*SLAP* I felt a sting on my left cheek. The pain jolted me awake. When my eyes regained their focus, I saw Kalistra peering down on me. I remembered what happened and sat up. "I'm back," I said.

"Yes," the cat girl replied. "Tell us what happened to you. Please." Since Kalistra was still partied with me, she had read the notification regarding the curse from Keras. She planned to discuss my horrific condition privately.

"I met Keras; she was upset that we had killed her Soul Reaper and wanted to have a little chat with me about it," I replied as I sat on the ground cross-legged. I looked around and saw that Soiretu was shoveling a hole in the ground to bury the bodies of the hellions.

"If you're referring to the robed skeleton with the scythe, it was you who landed the killing blow," Bjoukin pointed out. He was taking a break from shoveling with the caretaker.

I saw Bjoukia sitting nearby; she was working to loosen a joint in her gauntlet.

"Isn't Keras the Goddess of Death?" Rijana asked with great alarm.

"Yes," Bjoukia winced at the mention of Keras. The elves were servants of Gaea, the Goddess of Life and the direct opposite of Keras. Keras' involvement with Lawrence will complicate matters for The Elven Nation and this news needed to be reported to their superior ASAP! The elf maiden made subtle eye contact with her brother and Rijana.

I noticed the exchange of looks but I declined to comment; I already knew what they were concerned about. "Anyway, Keras has assigned me a quest to help revive her Soul Reaper," I announced.

"What!" the twin elves blurted aloud in unison.

"What's wrong?" I asked quizzically.

Suddenly, a robed person wearing a hood appeared next to me.

I looked up and saw a dark blue robe. I saw my companions immediately reach for their swords; I held out my hands and yelled, "Stop!" Seeing that my companions had obeyed my command, I rose to my feet. Standing before this person, I saw that the newcomer was slightly taller than me. "Who are you?" I already had my suspicion and I simply needed a confirmation.

When the hood was pulled back, I saw the beautiful face of the elven mage, Tescka. Just as I suspected. She had once kidnapped me from my room at The Wild Boar and brought me to The Double Cross Society's Hideout for a meeting with the head of the local Thieves' Guild. It was kind of ironic for this mage to be here after I returned from another kidnapping. "Why are you here, Tescka?" I asked.

The elf nodded her head slightly in greeting. "Lord X has asked me to keep an eye on you," she replied honestly.

"Get away from him, you damned outcast!" Bjoukia said while glaring at the newcomer. In her eyes, this night had just turned from bad to worse.

"Outcast?" I asked with my brows raised.

Bjoukin pointed at Tescka's left ear. "Her earlobe has been cut. This marks her as a Betrayer of our laws. She is an outcast from The Elven Nation," he explained. It was a taboo subject for the elven race; to admit the existence of outcasts to non-elves had filled him with great shame. However, I was a servant of Gaea and, as her follower, I deserved to know the truth. His great fear now was that I would be corrupted by the outcast and reject the Tenets of Life. He had to find a wedge to drive between us!

Tescka shook her head. "There is more to life than being at Gaea's beck and call," she smirked. "I'm an outcast and I'm proud of it," she declared. Tescka pitied these children for being so blind to Gaea's flaws. The Gods and Goddesses cared little about their followers; they only cared about their power struggles with each other and mortals were nothing more than tools to that end.

Once Tescka was assured that the two elves would not draw their blades on her, the mage finally turned toward me. "I'm sure you're aware that Keras and Gaea are rivals. Your friends here are concerned that if you advance an interest of Keras, then your action will undermine Gaea in some way. So the question now is whether these two will allow you to proceed with Keras' quest. Or not," she explained.

Bjoukin nodded. "It is as the outcast said. We will need to consult our superior on this matter," he admitted honestly.

I held up my hand. "Why don't I ask Gaea directly?" I suggested.

Tescka blinked her eyes several times. She eyed my white robe and my truth stone. "Aren't you a follower of the Goddess Musa?" she asked suspiciously. It was unheard of for Gaea to have a HUMAN follower!

"Yes and no," I grinned. I rolled up my right sleeve and cast Unveil. I showed her the holy symbol of Gaea on my forearm.

"But that's impossible for a human," she gasped as she stared at the symbol of the seed.

I closed my eyes and ignored her comment. Gaea, if you are against my mission on Keras' behalf, then please give me a sign.

Suddenly, a sapling sprouted from the ground and grew quickly into a tree. A minute later, a face formed on the massive tree trunk. "Gaea grants you her permission," it said. "She agrees with her sister that the Soul Reaper needs to be revived in order for the Balance between Order and Chaos to be maintained."

I looked at the creature's caption and it read, "Treant." I bowed deeply to Gaea's servant and the rest of my companions followed my gesture.

However, Tescka remained standing. Unbowed.

I turned to the elf mage. "Thank you for your advice in defeating the Soul Reaper," I said.

"But I got you into trouble with Keras," she shrugged.

"What exactly does Keras want you to do?" Kalistra asked. She was annoyed at this trickster for using an Invisibility spell to stay hidden while following the group around. The cat girl had no inkling to Tescka's presence and it was upsetting Kalistra. Her tail whiplashed furiously.

I took out the Soul Collector. "She gave me this artifact to collect spiritual energy after we defeat undead monsters." I approached the bodies of the hellions. Suddenly, I heard a loud sucking sound and the orb flashed blue several times. I examined the item and discovered that its charge was now 100/1,000. There were five hellions, meaning that I received 20 units of spiritual energy for each hellion's soul.

"What happened?" Rijana asked with great alarm.

"The spirits of the hellions were still lingering here; this orb collected them and converted the spirits into spiritual energy," I replied.

"You CANNOT let the necromancers see it!" she warned me. "Otherwise, they will kill you and take the artifact from you!" In the wrong hands, this powerful artifact can be used be raise higher-tier undead, including the dreaded Elder Lich! Rijana started shivering at the thought of another Elder Lich running loose on Britannia. Both her parents and her hometown had perished when an elder lich visited her community when she was a child.

"Okay," I nodded. Frankly, I already expected the artifact to be invaluable and highly sought after. The Gods and Goddesses were certainly going out of their way to make my life harder in this gaming world. Why should I be surprised to hear that another group will be targeting me? Well, this was another incentive to finish Keras' quest sooner rather than later. And while the black orb was soul-bound to me, this bond could easily be dissolved by ending my life. Swell.

I turned my attention to Soiretu. "Where's the largest concentration of undead in this city?" I asked.

The caretaker dropped his shovel in surprise. Slowly, the man turned to face me. His face reddened with embarrassment. "Lord Mulligan, this is a subject best discussed in private with the leadership of the Church," he replied politely. "Until this evening, I had never encountered any undead other than zombies and skeletons," he quickly added. Soiretu reached into the ditch to recover his shovel. Hopefully, this activity will discourage me from discussing this subject with him further.

"Servant of Gaea, my roots sense something foul in the middle of the city. Perhaps, that is the starting point for your quest?" the treant suggested.

"Thank you," I bowed deeply.

"Our Mother has asked me to remain in this cemetery in case more restless undead appear. You may rest here, under my watchful eyes, until you are ready to leave this place," the treant offered.

I looked at my companions under the illumination of Rijana's Light sphere. I saw the weariness on their faces and took note of the numerous cuts and bruises on their bodies. "Yes, we will rest here until daybreak." We may as well salvage the night and get some much-needed rest.

My companions began to sit and lean their backs against the treant. Soon, everyone, except Kalistra and Tescka, fell asleep.

"Not going to sleep?" the elf asked with amusement.

"I don't trust you," the cat girl replied. She was concerned that the mage might kidnap me again.

Tescka smiled and then turned invisible, leaving a furious Kalistra behind.

#

I felt something nudge my chest but I ignored it.

*POKE*

The pain in my right shoulder woke me immediately. "-2 Health." It was the patented shoulder-poke and only one person did it to me--Kalistra! When I opened my eyes, I saw the pale green eyes of the aforementioned cat girl leaning over me. Before I could open my mouth to complain, she covered my mouth with her furry paw.

"We need to talk," she said in a low voice and then removed her paw. The cat girl rose to her feet and started walking away from our campsite.

I got back to my feet and mindlessly followed her. I glanced at the sky and saw that it was still a swirl of black and dark violet color; it was not even sunrise! I scowled at the cat girl's back for making me get up before dawn. I placed a hand over my mouth to cover my yawn.

Kalistra led me to a tree some fifty feet away from the camp. When I finally joined her, the cat girl folded her arms across her chest and said, "Tell me about the curse."

I looked at her and shrugged helplessly. "Keras felt that I needed an incentive to complete her quest sooner. And who am I to argue with a Goddess?"

The cat girl's eyes glowed and her tailed whipped back and forth angrily. "Did she do anything else to do?"

"You mean did I receive another brand? No," I shook my head. "She knew that I was already claimed by Gaea; if Keras tried to brand me, the energy from each Goddess would cancel out the other. And this would, in turn, harm my body."

"You sure know how to make my job harder as your bodyguard," Kalistra remarked and shook her head. Her whiskers and ears twitched. "With your health reduced by this much, keeping you alive became much harder. Especially if we're hunting undead now," she remarked. Higher-tier undead, such as wights, could drain life by touch alone. "When the shops open, we'll need to fill up your potions bag with healing potions." Kalistra would prefer that I took the role of a healer during this quest, but she had a feeling that my sword will be needed because our party simply didn't have enough melee fighters to ward off an undead horde or two.

"It's not like I'm going out of my way to find trouble," I replied defensively.

"No, it seems to find you," Kalistra agreed.

"That's the price of being a Player Character," I added.

"So that's the plan? Finish Keras' quest first?" the cat girl asked. "Frankly, we can't go to the other Phla'en Ruins until you're back to normal. It's too dangerous for you to travel beyond Bristol in your current condition."

"Yes, I know," I answered with mild annoyance. "How powerful are hellions anyway? I received 20 units of spiritual energy for each of them," I noted.

"For you, it's a difficult fight against one of them, especially with your reduced health. They are a lot stronger than the alpha male wolf that you killed singlehandedly outside Burnhamm Village," she replied. The cat girl leaned her face to my right ear and asked, "Can you sense Tescka?"

I closed my eyes and activated my Spirit Sense. I felt a blue and violet aura nearby, in addition to Kalistra's own golden aura. "She's standing about ten feet west of us," I answered. I opened my eyes and saw the pop-up message: "Spirit sense SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP."

"Good," the cat girl grinned. Her tail dangled happily. She was very relieved to hear that we could still detect her physical presence despite being invisible. "How trustworthy is she?" Kalistra asked.

"Not very," I admitted. "She's the mage who kidnapped me from my room at The Wild Boar and took me to see Lord X," I explained. "As a spellcaster, she may be more powerful than Rijana. Gate is a high-tier spell and she cast it twice in one night. Tescka will perform her tasks professionally and competently. But I will never forget her loyalty to The Double Cross Society."

Kalistra nodded her approval. She wanted to ensure that I remembered why Tescka was with us and where her loyalty laid. The elf was not like Jasla, the Chaotic daughter of Bane who was obviously smitten with me and wouldn't harm me. On the other hand, the elf would not hesitate to hurt me if commanded to do so by Lord X. Furthermore, Tescka would never pledge her allegiance to me. It was simply not in her character to do so as a Chaotic being.

"You do realize that elves have excellent hearing," Tescka said in a voice loud enough for us to hear. She had chosen her current spot precisely because she was still able to hear us talk.

"Does it really matter?" the cat girl replied while turning her head in the direction of the invisible mage. Two can play this game.

"No," the elf laughed. She was going to enjoy being around Kalistra. Their opposite characters were like oil and water. Tescka dropped her Invisibility spell and slowly approached us. "If you can tell where I'm at while I'm invisible, then there's no point in wasting my Mana to keep the spell running," she explained with a slight smile.

Kalistra sized up the mage for a moment and decided to take the direct approach. "My liege has been cursed by Keras. His health has been reduced by half. Will you help me keep him alive?" she inquired.

Tescka whistled. "Yeah, I noticed that Lord Mulligan was looking kind of pale when he came back. I didn't understand the reason for it. Keras can be a vengeful Goddess in her own way. Before I answer you, though, I need you to answer a question. Why are you asking for my help?" It was rather unusual for a Lawful being like Kalistra to seek the assistance of a Chaotic creature like Tescka.

"I don't know how reliable those three will be," the cat girl replied truthfully.

"Because Lord Mulligan is questing for Keras to revive the undead Soul Reaper," the elf continued her train of thought. "It's a conflict of interest for them and you're not certain if they will overcome their personal reservations despite the treant's explicit directive from Gaea."

"In a battle, hesitation can lead to death," Kalistra said.

Tescka turned her attention to me. "Lord X has only asked me to observe you. I have decided to take one step further and help you on this quest. I will do my best to keep you alive." She smiled.

"Why?" I asked quizzically.

"Your mission is making those followers of Gaea very uncomfortable. I want to take this opportunity to show them just how reliable and useful an 'outcast' of The Eleven Nation can be," the elf replied. Tescka saw the cat girl's grin. Yes, this will be an interesting mission indeed.