Zephyra crept away from the frenzied mob outside of the inn. They were fervent and chanting in praise to their gods to save them from a necromancer in their midst. She dodged into the overcast alleyways hidden from view. But, it wasn't safe. The church was searching for her. 

"I just have to stay out of reach. They shouldn't have an ability to detect me at a far range. That sort of an ability is incredibly rare without a scrying stone." Zephyra glanced toward the opulent Cathedral that towered over the town. "But, I wouldn't be surprised if they had a scrying stone. I'll have to keep moving."

Zephyra emerged from the other side of the alley and immediately fell back into the shadows. The townsfolk had already broken out their torches and pitchforks. They were storming the streets. If she was caught, she would be killed.

But, unfortunately, she needed answers. And, the only place that she could think to find them was probably in the heart of the church. Unless the acolyte was out in the streets prowling for her with the rest of the mob.

Zephyra glanced around the alley. She had to act quickly and decisively. A few men had already started searching the other end of her street. 

Zephyra spotted an old drainage pipe that led to the roof. 

"I can climb up to the roof. I should be able to move more freely from above." 

She quickly latched onto the pipe. And, began to climb. The metal creaked underneath her weight. But, the crowd below her didn't seem to notice. They were lost in their fervent prayers.

Zephyra reached the roof and quickly scrambled over the ledge. The men walked ignorantly past her. She let out a sigh of relief. 

But, it wasn't over. She had to keep moving. 

Zephyra took a running jump and crossed over to another rooftop. She zigzagged her way across the city and took care to avoid the burning torch light below.

She heard the anger and fear boil and ripple throughout the town. There were screams of agony and righteous wrath that blended together in an unholy orgy of sound and fury. 

Zephyra came to screeching halt. The distance to the next rooftop was too great. She couldn't make it. She'd have to climb down to the street. 

A heart rending cry rose from the street below her. A young mother and her children were dragged from their beds and into the cold night air.

"There! There's the necromancer!" A crazed woman screamed and sobbed pointing her fingers at the young mother. "She killed my husband! He wasted away, he did. Flesh rot from his bone. All because she wanted him and couldn't have him. She killed him! Kill her! Kill her!"

The young woman cried out and stretched out her arms to shelter her children. "N-no! That's not true. I-"

The crazed widow struck her across the mouth. "Be silent, Witch. You are not to speak. I know you did it. I know you did it. And, so do they."

The widow gestured to the men around her. 

"They've all seen your crimes. They know. Skalgnos knows."

"This woman charmed me! Bewitched me with her wiles. I didn't understand it. I didn't understand why I could only think of her. But, now I know, she used her unholy magic against me!" A young man spit out his accusation with vitriol. 

Zephyra clenched her fist as she watched helplessly from her vantage point.

"I didn't! I swear I didn't!" The young mother pleaded with her neighbors. But, one by one, they all turned away from her.

An elderly man pulled her toward him. He kneed her in the stomach. And, pushed her to the ground. 

"Didn't we tell you not to speak? We'll not be having you casting any spells on us."

The crazed woman stepped forward once again. "There's only one way to make sure that we're safe from her corrupting evil."

"Cut out her tongue." A young man called out in anger.

"Cut off her hands", another shouted out.

"Kill her", someone murmured.

"Kill her! Kill her!" They all chanted together. 

Zephyra watched them. They beat her. They cut into her flesh. They tortured her as she screamed for mercy. Until finally, they strung her up to die.

There was nothing that Zephyra could have done. To save the young woman would mean her own damnation. Yet, the image of a twitching corpse strung by her neck would be forever burned into Zephyra's memory. 

The woman's children huddled together underneath her swaying feet, forced to denounce their mother to save their own lives.

Zephyra watched it all in horror.

"I've read about it, but this is…" 

It was too much. Far too much. 

It wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. Her father had always warned her about the ignorant masses. And, her books were rife with examples and terrors that humanity had wrought upon themselves. But, to see it happen in front of her. It was too much.

Too much.

And, it was all her fault. A fault in her mere existence. The crime of necromantic magic. 

The mob finally dispersed and she was able to move to the street and then forward to the church. She climbed down from the roof. And, headed toward the next alleyway. But, her feet didn't take another step. Her eyes were locked onto the image of an innocent woman that was lynched for her crime. 

"I'm sorry", she whispered to no one. "They were looking for me."

It was hard not to imagine herself in the place of the woman. After all, it could have easily been her. It may still be her, if she was to be caught. 

Zephyra stayed for a long time. Far longer than she should have considering the circumstances. But, she was unable to move past the horror in front of her. Until another torch came into view.

Then, Zephyra stayed out of sight. She melded back into the shadows of her destination. She would not be caught. She would not let that happen to her. 

"It won't be me. It will not be me", she whispered to reassure herself. 

If only her fear and doubt could be removed so easily.