Chapter 9

Marina Vale lingered in the branches of an old and tangled tree on the outskirts of New Tristram. The sky was dark and pouring rain giving her the added concealment she wanted. She watched as a caravan ventured out from the town with the hails and cheers from the town. Within the caravan was the very heroes that had apparently won victory for the town from the Butcher.

She watched as Li-Ming, Valla, Kharazim, Sonya, Nazeebo, and Johanna left the village behind them with their eyes set to a new target before them. While there was no doubt that the group of heroes had protected New Tristram from a great and terrible threat, Marina got the feeling that the town wasn't out of danger just yet. While she would never compare herself to the legendary Valla, she did consider herself an impressive and talented Demon Hunter. She had been hunting since she was just a child and had developed a trust in her intuition, and it was telling her right then that there was another threat lingering over the accursed town.

Even then, at that very moment, though the Butcher was dead, there were still the minor demons and undead running rampant just outside the walls of the village. Such 'minor' threats caused a great deal of damage to the village as they threatened to kill the farmers that provided for the inhabitants of the town. They threatened the lives of the children who played outside the walls of the village. They threatened any travelers to and from the town. Marina knew she could not follow the great heroes as they left this town behind them. She needed to remain and protect them from the smaller threats, but also from the one she could sense soon befalling New Tristram.

From her vantage point she watched the caravan vanish over the horizon and jumped out of her tree. She was immediately greeted by the walking corpses that remained since the fall of the Butcher. As they scrambled toward her, she raised her two crossbows, ready to fight. The undead were certainly not the most dangerous creatures around, but if you let them, they'd overrun you and tear you apart. With one small crossbow in each hand she unloaded bolt after bolt at the disgusting, bloated zombies. They moaned and gurgled as they fell to the ground, permanently dead.

With the last one dead, she decided to head back into the town to get out of the rain. She had finished patrolling around the outskirts of New Tristram to ensure that no large threats were immediate to the villagers. She looked to her left, then to her right. There were no monsters. She smiled, but then slowly let it fall into a confused frown. "Which way is back to town?" She asked herself. She had always struggled with directions. It was for this reason her uncle had always told her she could never be a successful hunter on her own. A hunter needed to be able to track an animal and then also get back home. Marina could certainly track prey, but she could not find her way out of her own house if she actually owned one.

After a little wandering, she sat in town under the tent often used by merchants to sell, but considering the weather, there weren't enough people out of their homes to justify unloading all the goods, so they were left unattended. Marina had the entire town square, if you could call it that since it was so very small, to herself. She sat and pondered the dark feeling she had that some great evil was on the verge of this sad town.

She was caught by surprise when she heard the sound of horses trotting into town and the rattling of wagons. Looking up, she saw a relatively small caravan of people traveling in, and considering their style of dress, she assumed they came from the desert. "Probably a caravan from Caldeum." She spoke quietly to herself. "But that's an awfully dangerous trip for such a small group." She watched the new group of people carefully, looking for a clue as to how they traversed the demon-filled desert without suffering a collective death.

To answer her question, her eyes fell on two individuals dressed very differently from everyone else. They were wearing very unique attire. The man was wearing robes that had a deep neckline that plunged down to his navel, leaving much of his front torso exposed. On his shoulders were small pads for protection that had long sleeves attached that covered his arms. His waist had a large black sash around it with a heavy-looking book attached. All below his waist was thoroughly covered by what resembled a traditional robe's skirt. The outfit was a mix of purple, white, and black. His hair was short, dark-brown, and styled well. What stood out the most was his short stature. He couldn't have been taller than 5'5" or 5'6" and he looked very young.

The girl was wearing a similar outfit, only hers covered her entire torso thoroughly in cloth and veil-like attachments that flowed in the wind very elegantly. Her arms were left totally exposed and her legs were covered, much like the guy, in the skirt of a traditional robe that ended higher up than the guy's. While his feet were totally covered by his robes that dragged on the ground, her feet were exposed revealing heeled boots that looked like they were made out of a solid, but light metal perfect for combat. She was even shorter than the guy, but had matching dark-brown hair, though, hers was long and flowing.

"Sorcerers?" Marina asked herself quietly. She looked them over. There was no sign of a clan emblem anywhere on their persons. "What kind of a sorcerer doesn't promote their clan?" She watched with intrigue as the two immediately left the company of the caravan and made their way into the Slaughtered Calf Inn.