After my secret meeting with Kalistra and Tescka, I returned to camp to catch some more sleep.

The treant saw my return but kept silent.

When I had awakened again, I immediately got up. I saw that the rest of my companions were already up and about and preparing to leave the cemetery. I turned to the twins and Kalistra and pointed a finger at each of them. "You three should go back up the hill with Soiretu. You need to clean the oil off the cobblestone road," I reminded them. As I watched their facial expressions turn sour, I wrestled with my emotions; I was feeling giddy inside and it was difficult to prevent myself from kissing my pinky.

Bjoukia pouted at the reminder but a stare from her brother made her keep silent. After all, they had a promise to keep; as representatives of The Elven Nation, breaking their word would cast a shadow over their people.

"What will you be doing?" Kalistra asked. She was not concerned with the chore because if the three of them worked in unison, cleaning the road could be finished quickly depending on the location of a water source.

"I need to report to the Mayor and let him know that his quest has been completed," I replied. "Then I will head over to the church and find out if they have any idea where the undead might be hiding in the city."

The cat girl raised her paw. "If it turns out that there are undead roaming under holy grounds, then you need to get additional support from the Watch and the Church before you start hunting the undead. Unfortunately, neither I nor the elves could follow you in that case. And Rijana by herself won't be enough support for your mission," Kalistra said. "Promise me you won't go ahead by yourself to hunt the undead." She looked me in the eye.

"I promise," I said solemnly. Despite what my bodyguard thought I did not have a death wish.

"We'll escort you to the gate," Soiretu offered.

I nodded my permission and the caretaker led the way. As we walked in silence, I marveled at how different the graveyard looked at night compared to the morning. It was a peaceful and serene environment. I saw butterflies fluttering around. Birds chirped in the trees. The cemetery was an oasis from the hustle-bustle of city life.

When we finally reached the gate, Soiretu took out his key and unlocked the door. Then he, with the assistance of Kalistra, opened the doors wide. "May the Gods watch over you," the man said and bowed deeply to me.

"May the Gods watch over you," I repeated his words and nodded slightly as befitting my station. Before I took a step past the gate, I remembered that I promised to hand off the rest of my holy water to Soiretu. I quickly opened my potions bag and gave him three vials.

The caretaker took them and then bowed again.

I stepped out of the cemetery and Rijana and Tescka followed me through the gate. Recalling the map in my mind, I headed south and then east.

Somewhere along the way, the elf mage turned invisible again.

For a moment, I wondered if Tescka was an outlaw wanted by the Watch in Bristol. I decided that it was better for me not to know because I was a wearer of a truth-stone and therefore, I could not lie on her behalf if I was ever questioned by either the Watch or the Church.

Since it was quite early in the morning, I decided to take a detour back to The Wild Boar to break my fast at the inn first. I entered the inn and veered straight into the common room. I noted that there were already commoners sitting at their tables and having oatmeal for breakfast. I claimed a table at the back. When I sat down on the bench, Tescka dropped her spell and sat to my right while Rijana took up a seat across the table.

A different waitress approached us than the two who had served me previously. The young woman was of medium height and she had long, straight brown hair, and wore a white apron over a figure-accentuating brown dress that modestly dropped to her ankles. Her caption indicated her name was "Tanyl." "What would you like this morning, milord?" she asked in a girlish, cheery voice while looking at me attentively with her dark brown eyes.

Remembering that the kitchen did not serve meat until lunch, I decided to have a simple breakfast. "Oatmeal and honey tea, please," I requested. It was best for me to have the same meal as the other patrons in the room.

"The same," my two female companions replied in unison.

Tanyl returned with our food shortly and we ate our meals in silence. When the church bell struck seven times, my companions paid for their individual meals and we left the inn. The trek to the Mayor's Office went without any incidents and we arrived within twenty minutes or so.

However, when we got there was a crowd standing outside the office; two Watchmen, well-equipped wearing plate mail armor, stood in front of the door. Their halberds were crossed over the door, barring entry.

"What's going on?" I asked a commoner.

"We're waiting for the office to open at eight," the tradesman replied.

I looked at the crowd and then turned toward Rijana. "We might not get a meeting with the mayor until much later this morning," I said. At this rate, Kalistra and the elves will be waiting for ME rather than the reverse.

"Should we head to the Church instead?" my magic teacher asked.

I thought for a moment. While it would indeed save some time if I went there now, I was concerned that the Church leadership would assign me additional tasks that would devour the rest of my day. Additionally, by broaching the possibility of undead lurking in Bristol, the Archbishop may order me to immediately start the undead hunt without Kalistra and the elves. Even if he were to assign Watchman and clerics to accompany me, I wouldn't feel comfortable hunting the undead without Kalistra nearby to watch my back. Therefore, I needed to delay my meeting with the Archbishop in order to give my companions more time to finish their chore and join me. Thus, I shook my head. "I want to report to the mayor first," I answered. "Is it possible to learn more spells while I'm waiting out here?" I asked.

"Sure, if you don't mind sitting on the street," she shrugged.

"Do you happen to know Invisibility?" I asked.

"No," Rijana shook her head.

"Tescka, can I learn the spell from you?" I asked.

"I'm not your magic teacher," the elf rebuffed me. "You can buy a scroll from the Magic Guild and learn this spell."

"Fine," I sighed. I turned back to Rijana. "How about I learn Darkness?"

"Sure," she nodded. "You'll have enough time to copy it before the office opens anyway."

I decided to take a spot on the left end of the building and sat down. I pulled out my spellbook and my writing equipment. Once my teacher placed her own spellbook in front of me, I started copying the spell. A half-hour later, I received a few notifications: "Read magic SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP. Spell of air LEARNED: Darkness. +100 XP."

When I started putting my spellbook away, someone said, "What are you doing here?" I looked up and I saw it was Mayor Wilshire! I immediately rose to my feet and bow deeply to him. "I'm here to report back to you, sir."

Surprise flashed across his face because the mayor didn't expect such a quick turnaround; he quickly returned to a neutral expression. "Follow me into my office," he commanded.

The crowd noticed his arrival and parted before him, creating a path through the sea of flesh for the mayor leading straight to the Watchmen.

The guards noticed his arrival; they immediately opened the door and saluted.

When I tried to follow him inside, a Watchman said, "Halt!" Halberds crossed in front of me.

Mayor Wilshire turned his head and said, "He can come with me."

"Yes, Mayor!" a guard replied and permitted me to follow the mayor into the building.

As we walked toward the mayor's office, the gnomish secretary rose from his chair and bowed deeply.

The pages standing at his desk noticed his reaction and quickly followed suit.

"Good morning," the mayor said and walked into the chair.

Secretary Wiug'Luen looked at me but kept silent as I followed the nobleman into his office. The gnome didn't bother to consult his appointment book because he already remembered my name and face--along with the fact that I never made an appointment to see the Mayor. While this was a severe breach of office protocol, Mayor Wilshire permitted such breach for important visitors. And apparently, I made the cut in the mayor's eyes.

When I closed the door, the mayor said immediately, "Tell me what happened."

I took the seat in front of the nobleman and started to talk. "We met with Soiretu at his house on the small hill inside the cemetery. He talked about some of his personal encounters with lower-tier undead such as zombies and skeletons. We then walked around the graveyard for a bit to examine the uncovered graves. Afterward, we returned to the hill and waited until after dark to patrol the area again. During the nighttime patrol, we encountered the perpetrator responsible for the missing bodies; it was a Soul Reaper."

"What's a Soul Reaper?" the mayor interrupted with his brows raised. He had never heard of this monster before.

"Milord, the Soul Reaper is a very high-tier undead creature. It has the appearance of a skeleton but dressed in a torn robe and carries a scythe. It is immune to normal weapons and it has very high magic resistance. Its purpose is to gather restless spirits, which manifest themselves in the wandering undead," Rijana lectured.

"Apparently, some of the deceased buried in the cemetery carried restless spirits. As they became undead and arose from their final resting places, the Soul Reaper appeared to destroy their bodies and collect their spirits," I added.

"So what happened during your encounter?" the nobleman pressed.

"We ended up killing it," I admitted with a wince.

"How? I thought you said it was resistant to normal weapons and magic?" the mayor frowned.

"Holy water can hurt it. But it is much more vulnerable to healing magic," I explained.

"So you killed it." It was a statement.

I nodded.

Mayor Wilshire rubbed his eyes. "So to summarize: The deceased were rising from their graves; they were the real culprits for the disturbances in the cemetery. The Soul Reaper destroyed their bodies and collected their souls," he said.

"That's correct," I nodded.

"But you made the situation worse by killing the Soul Reaper," he grumbled.

"Yes and no," I winced.

"Explain," his eyes narrowed.

"Keras, the Goddess of Death, was displeased that the Soul Reaper was killed. She sent a pack of hellions to punish my companions while I was brought to Hades. The Goddess then gave me a quest to revive the Soul Reaper. And she punished me by placing a curse on me," I revealed.

"What is the curse?" he asked.

"The curse dropped my Health by half for a week," I answered honestly.

Mayor Wilshire reacted as if he had sucked on a lemon. "That is quite a punishment for a swordsman," he said after a moment of consideration. "I bear part of the responsibility for your predicament because I gave you this quest to investigate the cemetery in the first place," he added grudgingly. He opened his drawer and took out a sack; he placed it on the table. He then pulled a ring embedded with a blue gemstone from his right pinky; the ring was also placed on the table. "This is your reward for finishing my quest. The sack contains 1,000 gold pieces. In addition, I'm going to lend you my signet ring. I want you to go the Church now and show this ring to any page. He will immediately take you to see my brother. Ask for his help to remove your curse. After your consultation with him, you can leave the signet ring with my secretary."

As I took the sack and the ring, I received pop-up notifications which read, "Major faction quest COMPLETED. +1,000 Reputation, +2,000 XP." My jaw almost dropped because I was astonished by how much experience I received for a little field trip to the cemetery. "Thank you, Mayor Wilshire," I replied and bowed deeply.

"Dismissed," the nobleman replied and flicked his wrist.

The two of us immediately rose from our seats. We bowed deeply to him again and then left his room.

When the mayor was alone again, a portal of fire suddenly opened near the door. Lord Bane walked through the portal. "You have done well. The Gamemaster was very entertained last night," the demigod said with a grin.

Mayor Wilshire bowed deeply before the demon lord and gritted his teeth.

#

When we finally left the building, Rijana grabbed my shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me about the curse?" She was absolutely livid that I tried to conceal my condition!

I slowly turned around and looked at her hand.

The mage immediately dropped it.

I straightened my white robe and sighed softly. I looked directly into her emerald eyes and said coolly, "I didn't want your pity. And I'm concerned that your friends may sabotage my mission."

Her beautiful eyes turned furious. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Milord, why would you think that?" she asked softly. Her fury gave way to sadness at the revelation that I didn't trust her friends.

"Your elf friends were upset that I had met with Keras. And they were clearly against my quest on her behalf. Otherwise, Gaea wouldn't have taken the extraordinary step of sending that treant to speak on her behalf," I replied.

"The Elven Nation have their way of life," she said defensively.

I nodded my head slowly. "And that's the problem. My curse is temporary. For now. But I suspect that Keras can turn the condition permanent. How can a swordsman fight at half strength? It would be difficult for me to continue on with my journey. And if I even suspect that Bjuokia and Bjoukin will hinder my missions, I have no choice but to drop them--and you--from my quests."

Rijana shook her head. "That's not fair."

"Look, I like you and the elf twins. I think of you as my friends. I hope that you feel the same way about me. But at the same time, I'm mindful of the fact that those two are followers of Gaea. Her teachings and the societal rules of the elven culture offer guidance to their lives and how they conduct themselves on a daily basis. If offering assistance to Keras goes beyond this boundary, then I cannot ask them to do so. And if they can't do it, then they will become a hindrance to my mission," I explained.

"It's a question of priority," the mage said softly.

"Correct. For me, the ultimate goal is to return home. But in order to do so, I must continue appeasing the Gods and Goddesses who cast their attention my way."

"It is a tremendous burden," Rijana noted and exhaled deeply. She couldn't fault me for taking precautions to ensure my quest for Keras will be successful. "So are we going to the church right away?" she asked.

"No, I want to wait for Kalistra and the elves to arrive. In the meantime, please take half the gold from this sack," I said as I handed her the sack I received from the mayor. I decided to take advantage of the presence of the guards standing outside the mayor's office by standing near them as the mage slowly counted out 500 gold pieces.

When Rijana was finished with her task, she returned my sack.

I tied the sack to my belt and then returned to the spot where I had sat down before we had our meeting with the mayor. I sat down and said, "Please tell me when our companions return." I closed my eyes and started my meditation.