"I don't want too many people on this," Ari says firmly. "I want to be able to keep track of everyone's position. We should be fine as a group of six, and even that's pushing it. And time is a factor, here, so I'd like to get moving."

Moving they get. Luckily, they are warded already. In case something went wrong with the portal.

Ari takes them to the waypoint, gets them all holding hands, and brings them through to New Tristram in a flash of blue light.

"I've got some enchanted weapons and armor in my room," he says, leading them to the small lodging-house he and Deckard were staying in. "Not enough for six people, obviously - well, enough weapons, but I don't have half a dozen breastplates lying around - but we can at least set everybody up with something."

They follow him inside.

"This would be so cool if your uncle wasn't in danger," Thomas says.

"My main advantage is mobility, so a breastplate might not be a good idea overall."

"I'll give you a helmet, then. Mobility's all well and good, but an axe to the head is an axe to the head."

They reach Ari's room. He strips and dons some monumentally impractical-looking armor, looking perfectly serious about it.

The available armaments are scattered about somewhat chaotically, but about two and a half people's worth of greaves, gauntlets, helms, and breastplates can be scrounged up, along with an armful of swords and daggers, an axe that looks like it could murder a tractor trailer, a sledgehammer of similar proportions, three spears of varying wickedness, two bows and a crossbow. All of these weapons are obviously, glowingly magical, though in lieu of glowing, one of the spears constantly drips phantasmal blood.

They distribute equipment to various people. Thomas makes a point of taking the sledgehammer. Gabe takes the similarly sized axe.

Fenris and Felix picks the bows. Henry the crossbow. Others weapons are shared more in a carrying capacity basis.

Ari shakes his head at this. "One or two weapons each. No sense bringing the whole arsenal."

He also helps them divide up the various pieces of armor. Felix does indeed get one of the helmets.

Felix will gladly accept his helmet and pair of weapons. Everyone gets ready.

"Alright," Ari says eventually. "Now, it's a bit of a hike to the Cathedral, but fortunately, I've already been to the waypoint in the graveyard, so I can get us right there."

He leads the group back to the waypoint again, and flashes them to, just as he said, a graveyard, in the shadow of an enormous, crumbling church. What remains of the architecture is quite grand.

Also, there's about fifteen zombies shambling around, all of which turn immediately upon their arrival and begin shambling in their direction.

Ari reaches out, flames running up and down his arm, then pauses. "You guys want some practice before the cathedral proper?"

Collective nod. Some brandish of weapons.

Well, the zombies are approaching. Slowly. 

Ari sits down on a headstone to observe. "Go ahead."

They step forward.

Fernando takes flight and aims and shoots. He appears surprisingly aware of everyone's locations, but is clearly not as experienced with a bow.

Felix uses his speed to position himself somewhere hard to reach and shoot. Though he appears indecisive (from what Ari can track) and soon he changes tactics and uses his speed to knock down opponents and stab them.

Thomas appears surprisingly familiar with his chosen weapon. Not that he would admit to have watched videos on the subject of how to fight with a war hammer. He could stand to be lighter on his feet.

Gabe and Henry work as an unit, even more than the triplets. They are not as combat apt, but are not bad and are good at watching each other backs and capitalizing when one creates a opening for the other.

They may find that they know more about how to handle their respective weapons than they think; the weapons themselves seem to know what they're doing, cooperating with their wielders as if guided by an unseen hand. Newly minted reflexes whisper cues for combat techniques that a group of middle-class academics (and Gabe) have no business knowing.

That said, zombies are not a significant threat to anyone, least of all a team of sorcerers with enchanted weapons, and they're quickly dispatched. "Nice work," Ari says, hopping off the headstone. "Into the cathedral?"

Convenient.

"Lead the way!"

Ari leads the way.

Inside the cathedral, down the stairs, and into a place that looks like a collaboration between Michelangelo and Hieronymus Bosch. The sublevels of the church are beautifully designed, but there are corpses strewn about with wild abandon, both human and demon. There are also several living demons, squat red things with monkey-like proportions, each clutching a razor-sharp scimitar. When they see the party enter their territory, they begin to shriek and gibber and scurry towards them until Ari dispatches them with a well-placed bolt of lightning.

"Fallen Ones," Ari explains. "Supposedly they were once the greatest of all demons, until they tried to betray Diablo and he turned them into... that. Let's keep moving."

Gory, but they didn't expect to come here and not be disgusted. They follow Ari and keep their attention sharp.

They run into a couple of skeletons along the way, which Ari destroys with ruthless efficiency.

"There's not as much in our path tonight as there could be," he muses. "Probably because Uncle came through before us. I'm beginning to think I brought you along for no reason." He considers. "Well, except moral support."

"Go, Ari! Go-go, Ari!" Henry cheers quietly.

"Remind me to introduce you to the concept of video games and then explain what it would mean for a high-level character to be part of a low-level group."

"Those certainly are words," Ari nods.

They reach the stairs down to the second level. "I don't know why they didn't just put the stairs next to the entrance," he says thoughtfully. "Wouldn't that make more sense? -anyway, this is where the tomes Uncle was looking for are stored. I hope we got here in time."