Reysha tossed the last glass bottle aside with an uncaring flick of her wrist. The sturdy translucent container bounced off the bark of a nearby tree, then fell into the soft dirt with a silent ring. A number of other potions were scattered nearby, all of which the tiger girl had emptied in the last minute.

Surprisingly, her stomach didn’t feel full, despite all the liquid. Potions were taken in rather quickly by the body, much of their actual volume simply dissolving as part of the magical effects. Remaining crouched, Reysha kept her eyes on her target.

She had left the dungeon yesterday and had found this hiding spot, a hole in the side of an earthen slope. It had been created by a struggling Forester Dragon passing close to the church building and being shushed away before it could do any damage, in combination with some larger animals excavated nest. A toppled over tree hid most of the cavity from view, while allowing a view of the church from the inside, albeit a distanced one.

After one last night of sleep, she had sat there still and silent, waiting for the sun to rise to the appropriate level. Then she had started gulping down the potions, as Apotho had recommended. She swiped her lips with the back of her hand and looked at the remaining concoction, a purple smudge on the back of her hand.

Licking it off, she tasted the explosion of flavour. It was absolutely vile. The herbs primarily used in the concoction were strong in their taste. What was aromatic to a normal tongue was like putting the end product of a still body of sewage water left to spoil for two weeks into her mouth by sucking it through a dirty rag.

Regardless, she swirled it around with saliva in her mouth and gulped. She could feel the effects slowly settle in. Personality ceased more and more, all but her thirst for revenge was dampened. Even the ever-shifting insanity in her mind, telling her to do things that were less than advisable, was getting quieter.

At first it was unnerving, but Reysha soon found herself just not caring about these changes. It wasn’t like her identity itself was being erased. Only the parts that didn’t matter right now were silenced and the one thing that mattered, vengeance, was amplified. A mind always filled by thoughts senseless and terrible came to be completely quiet.

A point was crossed and suddenly the mixture of potions unfolded their full effects. Her scalp tingled, a series of shivers spreading out from there in waves that went all the way down to her feet. They bounced off from there, crawling back up her skin leaving the tiger girl to stretch her joints and muscles to get rid of that feeling. It accelerated the blood flow, the drugs pumping quicker through her body. She suddenly felt hot, gripped the sleeves of the stolen guard’s uniform, and tugged. The already loose seams, having gone through the torture of crusting over with blood and then being washed in a cold healing fountain, came undone. She dropped the leather on top of the potions.

Although her arms were naked and dry, she felt the current of the air on them as if they were drenched with water. She grabbed the edge of the tree and her hands noticed every little small bump and rise in the withering bark. A piece of it came off as she pulled herself up. The smell of rotting wood filled her nose immediately. All of her senses were at an all time high. Her eyes focused the church once more. Her vision was both narrow and completely clear.

Then, without any further delay, she started moving. A series of small, pre-planned movements, carried her from one tree to the next. She could see the silhouettes of the guards in the windows. There were so much less today than usual. If she kept a proper angle, she could stay out of sight for a while. That had its limits, however, and eventually she arrived at where the forest ended and the controlled garden around the building began.

She analysed her approach. Wordless, she thought, like an animal would. Pieces of knowledge combined into different pieces, without the need for something like articulation. The northern gate, could not be used as her route into the curved building. Less guarded just meant that it was still guarded and she couldn’t make a fuss at the entrance without alarming the church at large.

There had to be another way. Apotho had told her of a few that had been present during his time. She crept away from her current hiding spot and changed position to check on them. The unsecure window on the second story had been fixed, the outline of fresh stones was clearly visible on the otherwise old building. While they may have been an entrance on the flat roof, Reysha didn’t think she could get away with climbing the entire thing unseen. The outside entrance to the cellar where the kitchen supplies were kept, however, was still right where he had described it to be.

Reysha checked the windows, then the surroundings, then ran over as quickly as she could while Sneaking. The entrance was a slightly slanted trapdoor next to the wall. It was made out of two heavy wooden boards with iron handles, both linked together with a heavy chain and a lock. Luckily for her, the lock looked old. A stingy owner had refused to change it as long as it still did what it was supposed to. Even without the proper utensil, Reysha was able to open it – by delivering a carefully aimed heel stomp at the thing.

The chains rattled and Reysha pressed herself closely to the wall and waited. Once she was certain enough nobody had noticed, she moved to lift one half of the trapdoor. She didn’t open it completely cramming herself through as little a gap as she could. The wood scraped against her, causing scratches on her arms and face that were just short of drawing blood. However, she succeeded in getting in. The chain was still, if loosely, wrapped around the handles and the trapdoor closed. Unless inspected closely, nobody would be able to see it had been opened.

Reysha ignored the food stored inside the room and looked instead for a way further inside. This storage room wasn’t connected to the actual cellars of the church, that would have been painfully negligent architecture. For now, she had to get up to the base floor and then make her way to the segment of the building exclusive to the priesthood. There she would find her way further down.

Her heart beat in her chest. She could feel every ba-dump as if she was at the height of adrenaline. Yet, the rhythm was calm, steady, just like her breathing, calm, steady. She inhaled and noticed a scent that wasn’t cheese or hanging meat. A current of air that passed by her and drafted upwards. She made her way around a corner and found yet another trapdoor, above her this time. A wooden ladder lead up to it. Without any choice, Reysha stepped onto it.

Her cat ears were standing upright, listening to everything she could. There was nothing above her, the kitchen must have been empty. The cooks inside had left to attend the festival, either as guests or as people of their profession. This was almost too easy. She pushed the trap door open and then was finally in the church proper.

What followed was a slow progression of Reysha using her superior senses to locate the patrolling guards and slowly weave through the corridors. The size of the building was an advantage to her, in this case, as decorations and corners were her two foremost advantages when hiding. Once or twice, things were in a pinch, but she managed to weasel her way out of it in one way or another.

She had expected the guards around to be relaxed, given the lack of incidents, but it seemed recent events had made them weary. Of course, Reysha wasn’t in the know about Aclysia’s breakout, but she noticed that people were on edge regardless. Something that eventually, slowly changed. Distant steps she had heard, slow and measured, turned into quick stomps along with half-mumbled orders. She couldn’t make out the words, but very well the intents.

They knew she, or someone, was there.

She quickly moved on from the reading table she had hidden under and accelerated her movements. They were going to inspect the surroundings more carefully now, sitting around taking the cautious approach was no longer an option. Just the ‘how’ they knew, she didn’t know about. The potions also prevented her from caring.

There was only the goal.