"Kelandra, I think, but she has also disappeared." Warriv cast his eyes down.

"I know… she attacked us in the forest."

"What!" Warriv looked up; the deep lines of his face, stretched by surprise, looked like a canyon bed.

"She was corrupted, not doubt that was why she let them enter the monastery.  Warriv, this woman seeks employment, and I think you could supply her that."

Warriv looked her over with a stern eye.  Alyssa, uncomfortable with such scrutiny, bore this as well as she could.

"Yes, I think I can, Alyssa was it?"

"Yes." She sighed internally, relieved.

"I am trying to get back to Lut Gholein, but everything I was carrying, including some personal things for Lord Jehryn, was stolen by bandits.  We assume that the same evil force that has been attacking the Sisters is also responsible for the loss of these items.  Kashya has deemed the monastery unsafe for her Rogues, but I believe I could get her to let you find them for me."

"Yes, I have forbid entrance to the monastery, for good reasons Warriv."

"This one has the mark." A voice spoke from behind them and they all turned to face it.  It belonged to a woman wearing black robes, slowly walking towards them. 

"Akara?  What do you mean?" Kashya asked.

"She has the mark on her, the Eye knows her.  She can rid us of Andariel."

"How?  Not even an entire regiment of our troops could stop her, how can one?" Kashya's voice was harsh.

"Kashya, when one of us falls the evil invades them, makes them into one of the Dark Stalkers.  This one could not be touched by Andariel's evil."

"She's not a Rogue," Warriv added, catching on.

"Exactly," Akara nodded, "and is therefore immune to the curse."

"Then she must descend at once and free the others."

"Wait, wait, wait," Alyssa finally spoke up, "I'm not going in there alone, they'll kill me!"

"But you must…" Kashya began.

"No, she must not," Akara countered her, "alone, she can only die."

"What do you mean, Akara?" Kashya looked angry and puzzled all at once.

"There are four others, warriors of the Light.  They must come as well, for the circle to be complete."

"Four others?" Warriv asked, "how could they get here, the roads are blocked with Andariel's spawn."

"How did she arrive here, Warriv?"

"I see, so we trust in fate while our numbers are diminished every day.  By the time these others arrive there will be none of us left to fight!"

"Kashya, you must trust in the Eye, and in the angels."

"The Eye, the angels, they have done nothing!  The only thing that can rid of this evil is force, steel, and power.  Waiting can only kill us." Kashya stormed off into the gates of the Citadel. 

"She seems angry," Alyssa said after a moment's silence.

"No doubt she is," Warriv said with a sigh, "she has lost many of her troops.  It's taken a heavy toll on her."

"I fear for her, but I trust in the Eye, and in the angels.  Alyssa, you may stay here for as long as you wish, until the time is right."

"Kashya spoke of you as we walked here, she said you were an Oracle."

Akara laughed, it was a soft sound that was somehow soothing and unnerving all at once.  She removed the cowl from over her head and revealed features that were still youthful

"I have many years now before I become an Oracle."

"Don't let her fool you, Alyssa, without her we would've all died." Warriv countered.

"Come," Akara said, "let us enter the Citadel before they attack again."

They passed through the Citadel gates and they closed behind them.  The place was very nearly in ruins, a ramshackle of tents and small shanties.  People moved about in fevered activity, trying to get things done in the cramped encampment.  On the inside Alyssa got a hint of how badly things were going, the oppressive feeling of dread was a palpable force.  She was struck by an intense homesickness and fought it back after a brief struggle.  She missed the garden she and her father had made almost a year ago, and the site of her mother hanging the wash at the seashore for the wind to dry.

"Perhaps one day this place can be a home to us again," Akara said suddenly, as if she was reading Alyssa's mind.

"What?" the question was shocked out of her.

"Perhaps this place can be home to us again, when Andariel is banished.  Perhaps we can rest."

"I will do what I can, Akara…"

Akara parted from her and Warriv, walking towards the tent Kashya stood at.  Kashya was talking to a portly man in front of a sign that read "Gheed's Sundry."  She supposed the man must be Gheed, he looked to be some sort of salesman.

"If you descend into the monastery, please search for a chest with the seal of Lord Jehryn embossed on its cover.  If you can return this chest to me, I will pay you handsomely, and transport you to Lut Gholein if you need me to, for free."

"Thank you for your offer, Warriv.  If I do go, I will look for the chest."

"Thank you, Alyssa, and Tyrael's blessing go with you."

Warriv also left her, and Alyssa stood in the Rogue's encampment, the events of the day made everything seem crazy.  Corrupted Sisters of the Sightless Eye, demons overrunning their monastery… and her some kind of warrior of Light.  Alyssa sat down on a tree trunk and began to clean her spear's point almost on instinct, letting the events of the day sink in.  She had come so far, had traveled miles and miles of land, to come here.  Her mother and father dead, everything she had ever known in ashes, and the world feeling like it was tottering on the edge of some abyss.  A single tear coursed down her cheek and she wiped at it absently, hoping no one saw.  She could never know how many tears had been shed in that makeshift encampment, both by men and women alike.  Her tears wouldn't be the last either, for the trail of trial and misery was long, nearly endless.