Celes walked wearily across the dilapidated bridge that lead to New Tristram, the wooden boards had warped and split since it was built, and moss had found its way between the gaps. It was a wonder that it had not already collapsed under its own weight, and she feared the wood may give under hers.
Curiously the past had started once more to stir in Celes' mind, she once more relived the destruction of her family and how experiencing such a thing had left her a hollow wreck, beaten and empty, until the order found her. Survives like her, they saw in her the potential help rid the world of the evils that would do these things, and they forged her into a weapon. No longer hunted, now she is the hunter.
Brought out if her memories by the reek of death upon the air she quickly checked her surroundings. A trail of smoke left in the wake of the fallen stars passing told her that she was close to her quarry. The town of New Tristram lay below her.
Following the road, it did not take her long to encounter the dead. A man and a woman lay dead next to an over turned wagon, their bodies already pale and bloated. Defiling their corpses was an abomination, a creature, once human, had risen once more and was feasting on their bodies. Celes quickly dispatched the undead creature, but she knew that this was only the beginning, and she would not stop until the dead once more took up their rightful place, under the ground.
She continued to follow the road to New Tristram, encountering more of the risen dead, as well as what she assumed were dead towns folk, that the risen feasted on. Whether the dead town's folk had attracted the undead or the undead had killed the towns folk Celes could not determine, she only hoped another disaster had not befallen the town.
In the distance the sound of battle rang upon the wind, Celes quickened her pace and found herself at the gates of New Tristram. Three guards stood before the gate while two more archers had position themselves upon the walls, on either side of the gate. The ground was littered with corpses, town's folk and undead alike, some still twitched after the skirmish she had just missed. The very ground had been stained with their blood. The path ahead had been barricaded with a wagon, and pieces of anything the town's folk could find to wedge into the gaps. Celes could see the defenders had given and lost much in the defence of their town. She approached the guard who stood in the centre; his armour told her he was in charge of the defence.
'I have journeyed her to find the fallen star,' she told him. 'And purge its evil from this land.'
'It fell on the old cathedral.' He told her. 'There was only one survivor – Leah. You should speak with her.'
Celes could see in his eyes what had once been in hers. Here was a man who had seen too much, too many horrors. Any petty notions of any human, being greater then another had been swept from his mind, all were the same to him. She knew he must have seen too many ripped apart and left in the same mess to now think otherwise.
'Captain Rumford,' the guard called, with horror in his voice. 'More dead are coming!'
The Captain turned to watch the undead rise once more.
'We can't open the gates until we drive them back!' He commanded.
The defenders jumped into action, arrows sang through the air as they hit their marks, but Celes could see the defenders had grown tired in their defence of the town, the power of their shots was not what it should be. She quickly unleashed a volley of arrows upon the dead, the arrows pierced their bodies and changed course to find new targets.
The order taught her how to channel her hatred for demons, and evil, into her very weapons, and fuelled with her hatred, her arrows would seek out her prey, just as she would, without mercy, without remorse, her vengeance would find all evils and purge them from this world.
'They keep coming!' Captain Rumford shouted.
However soon the flow of undead ended as quickly as it had begun, Celes could feel the eyes of the defenders upon her as they stared; mouths open at the furiosity of her fighting.
'I've never seen anyone fight like that before!' Captain Rumford exclaimed. He stared at Celes, until her reason for coming here snapped him back to his senses. 'Guards, open the gates! You will find Leah at the Slaughtered Calf Inn.'
Quickly pardoning herself from the Captain, Celes made her way into the town, she could sense, feel even the smog of hopelessness that had covered the town. The people moved without purpose, their eyes glazed. She watched as they burned the dead so that they could no longer rise up. The bodies of dead guardsmen lay close by, waiting for their brothers to put them to the flame.
'Zakarum has fallen to disgrace,' a priest shouted for all to hear. 'What faith can save us now? It is the end of the world, can't you see that?'
Celes met the priest's eyes as she passed him, he stared back, caught by her pale orbs, until he hung his head and silence took him.
Soon after she found her way into the centre of town, the Slaughter Calf Inn stood before her. People loitered around the area, but she took little notice of them as she walked through the doors of the Inn.
The floorboards of the Inn creaked under Celes' feet. The women who stood around turned fearful faces upon her, a stranger to them. To her left, Celes saw injured towns folk sprawled on the floor, those who could stand stood, huddled together, shaking, many had grievous wounds. At the back of the bar lay the barkeep, and by him the only person in the room, other than Celes herself, who did not reek of fear. Celes crossed the room to speak to her.
'Leah is it?' She asked the girl. The girl nodded. 'Rumford said that you survived the fallen star's impact.'
'I did. But it blasted my uncle, Deckard Cain, into the depths of the old cathedral. I tried to search for him, but the dead were already rising.'
Leah looked to the floor. Celes could see the loss of her uncle lay heavy on her shoulders.
'I came back here to rally the militia,' she continued. 'But –' Her eyes widened in fear, as she pointed behind Celes. 'Watch out, the wounded are turning!'
Celes turned, the sight of this foul evil that had taken hold of New Tristram turning even the wounded into the undead filled her hatred once more, and within the blink of an eye she laid the turned villagers to rest.
'This is killing business.' The barkeep moaned.
Celes turned to face him; he glimpsed the look of disgust on her face and quickly busied himself with cleaning more glasses.
'The dead will overwhelm us all unless something is done.' Leah said. Defeat was slowing creeping into her voice
'Then I will put an end to them and secure your town.' Celes told her.
A spark of hope glimmered in Leah's eyes.
'Thank you,' she said. 'You should speak with Captain Rumford at the gate. He can tell you what to do.'
Celes made her way back to the gate. As she passed the towns folk she was once more faced with the defeat that had taken the town.
'I promised Marko I'd protect him,' she overheard one of the Militia say. 'And now his dead.'
The pain that evil had birthed here only fouled her burning desire to see it ended. She ran the rest of the way, until she once more stood before Captain Rumford.
'What can I do to help fight the risen dead?' She asked him.
'I admire your courage, but Captain Daltyn and the militia were slaughtered by those things. Only I survived.'
'Don't worry, I will avenge their deaths.'
Celes could see that the Captain was desperate, and it would not take much to sway him.
'Well I have seen you fight… strike at the wretched mothers and their queen. They're the ones vomiting out these… horrors.'
'They're attacking the barricades!' A militiaman upon the wall shouted.
Celes and Rumford turned to watch as the barricade crumbled under the undead assault. The Captain charged in them, filling the gap that had been made by the barricades destruction. Celes let loose her arrows upon them until they had all fallen. She turned her eyes further down the road, and watched one of the undead vomiting out pieces of human remains, that formed into more undead bodies.
'There,' Captain Rumford shouted. 'That's one of the wretched mothers!
Celes arrows quickly found the abomination, destroying the corpse utterly.
'There are more of them in the ruins down the road.' He told her.
Without another world Celes rushed off down the road, to end the evil that had been unleashed upon the town.
The Old Tristram road reeked of the corruption that had taken hold of the land; the very light from the lanterns cast a pale deathly glow upon the area. As she explored she found bodies and undead at every turn, she even saw wretched mothers eat the fallen and vomited out new undead creatures to send against the town.
Celes finished off the wretched mothers in the area quickly. But she still had not come across anything that could be the queen of these monstrosities. She could see what must be Old Tristram further along the road, and she headed for the abandoned town.
As soon as she set foot within the old town she could feel the demonic presence that lingered within. The lord of terror, Diablo himself had walked these streets, and she could still sense his passing, his evil still haunted the very earth.
The undead once more rose against her, but they soon fell to her hatred like all those before them. In the distance she could see what was creating the swarm of undead that now assaulted her. A wretched mother, bigger than the rest, continued to spew out a stream of undead, Celes marked the wretch and nothing it could do would stop her from putting an end to his evil. As she slaughtered the monstrous foes before her, she imbued three of her daggers with her hatred, and unleashed them upon the queen of the wretched mothers, the daggers pierced her flesh, destroying it's body from within, causing it to explode in a shower of gore and blood, the bodies it had eaten spewed across the floor.
With the undead no longer being made by these abominations Celes made her way back to New Tristram.
Celes arrived at the gates, but she could not see the Captain, asking one of the guards, he told her to head back into town, where she would find him close to the Slaughtered Calf Inn.
Celes made her way there. While she approached she saw that the Captain was talking to Leah. Leah was animated, pointing at the Captain, her voice raised. Captain Rumford appeared to be calm, but whatever he said seemed only to frustrate Leah even more. The Captain caught sight of Celes and broke off from Leah to meet her.
'I have killed the wretched mothers.' She told him.
'Thank you for your help. But, could you talk some sense into Leah? She won't give up on the idea of rescuing her uncle.'
'Nor should she,' she told him. Celes knew the pain of losing family, and she would not allow Captain Rumford to destroy Leah's hopes of finding hers. 'I will help her find him.'
'Come,' she called to Leah. 'Let us search for your uncle.'
