I was so startled that I nearly jumped up. It was just three boys in the room until the female voice intruded. Realizing that the newcomer was behind us, I quickly turned around and placed my hand on my sword hilt. I relaxed and pulled my hand away when I saw a middle-aged woman of medium height and build. She was a brunette with her long hair tied neatly into a bun. She wore glasses with a black string tied to both ends and the glasses were looped around the back of her head. She wore a navy blue robe that seemed to shimmer and scintillate over the aura surrounding her body. Her eyes dazzled with gold sparkles dancing over her dark blue iris. Her smile was warm and welcoming. Superficially, she resembled a librarian from back home and she did not appear hostile to me. But in reality, her aura hinted that the woman was something far greater.

"Lady Musa!" Bishop Canterbury gasped out loud as he hurriedly got off his chair and walked around his desk to join us. With visible effort and pain, the old man got down on his knees and bowed deeply until his forehead touched the floor.

Seeing the bishop prostrate himself so humbly, I quickly copied his action. My heart started beating rapidly when I realized that this stranger had apparently teleported into the room. Also, I had heard the name "Musa" being invoked just a few minutes ago when Deacon Manfeuh was casting his identify spell. Thus, it was obvious what the newcomer was . . .

"Please rise, my children," the matronly voice responded.

When I got back to my feet, I noticed that Lord Bane was no longer his jolly old self. His face was turned away from Lady Musa and the demi-god seemed to be sulking for some reason. However, the demon did not initiate any hostile action toward the lady.

"How are you, my love?" Lady Musa asked, her amusement clear in her voice.

My eyes bulged at the term of endearment for the demon lord, and I quickly turned my attention back to Lady Musa, who I now suspected was another goddess judging by the bishop's reaction to her presence. This was the third divine being that I had encountered, and I had been in this gaming world for only four days! How did the commoners live out their lives being in such close proximity to divinity?

"Hohoho!" Lady Musa said in response to my reaction. "My dear, precious Baneny never told you that we were lovers, eh? Nor did he mention that Jasla, the light of my immortal life, is our love child?" She hovered over to the demon and wrapped her right arm around his waist.

The small demon was thoroughly embarrassed, but his dangerous glare at me forced aside the wisecrack that I was about to deliver at his expense. Nonetheless, he appeared rather content being joined at the hip with her.

"We were never informed of those facts, Lady Musa," Bishop Canterbury replied cautiously with his brows raised while glancing over at the demon. The gods were indeed secretive when it came to relationships amongst themselves. And since the mortal worshippers were often too preoccupied with pleasing their deities, these sort of questions rarely came up during interactions with the divinity.

Bane noticed the questioning look from his lackey and pointedly looked down at the ground. Oh, how did those burn marks appear on the rug?

"Forgive my ignorance, goddess, but how is it possible to have a union between a god of chaos and a goddess of order?" I asked politely, oblivious to the discomfort being felt by the other men in the study. "Wouldn't the two opposing forces cancel each other out? Isn't this relationship dangerous to both of you?" I heard two people cough loudly.

"Hohoho! You're an inquisitive one. I like you already!" Lady Musa praised me for quickly recognizing both her divinity and its source from the sphere of Order. "Order cannot exist without Chaos and vice versa. We exist for each other and we cannot exist without each other," she explained.

My mouth turned at the unexpectedly complicated answer from her.

Seeing my confusion, Lady Musa made a request. "Can you take out a coin from your sack?"

I quickly untied my money pouch and fished out a gold coin. Before I could pass it over to Lady Musa, though, the coin moved on its own. It was gently but forcefully ripped out of my fingers and floated in the air until the coin hovered in front of the goddess.

"Think of order and chaos as two sides of the same coin," she said while slowly spinning the coin in the air.

Before I could reply, Lord Bane dislodged his body from his lover's embrace. "Why are you here, Musa?" he asked gruffly.

With a flick of her finger, the coin floated back to me. Lady Musa turned her head to her lover and offered a patronizing smile. "It's simple, Baneny. The result of the identification spell got my attention, and I decided to intervene before you foolishly start a war with Drowsidea."

The demon's eyes flared with red in anger. "I can fight that crazed elf," he snarled and puffed his chest.

"I'm sure you'll be able to defeat her and her followers," she replied as her eyes looked elsewhere evasively. "But the price of victory would be enormous. The gamemaster has strictly forbidden fighting among the gods. If you end up being locked away for a millennia or two, then I would be deprived of your . . . companionship," her eyes danced at the last word. "And Jasla would be so devastated. Surely, you wouldn't want your lovely daughter to grow up without her father in her life," she added while batting her long eyelashes at him.

"Jasla is over a hundred years old. How much guidance does she need from me when she's already grown up?" he retorted. "Even the elves force their children out of the forest when the kids reach their one-hundredth birthday." When Musa tilted her head and gave him "the look," the irascible demi-god of chaos visibly deflated and sighed. He had looked directly into her eyes and saw the truth behind her words; if the two gods were to engage in combat to the death, he may not emerge the winner. He sighed again and nodded in recognition of her implicit assessment. "I won't fight Drowsidea directly," he agreed begrudgingly. "But I can't have the agents of another god of chaos running around in my domain. This would invite further interference from other chaotic gods and, in the end, increase the risk of a direct confrontation with them," he argued.

Lady Musa nodded in agreement. She turned to me and smiled. The goddess hovered across the room until she stood next to me. She hooked her left arm around my left elbow to draw me closer; she looked deep into my eyes.

Uh-oh!

"It is fortunate that we have been blessed with the presence of a player character. He can contact the Elven Nation and ask them to root out the drows," the goddess suggested. "In doing so, we would continue to observe the gamemaster's ban against direct confrontation with other gods," she concluded. "Will you help us, Lawrence Eugene Mulligan?"

My eyes were held hostage by her piercing stare. It was as if she was examining every aspect of my being. I started to wilt under her scrutiny. "I'm not sure I can defeat the drows. My character advancement has not made sufficient progress," I argued, completely misunderstanding her directive. I didn't wish to reject this faction quest outright and risk offending two gods. However, based on my encounter with just three drows during my street patrol with the Watch, it was obvious that I was way out of my league. I couldn't possibly hope to defeat the drows.

"That's the answer of a coward," Lord Bane waggled his finger at me and shook his head. "We're aware that you are only at level four right now, and we agree that you are unable to win a sword fight against one drow, let alone an entire group of them. But we're not asking you to fight them personally," he corrected my misunderstanding.

"We only want you to serve as our ambassador to the Elven Nation and to inform them of the drows' presence in Tregome and probably the nearby areas as well," Lady Musa interjected. "The Elven Nation and the drows are sworn enemies, and the children of life will assist us on their own initiative because their Code of Honor will demand no less. Now, please hold out your left arm," she requested.

When I held out my arm, I felt an invisible force grab hold of my limb. My white robe was pulled back along the arm, and then my tunic underneath as well, exposing my forearm. A flash of blue light flared and suddenly my Mark of Bane was unveiled. I became alarmed at the realization that the goddess had dispelled the illusion cast by the bishop!

"Don't worry," Lady Musa cooed reassuringly, "I will replace the illusion when I'm finished." The goddess held out her right index finger and soft, blue light started to surround her digit. She reached, with her finger, for a spot next to the black mark and proceeded to draw her own mark on my arm.

I felt my skin being gently caressed but I felt no pain at all, unlike my branding by Bane. When Musa finally pulled her finger away, I examined my new mark closely and saw a blue-colored, never-ending, spiraling circle. I immediately received a pop-up message that read, "Status: Marked by Musa. +500 Reputation. +1,000 XP." I looked with astonishment at the goddess. "Thank you!" I said in appreciation of the unexpected boost.

"My pleasure," the goddess replied. She then put the same finger on my forehead.

Abruptly, I saw the word "Unveil" in blue letters in my mind. I received another pop-up notification that read, "Divine spell of Order LEARNED: Unveil. +100 XP."

"Congratulations on learning your first spell," Lady Musa smiled again as she backed away from me. "If you ever decide to leave the path of swordsmanship, you can ask me to teach you more about magic," she offered. "That is my reward for the task that I'm asking you to perform. I need you to contact the Elven Nation and convince them to fight against their brethren—the drows. I granted you the Unveil spell so that you can show my mark to them. Once they see proof that I had sent you, they should be willing to help you."

Lord Bane flapped his wings and rose higher in the air until we were face-to-face. Without warning, the demon pressed his right palm on my forehead and his claws dug into my skull. His hand started to glow with a blood-red aura and then the aura seeped through my skull and into my brains.

I saw the word "Veil" in red letters in my mind. I received a third pop-up of this session which read, "Divine spell of Chaos LEARNED: Veil. +100 XP." When the demon roughly removed his hand, I said, "Thank you." I was secretly thankful that he did not hurt me and reduce my health as he granted me his spell.

Lord Bane flapped his wings again and started to hover back and away from me. "You'll need to show your Mark of Musa to convince the elves that you are indeed her representative. Unfortunately, the mark will attract the attention of chaotic beings. Thus, you will need the Veil spell I just granted you to cover the mark again," he explained.

I bowed deeply to the demon lord and then turned my attention back to Lady Musa. "How will I find the Elven Nation?" I asked, thereby implicitly agreeing to perform this important task. Now that the two gods had explained the situation in depth, I understood why my status as a PC permitted me to intervene on their behalf while helping them stay within the good graces of their apparent superior god. I was uniquely qualified to help them and it would be foolish for me to reject this simple faction quest. Who knows? I may even improve my relationship with the elves so that the non-adventuring elves will start talking to me!

The goddess' smile diminished noticeably at my inquiry. "Unfortunately, the elves are not in this town. You will have to leave Tregome," she admitted. She was dreading this question because she knew that I had not stepped foot out of this town. But for the sake of my personal character development, I must leave Tregome as my destiny laid elsewhere.

"Ahem," someone coughed politely. We turned toward the source of this cough—Bishop Canterbury.

"There is a contact for the Elven Nation in Tregome," the cleric revealed.