, where I am greeted by the townsfolk, but they do not trust me even though I am a barbarian. They are under siege from Baal's army. The blacksmith Larzuk tells me to prove myself by killing the siege leader, Shenk The Overseer. I nod and head out the gates. Baal's demons are no comparison to Diablo's. They are faster, stronger and more aggressive. Immediately I am met with packs of orcish like creatures wielding maces. They oink is I pummel them. As I cut my way through them, I destroy catapults along the way that are reigning down on the town. Imps teleport all around me shooting fireballs then disappearing. These are the weakest of them all, 2 strikes take them down but they are hard to catch. I encounter another vile creature with lengthy tentacle arms. They burrow their arms deep in the ground that come up at my feet to stab me. HA! I leap over them with ease and pass them by. I make it to the head of siege and find Shenk guarded by a swarm of orcs. I leap onto him and let out a fearful howl to make them all cower. I battle Shenk to the death and strike him down. The siege on the tower is over. I return to Harrogath and am accepted as a brother.



I find a ring with the name "Cathan" etched into the side.