Even though it was noon dark clouds covered the city.
Valthar sneaked his way towards the forest, empty streets and silent tension.
Others from the caravan hid at the Inn.
Residents from the city hid in their houses.
Needless to say, today city exploration was out of the picture, maybe for good if the lockdown set by the city governor lasted the whole week.
A part of Valthar wished to stay cooped up too.
At the moment both the Church's priests and city guards were out and ready apprehend anyone that ignored the lockdown
Valthar risked it anyway, his hunger to form his first ring increased after he watched the great spell.
Yet the life energy for its formation had run dry and the forest was the best way for him to get more at this moment.
Well… the best way his morals would allow.
In minutes he walked all the way to the edge, where forest and city met.
Though he felt many eyes gaze at him from the houses and passed by, many patrols as they searched nearby, he was never close to getting caught.
His energy sense reached far and the fact it pinpointed an energy source most couldn't imagine existed made it impossible to counter.
Fearlessly he approached the forest.
Then a few meters in he called forth the life force from the plants nearby.
In moments the grass at his feet dry and whither.
The trees resisted for a second before they too had their life energy trickle out.
Valthar immersed himself in the comfort the energy brought until a tree branch fell beside him.
'Wait, what would someone think if they saw this scene?'
He looked around at the withered grass and dying trees.
While walking to the city with the caravan sucking a few trees dry in the middle of the forest was fine, no one would bat an eye.
However, now he is close to the city and just the night before a demon had been purified.
'The Church will burn my mana veins out of my body if they see this.' Valthar gulped.
This wasn't a metaphor either in extreme cases of demonic corruption such methods were commonly used.
The next breath he commanded the life energy to stop before he rushed away from the already withered grass.
After a few minutes of reflection Valthar changed his approach.
Instead of sucking things dry he would only pull a small fraction of life energy from each tree he passed by.
It was subtle and took waaay longer, but would leave no obvious trace of his actions.
A couple hours later he made his way back to the inn, undetected by any patrols and with his body fully charged.
*
A couple hours went by in meditation.
Even as voices from the Inn's restaurant echoed through the floor Valthar's focus remained unwavering.
Lost in the energy assimilation little did he realize a patrol squad was on their way to his room.
An abrupt knock pulled him out of his meditative daze, with his attention on his energy sense he felt a squad of five strangers circle his door.
*Bang* The door was blown open.
"Don't move! You're under arrest in the name of Burning Light!" A priest yelled out while at his side four city knights stormed in,
"W- wait -wait? What's happening? I didn't do anything!" Valthar yelled out.
'This can't be about me breaking the lock down right? I made sure no patrols saw me, how could they know!'
Nervous sweat gathered on Valthar's forehead, even as he rejected such a possibility.
If they had seen him skean around they surely would have come to catch him sooner.
Unphased by Valthar's innocence plea one of the guards tackled him to the ground.
In moments the young mage's wrists were bound by sealing chains and his body was pushed out of the room.
As Valthar felt the chains suppress his mana he noticed his life sense remained unaffected, though he dared not try it he felt his control of life energy also remained operational.
"What's happen-" Valthar tried to ask before a fist to the back of the head interrupted him.
"Silence! You're under suspicion of demonic worshiping, open your mouth to spew your corruption again and we'll purify immediately." The priest yelled out as other inn visitants took a step back.
From random people to caravan members no one dared to approach.
Even Hector though he showed a hesitant look did not step forward, not for fear of the Church mind you, but because demonic corruption didn't pick sides.
Anyone, good or bad, could be corrupted without notice.
Head down he was taken to the Church.
From time to time others could be seen being dragged through the streets.
*
Valthar sat on the floor inside a cell made of marble, the sealing chains tied to metal hooks built into the wall.
All around magical runes kept the room uncomfortably bright, it had been hours since he was pushed inside the Church's dungeon.
In his sense he felt dozens of other suspects coming and going.
Yet only a handful were taken to the cells nearby.
In silence he ruminated.
Why him?
Many others in the caravan had been close to the demon, but only him had been taken away.
Because he is a banished man?
If so, how would they know? Only the caravan members and his family knew it for now.
Then could it be his lack of elemental affinity? Maybe how much his magic looked like dark magic?
That also didn't make sense, only others in the caravan would know about such details.
Lost in thoughts he couldn't find an answer, yet not for a second had he considered someone from the caravan might have ratted him out to the Church of Burning Light.
Through his energy sense Valthar feels a strong life force walk down the corridor.
The door to his cell opened and a priest entered with a chair.
"What is your name, dark mage?"