Inside the Game – Diablo II – Part II

Well, good morning!

Where did we leave off last week? Ahh, Act III of Diablo II.

Upon entering the jungle kingdom of Kehjistan. Finding myself amidst the ruins of what was once the city of Kurast, I knew I had to track down the final soulstone that kept Mephisto imprisoned. But where to start? The locals were helpful, so long as I helped them. Fair enough.

Among all the areas in the game, this was one of the most memorable. The city was being reclaimed by dense jungle, though hints of its past glory still dotted the landscape. From the stone docks where I arrived, I journeyed inward, discovering a world within the world of Sanctuary. Remnants of stone roads peeked through grass, mud, and roots, while ruins of tall, proud buildings stood testament to what was once a sprawling city.

And around every corner lurked danger. Whether from the vulture-like winged nightmares or the fanatical flayers, a pygmy race we encountered previously in the cathedral of the Sisters in Act I, I had to watch my surroundings carefully to avoid certain death.

Even worse perils lay hidden in underground lairs and the sewers snaking beneath the crumbling city. All of which I had to explore in order to fulfill the wishes of the people while advancing my own goal of reaching Mephisto. And to do that, I needed to recover more than mere relics. I had to track down the remains of a man named Khalim.

But why him?

It turned out that after Mephisto was imprisoned beneath the earth, he managed to corrupt the Zakarum priests. All but one – Khalim. Failing to corrupt him, Mephisto instead had the other priests kill him and tear him apart, scattering his remains across the kingdom.

A horrid way to die, indeed.

However, his will was not broken, and his spirit remained with his body parts. And it was his will I would need to break into the Temple of Light and enter Mephisto’s lair.

The search took me throughout the kingdom in search of the man’s eye, heart, brain, and his flail. A few times I found myself near death. Okay, more than a few times. However, through perseverance, I finally managed to assemble what remained of the priest. Each time, I returned to the docks to show Deckard Cain what I’d found, and he would explain what it symbolized. Each time he urged me to go faster, for we were running short on time.

Finally, I had them and, with the Horadric Cube, I combined them into a flail that could destroy the Compelling Orb blocking the way to Mephisto. Destroying it also had the effect of instilling fear into the Zakarum, as it was the orb that stoked their hatred.

Once inside, I headed to the chamber that housed Mephisto, whowas no small challenge to kill. In fact, I’m quite certain he killed me more than once before I was able to succeed, as he had a wide variety of elemental and ranged skills in his arsenal. Mephisto himself was a terror to behold, a skeletal form, partially clothed in muscles, with misshapen hands and sickly protrusions.

Yet, while he was difficult to destroy, and I celebrated my victory, he would be easy compared to the next battle I’d have to face – that of Diablo himself. And for that, I would have to step into Act IV and the Burning Hells.

But, we’ll save that for next week.

Until then, bye for now!