To Kill a God

Soul Orb

Mara was at her best when the moon was high and the night cold.

Two guards in knee-length blue coats were stomping their feet beside the entrance of the Church of Man. Mara could just see the fog of their breaths as they spoke in low voices to one another. "--old building, almost a shame," the nearest one said. She perked her long ears to hear better, but her eyes continued to roam over the overgrown garden and short fence between herself and the church.

Tonight was the last night that this church would stand. Tomorrow, sometime in the evening, the old steeple would be torn down and the building demolished. They were going to build a foundry here; the pursuit of profit racing ahead of the pursuit of the gods.

The guards went quiet as a pair of younger men in long blue robes walked out of the building, each holding one end of a chest. The young men--both acolytes--moved about, grunting and muttering until they leveraged the chest onto the back of one of the three carts parked on the cobblestone street.

Mara licked her lips and glared at the men as they retreated back into the building. The Church of Man was no more. The old religion supplanted by a newer, fresher faith. While this new faith didn't much care for the trappings and symbols of the older church, it did know the value of the gold used to decorate the old church's trappings.

She too, was familiar with the value of gold.

With a tiny grunt, Mara pushed herself up and circled around the bush, taking the long way around to the back of the church. There, she placed one padded hand on the top of the fence and hopped over, landing with a soft thump on the cold ground beyond.

She crouched, ears twisting and turning to listen to the night.

"-Mother used to come here sometimes; dragged me here too," she heard the other guard say. Their shadows were long on the ground near the front of the building, pushed out by the bluish glow of a glowball.

Mara moved closer to the stone wall of the church and leaned up against it. She had to be quiet. The Reckoners--the new church--were very vocal about their dislike of both thieves and beastkin. If they caught hold of her now, they would be overjoyed.

There was a back door to the church, but it was boarded up, and she doubted she would have the time to pick the tiny lock before the second pair of guards made their rounds. She needed to get in through the front, and to do that, she needed a distraction.

Keeping low, Mara went around the building and to the alley on the other side, where it bordered an old butcher's shop. She walked slowly, avoiding the broken bottles and shards of stained glass that dotted the alley ground until she was near the front of the church.

"How much do you think it's all worth?" One of the guards asked.

She moved forward, just enough to peek around the edge.

Both guards were looking out towards the street, hands idly caressing the spears they each held. One was an elf, with lithe features and sharp ears poking out from beneath his cap. The other was a particularly tall gnome who was toying with a small wand in his free hand. He shrugged. "Dunno. Figure more than we're worth."

Just beyond were three carts, left unattended except for the presence of the guards and the fear of the locals. No one would be stupid enough to anger the Reckoners.

Mara cursed herself silently. She should never have taken this contract.

Shaking her head, she refocused. The elf probably had great night vision, but he was near the entrance and there was a streetlight across the road from him. His night vision would be weakened by it. Gnomes were practically blind at the best of times, so she didn't worry about the shorter guard.