Once we decided to wait until the group was reunited, there was no longer any point in staying at the safe house. The next morning, Kalli and I led Wendy back to the sewer so we could access the Thief’s Corridor.

To our great disdain, Crypian followed as well as the cat. I secretly hoped that the cat would refuse to enter the sewer but he seemed indifferent to the muck and the foul smell.

Kiki didn’t come with us. She stayed in the castle with Alariel, assuring us that she was safe in the knight’s apartment. When I asked about it, Alariel said, Only my closest aides are allowed in here. You can rest assured that Kiki is safe.

For her part, Kiki explained, I need to spend all of the time that I can studying this contract. I promise that I’ll find you a way out of it.

As we entered the sewer, Wendy scrunched up her nose and asked, “Why did you guys sneak in through the sewer? Isn’t the royal city open to anyone?”

While I didn’t have an answer for that, the cat did. Orpheus hopped from stone to stone to avoid being submerged in the ankle-deep water. “It wasn’t a matter of young Melvin being welcomed in Dabia. I am sure he would have had a great deal of fanfare. It was likely to avoid that sort of attention that he snuck in.”

“Oh,” Wendy replied, watching the cat prance about with a giggle. “Why is the royal family so interested in Melvin? Don’t they have better choices among the other families on Gaia?”

The cat stopped, perched gracefully on a rock that was much too small for him. “That is what I’d like to know. Something seems off about all of this. Have you had any run-ins with the Dabians before now? Perhaps on your world.”

I shook my head. “I’d never heard of Dabia before coming here. No, wait. Kalli mentioned it once but I never met anyone from another world. Unless you count Mr. McDuckenStein.”

“Who is that?” The cat asked, his eyes gleaming in the low light of the sewer. “Is he also from Gaia?”

While I had met many races on Gaia, I had yet to encounter any ducks. “I don’t think so. He’s a duck man.”

“I had a feeling based on the name.” Orpheus mewled, sounding distinctly cat-like. “It is a mystery why the royal house has taken an interest in you. One I intend to get to the bottom of.”

“Why are you here anyway?” I asked, glaring at the cat as I sloshed through the sewer, trying to splash him. “Are you going to betray us and try to kill my friends?”

Orpheus huffed at me, looking as though he were sneezing. “Is that what you think? If I wished to do you harm, I would have done so back at the castle. Out here, there is a small chance that you might defeat me in a fight. If anything, I am at risk of you betraying me. You owe me no loyalty after all.”

Not exactly reassured, I pushed through some weeds and into the passage leading to the Thief’s Corridor. I held the weeds out of the way for Kalli and Wendy to pass through, letting it smack Crypian as he attempted to enter.

Behind him, the cat followed once again. I looked down at Orpheus and said, “Sorry to do this to you but I don’t exactly trust you.”

Not waiting for a reply, I wrapped my mana around everyone but the cat and teleported back to the dark lands. Kalli and Wendy were used to my form of travel but Crypian fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

Moments later the cat appeared beside us. “That trick won’t work on…”

Orpheus’ voice cut out in a yelp as I cast Warp on him and he vanished. Just as quickly he reappeared, hissing at me. “Please, don’t do that again. If you had any idea where you just sent me… Well, that is neither here nor there. In any case, I trust you are satisfied that trick won’t work on me.”

Throwing my hands in the air, I said, “Is there a reason that you’re following us around? I have a lot of people that I am responsible for and I can’t have you putting them in danger.”

The cat sat suddenly, his tail swishing back and forth behind him. “Fine. I swear an oath not to harm your people if they do not give me direct cause to do so. Additionally, though it goes against my principles to admit this, I am not here to hinder you in your endeavors. In fact, our goals may align. I am not yet certain.”

“What does that mean?” I asked skeptically.

Orpheus sighed and groomed some soot out of his face with a wet paw. “I am not at liberty to say. If I confirm something, I will tell you both, but until that day comes, I am afraid telling you will only bring sorrow.”

I exchanged a look with Kalli and Wendy, speaking in group chat. Well? What should we do about him? I didn’t teleport directly to a village because of this cat. Should we trust him or rough it for a while until Joe gets to Dabia?

The cat cleared its throat, appearing as though he was attempting to cough up a hairball. “As a token of goodwill, I must confess that I can hear everything you are saying. Any good rogue class has the [Eavesdrop] ability that allows them to hear the group chat of anybody they are close to. I highly recommend showing a little discretion in the future when talking around strangers.”

I stared at the cat, thinking back to the conversations I had in front of him. “You could have told me that yesterday.”

Orpheus laughed. “I had no need to cooperate with you at that time. Things have changed since then. As far as I am concerned, we are allies for the moment.”

“Until you decide we aren’t.” Kalli pointed out.

“Young miss.” The cat bowed before Kalli. “I assure you, I will never do you harm.”

Wendy giggled. “Quite the ladies cat, aren’t you?”

Orpheus sniffed Wendy’s foot as he explained. “It is not like that. I am a widower. My wife was taken forcibly from me. She can never be replaced in this world or the next. Do I smell a divine essence on you?”

Wendy blushed, backing away from Orpheus. “Um, no! That was the sewer. My shoes are still soaked.”

“Bah!” Orpheus snickered, pacing over to Kalli. “Tell me, child. What is your earliest memory?”

I stepped between the cat and Kalli. “What’s with the interrogation?”

Before I could react, he weaved deftly between my legs. “I’m just curious. I sense something about her and would like to confirm it.”

Kalli blinked and we exchanged a knowing look before she replied to the cat. “I remember hiding in a tree. That is my earliest memory.”

Do you remember that or just from that dream?

She thought about it for a moment. I don’t know. Maybe both?

Remembering the cat could eavesdrop, I looked right at him.

Can you hear this?

Orpheus tilted his head to the side but said nothing. I was fairly satisfied that he couldn’t invade mate chat. At least that was something.

It was a short hike from where we teleported to Kalliville. Orpheus stayed mysteriously close to Kalli and Wendy, making small chat as we walked. As we approached the village, he looked up at Kalli and asked, “Do you know what country we are in currently?”

Kalli smiled down at the cat and replied. “Of course, this is the Empire of Meltopia.”

The cat stopped, looking back and forth between all of us. When he looked at me, I nodded in affirmation. Orpheus sagged and asked, “Is that some kind of a joke?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I started an empire here when I ended the plague.”

“You ended that plague?” Orpheus asked, padding toward the village. “How did you live through the plague in the first place?”

That took me by surprise so I asked, “You can’t tell?”

Orpheus walked in front of me and cut me off, causing me to nearly stumble over him. I waited patiently while the cat inspected me. “Intriguing. Everything about you is deceptive. Kalli as well. I also know Wendy is hiding something but I can see clear as day that she has been granted immunity to the plague. Additionally, she is walking proof that there is a manipulator in our midst. Though you seem to be hiding it, I presume that to be you. It would explain the royal family’s sudden interest.”

“Smart cat,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “At least now we know you can see menus. Did you have something to do with the plague?”

The cat looked sadly at the village walls looming in the distance. “Trust me when I say that harming these people is the last thing I would ever want. I have a deep connection to this land. There is something that I would like to show you when this is all over.”

I was about to answer but one glance at the cat showed me that he had made the offer to Kalli. She noticed as well, moving closer to me and saying, “I don’t know. What do you want to show me?”

The cat turned around, walking into the village. “Perhaps I will tell you one day.”

Kalli and I played with the kids for a while. While they were still sad that Stefanie was gone, they were also happy to have Kalli back. I sang for them while Kalli made puppets out of fire. Getting an idea, I asked Kalli to sing with me.

Try using my [Perfect Pitch] trait. I got it from Stefanie and I am sure she would want you to use it.

It took Kalli a few seconds to get the hang of it but soon we were singing in perfect harmony. I was mesmerized by the sound of her voice. While Stefanie had sounded good, Kalli sounded like an angel to me in the same way she seemed to glow every time I saw her.

Before long, our antics attracted a crowd of villagers, all of them drawn to the sound of our voices. Musical instruments I had never seen before were brought out and we found ourselves the lead singers in a medieval band.

Food was brought out and laid on large banquet tables that the villagers must have made while I was away. Monster meat of various cuts and textures were paraded through the crowd on giant spits.

Orpheus prowled the village, going from house to house. I had no clue what he was doing, but nobody seemed to mind having him around.

One nice thing I discovered was the groups of trolls and goblins that had taken up residence in Kalliville. That meant that the human population was getting along with the nonhumans. It was one less thing I had to worry about.

When dinner was served, I was able to heap delicious food of every kind on my plate. I grinned over my mountain of food at Kalli.

Kalliville has come a long way from what it was like when I got here. There is so much food!

Kalli beamed at me. That’s because of you. These people struggled with that plague.

There were so many different kinds of meat that I stuffed myself trying to taste everything. I was just beginning to feel like I had made a grave mistake and was going to be sick when the cat came back.

He hopped on the table and stood in front of Kalli, just beyond her plate. “I am told you appeared here when you returned to Gaia.”

Kalli groaned at the reminder. “Yes, I know. You heard I was naked, right? Well, it’s true and that’s all I have to say about it.”

The cat chuckled. “No. Well, yes, I did hear about that but it’s not what I wanted to know. You were sent here by Melvin, using some sort of return spell, correct?”

She hesitated so I answered for her. “Yes, I sent Kalli back using a warp spell. It was supposed to return her to her home but it sent her here by mistake.”

The cat knelt before Kalli. “This confirms it. My prayers have been answered.”