Yeah. Just to answer a few questions. The previous chapter was confusing cuz there was stuff concerning the first Diablo game. Like Farnham the Drunk.

The thing about Zeke making up words that didn't exist when he talked about Wirt's leg looking like one of those things used to unplug toilets, it was because I imagined that toilets didn't exist when the events in Diablo took place. So to the people there the word 'toilet' doesn't exist.

Roine could be considered as the weirdo of the group, if you will. She sometimes goes into a trance and talks about stuff no one can understand. Like last time, she started yapping about how Wirt's other leg would end up in the sixth Human campaign of WC3, the Frozen Throne. This is true though. That's where his other leg ends up somehow. Ask Blizzard.

Mikaela, Andros and Exxos (Amazon, Paladin, Barbarian) have known each other since the quest for defeating Diablo the first time. I know that there were three types of heroes (Rogue, Sorcerer, Warrior) but in their former group there was no Sorcerers. Only a rogue and two warriors.

The events here take place in between or during the quests in Diablo 2 Expansion (Hence the two new heroes: Assassin and Druid).

-

Topaz-Mania

-

The morrow, Zeke and Roine were sitting on a boulder outside of Charsi's tent. They had nothing to do, so they stood watching their Barbarian teammate help Charsi with her work. They seemed to be getting along very well, and Charsi had a liking for all barbarians as far as the two observing could deduct. There had been other warriors coming and going, and among them, a few barbarians. She had reacted very warmly to them all.

Charsi was now asking Exxos to fetch her the bucket of water, which could be found near her other tools on the shed, and he went to get it wordlessly. When he came back and handed it to her, she gave him a warm smile and thanked him. Exxos lowered his head and mumbled something that sounded like 'You're welcome' and then just went back to watch her work and helping out occasionally.

Roine squinted and pricked her ears in an attempt to hear him speak, but to no avail. He had said, whatever he had said, too quietly. The sorceress gave an annoyed grunt. Charsi seemed to be the only one he talked to properly, besides maybe the Paladin or the Druid, which was weird because the latter was new to the team. She wondered why he never talked to her or Zek or Estele. Even to Mikaela he didn't have much to say, and she had traveled with him for about as long as the Paladin had. Exxos, Mikaela and Andros had been traveling together since before Diablo's defeat in Tristram a while ago. Now Diablo had come to power again it seemed, and they were supposed to stop him at all costs and yada yada yada. Roine wasn't in the mood for thinking about the world's doom right at this moment.

Just then, Gheed came into the picture. He seemed to be asking Charsi to fix some of his merchandise. Knowing him, he wanted it done for free, and since Charsi was so damn nice for her own good, and she liked Gheed because he told her stories of his travels, she would fix them as he wished. Apparently, the merchant had tried to sell a damaged weapon to some poor sap but the latter demanded a refund. Who wanted a non-functional weapon anyways? Gheed had said that there were no refunds, but the traveler had bared his fangs and got his money back anyways. Roine had seen them the night before, when she was heading to bed. The customer was a Druid. He must have been a werewolf for sure. His 'fangs' were enough proof.

"Gheed is an ass sucker." Said Roine idly while twirling a few flawless and a perfect Topaz between her fingers.

"He doesn't seem to like me much," mumbled Zeke from next to her.

"I know." She drawled. "That's one of the main reasons why he's an ass sucker."

Zeke turned to her, surprised. "Really?"

"Yep. He's afraid of Necromancers. But hell, look at you. One would never guess you're a Necromancer from the way you act."

He furrowed his brow. "Why? What's wrong with the way I act?"

Roine shrugged. "Ehn. I donno. It's just not Necromancer-like. You'd expect Necromancers to be dark and all. Most of them are. It's no wonder really. They spend all of their times locked inside some dark chamber poring over some boring book that talks about how to raise the dead. You are different somehow. More childish."

Zeke frowned deeply.

"I like it." Added Roine after a moment.

Immediately, his expression softened and he gave her a fond smile.

"Don't you go soft on me." She warned just as he was about to say something and he shut his mouth. He wanted to say that she was different too. She was unlike any other Sorceress he had ever met. Heck, she was different from other people he had ever met. Usually, everyone would shun him out because of his practices. It was the same thing with his current teammates.

Mikaela was always weary of him, keeping an eye out wherever he went. Andros seemed a bit more lenient, but Zeke could see that, he too, wasn't entirely comfortable around him. Exxos... well, he didn't have any reaction. The Barbarian seemed merely curious and very briefly surprised to see a Necromancer all of a sudden join a group of warriors. It was all thanks to Roine that they relaxed. She would always take everything lightly and dismiss any 'crap', as she would call it, about Necromancers. Zeke wasn't sure if she really thought of everything else as lightly or if this was just a way to break the ice. She was such a puzzle sometimes. One would expect the Druid to be harder to figure out.

He stole a glance Roine. She kept playing with those gems of her's. She always carried them around. And it was always Topazes.

"Why do you always play with these?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I like 'em."

"But why is it always Topazes?"

"Because they kick ass." She said simply.

He gave a confused look that spoke for itself. She continued.

"If I socket them into and item, say, armor, then I have a better chance of getting Magic items."

Zeke's eyebrows shot up.

"Yep. It's a great deal. I carry them around me all the time so if and when we find a Gem Shrine, I can get one of these upgraded. Like, A chipped Topaz becomes a Flawed Topaz, and a Flawed one turns into a Topaz. And then comes Flawless and then Perfect Topaz. Same thing for all gems."

"Wow." Was all he could say. "Where did you learn all this?"

"I did some reading on this when I was still learning elemental magic. It was for fun. I fount it interesting. I also read about another way to make gems, but I don't know if it's true. It has to do with the Horadric Cube."

When he gave her a clueless look, she just waved her hand dismissively. "Never mind."

They were silent afterward; the only sounds that could be heard were the clinking Topazes and Charsi's hammer pounding on metal. Where were the others? Mikaela had left without a word, Faelach, Estele and Andros in tow. Before they had left, Andros informed the three that were left, namely the Barbarian, the Sorceress and the Necromancer, that Mikaela had decided their next quest and that there was no need for the three to come and they could have the day off if they wished so.

Not that the three minded. It was like this most of the time anyway. They would usually split up into two groups to complete different quests. Whenever there was a real tough battle, however, they would stick together. And now there were two new members. First they had met Faelach. The weirdest thing, according to Roine anyways, was that he came into the group because of an acquaintance with Exxos. The Babarian had met him when he had gone training once. None of the others knew exactly where and how they met. Didn't matter anyway.

Then there was Estele. She had pretty much come out of the blue. Or almost. She was an Assassin. The team wasn't sure what was the purpose of Assassins, and maybe they didn't want to know, but Estele had helped Mikaela and Andros escape the Rogue Monastery once when they were in a tight spot. She was a good fighter as far as Andros had said. Since she was traveling alone, the Paladin and the Amazon asked her to join them. Besides, Mikaela probably felt like her pride was hurt when Stel helped them out. Her Amazon skills had not sufficed to defeat the enemy that day at the Monastery.

"Where did they go anyway?" Asked Zeke after a while.

Roine shrugged. "I donno. I think they said something about a Book they had found in the middle of nowhere in Stony Field one day and they were gonna kill some Countess in the Black Marsh or something."

"Countess?" He repeated. But just at that moment the others appeared in the Rogue Encampment entrance.

They looked tired and disheveled, but happy. The Druid was grinning like mad and talking to the Assassin who was laughing at whatever he had said. Andros walked beside Mikaela. He was smiling, but the Amazon had a blank look on her face. She didn't even glance at them as she headed towards their tent.

"... ever seen a ghost do that?!" Faelach was saying and Stel immediately burst into a fit of giggles.

"I'm guessing everything went well?" Asked Zeke with a smile.

Faelach tore his eyes from the Assassin for a moment. "Huh? Oh... oh that. Yeah it went well. It was too easy actually."

"Yeah sure." Said Estel grinning mischievously. "That's not what you said when-"

"Aaahh! Ok. Who wants to eat? I'm starving!" Interrupted the Druid and turned sharply for Warriv's caravan. Estele laughed and shook her head. The Andros came and clapped her firmly on the back.

"You did well today." He said with an approving smile. Then he cocked his head in Faelach's direction, who was waving his arms frantically. "He did very well too. Welcome to the team."

Estele nodded and smiled too, and then Andros left and headed for the same direction as Mikaela, which was their tent.

"Hey Stel! You coming?" Shouted the Druid.

The Assassin giggled and turned to Roine and Zeke and winked. "He would not take his eyes off of me today, you know." She said playfully but she was turning red. "Yeah, I'm coming!" She shouted back at Faelach and then she ran off.

Zeke and Roine shared an amused look. They too got up and were just heading for the caravan where the meals were usually served (I don't know if this is true.) but then Roine slowed down.

"What's wrong?" Asked Zeke.

The Sorceress frowned and looked at the tent where Mikaela and Andros now were. "It's just that... did you see how Mikaela just went without saying a word...?"

Zeke shrugged and resumed walking. "Yeah, so?"

She just shook her head and followed him.

--

Abrupt ending. Again.