Kalistra took a moment to collect her thoughts and then she nodded. She remembered that she had succumbed to the poison, and she had also tricked me into staying at her hideout. Thus, by the great power of deduction, it was clear that someone had brought her back. The question was who. And she had a few suspects in mind. The cat girl raised a paw at my new companions. "Did they bring me back here?" she asked.

The gray robed mage turned her head to the elves. "It wasn't me," she answered.

The cat girl read the caption above the spellcaster's head. Her name was Rijana. Then she turned her attention to the others. She saw two elves, one dressed in elven chain mail and carried a sword and shield while the other wore a full set of leather armor and carried a bow and quiver. Kalistra guessed their professions were mage, fighter, and ranger; she wouldn't be surprised if the ranger was a herbalist and also acted as the healer for the party. She read the captions of the elves. "Thank you for bringing me here, Bjoukia and Bjoukin," the cat girl said and bowed her head.

"No need to thank us," the ranger said with embarrassment.

"We were in the right place at the right time," the fighter added modestly.

"Were you?" Kalistra stared into Bjoukia's eyes. While the tone of my master's voice as calm and polite, the simple question carried an implicit accusation as to the reason they were nearby. The cat girl was suspicious because the elves had not revealed their presence during her fight with the contract killers; if the duo were nearby, they could have helped her. The fact that they didn't make Kalistra question their true motives for rescuing her. Perhaps, their real target was her pupil, and the cat girl was simply a tool to help the three develop closer relations with him.

I quickly intervened before the fickle cat girl said something regrettable. "The Elven Nation asked them to follow me. When you lied to me and went after the contract killers on your own, the three split up. The elves followed you while the human stayed behind to guard the hideout. The two did not interfere with your fight for their own reasons and I could understand why you would be upset about that. However, they DID bring you back once you had succumbed to the stamina draining poison," I explained carefully. "If they left you there while you were unconscious, you would have become bear food," I joked.

My master rolled her eyes. She remembered taking down the giant bear that was chasing me. It was ridiculous how often I got into trouble and it made the cat girl glad that she was not a so-called "Player Character." She shook her head at the memory. Suddenly, Kalistra felt something swaying at her neck. She looked down and saw that she was wearing a necklace with the most beautiful stone she had ever seen. Her heart skipped a beat and then she recovered her composure. "What is this?" she said as she touched the stone lightly with her left paw.

"It's a Cat's Eye with an enchantment to boost your stamina regeneration by 5 points per second," Rijana spoke up. "The stamina draining poison is still inside your body. This is a temporary solution until we reach Bristol."

The cat girl's whiskers twitched. According to the customs of the cat people, for a girl to accept this beautiful gift meant acceptance of the amorous feelings that accompanied the gift. "Who gave this to me?" she asked in a small voice.

All eyes turned toward me.

"It turned out that Rijana here is an enchanter and I convinced her to spend the rest of the night to make this item," I explained.

"But it wasn't free. How much?" the cat girl's eyes narrowed. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief because the necklace wasn't meant to be a token of love. Our relationship was strictly platonic, as master and pupil.

I was hesitant to reveal the cost. But my master stared at me until I gave in and answered her question. "750 gold coins."

The price shocked her so much that her white fur puffed up until she appeared to be twice her original size. "I see," Kalistra said in a calm voice despite her physical appearance. "I will repay you when I can," she added.

"Or I can simply get more training from you," I grinned. I really wanted to laugh at the cat girl for her overreaction to the cost of the Cat's Eye, but I valued my life too much to do so. I was such a coward!

"Not for 750 gold," she refuted with a huff.

"I hate to interrupt but I think we should break camp now," Bjoukin suggested.

Kalistra nodded in agreement. "All entrants to the tournament must register by the ninth hour. By the position of the rising sun, I estimate that it is now some time after the sixth hour. Bristol is about five miles away. If we run for an hour, we should reach Bristol," she said and finally got off the ground.

I rose up with her as I shook my head. "Master, I'm sorry to say this but you won't be able to run like before because of the poison," I reminded her.

The elves summoned their horses. "You can ride with one of us," Bjoukia offered.

Kalistra shook her head. "Horses are frightened of animal people."

Rijana pulled a thin disc out of her bag. The disc was about one and a half feet in diameter. When the enchanter set it on the ground, the disc started floating until it was four inches off the ground. "This is a floating disc. You can stand on it and we could tie a string around your waist to pull you along," she suggested.

My master studied the disc for a moment and then turned her head to me.

Uh-oh. I had a bad feeling about this . . .

Kalistra's eyes glowed and she grinned. "As training, my pupil shall carry me on his back and run to Bristol within the hour," she ordered.

"Yes, master," I bowed. I went back to the hideout to retrieve our backpacks and then walked up to the horse riders. "Can you carry this for me?" I requested politely.

"Yes, milord," Bjoukin gave me a sympathetic smile as he put my packs in the saddle bags.

"We'll follow your lead, milord," Bjoukia added. Rijana was sitting behind her.

I stood before my master, turned around and knelt. After Kalistra put her arms around my chest, I interlaced my fingers together behind her back and rose to my feet. "Which way?" I asked.

"Head north for now. I will tell you when to turn east," she said.

With that, I started running. Thankfully, we did not encounter any more beasts or bandits in the forest. I ran straight for about a half hour and then Kalistra ordered me to turn right when I passed by a large rock. During my run, I noticed that for some reason the cat girl did not feel that heavy on my back; I hoped that the reason was due to my recent increase in strength and stamina. The trail I followed eventually led to a road and just further down was the gates of Bristol.

I took a moment to savor the scenery. The road was sloped and we stood at the highest point. The elevation gave us a good, bird's eye view of the town. Actually, to call Bristol a "town" would be a disservice because it appeared to be more of a city. Tregome had a few hundred residents, whereas there were at least several times that many people in Bristol. Due to the distance, the people in Bristol were the size of ants to my naked eye. But from my travels to cities back home, I knew that Bristol definitely qualified as a city. The city was surrounded by a thick, stone wall and four towers stood at the corners. Inside the wall, I saw a large courtyard connected to the gatehouse: a large water fountain stood in the middle of the yard. The city was lined with rows upon rows of houses. There was a church occupying the center of the city; the red cross on a white spire atop the church building rose to a height rivaling the watch towers.

"Stop gawking, Lawrence," Kalistra said and poked my right cheek. However, it was a gentle tap and did not trigger a pop-up.

"Sorry, master!" I replied.

"Bristol is a beautiful city, isn't it?" Bjoukin said with a knowing smile.

I nodded and started draining my stamina to reach Bristol ASAP. There was no need to hold back now because I was so close to the finish line! When I finally reached the gatehouse, I received two pop-up notifications. The first one read, "New location ACQUIRED: Bristol. +50 XP." The second one read, "Major faction quest COMPLETED. +250 XP +100 Reputation +200 XP +1 Strength +1 Stamina +100 XP." Wow! That was an easy 600 XP!

"You can put me down now," Kalistra reminded me.

Oops! In my elation at my experience gain, I had totally forgotten about my burden. I quickly removed my hands from her back and the cat girl hopped down on her feet.

The five of us waited in line for our turn to receive an inspection from the guards in order to pass through the gate. Unfortunately, it was a long line, probably because of the Melee Tournament being held here in Bristol today.

Kalistra turned toward Bjoukin. "Can you return our packs?" she asked.

"Sure," the ranger replied and dismounted. He took the packs out of the saddlebags and returned our backpacks.

My master dug into her pack for rations. "It's going to take a while for us to reach the front of this line. We may as well break our fast now," she suggested and passed out some food.

Accepting her suggestion, we ate our portions of bread, cured meat, and fruits while we waited.

When we finished eating, Kalistra turned to me. "Once we get inside, we'll need to register you for the Apprentice Division. The person doing the intake will be a member of the Church with access to a truth stone," she said.

I nodded in understanding of both her reminder and her warning. "I will tell the registrar the truth," I reassured her. She wanted me to tell the registrar my current character level because it would mean placement in the Apprentice Division. However, I had enough proficiency in the dojo's advanced sword techniques to qualify as an Adept in the school and therefore, I could be placed in the higher tier division if I chose. Kalistra specifically stated her preference and I just indicated that I will obey her. After all, she still owed me 750 gold coins for the Cat's Eye necklace, and she intended to bet her way to pay back the money.

The cat girl grinned at my reply and her tail happily dangled in the air.

"Milord, we will need to run some errands once we enter Bristol," Rijana said. She was oblivious to the hidden communication between master and pupil.

"But we should be finished in time to watch your matches," Bjoukia quickly added.

"Of course," I smiled at the trio. "Thank you for protecting us," I added and bowed deeply.

"There's no need for that," Bjoukin said with embarrassment.

Suddenly, someone stuck the end of his scabbard against my lower back. "Hey, watch it!"

"-2 Health." I was wearing my armor, which was on loan from The Watch. For me to receive damage in my torso despite the armor's protection, the blow was NOT accidental. I slowly turned to face my would-be tormentor. Ah yes, new city, new bullies. Just the way the Gamemaster liked it.

The culprit was a haughty looking youth, perhaps seventeen years of age. The boy with short golden hair wore an expensive looking dark blue silk shirt over red leggings and black leather boots. He carried a long sword at his belt; the hilt was decorated with a topaz. His hands were adorned with jeweled rings. He was surrounded by a trio of bodyguards. His icy blue eyes burned with fury. "Why would a nobleman like you bow and scrape before those mongrels?" he asked.

I looked up at his caption and read his name, "Kuerten Paget." I groaned inwardly as I traded glances with my master. I recalled her warning regarding the nobility. I needed to give this arrogant nobleman a proper response without insulting him. I smiled without warmth at the young man. "Lord Paget, my servant had passed out while on the road. These three came to her aid and then accompanied us for the rest of our journey," I explained politely.

"You are too generous, Lord Mulligan," Rijana responded with a deep bow. "We happen to be traveling to the same destination."

"Hmph!" Paget turned away in disgust. It was proper decorum for nobles to acknowledge service performed beyond what was expected of one's proper station. If the trio had gone out of their way to assist me, then he couldn't disparage me any further without provoking me into challenging him to a duel. Paget couldn't risk injury before the tournament. Perhaps afterward, he could make a demand or two from me.

Fortunately, I was rescued by an unlikely source. "Sirs, please state your names and the purpose of your visit to Bristol."

We turned and saw that we had reached the gatehouse. Standing before us was a humongous man wearing chain mail armor. His head was bald and his skin was bronze colored. He had an intimidating presence and his tone of voice was stern.

Hovering near the guard was a man wearing a white robe with a red cross on his chest; he was holding a writing book and a quill. His truth stone hung prominently over his heart. The man was obviously a member of the Church of Britannia.

I quickly read both men's captions. "Greetings Gatekeeper Valden and Brother Hanning," I said. The cleric's full name was "Jonathan Hanning," and he was apparently a nobleman.

When the shorter man's brows rose at being addressed as "Brother Hanning," I quickly pulled out my own truth stone from under my tunic. "My name is Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, town judge in Tregome and a brother in the Church of Britannia. I am here to participate in the Melee Tournament as the representative of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship," I answered honestly.

Upon hearing my name, Brother Hanning grabbed my hand and bowed deeply. However, he did not kiss my hand because my position within the Church was not high enough to demand it. "Yes, the Brotherhood has heard of your great service on behalf of the Gods of Law and Order during your stay in Tregome. This lowly brother's heart is filled with joy to see your safe arrival in Bristol," he said. The man released my hand and quickly wrote my name and purpose down on paper. "What of your companions?" he prodded me gently.

Kalistra stepped forward. "I am Kalistra, Heir of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship and I will serve as a judge in the tournament," she said.

The gatekeeper's eyes lit up at her introduction. "Master Kalistra! Thank you for coming to this year's Melee Tournament!" The man quickly bowed from the waist.

The cleric's brows shot up but he performed his duties without comment and wrote down her name and purpose. Hanning had rarely seen the guard bow to anyone. At first glance, this cat girl looked like a harmless, innocent lamb. She was petite and aloof, just like any other cat girl. However, now that he stood close to her, the man could fear a powerful, foreboding aura emanating from her. Hanning resisted the temptation to wipe the sweat from his brows. To Brother Hanning's relief, the rest of the party seemed normal and he dutifully recorded their entries in his visitor's log.

The five of us entered Bristol and then Kalistra took the lead. She brought us to the large water fountain in the middle of the large courtyard which I had seen from the road earlier. Commoners were continuously drawing water from it with buckets.

"This is where we part," Rijana said with a hint of sadness. "Good luck in the tournament," she waved and walked away.

"Good luck," the two elves echoed.

Bjoukia gave me a peck on the cheek and smiled mischievously.

Her brother scowled as he dragged her by the arm to follow their leader.

"Good riddance," the cat girl muttered under her breath. "Okay, we need to register you for the tournament, and then we'll rent a room at an inn to stow our gear. You can't wear armor in the tournament," she pointed out.

"Yes, master," I replied.

Kalistra looked at our surroundings and her whiskers twitched. Realizing that it would be far too easy for me to be separated from her in this large crowd, the cat girl grabbed my right hand and started pulling me along.