The church bell tolled loudly in the distance. It was two in the afternoon.

My eyes immediately flew open! I was supposed to meet up with Kalistra and the elves at one! I found myself looking up at the ceiling and quickly sat up. Thankfully, I saw that I was still in my guest room at The Wild Boar.

"Had a good nap?"

I turned my head and I noticed that Kalistra was sitting on the ground and leaning against a wall. "Why are you in my room?" I asked. "What happened to Rijana, Bjoukin, and Bjoukia?"

The cat girl's eyes glowed. "I'll answer the second question first. The trio is in my room right now. They were gracious enough to wait around for you to awaken. We'll join them shortly and leave The Wild Boar. As for your other question, you were kidnapped from this room last night, remember? Because I wasn't here to guard you. I intend to remedy my mistake." Her eyes glowed again.

Swell! I was hoping for some personal privacy. But I could certainly understand why Kalistra felt the need to stick close to me now. At least she did not feel the inclination to commit seppuku for failing to guard me. That was progress in my book.

I swung my legs to the ground and stood up. I looked at the floor and saw my spellbook and writing equipment on the ground. I quickly picked them up and placed my quill and bottle of ink in my pouch. I opened my wyvern skin-covered spellbook and turned the pages over until I saw the Fireball spell. I spent some time reading the two pages. According to the instructions, I needed soot for Fireball. That was on top of the components I needed for the other two spells I had learned a few hours earlier. In summary, the spell components that I needed were: soot, web, and holy water. I had to get these components before I head over to the cemetery.

"We don't have all day, Lawrence," Kalistra prodded me while tapping her left hind paw on the floor impatiently.

"Sorry," I winced. "I wanted to check the instructions for Fireball and see what component I needed to cast it," I explained as I closed my spellbook and placed it back in my leather carrying case.

"Just don't expect to fling Fireballs left and right during a fight," the cat girl replied. "If I recall, Fireball requires a large amount of mana to cast. You might be able to cast two if you're lucky. I suggest you buy some mana potions as well."

"That's a good idea!" I praised her.

Kalistra opened the door and held it open. "After you, milord," she bowed theatrically. Her tail swayed from side to side.

I rolled my eyes as I passed them.

She slammed the door behind me. *SLAM*

Some noise came from Kalistra's room and her door flew open. Bjoukin stuck his head out the door and saw the two of us. "You're awake!" he exclaimed. "We'll be right out!"

The two of us waited patiently for Bjoukin, Bjoukia, and Rijana to join us in the hallway. Once they left Kalistra's room, I headed down the stairs and then walked out of the building.

When Rijana came outside, I asked her, "Where should I go to buy the spell components? I also need to get holy water and mana potions."

My magic instructor tilted her head for a moment as she tried to remember what spells I need components for. "For soot and web, the general store where you bought your quill and ink would be fine. The store carries lower quality mana potions as well. While they also sell holy water, you could probably get them for free from the Church because of your membership with them," she pointed out. "I'll take you to the general store now." Rijana grabbed my arm and started pulling me along.

Kalistra hissed but took her place to my right.

The twin elves walked behind us.

After a few blocks, we returned to the general store.

Rijana walked over to a shelf and picked up two tiny bags; each was the size of a small tea bag. She then grabbed another leather pouch that was big enough to carry a smartphone. Next, she grabbed another bag; this one had a strap. It was smaller than my messenger bag, though. She turned to me and said, "I need 47 silver coins."

I pulled up the white church robe that I was still wearing and reached into my waist pouch in my leggings, where my loose coins were stored. I took out the silver coins and then passed it over to her.

After Rijana paid the shopkeeper, she put the two tea bags into the leather pouch and then said, "Please attach this spell components pouch to your belt."

I looked down at my belt. I had a lot of things attached to it already: A scabbard was on my left hip, two sacks of gold on my right hip, and my carrying case for my spellbook behind my right hip. I decided to attach the new pouch next to scabbard on my left hip. My belt was turning into Batman's utility belt.

"Please wear this around your neck. This bag will hold your potions," Rijana said while passing me the small messenger bag.

I put the strap over my neck and the bag settled next to my left ribs. I almost forgot about mana potions! "How much are mana potions here?" I asked.

"This store only carries Minor Mana Potions, which can restore 20 Mana instantly. But they cost 5 gold each," Rijana replied.

I winced at the cost. "I'll take five of them," I said and took out the 25 gold from the small sack that I had received from Mayor Wilshire earlier today. The mayor gave me 50 gold to cover expenses for this mission. Since that was my budget for this mission and I had spent less than one gold for web and soot, I was comfortable with spending half my budget on mana potions.

Rijana purchased the potions for me and I put them in my new potions bag.

When we left the general goods store, I took the lead and led our group to the Church. Kalistra and the elves had to remain outside because they were non-humans and magically barred from entering church grounds.

"I'll be back soon," I promised them. I entered through the main entrance and took out my truth stone from beneath my robe. When I saw a young cleric passing by, I raised my hand to draw his attention. I looked up at the young lad's caption to read his name. "Greetings, Brother Lough. Where can I get some holy water?" I asked.

The fair skinned but young looking man with light brown hair looked at me with his sky blue eyes. "Please follow me, Brother Mulligan," he said in a quiet voice and started walking down the hallway. Brother Lough led us down a flight of stairs, through another passageway and finally, we entered a room with a water fountain in the middle. The walls were lined with bookshelves; each shelf had trays containing glass vials, some filled with water while others were empty.

There were a few clergymen muttering softly while filling glass vials with water from the fountain.

"What are they doing?" I asked.

"Our brothers are blessing the water as they are being stored in the glass containers," Lough explained. "This is how the holy water is made."

"Is there anything special with the water from this fountain?" I asked.

My guide shook his head. "It's the same water that the common folk draws from the fountain at the Public Square. The difference between regular water and holy water is that the latter is blessed by members of our Church," he explained.

"Can I take a few vials of holy water from the shelves?" I asked and started to approach a shelf on the wall.

"NO!" my guide replied forcefully, interrupting the other clerics at the fountain momentarily.

The other five men turned their attention to us. Seeing nothing happening, the clergymen returned to their tasks.

"I apologize for my outburst, Brother Mulligan. But Church tradition demands that our brothers bless their own holy water," Lough explained.

"Really?" I was flabbergasted by the quiet cleric's overreaction. On the other hand, I was intrigued by the notion of creating my own holy water.

"Really," Brother Lough replied with a serious expression. "Let me teach you the blessing: 'May the Gods of the Law and Order bless this water and extend Their protection to Their Faithful.' You simply chant this blessing as you fill the glass vial," Lough instructed me. Then he pointed at a shelf to my right. "You see those red shelves? You can take empty vials from there to make your own holy water."

I turned and saw a few wooden shelves, painted red, with trays containing empty glass vials. There were over a hundred vials. I turned back to Lough. "How much do these vials cost?" I asked.

My guide shook his head. "You take what you need and nothing more than that. Your tithe covers the cost. If you can return the empty vials for reuse, the Church would greatly appreciate it," he replied.

"I have a quest that may involve fighting some undead. Can I take a dozen vials?" I asked.

Lough's thin, brown eyebrows rose. "Take what you need to complete your quest."

I turned to Rijana. "I'm going to need your help to carry some of the vials for me."

"Yes, milord," the mage nodded.

Without hesitation, I removed a dozen empty glass vials from a red shelf and passed half of them to Rijana. I then walked over to the water fountain, took a spot away from the other clergymen, and sat down next to the fountain. I gently placed the vials on the ground to my right and gestured, with my right hand, for Rijana to set her vials down at the same spot as well.

I removed the stopper from a glass vial and then dipped the container into the fountain. As the vial slowly filled up with water, I quickly chanted the blessing. I felt energy pour from my heart, traveled across my right arm, and enter the glass container. When I pulled it out of the water and placed the stopper over the top, I received a pop-up notification which read, "CREATED: Vial of Holy Water. -2 Mana, +10 XP."

Brother Lough took the glass vial from my hand and examined it. When he confirmed that I had created holy water, he patted my shoulder and placed the vial on the ground to my left. "Good job."

"Minor faction quest COMPLETED. +100 Reputation, +200 XP." I was surprised to discover that the creation of holy water was considered to be a quest in this gaming world. I quickly created the rest of the holy water I needed. I received another 110 XP and lost 22 Mana. When I was finished, Rijana started placing them in my small potions bag. I rose to my feet but suddenly, I felt a wave of dizziness.

"Easy," Brother Lough said as he grabbed my right arm. "You spent your mana too quickly in creating the holy water," he explained. "Your mana depletion is why you're experiencing some dizziness. Most brothers take their time to create holy water for this reason."

"I'm in a hurry," I grinned sheepishly. I was aware that stamina depletion would cause me to lose consciousness. I now learned that mana depletion would cause dizziness. In a way, this made sense because my mana was intricately related to my mental faculties. Thus, a loss of mana would lead to an increasing reduction of my mental abilities.

I looked at the clergymen still creating the holy water and a thought popped into my mind. "Are we allowed to sell the holy water that we create here?"

"NO!" the cleric replied with indignation at the outrageous suggestion. "Brother Mulligan, the Church is permitting us to create holy water strictly for our personal use. Otherwise, the holy water we create here is distributed by the Church to a limited number of shops. The mayor and the archbishop had reached an agreement on a list of approved sellers of the holy water at a cost of 1 gold each. The sellers get a 20% commission on each sale. Creating and selling holy water is a major source of funding for Church operations. And periodically, our brothers are assigned to create holy water, like these brothers here, if our inventory runs low."

"I see," I replied. In other words, the Church had a monopoly on the creation and sale of holy water. If I tried to sell holy water on my own, the Church would probably expel me from the brotherhood. I was somewhat disappointed because a potential source of revenue was taken away from me. However, I DID save 12 gold coins by making my own vials of holy water. And I still had another 24 1/2 gold remaining in my budget for this mission.

"I'll guide you back to the front entrance," the young cleric said. Personally profiting from the creation of holy water was an abhorrent behavior that was beneath the dignity of a member of the Church. Brother Lough sincerely hoped that I would not engage in this unethical behavior and risk excommunication from the church.

"Thank you," I said and bowed deeply, oblivious to the concern of my guide.