Srit and Sariah stood, mouths agape as they listened to the bullshit that the town leader was spewing at them. Religions had always formed, and always would, but this was different.

A man near the age of fifty stood on the stage in front of a podium. White robes covered his body, with the exception of his protruding belly. He voice was loud and commanding as he preached in a near singing tone. “And so, The Destroyer came to my bed last night and said unto me that I must bear her one child from each woman under 25 that lives in this village. If I do not, she will raaaaiiiiinnnn doooooowwwwnnnn fire and stone on our heads! I do not wish to do this thing, but my sacrifice is required to keep you safe! Can I get a Zultap?!” he asked, tossing his hands in the air. “Zultap” the crowd roared back to the man. “I said, can I get a Zultap!?!” The crowd replied with much more gusto this time.

“Un-fucking-believable, there’s no way that these morons will believe that. I’d have thought of that a long time ago if it were possi…” Srit’s words abruptly stopped.

A man in the front shot up and yelled. “Please, take my two daughters first! They will give their wombs to save us all!” Quickly followed by two more men who pledged their daughters. One man even sent his wife towards the podium.

“I..” Srit twitched. “This…what in the hell just happened?!?!” he blurted out a bit more loudly than intended.

“Take me! Take me!” women in the crowd could be heard chanting.

Their fearless leader held his hands out to quiet the crowd. After about five seconds, everyone had settled into their seats. “Your dedication has inspired me and filled me with the spirits of the greatest God Zultap! Send me a person in need of healing and I will show you the miiiirrracllleesss that can befall the dedicated!” His fists balled up and at his sides, face red with the strain of his display.

He pointed to a small boy in the front row. “Tommy! Are you a true believer?! Do you wish to feel the hand of the Zultap heal your leg?!”

The boy flushed, apparently not used to the attention of an entire crowd focused on him. “Y..Yes sir. I’d like that. I have a question though. Can't Zultap just prevent The Destroyer from harming us?”

The portly man replied with a practiced tongue, "Zultap does not save those unwilling to saaaaaaaave themselvessssss young man! So your faith in the God today young Tommy!

"O...Okay." Tommy meekly said.

The crowd erupted. Every member stood on their feet clapping and cheering. “Now, the Gods require not only that we pay their price in faith, but in the life-giving currency that we can afford! I’ll donate 2 gold pieces first, let’s get this process moving!” A man in the front row held a silk purse and walked to the leader. Two gold pieces went into the purse before the man started making his way along the rows.

Tommy was now standing on the podium, leaning on his crutch. The leader once again quieted the crowd.

“Before we begin, let us sing praise to Zultap!” the crowd followed their leaders example and raised the hands and voices in praise.

Sariah's jaw was still hanging down in disbelief, “Are we going to do something about this? I mean, he made it sound like you went all lusty-whore on him. And who the hell is Zultap?!”

“No, I want to see what happens. I was able to hear Delanna’s voice when she prayed to me, maybe I’m not the only being powerful enough. If there really is another like me, I need to know. Plus, you’re just pissed off that you didn’t think of doing this.” She kept her eyes planted on the unfolding scene.

“I am most certainly not.” he quietly said to himself and joined her in observation. 

Ten minutes had passed, and the singing finally died down.

“I feel Zultap with us now. The Destroyer has also heard our songs and knows that we will NOT let her down. One hundred sons and daughters will be made in her honor. Let us see a miracle!” The crowd fell completely silent and still.

Tommy leaned on his cane, awaiting the healing to come with a smile big enough to inspire excitement into others.

The leader reached his hand back and began to shake his hand. Every few seconds the hand would shake more violently until his entire arm looked like it was going to jump off his shoulder.

“I don’t see any energy forming.” Srit said.

“Nor do I.” Sariah’s teeth were clenching and features turning a dark purple.

Ohhhhh, she’s getting so pissed. This guy better be for real. Haha. He knew this woman enough that he didn’t envy any person that mocked her or took advantage of the weak. This man was doing both.

The man’s hand flew forward and collided with Tommy’s forehead. Tommy quickly lost his balance, falling to his back. The crowd erupted again.

“Rise Tommy! Rise and see the healing powers of Zultap at work!” he motioned as though pulling the boy up with an invisible rope.

Tommy slowly began to sit up. After a minute or so he stood fully, balancing on his good leg.

“Take a step with your new leg Tommy!” the leader beckoned.

Tommy hesitantly put his bad leg forward, putting more and more weight on it.

“Faith Tommy! Zultap will not let you fall!” Tommy’s father shouted.

Putting all his weight on the leg, Tommy looked hopeful. *Crack* The boys bone in his leg snapped violently enough for the bone to come protruding from the skin.

Silence rang for a few moments, only the boys cries of pain could be heard. Suddenly a voice from the crowd rang out, “Non-believer!” and soon the entire crowd chanted the same.

The city guard maintained their silent statures during this entire ordeal, never moving a muscle or speaking a word. Well-armed with un-matching armor and weapons, mercs. Sariah was furious at the display she’d witnessed, but more curious about how the young boy would be treated.

“You’ve been found lacking Tommy! Our God has judged you unfit for his worship!” The leader incited anger in the crowd with these words. Even Tommy’s father looked angry with the young man.

“What if he’s a corrupter?” A random woman shouted. “We have to kill him before his corruption spreads!”

“What say you?” The leader shouted to the sky. “Great God Zultap! Send a sign if we are in the presence of a corruptor!” Remarkably, the torches that lit the stage flared violently.

“What?” Srit’s eyes scrunched. “No, that’s a trick. I’ll be right back boss.” The imp vanished from sight and quickly made his way past the crowd and under the stage. Beneath the stage he found a bladder with what appeared to be oil running from under the podium to the torches. Srit pulled a sand sized pebble from his pocket and placed it on the leader’s cloth shoes. “Tricky asshole, let’s have some fun with this.” Srit didn't care about the boy, the lies or that this old man was able to convince all of those women to do the nasty, well maybe that last bit wasn't true, but he wasn't about to be out done by this fucker. Srit finished his work in short order and headed back to Sariah.

“They’re going to execute that boy.” Sariah said dryly.

“So? Why do you care? It’s just another Human child.” Srit wasn’t very familiar with this side of Sariah.

“It doesn’t matter that he’s Human. It’s not right. No God decreed this, only a greedy man that is taking advantage of these people’s need to believe in something.” Her Essence began to flare and condense around her in unbalanced angry pulses.

"You've killed beings of all ages, without mercy. How are you any better than him?" Srit wasn't being sarcastic or mean, but damn that hurt.

After a moment of internalization, Sariah finally responded, "I'm not, nor will I ever be if I allow these atrocities to occur in my presence.".

The crowd had picked up Tommy and began carrying him to a bonfire set in the town square. Each person, including the boy’s family, was shouting “Corrupter! Corrupter! Burn! Burn! Burn!” unable to hear Tommy's pleas to his father for help.

The people didn’t even hesitate when they reached the edge of the fire, they simply tossed the boy in.

“Srit!” Sariah shouted and began walking towards the people with the bearing of a woman about to commit incredible violence.

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Moments before the boy hit the flames Srit pulled the heat and fire from the pit. The square went dark for a moment while Srit reshaped the fire and placed it in the form of a skull looking down on them from 30 feet in the air.

The only sound that could be heard aside from the fire was that of Sariah’s stead steps through the crowd. She stood in front of the boy, looking so violent that some men peed themselves where they stood. Srit infused the fire with Demon Flame, making a green fire appear in the sockets of the skull.

“You!” Sariah screamed at the crowd. You would murder a child because some swindler says he is sent by a God?!?!” her voice so intense that the ground shook mildly. “You!” She pointed at Tommy’s father, “You would sacrifice your own son so easily?!”

"I..." The man lowered his head in discrace. "I would do anything in service to the Gods." his courage recovered a bit.

While this was going on the town leader had begun to make his way back to the podium.

“Sariah, make it rain for me. I need it to be just heavy enough to soak them.” He sent her the message mentally. Sure enough, over the next half minute the water grew more and more thick and it began to rain.

Srit moved quickly and quietly, setting his plan in motion.

The audience was still terrified and unmoving, in the magical spectrum they were all being assaulted with Sariah’s energy. Barely contained rage made for a wild lightshow with a being this strong. Mages miles away would be able to see her Essence, they'd be able to feel it hundreds of miles away.

“Zultap, if he is real, is NOT a God. If he IS a God, he is certainly not here!”  Sariah reached down and picked up Tommy. Holding him up next to her, she looked down and into the boy’s eyes. Anger vanished from her face when he met her eyes. She spoke to the boy in a calm tone, “You will be okay, boy. I will not let them hurt you.” She began to heal the boy with an intense amount of energy.

The town leader had made his way back to the podium and interrupted Sariah’s spectacle. “Corruptor! You’re power is no more than a trick!”

Sariah’s predator face activated immediately. “YOU are the trickster here! I AM SARIAH! The Destroyer!” a cruel smile crept over her face, chin falling lower, eyes tracking the man with deadly intent. “Show me the power of your God one more time. If you can show me that he is with you in esrnest, I will leave you to your ways and give you 1000 gold coins to apologize. I warn you though, your tricks will not work as you think they will.” She growled at the man.

The mob turned all their attention on the leader, every guard in the city forming a semi-circle between them and the podium. “I..I will! Great God Zultap! Show us your presence and send this usurper away!” Sariah covered the boy’s eyes for what was about to happen. Thousands of years with Srit and she had never been let down, tonight was no different.

Fire came in response. First the torches flared to life, followed immediatly by the fat man on the stage. The former leader turned into a ball of flame big enough to engulf a house. The flame slowly shrank down, burning away a vast majority of the oil, as the man ran and rolled around. Shortly, he died and the flame flickered out. The crowd couldn’t see Srit hiding in the shadows above the podium, satisfied grin spread from ear to ear, but Sariah could. She winked at the Imp.

The crowd turned back to her in unison while the soldiers were retreating into the woods. “Tell us what to believe in Goddess Sariah! Lead us!” a man shouted.

Sariah replied calmly, rage still carrying a very faint not in the words though. “No, I am no Goddess. You have been swindled by this man! Zultap is not real! This child’s only crime was that his leg was broken, and you wanted to throw him into a fire!” Tommy was now standing fully on his own two legs, perfectly healed. I should kill you all, but I will allow another to make that decision. Tommy, mercy or the sword?”

Tommy looked around the crowd that had tried to murder him. On one hand he felt that the right thing to do was provide mercy. On the other hand, he really wanted revenge.

Before the boy could make his decision, another voice rang out from behind the crowd. “Mage! You murdered our leader! You’re going to pay! I am Roekon the Butcher, the new leader of the Bleeding Tide!” At his words, the former guards flanked the crowd.

Roekon ran straight at Sariah but was intercepted by a green flame that came from the eyes of the fire skull above her. The flame ripped through the man like a dick shaped spear. A momentary chuckleescaped her lips while she picked up the man’s Gladius and launched it at another solder who'd trapped a child. The soldiers head exploded as the pommel slammed into it.

From deep in the woods an arrow was launched at her, she held up her energy shield to block the arrow and turned, pointing at another man with sword raised to strike a woman, marking him for death by Srit.

*Schlict* What the hell? Sariah looked down at her left side, an arrow was protruding from her hip. Ancient weapon, damn that hurts! She vaguely recalled the arrows. Somehow, she knew what is was and that these arrows were from the old war.

Her loss in focus gave the archer a second free shot. *Schlict* another arrow struck her shoulder deeply causing her fall and brace herself with the good arm  

Srit had seen the arrow find it's mark but could not find the skilled archer. His night vision was excellent, so this archer fired from a great distance away. Sariah was injured, he knew the arrows as well from the pain radiating through the bond.

“Srit…I cannot remove them!” She mustered a wave of force in the direction she determined the archer most likely moved to. Fear played over her face.

Srit turned his body, opened his mouth and bellowed a white-hot fire in front of him, bathing several of the bandits in the fire and propelling him with great speed backards towards Sariah. When he reached her his hands each grasped an arrows and it yanked out, he continued to fly past slowing his speed as quickly as he could and tearing up the bottom of his feet. Blood sprayed from Sariah’s hip and shoulder causing a scream of pain.

Srit, now dozens of fee away made out the form of a brute from behind Sariah’s shoulder. The brutes axes was already in motion, a powerful downward swing aimed at Sariah's neck. He couldn’t use his fire because of the risk to her and he was too far away to make it in time. Oh no! She's going to die! Srit panicked, frantically searching for a solution and moving as fast as he could, forgetting about the archer.

The archer had narrowly avoided the force blast and made his way around the camp with practiced ease. For a moment he considered planting an arrow into the Imp, but instead focused his attention on the blue woman, seeing her as the greater danger should she not die from the next arrow and more accuratly judge his position.

A small figure rushed in front of Sariah, quickly plunging a sword through the giant attackers neck. The axe waivered, falling off course and impacted Sariah’s upper back causing a laceration, much more shallow than the arrows,  that bled for a moment before sealing. Tommy stood defiantly over the large man’s dead form. The boy had found a small round shield and a small Gladius. He roared, standing over Sariah as she had done for him only minutes before, his arms shaking under the unfamiliar weight of the weaponry.

Sighting in on the downed woman, the archer knocked another arrow at his maximum range, drew and released. The moment his arrow was in flight he tucked behind a sturdy boulder in anticipation of return fire. Before he realized that the boulder was unnatural it reached down, plucked him off of the ground and pounded him to putty against a tree.

*Schlict* The arrow found it's home in Sariah's rib cage. The armor that she wore there prevented the arrow from penetrating more than half of an inch, but it still hurt like a bitch.

The townsfolk rallied behind the boy screaming their own defiant roars. Those that stood had armed themselves with discarded weapons and were fighting off the bandits.

“Srit, poison. Can’t stand or heal. Dying.” Sariah sent the message to the boy and she promptly fell limp.

*thump* *thump* *THUMP* *THUM* A growing rumbling sounds approached at frightening speed. Erections form crashed to the ground in the middle of a cluster of solders, knocking them off of their feet. The golems battle cry loud enough to curl blood. A beast that Srit could only image in nightmares jumped from the golems back and tore into the bandits. Erections massive arms crushed bandits to paste with each swing, occasionally he killed a villager.

Srit ran to Sariah’s side, he tried to push power into her, but the power recoiled, and he felt the burn of magical poison. “SUB!” Srit opened his bag while saying the incantation. “Remove the arrow and give her potions that will stop poison and help her body recover! Quick!”

The nightmare creature leapt to his side, reached in the bag and withdrew four potions. “Magic!” he held the potions in Srit’s face. Getting the hint Srit poured magical energy into the potions. Sub popped them open and fed them to Sariah.

Villagers had managed to cut down the bandits that Erection, Srit and Sub had not already killed. They were all now surrounding Sariah in a defensive circle. Sariah’s body was still limp, bleeding and bruised. Srit cauterized the wounds at Nightmare Sub's direction. Sub stepped over and picked the woman up, “Bed! Healers! Golem guard village!” he yelled. Quickly several people moved to take Sariah. Once she was put into the bed of one of their homes healers went to work treating her as best as they could. Srit and Tommy never left her side.

“What’s wrong with the blue woman?” Erection asked the quickly transforming Sub.

Breating heavily and barely able to move from the strain of being the Nightmare Beast forced a very weak reply. “Her body is sick. We need to pick up the arrows that she was hit with and see if there are more. Pick me up and take me to the archer’s body after we collect these arrows, please.”

“Okay. Will blue woman be okay?” Erection may have been stone on the outside, but he was quite the soft-hearted beast on the inside and loved the blue woman. He picked up Sub and placed him on a freshly formed seat between his shoulders.

“Yeah, I think so.” Sub patted the golem with affection.

Within minutes the pair found what they were looking for. In total there were 12 arrows. Any of these 12 arrows could kill Sariah. Should I keep them or give them to Srit? From what I’ve seen, she’s not bad. Well, she isn’t totally good, but certainly not bad. I will ensure that these never fall into our enemy’s hands.

“Erection, can you store these internally?” he asked.

“Don’t think so. Burn me here” he pointed to the iron bands over his power source, “when they touch. Hurts bad.”

“Dang, do what you can to keep everybody safe. I will hold onto them. Lady!” he spoke to an older villiage woman, "are all of your people in the villiage?" Is anyone outside that will be returning?"

"We are all here, it is a holy night. Anybody coming in here, I fear, would not be coming with good intentions." She replied and scurried away as fast as she could.

"Guard us all Erection. Let none in sight of this place."

“Yes, Human’s squishy. With no pointy sticks to shoot, they can only tickle me. I like the squishing.” The golem made a rhythmic sound like pebbles washing around in a bucket.

“Are you laughing right now?” Sub was amused and surprised by this.

“Yes, Erection see Human’s so mad and think they hurt him. They just tickle Erection. Erection so hard!!!” He laughed again, not understanding the true humor in that statement, and beat on his chest a few times.

Sub snorted, unable to fully contain his laughter. “I’m going to take these and sleep in the room next to the blue lady. If you need me I’m there.”

Erection nodded his understanding. The remainder of the night kept him busy. Occasionally he ran across squishy Human’s trying to sneak into the town and pummeled them into paste. No intruders managed to escape his notice.

Darkness and silence filled the streets once all of the bandit's bodies were looted and piled into the fire. Sariah was recovering quickly, there seemed to be no more to do than rest. Many of the people prayed for the safety of their newfound savior. Most of these people just had their worlds shattered, seeing their God proven fake left them in a state of shock. They'd given their entire lives to their beliefs, nearly giving their daughters over to a bandit gang.