«Hoy! Stop right there thief! » The guard shouted. A hooded figure ran in the opposite direction, the apparent thief’s wooden soled boots clicking against the stony pavement. The guards gave chase, but weighed down by their heavy weapons and armor, and further slowed down by the tight crowds, they soon gave up the chase, watching the black cloak vanish in the great tumultuous crowd.

The thief took a turn off the main market square and ran into a dark back alley, the sun shone against the walls high above, leaving the ground itself in a dark shroud. Along the walls sat the weak and the destitute. Many appeared to sleep, some begged for bread. The thief hurriedly passed by them, avoiding eye contact under the thick woolen hood covering the thief’s face. Another turn into what appeared to be a dead end. Clicking the wooden soled boots together three times, the cover of a manhole ahead was raised and pushed aside. The thief climbed down the manhole into the darkness beneath.

Buried beneath the Imperial Capital City was the sewer system, a grand complex of waterways and canals built by Saint Travan to fight a vile plague that had long ago swept through the streets. The thief walked along the wall of the sewer canal, each step in the watery filth caused a disgusting stench to break through the surface of the water. The complete darkness filled the thief with a sense of dread, knowing full well that darkness could be a great asset, and a terrible foe. The thief continued until arriving at a large iron door, and after struggling to pull it open, slipped inside.

Behind the steel door, a new world opened. Straight out of the filth, and into a warm hall, lit by small bonfires around which poor men, women and children had been gathered together.

“Be at ease my followers! For one of my disciples have returned to us!” The old, bearded man at the opposite end of the hall stood up from his seat and held out his arms in a welcome gesture. A few heads turned and the dim, lazy eyes for a second, sparked to life.

The thief pulled back her hood revealing her young face, her dirty, unwashed brown hair and gaunt, underdeveloped features.

“Step forth child, what have you brought me today?”

“Master, I brought you a loaf of bread, and two apples from the grocer on Third street." The young thief emptied her pack onto the small dirty cloth laid out on the brick floor.

The old man looked at the booty, nodded slowly and stood up, raising his arms into the air.

"Behold good people! Zarthraskiel provides! By his grace, this child has brought you sustenance! Now give Zarthraskiel his due, two-thirds of the bounty!"

One of the old man's guards, a dirty, tall, muscular man with an empty, infected eyesocket stepped forth, raised his rusty cleaver and split one of the apples in two. He then took the bread, the whole apple and one of the halves, returning it to his master.

"Now, share the piece evenly children! Any who takes too much will be struck down by Zarthraskiel's wrath!"

A loud scramble began as every individual began scurrying towards the piece, eyes gleaming at the prospect of food.

The young thief stepped backwards to avoid being trampled as the hungry group descended. She looked up to see the two guards nod to each other and move towards the group. The old man stood up and left the room through a door behind his throne. The two guards each found a woman and after some whispering, the guards both grinned and led the two women away from the others, and through another door along the room's western wall. Meanwhile, the group struggled for food. Old men were pushed aside, young children kicked and thrown while women wailed and shouted for a share.

The young thief took out her small ration box. Her master would often give her leftover scraps from the food sacrifice for her to remain functional, just as he would for the other five children working under him. She took out an apple core and began chewing on it. One of the men noticed and came towards her, his eyes filled with lust for her leftovers. He extended his dirty hands towards her, his bony fingers barely strong enough to grasp the fabric of her cloak.

Crack! She planted the tip of her boot in his face, causing him to fall over, bleeding from his nose. His eyes had lost all lust and were terrified. She continued nibbling on her precious food, taking care to leave enough of the half-decayed core to last her another day.

A rough hour passed, and three more children arrived, all carrying some valuable goods in the form of spare coins or food. One even brought a fine cotton shirt hidden within his shoddy robe. The master soon emerged, received the bounty, made another announcement, and ordered the young thief and her compatriots back outside to find more. The young thief turned on her heels and made for the exit, seeing in the corner of her eye, the two guards and the two women emerge from the room. The men wore wide grins, and handed each of the blank eyed women a single slice of bread each, before tearing off and eating half. Satisfied, they went back to their master's side, while the women attempted to regain a small shred of dignity.