'Our Church!'
'It's on fire!'
'Why is this happening?'
'What have we done?'
The people of Huecor were crying in agony over the desolation of their church. Less than two days ago, the wicked proselytizers from the east had tried to bring their god to them. And now they were seeing the grand scale of the curse put upon them. They flocked to the church, streaming out of the bar and other buildings. Vasquez felt a chill run down his spine. He was not religious or superstitious, and really had no strong beliefs about anything in particular.
But now, naively, he believed he had sinned, and caused this assault on the church. Vasquez was sure of it, after all he took the offerings the people of the church left behind. The five of them were still at the table, stunned by both this unholy event and the timing of it. Luca took off his blindfold, finally letting Vasquez get a look at his deep brown eyes. There was a lot of emotion in them, the heaviest among them was fear. 'Let us put a pause to this game.' The other members of the game of changing seasons silently agreed and they swiftly left the bar and ran to the church.
Arlo was the slowest of the bunch and as he ran, heavy groans accompanied.
He sounds like a dead man.
Vasquez got to see more of the other two as well, they both seemed a lot healthier, and Leonardo was even faster than he and Ben, who was not too slow himself. Other people were running alongside them, joining as the town all ran for the church. Seemingly entranced, some of the people with Vasquez, including Ben, Luca, and Leonardo; were entranced by a small prayer the group was singing, their eyes seemed distant. Even Luca's who's eyes were full of fear seemed devoid of any emotion. During their sprint to the church, Vasquez was sure he had a different thing on his mind than the other people; he had to get those offerings back, and he had to do it without people knowing it was him. Outside of trying to formulate a plan, Vasquez noticed a weird sensation in the air in front of him.
That was where the offerings were, loosely buried in the ground.
A flash of light shone brightly in front of them, halting everyone. A thunderous, loud beam of lightning hit the ground. It glowed white, then flashed yellow, then flickered through every other color the human eye could see, before turning white once more. And then it was gone. But the light in Vasquez's eyes remained. And it would remain there through the night, a bright streak of white in the center of his vision.
How… what…
In front of the group, Vasquez now counted ten of them including who he left with, the offerings were laid out in front of them, unscathed. It was a big haul, if Vasquez could have left with it, he could have definitely managed himself for a good amount of time. Now, he wanted nothing to do with it, just to return it to its rightful place in the church. Everyone was staring at the pile in front of them, all having the same thought, which Arlo said out loud, 'Is that… the tribute?'
'We must take this to the church, Maranza would be pleased and maybe extinguish these fires from heaven.' A middle aged man, holding his son's hand dove towards the pile of riches, grabbed as much as he could and kept up running. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, 'Dear lord! We have your offerings! Please help us.'
Many of the others followed suit, including Vasquez, who lagged behind, shocked by the nature of this miracle. It was the one single thing that could have happened to get him and the people of Huecor out of this precarious situation. It was so improbable that, in a way, it seemed only natural it happened. The wills of the Huecorian people, as well as that of Vasquez came together in one desperate strike to save their god.
If only something like this happened in Anjo.
They all finished the short and eventful sprint to the church, carrying the offerings high in their hands, shouting that they had found the lost offerings and that they will now be saved. A crowd of people, not unlike the one Vasquez had stumbled into earlier that evening, had formed in front of the church and they were praying. These prayers weren't ones filled with faith, in fact, every breath that came out of these desperate people's mouths seemed soulless and full of sorrow, like ghosts crying out from beyond the living plane. The wails of the people were not made in order to praise a god, the god of the church they were trying to save. They were crying and begging for their lives.
It was a harrowing sight, the people of Huecor had dedicated their lives to Maranza, and now, it seemed that they praised the weaker god.
However, something happened when Vasquez and his small party of ten others came running towards the church.
The older lady who had given the speeches earlier was leading the prayers, her voice still remained confident with belief for Maranza. She was the first to notice the offerings had been found, and took this opportunity to give the people some inspiration in their prayers.
'Look you all! The offerings have returned! It is time to show or true dedication to Maranza! Believe that the Gardens will be forever green! Believe that the Lady of Hope will soon be returned to her glory! Believe that this hellish torment will end! Believe because it is our right! Believe because it is our duty to the many territories that Maranza is shown in His true light!' She took a deep breath and said in a quieter voice, 'Believe because we always have, and have never been led astray!'
The belief of the people didn't resurge all at once, however, there was a noticeable shift throughout the crowd once after the speech. At first they were quiet, taking in the speech and the sights of the offerings they had once thought lost. Then, a surge of voices came from the crowd, chanting and screaming praises to their lord, this time they were full of emotion, and even Vasquez, pulled to do it by his innate nature of being a human, joined in his voice ringing loudly.
It was an odd sensation, being pulled to do something purely off the beliefs of others, and Vasquez did not like the feeling he had about this. It was like his heart was being forced to align itself with the followers of Maranza.
What is happening? I don't want to do this… right?