Leaving Tescka behind, we quickly left the house before the necromancers return. I didn't want to risk encountering a lich because the ensuing fight will probably decimate my party. While I was confident that I would be raised from the dead, the Church leadership would not expend the resources on my companions, especially not the non-humans.

I turned toward my companions and said, "Let's go back to The Wild Boar to grab lunch and then plan our next move." Seeing nods from them, I took the lead and returned to the inn. We walked into the common room and saw that it was already crowded.

However, a commoner recognized me. He stood up and waved for me to come over to his table. He nudged the other patrons and said quietly, "Please allow Lord Mulligan to take our table."

The other commoners quickly finished the last few spoons of their simple oatmeals and relinquished their seats.

I looked at the commoner's caption and his name read, "Woosle." "Thank you, Woosle," I nodded politely as I stood in front him.

A waitress quickly came over and cleared the table.

"Good day, milord," Woosle bowed deeply and pushed his companions to move away from us.

We finally took our seats on the benches in front of the newly cleaned table.

"Are you ready to order, milord?" The waitress had returned.

"We'll all have today's special and honey mead," I replied. I noted that I had never seen this waitress before. She had freckles on her face and her red hair was short in the style of a bob. She dressed conservatively in a black apron over a dark yellow dress that dropped to her ankles. Her caption read, "Jenna."

Jenna saw that I was checking her out and smiled flirtatiously. Her hips swayed as she returned to the kitchen.

I felt an elbow jab into my ribs. Ow! "-1 Health."

"Stop staring at her," Kalistra grumbled. She was annoyed at me for my wandering eye when I had Amelica back in Tregome. While she understood that noblemen often kept mistresses on the side, Kalistra didn't want me to adopt this troublesome custom, especially considering the fact that I wasn't born in this country. "While we're waiting for our lunch to arrive, why don't you pull up your player status screen?" she requested. "We need to see how far off you are from advancing to the next level."

I obeyed my sword instructor and pulled up my status screen. A picture of my player avatar was on the left column and right above that read: “Title: Pursuer of the Crown, Title: Finalist in the Melee Tournament, Title: Were-Hunter, Title: Avenger of the Town Judge Wachtel; Title: Liege of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship, Status: Member of the Mage Guild, Status: Adept of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship, Status: Adept of the Church of Britannia, Status: Town Judge of Tregome, Status: Honorary member of the Tregome Bordermen, Status: True Friend of Burnhamm Village, Status: Commissioned Agent of Bristol.” Phew! My list of titles was becoming longer and longer!

The middle column read: "Name: Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, Race: Human, Alignment: Lawful-Neutral, Permanent Conditions: Marked by Bane, Marked by Musa, Marked by Luck, Marked by Gaea, Marked by Jasla; Temporary Condition: Cursed by Keras, Duration 6:17:41; Profession: Mage/Swordsman, Level: 6, Experience: 11,013/15,000, Reputation: 11,652, Attack: 34, Damage: 6-8 (Unarmed), 8-12 (Dagger), 8-18 (Long Sword), Critical Attack: 7%, Critical Damage: 250%."

On the right side of the screen, my player attributes were listed: "Health: 33 (HALVED by Keras' Curse), Stamina: 46, Magic: 30, Strength: 20, Intelligence: 20, Wisdom: 12, Dexterity: 19, Constitution: 26, Charisma: 12. Abilities: Navigation-Sense (Level 5), Magic Sense (Level 5), Immunity to Electricity (Level 1), Negotiation (Level 3), Spirit Sense (Level 7), Reroll (Level X)."

At the bottom were four tabs. The first was marked "Skills." When I mentally clicked on the tab, I saw: "Professional Skills: Mage—Read Magic (Level 7); Swordsman—Charge (Level 4), Disarm (Level 3), First Strike (Level 2), Slide Step (Level 4), Duel Winner (Level 2)." The second tab was "Magic Spells: General (Level 2)—Detect Trap, Light, Dispel Magic; Fire (Level 3)—Fire Bolt, Fireball; Water (Level 1)—Acid Arrow; Earth (Level 1)—Armor, Web; Air (Level 1)—Magic Missile; Light (Level 1)—Protection from Undead; Dark (Level 1)—Dark Vision, Darkness." The third tab was: "Divine Spells: Order—Unveil (Level X), Chaos—Veil (Level X), Charm Opposite Sex (Level X); Life—Minor Heal (Level X)." The last tab was "Artifacts," and it revealed: "Truth-Stone of Order and Chaos—Truth-Telling (Level X)."

I paid particular attention to my health because I saw that it was down to 33 now. I also noticed that my Spirit Sense had risen to Level 7. I decided to activate it right now in order to advance this skill even further. The living auras of the patrons in the common room began to wash over me. I started filtering out the auras that appeared "normal" as in belonging to commoners. I noticed that there were some strong auras in the room; they were probably adventurers. But I didn't sense any evil presence in the room. However, there was an evil aura nearby--Tescka, who was outside the inn and stood next to the window to watch over us.

I took note of the fact that I now had at least one spell in every Magic Sphere: General, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, and Dark. Thus, I was on the path to becoming an Archmagi. Additionally, I had access to the Divine Spheres of Order, Chaos, and Life. I admit that a part of me was disappointed that Keras, the Goddess of Death, declined to mark me with her divine symbol because this meant I couldn't gain access to the Divine Sphere of Death. However, I understood the reason since her mark would cancel out Gaea's mark and inflict damage to my body. Apparently, the two sisters couldn't offer a ying-yang like harmony that the forces of Order and Chaos had found.

Kalistra's pale green eyes glowed as she carefully read my screen. "You have 11,000 experience points currently," she announced for the benefit of my dining companions who couldn't see the status screen. "You need 15,000 to reach Level 7. However, you're a dual-class and that means you need to double the 4,000 points."

"Ouch," Bjoukia remarked. "How are we supposed to get you 8,000 experience points before the week is up? It's impossible." She shook her head. Even if I were to practice casting spells for the experience and drinking mana potions constantly to replenish my mana, I could easily burn up the sacks of gold around my belt in doing so.

"We could take up some side quests," her brother suggested. The ranger wanted to check the jobs board at the Watch Headquarters. So far, his duties in serving as my bodyguard and accompanying me on behalf of The Elven Nation had taken up all his time. Also, the elf was desperate to leave the human city of Bristol for the tranquility of the forests. The brief stay in the cemetery wasn't enough to satisfy this innate racial need because the cemetery was tainted with death. Surely, the jobs board had quests outside Bristol!

"He could spar with each one of us," Van offered. The paladin wanted to spar with me because my defensive style would be an interesting match against his aggressive style.

Kalistra raised her paw; she was oblivious to the agendas of the others sitting at the table with her Liege. Even if she could read minds and learn what they wanted, it was irrelevant to her because her priority was keeping me alive; helping me master my new skills was critical to that mission. "Lord Mulligan hasn't done any real training since he changed his profession to become a Mage. It is important for him to figure out how to incorporate his sword and magic skills in order to become an official Swordmage," she noted.

The cat girl turned toward Rijana. "Can you rent the training hall again at the Magic Guild?" she asked. While there were training halls within the Watch Headquarters and the Church, Kalistra wanted privacy while I trained because she didn't want outsiders to become familiarized with my true abilities. The training hall at the Magic Guild would guarantee this privacy.

Rijana nodded in understanding of what Kalistra really wanted; in some ways, the cat girl was like an open book to the mage. "Yes, this is probably the ideal place for Lord Mulligan to train. I wouldn't want my student to misfire his Fireball and blow up a building in Bristol."

I laughed at her joke. But the expression on her face made me stop laughing. "You're serious," I said in shock.

"Very," my magic teacher replied. More than one student had been tossed into prison for his poor aim of a Fireball and starting a fire in Bristol. Nor did she want me to be tossed out of the Magic Guild when I had just joined the organization recently. The Magic Guild was not just a place to buy spells and magic items. It was also a network of invaluable contacts with practitioners of other Spheres of Magic. Without a membership to the guild, my magic instruction would virtually come to a screeching halt.

Jenna the waitress returned with a large tray. It contained three plates of garlic chicken over rice and beans. She set the meals before myself, Kalistra, and Rijana since we sat on the same side of the table. The waitress then placed our drinks on the table. "I'll be back with the rest," she promised and walked back to the kitchen.

We waited patiently for Jenna to keep her promise and then we started eating our food.

I was surprised by how spicy and salty the chicken was. The yellow sauce was thick and had a nice aroma. I didn't mind the extra spiciness, but I needed more than one mug of mead to wash it down. Fortunately, Jenna was very attentive and came back with more mugs of mead for our table.

My companions seemed to enjoy the unusual dish because they took their time in eating their meals. Even Kalistra took longer than usual to finish her lunch. She barely finished before I did, and I wasn't a fast eater.

The church bell rang once. It was one in the afternoon.

The rest of my party hurried to finish their plates and soon we left the common room. As we passed by the reception desk on our way out of the inn, Deun'Luye called out, "Wait, Lord Mulligan!" As I turned and approached him, the innkeeper reached for something at his desk; it was a letter. "This arrived the last hour," the gnome said as he handed me the letter.

I took the letter and looked at the front of the envelope. It read: "From Roen the Sign Maker, Town of Tregome. To Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, City of Bristol." I was surprised to receive a communication from him and quickly opened the envelope. Roen was many things: the Sign Maker in Tregome; the secret Ambassador of The Elven Nation; and the husband of Linemistress Valatea, the gatekeeper to Gaea's Inner Sanctum. I didn't know in what capacity the half-elf was contacting me.

Inside the envelope, there were two items: a handwritten letter and a check. I saw that the check was made payable to me in the amount of 2,000 gold coins! It was issued by the Bank of Britannia, meaning that I could deposit the check at any branch on this continent. "Minor faction quest COMPLETED. +2,000 XP." My jaw dropped when I read the pop-up message. I quickly read the letter:

"My Dear Business Partner,

The enclosed check represents the initial share of profits for our joint business venture. I had taken the liberty to license the production of your signs, both personal and commercial, to my fellow sign makers in other cities and towns within the Kingdom of Merlin. The agreement requires 20% royalty on profits from the sale of these signs payable in allotments of 200 gold. The two of us will split these payments 50-50. The check also includes your share of profits per our wholesale agreement; 50% of the amount on the check is from this personal endeavor.

I look forward to your safe return to Tregome.

Your partner,

Roen the Sign Maker"

I handed the letter and check to Kalistra.

When the cat girl saw the check, her white fur puffed up to double her normal size. While Kalistra had heard of checks, commonly used by merchants to transfer large sums of money, this was the first time she ever held a check in her paw. Additionally, she had never held that much money in her paw; the most she ever got was 1,000 gold coins for winning the Master Division of the Melee Tournament 2 years ago.

I clamped my jaws together to prevent a giggle from escaping out of my mouth. While Kalistra was a Master Swordswoman, her one major flaw was her inability to keep her emotions in check. Her reaction was very unsettling to my other companions. If the cat girl knew that I was laughing at her, she would use her patented poke-stab on my shoulder again.

"What happened?" Bjoukia asked with alarm as she took the letter and check from Kalistra. The cat girl's fur was still puffed out. The elf maiden's eyes quickly rolled through the letter and her ice blue eyes widened at the sum on the check. "Wow!" She had never seen a check for such an exorbitant amount of gold before. Bjoukia had no idea that I was a merchant as well. Perhaps, she should pursue me seriously as a romantic interest . . . The lovely elf maiden started batting her long eyelashes at me.

The rest of my companions took turns in reading the letter. The shock when they saw the amount of the check was clear on their faces.

Van finally returned the letter and check to me. "Milord, we need to visit the bank and cash your check," he suggested politely. "And we should drop by the church to offer your tithe, too," he reminded me gently.

Before Kalistra could open her mouth, I untied a sack of gold from my belt and handed it to her. "Please take the dojo's share from here," I said without looking at her.

The greedy cat girl snatched the sack from my hand and started counting out 200 gold coins. Adding to the 50 she took from me this morning from my share of the mayor's bounty, she gained a total of 250 gold from me. Aside from the bounty for winning the Melee Tournament, 250 gold was more money than she ever made in a single day! Kalistra's duties as my bodyguard were turning into a VERY profitable adventure. She started purring, to the astonishment of the elves.

I rolled my eyes and waited patiently for the cat girl to finish counting coins. We were still in the lobby area at The Wild Boar and standing close to the door.

The patrons were curious when they encountered us. But they saw Van in his armor and quickly walked past us. They clearly recognized Van and nobody wanted to mess with a paladin because his word carried the full weight of the church itself. Each person entering the inn wondered if Van was there for him or her. Thus, they were scurrying like mice before a cat.

Deun'Luye saw what was happening and quickly walked over to us. He cleared his throat loudly and said, "Milords and miladies, please conclude your affairs either upstairs in your guest rooms or outside."

Kalistra turned to the gnome and said, "Oh, we're done. See you later, Deun'Luye!" She handed the sack, now much lighter, to me and left the inn. Her tail dangled happily in the air.

When all of us were outside the inn, Van turned toward me and said, "Brother Mulligan, please permit me to take you to the bank."

I nodded. I had never been to the bank branch in Bristol before and I had no idea how to get there.

Van led us west and then north for several blocks and finally west again. It turned out that the bank was across the street from the Watch Headquarters but on the western side of town.

As we walked into the two-story building, I immediately noticed the presence of more guards and patrons. Additionally, there were more bank employees roaming the floor and sitting behind the teller windows. I walked over to a desk and showed my check to the employee. "Where do I cash this check?" I asked.

The employee, a human male, glanced at my caption above my head. He stood up and pointed at a teller window on the very west end. "Lord Mulligan, please take the check to that window. It is reserved for commercial transactions," he answered politely.

"Thank you," I nodded and left the desk. I walked over to the teller window as directed. There was no line. "Hi, I would like to deposit a check to my account," I said to the gnome sitting behind the window.

"Please put your hand on the identifier stone and then place the check in the slot," the employee replied in a bored tone of voice.

I did as instructed.

"Ah, yes. Your check has been deposited to your bank account. Is there anything else you need, Lord Mulligan?' he asked. The gnomish bank teller's tone of voice had changed. He was polite and attentive now before this VIP.

I looked at my belt. There were two sacks of coins tied to it. A third sack, which was empty, hung over the belt. It was time to lighten my burden. "I would like to deposit some coins," I replied.

"Please place the coins in the slot. Our coin counter will handle the rest," he said.

I emptied my sacks and then my waist pouch. The current balance in my account, according to the coin counter, was 4 platinum, 75 gold, 115 silver, and 14 coppers. I still owed a 200 gold tithe to the church. And I needed more money for daily expenses. "Can I withdraw 1 platinum, 400 gold, 50 silver, and 14 coppers?" I requested.

The slot started filling up with coins. First to come out was the platinum coin, which I placed in my waist pouch. Then the 400 gold was split into 2 sacks holding equal amounts and tied to my belt. I placed the remaining coins in my waist pouch as well.

The coin counter read: "2:675:65:00." This was my current bank balance.

"Would you like to make another transaction?" The teller asked.

"No, I'm done. Thank you," I replied and left the window. I walked to the table where my companions were sitting while I did my banking business. Since one of my sacks was empty now, I folded it and then squeezed it into my potions bag. Normally, I would put the sack in my messenger bag, but that had been left in my room. I used the messenger bag to store rations, extra clothes, and other items for my travel. But while I was in the city, it wasn't necessary for me to carry my messenger bag.

Rijana looked up at me and asked, "Are you ready to head over to the Magic Guild for some training?"

"Sure," I nodded.