"Well, well, man of God, you're good at this."  Gahl said as his axe bit into Keseph's shield.

"Thank you, savage." Keseph returned the strike and began to force the Barbarian back.

The two spellcasters were near a rock outcropping, Malek sitting on it while Cassadra stood, practicing her magic.

"You are talented, little girl, but you lack control." Malek said.  This made Cassadra wince, he sounded just like everyone back home.

"Listen, Necromancer, next time we duel I'll win."

Cassadra was pulling patterns of mana out of nothing, trying to craft a spell.  Malek watched her with his cold, assessing eyes.  While Cassadra was still practically a kid, the Necromancer always put Alyssa on little on edge.  It was hard to trust a man who had once worshipped a Lord of Hell.  He turned and saw her, favoring her with his chilling smile.

"Well, it seems as if Alyssa has decided to grace us with her unearthly beauty."

Cassadra, Gahl, and Keseph turned to face her, their stares ranging from stern to soft.  Gahl looked upon with a little contempt, seeing her not as a woman but as a combatant only.  In Keseph's eyes there was an equal measure of both concern and pity.  Cassadra looked at her with worried sorrow, her emotions too intense to hide.  From the Necromancer she got nothing but a sense of waiting for her to speak.

"I have decided to come with you." Alyssa said, looking at the assembly.

"By the Light, Alyssa, I'm glad you've seen reason." Keseph said as he sheathed his sword.

"Good." Gahl said simply, turning from her.

"I'm glad you decided to come, Alyssa, I'd be the only woman if you didn't." Alyssa smiled at this, Cassadra could always do that.

Shrouded in the shadow of a maple tree, Malek continued to assess her, his dark eyes conned her face.  She felt uncomfortable under his stare, as if his eyes were two cold stones on her heart.  He smiled.

"Are you certain, Amazon woman?" he asked coldly.

"Don't question her, Necromancer." Keseph said as he gripped his sword's hilt.

"Leave her alone, Malek." Cassadra countered.

Malek walked towards Alyssa, still with that awful smile on his lips.  Alyssa wanted to draw back from him, terror filled her, but she stood her ground.

"To commit yourself you have to be sure… and to commit yourself to a task this large you have to be absolute."

Malek felt a powerful hand clamp down on his shoulder and turned to face its owner.  Gahl stood behind him, his muscled arm extended to catch the Necromancer.

"Listen Malek, she has decided to come with us.  Whether she does it for the Light or for her own reasons, I doesn't matter."

"Perhaps…" he said, still looking at Gahl, "but would you put your life in her hands, Barbarian?"

"I would… without hesitation, Necromancer.  Can you?"

Alyssa stiffened, internally relieved that she had the Barbarian's support.  Malek turned to appraise her again; his grin was gone.

"Amazon woman, I have seen you fight, and I know that you are strong.  I have heard you speak, and I know that you are wise.  The only question that remains in my heart… are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be, Malek." She answered, hoping it would suffice.

"As sure as you can be?" Malek echoed, "I hope so, for all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so." He walked off, back to the shadow of the tree.

Akara was walking towards them, Charsi and Kashya followed her at both sides, their bows nocked and ready to fire.  The attacks had come almost non-stop for the past few days and the encampment was very nearly out of resources.  Everything that they had to give they had already given to the five warriors.

"Greetings, all of you, today is the day." Akara said, still smiling.

"Gahl and I have cased the monastery for several night, there was little activity, but I think there may be subterranean levels." Keseph said.

"Very good, Keseph, Gahl, there are indeed underground levels to our monastery." Charsi said.

"Thank you, Madame Charsi."

"Cassadra and I have been exploring the forests of this place," Malek looked down at a meek Cassadra, "the… wildlife… of the area seems to have calmed down remarkably.  No doubt Andariel expects us."

They all turned to the Necromancer; Akara looked at him with wide eyes.

"How do you know, Malek?"

"I feel her… the Maiden of Anguish.  Deep beneath the monastery… in the catacombs where the fallen Rogues were once entombed."

"How do you know these things, Necromancer?" Keseph asked, his eyes burning with zealotry and subconscious hate.

"It is not for you to know that, Paladin, simply heed my words and know that I am for the Light."

"Sometimes… sometimes I doubt that, dark one, sometimes I doubt it very much."

"Listen," Alyssa said finally, "we all come from different worlds, we can't let our differences destroy our unity… if we do we'll never finish this."

"She's right," Cassadra spoke up, "So Malek, Keseph, both of you back down."

For a moment neither Cassadra nor Alyssa thought either one of them was going to, but finally Malek turned his back to Keseph.  Keseph walked off, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. 

"We're going to have trouble out of those two," Gahl said soberly.

"You must put your trust in the Light," Akara intoned, "only it can truly save you."

"I wish he didn't doubt me so," Malek interrupted.