Kalistra's face was turned toward me, but her expression was neutral. This was my mission, my party, and therefore, my decision to make. She waited patiently for my answer.

I thought for a moment how to answer her question. I really hated the way the evil minx was putting me on the spot, especially in front of the two boys. I recognized that this was a rather difficult decision to make because there were too many missing pieces in the puzzle. For example, what did Sene write in his note to Tewind? What did Tewind tell his men, if anything? Were they specifically waiting for me, the two boys, or both? Was there a chance that we could somehow bluff our way past these men, or pay them off with a bribe? What kind of relationship did Sene have with them? If they were loyal friends of Sene, then it was unlikely that we could reach the bridge, with the boys, without a fight.

The best thing to do in a situation like this was to get more information from them and convince them to resolve the situation peacefully. I had to at least try. "I think these people are expecting four travelers. It would confuse them if Kalistra and I were to approach them and perhaps make them lower their guard. Also, I would like to avoid bloodshed if possible. I will talk to them and try to convince them to leave."

"How would you do that?" the cat girl asked as her whiskers twitched.

"I am a church official holding a truth stone. My word is law," I answered. Bribery was also an option, but I didn't want to mention it to her.

"And you think that, by waving your necklace in their faces, these men will obey you and leave?" Kalistra scoffed. Her tail lashed back and forth. She was very disappointed with my answer and made her feelings clear.

"I have to give them an opportunity to obey the law. Once they prove to be lawless, THEN you can deal with them," I reasoned.

Kalistra grinned. "Fair enough." She already knew what the outcome of a confrontation with these friends of Sene will be. She could smell the stench of blood on those men even from a distance; it was apparent to her that they were not Lawful men of Honor. But since the boys were witnesses to this encounter at the bridge, the cat girl wanted to give Lawrence an opportunity to resolve the conflict peacefully so that the Kitel and Copene will testify as much if interrogated in the future by either the Watch or the Church.

Oblivious to Kalistra's concerns, I turned my head toward Kitel and Copene. I reached into my waist pouch and took out a gold coin. I gave it to Kitel, whose eyes widened with surprise. "The two of you will stay here," I ordered. "If these friends of Sene voluntarily withdraw and leave, then come to us. Unfortunately, the more likely scenario is that they will attack us because we are outnumbered and Sene had probably asked for my head anyway. So if we lose this fight, then you are to turn around and head back west. Go through Burnhamm village and continue on until you reach Tregome. Inform Bishop Canterbury or his personal assistant, Enab, of what happened. The gold coin should be enough for you to obtain room and board at The Noble Lady until you find work in town. There are many opportunities for you to make a living in Tregome, and I want you to rebuild your lives in this frontier town," I explained.

The two boys bowed deeply to me. They were very moved by my concern for their future even though the two had tried to steal from me. "Yes, milord," Copene and Kitel said in unison.

"Let's go, Kalistra," I said and boldly stepped out onto the road.

The cat girl followed behind me.

As we walked closer and closer to the bridge, the old man with the bird cage whistled to alert the others.

The men sitting on the ground quickly rose to their feet and then stood with the apparent leader and his son. The group stood in front of the bridge, blocking our path.

"You need to pay a toll in order to pass," one of the men spoke up. He had long, wild, curly black hair and a black beard. His attire of tan colored shirt, brown jacket, brown pants, and brown boots was dirty and full of rips and holes. He reminded me of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow from the movies, but this man was nowhere near as handsome as the actor.

I casually walked up to the man and pointedly ignored the sound of steel being drawn. "On whose authority are you collecting a toll on this bridge?" I challenged with an arrogant tone of voice befitting my status as a nobleman and a member of the clergy. "Show me your Writ of Authority at once!"

"Did you hear that? This bloke is asking for my Writ!" he mocked me.

The former card players guffawed at my demand.

The Johnny Depp lookalike raised his hand to silence his friends. "On whose authority are YOU seeking to inspect my Writ?" he asked while pointing a finger at me.

"My name is Lawrence Eugene Mulligan. I am a Judge in the town of Tregome and I'm also an official in the Church of Britannia," I replied as I pulled out my truth stone. "By the Gods of Law and Order, I command you to show me your Writ of Authority," I repeated my demand.

"Ouuuhhh!" another man mocked me. "We're in the presence of nobility and a holy man! Oh, what are we to do?" he asked the group as he waved his hands in the air.

"You're Lord Mulligan?" the friend of Sene finally spoke up and gently pushed the other man aside. The note had mentioned two runaway boys traveling with Lord Mulligan. Where were they? Tewind looked around but saw no sign of the missing boys. Did the Lord dispose of them already? If so, Sene will be extremely mad.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry but you have me at a disadvantage, milord. Have we met before?" I asked politely.

The men blocking the entrance to the bridge laughed at their leader being called "milord."

The old man whistled and the laughter immediately ceased. "Pardon my men, milord, but they are lowborn and highly uncultivated men. We are seeking two runaway boys named Copene and Kitel. Their uncle is worried sick over them," he said politely.

I stared into the man's eyes as I replied. "Yes, I had taken those two boys out of Burnhamm village because their innocence was being corrupted by a dwarf and tavern master named Sene. I gave the boys a gold coin and sent them on their way." Everything I said was truthful. Now, how will this man react to the news?

The man shook his head to cover up his flash of anger at what the nobleman had done. "I'm sure this situation with Sene was just a misunderstanding," Tewind said smoothly while signaling for his men to get ready.

However, Kalistra had caught the look; her whiskers twitched and her tail whiplashed back and forth.

I felt the tail brush past my arm and took it as a warning from my master. This was a critical moment. Should I allow this mischaracterization of my dispute with the evil dwarf to stand, or should I challenge it head on? If I allowed Tewind's spin to stand, then I was diminishing my own credibility and the truth would be buried in the sand. This I could not permit, especially because I was now a servant of the Gods of Law and Order and the gods were watching me.

"Milord, the boys gave testimony after swearing an oath to this stone. They claimed that Sene gave them the keys to guest rooms and ordered them to break into the rooms and steal money from guests. I have found them to be truthful and the Gods of Law and Order have agreed," I replied. I gave the old man a cold smile and raised my truth stone to his eye level. "Will YOU declare, upon the Truth Stone, that you have never personally witnessed Sene abuse either boy in any way?" I challenged Tewind. I knew that this was a gamble to challenge the man's integrity, but if I backed down now then I would lose the moral high ground to a lackey of the despicable Sene. My sense of pride simply would not permit this.

The man's eyes turned furious. Tewind could not swear to the truth stone because he HAD seen the ill-tempered dwarf backhand his nephew once; the boy had carelessly spilled some ale while carrying it to a table, and the patron complained of receiving a mug that was only half full. If Tewind swore upon the stone, then it would strike him dead.

Tewind had no choice now but to take the nobleman's head and offer it to Sene. The father gave the bird cage to his son and then pulled out his sword. "I'm sick and tired of you church officials pretending to be our moral superiors! Your hearts are as black as ours! I'm going to cut yours out to prove it. Men, get them!" he ordered.

Everyone but the man's son surrounded the two of us. The boy ran to the horses and hid under the legs of a horse.

"Is there no way to convince you to withdraw?" I asked with a somber face as realization dawned on me how badly I had just screwed up the parley. I should have offered to pay the toll and crossed the bridge with Kalistra, leaving the two boys behind to return to Tregome. Instead, I ended up provoking these men into attacking us. I knew that this was an avoidable fight and this realization weighed heavily in my heart despite the immediate danger to my life.

"Withdraw?" the Johnny Depp lookalike spoke up. "Why would we want to do that? You're outnumbered. We're going to cut you into pieces and feed you to the fishes in the stream. Attack!" The man charged at me with his sword.

Pulling out my own sword, I repeatedly told myself to wait as the man ran toward me. I heard an imaginary voice of Master Gurgne telling me, "Now!" I activated the Slide Step technique and my attacker ran right past me. "Slide step SUCCESSFUL. +50 XP." With his back turned, I immediately counter-attacked with a heavy swing, cutting deep into his shoulder and hitting a major blood vessel. "Critical hit! -30 Damage. +100 XP."

My opponent yelled out in pain and fell to the ground, unmoving.

His friends were frozen with fear; they had all witnessed how quickly I took down their best swordsman with one hit. I was not just some dandy playing with a sword; I possessed genuine swordsmanship. The five-on-two odds weren't in their favor as much as they seemed, originally.

Kalistra took advantage of their fear and struck. She moved like a blade dancer, and her sword whirled around the frozen men with deadly precision. By the time she moved away from them just a few seconds later, they all dropped to the ground. Lifeless.

"You monsters!" Tewind yelled as he swung his sword at me, intending to chop my head off. He was shocked by how easily his mercenaries were dispatched. If Tewind couldn't take my head, then he was a dead man.

My master casually blocked the blade; with a flicker of her wrist, Kalistra pushed Tewind back a few steps.

I raised my hands. "Please stop! Why are you still fighting? This battle is over!" I pleaded with the old man.

Tewind shook his head. "You don't understand," he muttered.

"What don't we understand?" the cat girl asked. Her sharp ears heard his words clearly. "Why are all of you so willing to die for Sene?"

The old man refused to answer. He looked around to search for his son. Once his eyes found Kewind safely hiding under a horse, Tewind's resolve hardened. He turned his back to his son, turned the blade around so that its tip was aimed for his guts, and thrust the sword down with all his might.

"No!" I cried out as I pushed Kalistra aside and knelt next to the collapsed figure. I put my right hand over his wound and cast Minor Heal. "+5 Health." However, Tewind was bleeding faster than I could replenish his health.

The dying man grabbed my hand and slowly shook his head. "My blood debt to Sene is repaid," he gasped with his last breaths.

Suddenly, I was shoved aside by someone. I started to protest but saw that it was the dead man's son, Kewind. "I'm sorry," I said as I respectfully backed away from the grieving boy.

The boy slowly raised his head and looked up at me. He remained silent but his blue eyes burned with fury through his tears. Then his face turned back to his deceased father.

"-200 Reputation. -400 XP." My heart sank when I read the notification because it confirmed how badly I messed up this encounter. The game itself was punishing me for my failure to find a way to get through the human barricade without resorting to violence. My ill-advised challenge to Tewind's personal integrity during our parley had changed the life of this innocent boy. I had no doubt that the now orphaned boy will soon spread the word of what happened here to the other lowborn. This will, in turn, diminish my personal reputation and thus, it was ultimately a setback in my quest for kingship.

Kalistra started petting my head softly. She had seen the pop-up message and understood how harshly the game itself had judged her liege. "There was nothing you could do, master. Whatever hold that Sene had over these men, this bondage was only released through death."

"Milord, we will stay with this boy and help him bury these men," Copene announced.

I turned to face the boy, fearful of facing the hatred written on his face.

However, the young dwarf's face was full of sorrow and sympathy. There was no hate in his eyes. Copene did not blame me for this debacle because he had seen how much influence his uncle wielded over others.

"It was not your fault, milord," Kitel said in a low voice. "There were whispers that Sene was engaging in illicit affairs. These men had no quarrel with you; they acted solely at Sene's direction."

I was jolted by the word, "direction." I saw that the boy was still kneeling down in front of his father's body. I was hesitant to ask Kewind, but he was the only one who may know. "Kewind, what happened to the note attached to the pigeon?" I asked.

"My dad burned it," the boy replied in a gruff voice. "He did not show the note to anyone else," he added quickly before I could ask him. In truth, Kewind realized that Sene was a very bad man and had somehow coerced his father and these strangers to fight the nobleman. The boy couldn't blame the bodyguard for defending the Lord. By raising their swords against him, they were forcing the cat girl to fight. However, the boy was angry at the nobleman. If the nobleman hadn't tried to act all mighty and holy over his father and the others, then his father would still be alive right now. This realization made the boy very angry at the nobleman. "Please leave," Kewind requested. His anger seeped into his voice.

I bowed deeply to the grieving boy's back. I nodded slightly to Kitel and Copene, making eye contact with each boy.

They bowed deeply in return. The two boys understood that this was where we had to part ways. Once the burials have been completed, the two will try to convince Kewind to join them and head to Tregome.

With a heavy heart, I crossed the bridge.