The Fall Of Tree

The Fall of Tree

(Part one of three)

It is with heavy heart indeed, that I sit here and begin the task of telling the past day’s events. For it is my duty to tell you all of the death of one of our own. Treebeard, the young mage, is dead. Killed by two others of our Guild.

It all began early yesterday morning. Tree, a mage of but 15, was nowhere to be found.

It was an hour past the time that he was supposed to be at his lessons in magic and as he had never been late before we were quite worried. We had searched all of Tristram, but had found no sign of him. No one had seen him since late the day before. It was decided then to expand the search to include the Cathedral.

Olwe (a valiant and strong warrior) and Fatty_Lumpkin (another young mage, but very learned in the art) were dispatched to search for the missing Tree. It was feared that, during the night, the minions of Diablo might have taken Tree to the Cathedral for evil deeds; perhaps to kill him there. Ah, if only that had been so…

“If Tree has indeed been taken to the church, I pray that we are not too late to save him.

Perhaps he is but lost.” Olwe said hopefully, but not really believing it. “Yes, I hope Tree is only lost.” Replied Lumpkin. But he, too, had a feeling that was not the case.

Olwe had not been with the Guild as long as Lumpkin or Tree, but he was nevertheless an older and very experienced warrior. Many are the times that he had helped the town of Tristram and the Guild by killing the horrors from below. Lumpkin was a young and easily excited mage, almost the same age as Tree, in fact. But ever more so experienced in the magic arts.

Tree was a fine lad. I loved him dearly. Ever the dutiful student and always there to help the Guild in any way that he could. I know not why he changed so though. He had always been the perfect mage-in-training; studying and learning the Art. Enjoying the thrill of killing all the servants of Diablo. Until… well, I had best leave that for a time at least.

The two friends began searching the first level of the church. Killing what devils and fiends they found there. The way was easy for them. But always the creatures would return when the church was left, and thus the Guild (The Keepers of the Fellowship) was born to guard and protect the town of Tristram.

It was not long until the first level of the church was cleared of the evil. Old bones, dead and swiftly decomposing monsters, were strewn over floors. And no sign of Tree anywhere. Olwe and Lumpkin had the magic of the Town Portal. That magical, blue tunnel that once in place gives one direct travel from anywhere below to the town above. Olwe cast the spell for the portal, turned toward Lumpkin and said, “Let us go to town, perhaps Tree has returned in our absence.”

The words had scarcely left his mouth, when they heard a slight noise some distance behind them. It sounded like it had come from the room that led up the steps to the front door of the Cathedral. A sound as though someone or something had closed a door and quickly opened it again. Lumpkin said, “I’ll check that. You wait her for me, ‘tis nothing I’m sure. But I will make certain.”

“ I had better go with you, my young friend. Though, I dare say, that there is nothing here that you can’t handle.” Olwe replied.

“Very well.” Lumpkin said with a nod, and headed towards the sound.

Somehow they both knew it was Tree that they had heard. And they felt a certain… uneasiness. As though someone was trying to tell them to beware what lay ahead.

Tree walked down the steps that lead to the first level of the church. No one in town had seen him enter, a mage has that ability to go unseen if he so desires. Tree walked over to an open door, swiftly closed it, and opened it again.

“I’m sure those idiots heard that, was surely loud enough for even their dull ears.” He said to himself. My god, how wonderful he felt today. Truly alive, basking in the glory that was Diablo.

Tree, sometime very late the night before, had felt a … calling… a yearning to go somewhere. He knew not just where. And so, reaching for his staff of chain lighting, he had gotten up from his cot at the Inn. Quietly he had left the building; not a sound was allowed to be made. And that was the last that he remembered ‘til he found himself walking down the steps that led into the church.

He was filled, literally consumed with hatred for his former friends and comrades in the guild.

His only desire now was to kill them all. “Now you die!” He chuckled to himself. “Now you will all die! And these two will be just the first ones to go to serve my new master. With each death I will grow stronger. Killing them all for my Lord and Mater, Diablo.” Tree was consumed with a deep, black darkness. All he could think of was, “KILL! KILL! KILL!”

Olwe stopped walking. He felt … something. He knew not what. Some inner voice telling him indeed it would be best if he waited here. Right here in this room that was very close to where the noise had come from. “Lumpkin, I must wait here. Truly I know not why. Just that I need do this.” Lumpkin looked at his friend with concern. This was unlike Olwe. “Very well.” He said after a moment’s hesitation, and proceeded on down the hallway towards the steps that led back to town.

“Tree is up there ahead of me.” He thought. “But not the Tree that I knew.” Lumpkin knew this with a certainty that he did not understand, but he did not doubt it. Over his few short years with the Guild he had learned to heed these feelings.

He was now in the room that the noise had come from. He quickly looked around, but saw nothing. All was as he and Olwe had left it. Then, with a suddenness that he had not expected, balls of fire were blasting him! He quickly jumped behind a sarcophagus, and seeing Tree standing a little to the left of him, let fly with his own powerful fireballs straight at Tree. For a few seconds Lumpkin could see nothing. When his vision cleared, after quickly chanting a healing spell, he saw that Tree lay dead before him. Lumpkin was filled with a great sadness. He had not wanted to kill his friend. “Olwe.” He screamed “I have found Tree.”

But then, as he began to walk towards Tree’s body, Tree disappeared! Where once his former friend had lay there was nothing. Lumpkin quickly chanted the spell for the Mana Shield and carefully headed back towards Olwe. He was quite, for he knew that Tree would be somewhere close.

Olwe had heard his friend call to him, had heard the blasting sound of the fireballs, and had started to open the door that he waited behind. When, with a certainty that he did not doubt, he knew that Tree was in front of the closed door before him. Setting his sword and shield to the ready, he jerked open the door. Before him stood Tree. Olwe chanted the spell for firewall and with a hot crimson blast of flame, Tree lay dead before him. It had happened so fast, that only then did Olwe realize what he had done. “Oh, Tree. I am sorry that it came to this.”

Lumpkin had come around the corner just as Olwe had dropped Tree with his firewall. Here was Tree dead for the second time. Would he vanish again? Or would this horror be done with?

Wearily both he and Olwe approached the body. Tree did not vanish. And saying nothing to each other, they lifted Tree’s charred body and headed back to the guildhall.

I saw them coming towards the hall carrying what looked to be a body. I knew that they had found Tree. And I was soon to learn the rest of the sad story of what had happened from Olwe and Lumpkin. A great evil had been done to the Guild. And now we must find someway to arm ourselves against it.

Epilogue

Two days later, after we had buried Tree in an unmarked grave in the back of the church graveyard, I stood before it lost in thought. What could I have done to prevent this tragedy?

I knew not, only that we must be ever vigilant and try to guard ourselves against Diablo so that this evil does not happen again.

Suddenly I was knocked to the ground, as Tree’s coffin thrust itself up from the ground! “What new evil is this?” I screamed, as I sprang up from the grass on which I lay, and pulled my King’s Sword from its sheath. The lid to the coffin slid off then and I saw that Tree’s body was not inside! “Oh, Lord. My the Heavens preserve us.” I whispered. “This evil is not over.”

For I knew that with his ancient and unholy power Diablo had resurrected Tree and had shown me the empty coffin so that I would know that the Guild was still in grave danger. I also knew that when next we saw Tree he would be powerful indeed…