Tracking down cultists

Taki moved silently through the dimly lit catacombs. Not that she needed to bother, the place was deserted. Just like the last three temples the Clan had sent her to. She had a very hard time believing that these "Shards" were worth the effort the Clan was putting in to find them.

She considered just calling it so she could go home and meditate: she was frazzled from the lack of sleep and her energies were scattered, she highly doubted she could channel so much as a spark. On the other hand, she could take a detour and bathe in the river...The thought gave her an involuntary thrill.

Lately, with the increasing freedom she was allowed on her assignments, she had been free to improvise or even go beyond the parameters of the mission. Once, when she had finished an assignment particularly quickly, she had disguised herself and went into a town! It was the closest she had ever come to disobeying a direct order and her heart had fluttered madly the entire time. Particularly when one of the village boys had been so entranced by her he walked into a wall.

But she wasn't motivated by the attentions of the opposite sex, the act of rebellion had been the reward unto itself. She loved her master and carried out his orders without question but there was something so...exciting about defying his authority. Maybe just a little foray into the stream? Of course the excitement would wreck her aura even more but...

She stops, peering down a dank hallway. At the very edge of her hearing she can make out low chanting. Dammit, she really wanted to just leave...