The morning light shown over the city of Gestalt, turning the black sky into a sea of shifting greys. In the streets, nothing stirred, the good people still in their beds, enjoying the last moments of night before they were forced out by the oppressive sunlight. It was this lazyness that allowed such scoundrels as Tal'Vara to do the work that she needed to. There was always some fool wandering the streets early in the morning, for whatever reason - perhaps they had to work until dawn, or they enjoyed their cool morning walks. Either way, they were prime candidates for liberation of coin. The guard were groggy from either just waking up or distracted by need for sleep, leaving the poor people of the city all but defenseless.
The horned woman stood around a corner, cloak wrapped around her so that only the slimmest view of her body was shown - a pair of brown breeches, cloth wraps around her feet, leaving the clawed toes visible, and a vest were all that could be seen, but any who knew her knew that there was far more beneath the cloak. In the adjacent alley, she could hear someone briskly walking and whistling a merry tune - someone got out on the right side of the bed this morning, it seemed. A cruel smile came over her face as golden eyes turned to glance at where he would come out.
The man passed by her, not even noticing her. Tal'Vara scoffed loudly, causing him to pause midstride and glance back. His pleasant smile turned into a frown of horror as he put together just what she was, and he was about to run when she pounced on him. He fell to the ground, and her foul left hand pressed down on his back, while the tip of her knife pushed against his neck. It drew blood, but her restraint kept it from sliding right through the flesh and bone. The smell of moth-eaten fabric assaulted her nose as the fabric of his shirt began to decay under her palm.
He nearly let out a shout, but a little more pressure from the blade kept him from uttering anything more than a small groan. Lifting her hand, she placed a knee on his back and began to rustle through his pockets, looking for anything valuable. The only thing she was able to produce was a small coinpurse with a few measly coins in it. Disgusted, she lowered that sinister hand until it was clamped around the back of his neck. Instantly, the Rot took affect, decaying the flesh, slowly and painfully. He didn't even bother to hold in his scream of pain, the cry echoing out through the alley and out into the main street. She could hear people stirring in their homes nearby, and cursed. She stood and reared back her foot. It snapped forward, the toe of the heavy boot slamming into the side of the man's face. His head swung to the side, a loud crack sounding from the contact, a second echoing out as his head connected with the floor.
And off she sprinted, with her meager earnings, the sound of people hurrying down the alley to check on the man just behind her. When they got to him, they found the man laying, his head at an odd angle, his neck rotten. His eyes showed no life, and a woman let out a choked sob. The evil bitch had gotten away again, and had left them a widow in return.