The insistent shaking of my arm immediately awoke me. When I opened my eyes, I half-expected to see something else. Miraculously, I saw only the wooden ceiling. I was still inside my guest room. I suddenly felt a sharp claw on my right shoulder and panicked. "I'm up!" I blurted aloud before the evil minx could hit me with her claw-poke.

"Aw," Kalistra pouted. Secretly, she took delight in torturing me with her claw-poke. Since I had removed Keras' curse, which had halved my Health, the cat girl knew that her light pokes wouldn't endanger my life. Heck, I had access to healing magic and an itty-bitty poke could be healed easily if I wanted to.

I ignored her and slowly sat up on my bed; I stretched like a cat.

The cat girl nodded her approval. Like master, like pupil.

"Quiet night?" I asked when I looked at my bodyguard under the dim illumination of the lantern hanging on the wall. There was no sunlight because my guest room lacked a window. Frankly, I didn't mind too much. After all, it WAS a free room. If I was actually paying for my room, I would have insisted on having a window. "What time is it now?" I asked absentmindedly as I got off the bed and stood on my feet.

My body swayed for a moment but Kalistra immediately grabbed my arm before I fell. "Sorry," I blurted out with embarrassment. All the physical activities I had engaged in since my arrival in Bristol for the Melee Tournament was finally catching up to me. Furthermore, my lack of rest until last night only compounded the physical stress on my body. I couldn't figure out how Kalistra could remain so alert and attentive considering that she had kept watch the entire night. Honestly, I should have insisted on taking up the responsibility of keeping the night watch but I was too tired to protest otherwise.

The cat girl's whiskers twitched with amusement. "You're not a morning person," she said succinctly. "There were no attempts to break into your room," she reported. "And it's after dawn," she added in response to my inquiries.

"Why are we up so early?" I asked and yawned. I could use a good cup of coffee right now. Tragically, I had not come across any merchant selling coffee. Oh, woe was me!

Kalistra shook her head as her ear flickered in disapproval of my slothfulness. "This is the usual time we get up at the dojo," she reminded me and grinned from ear to ear. A part of her missed the routine and this realization made her miss being at home. But only for a moment. The bigger part of her was giddy because she had the freedom to disregard the old routine--if she chose to. Nonetheless, she recognized the importance of starting each day on the right paw. Hence, she kept the old routine and got up at dawn.

The cat girl dropped her grin and looked at me with a serious expression. "Please tell me what your plans are for today," Kalistra requested politely.

I nodded. "Last night I mentioned that I wanted to resume the Ph'laen quest. I'm cognizant of the fact that you will need to return to Tregome shortly. I want to unlock at least one more ruin before you leave my party."

My bodyguard's eyes were downcast when I reminded her of her need to return to her dojo. After a moment, she held her head high and looked me in the eyes. "So we're leaving right now?" she asked in a neutral tone of voice. It was going to be a long journey eastward. She will have to find a suitable bodyguard for me before returning to Tregome via boat.

I shook my head. "Archbishop Wilshire has requested that I meet with him this morning. He said he wants to reward me for completing this important mission. I may also need to visit the Treant at the cemetery as well," I replied. "I negotiated with the Magic Guild for a Gate spell to teleport directly to another branch of the guild," I revealed. "This will cut down a lot on the travel time."

Kalistra's ears perked up. If all the ruins were located near the Magic Guild branches, then it was possible to finish the quest before she returned to Tregome. Barely containing her excitement, her tail dangled happily at the prospect. She cleared her throat. "Who are you bringing with you on this quest?" she asked.

I looked at her. "I would like Rijana and the elves to accompany me. I also want to bring Jasla in her human avatar form if she's available," I answered honestly.

Suddenly, the room became filled with smoke. A portal of fire appeared in the middle of the room and each of us was forced back to avoid the flames. Jasla stepped through and closed the portal behind her. "You rang?" she asked in a husky tone of voice. Without waiting for a response, the succubus hugged me tightly and wrapped her demon wings around me.

Her inhuman strength crushed my body and I could barely breathe. I struggled to free myself but it was useless. The lack of air in my lungs soon forced me to lose consciousness . . .

#

*SLAP*

The sting on my cheek forced me to awaken. I glanced at my pop-up message and saw, "-2 Health." I dismissed the notification and looked around the room.

Kalistra was hovering over me. "Are you okay?" she asked.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine now." It took me a moment to remember what happened. "Is Jasla still around?" I asked cautiously.

"No," the cat girl said and hissed. Her tail flickered angrily at the reminder of the demoness. "I sent her back to the Plane of Fire. She nearly killed you with her hug. As a godling, she should have known better," she grumbled aloud. Kalistra had no doubt that Jasla was observing us from her home in the Plane of Fire. However, the cat girl was confident that she could complain about the minor goddess without fear of reprisal. After all, Kalistra was my bodyguard and therefore, too important for Jasla to kill off with an errant fireball rained down from the sky. The cat girl's tail dangled happily at the thought of her rival's helplessness.

I felt a tingle from Jasla's brand on my forearm. I forgive you, I expressed my thought to her clearly. I felt a warmth spread from the divine mark until the feeling covered my entire body. I received a notification: "Status: Jasla's favor. Duration: 24:00:00. +25% Strength, Endurance, Resistance from Fire." I dismissed the message. While having some bonus effects were nice, it still wouldn't make up for the loss of having Jasla's human monk avatar join my party. Since I had changed my Class to Swordmage and I couldn't wear armor, I could not really serve as a tank for the party.

Fortunately, we still had Bjoukia, assuming that she will come with me on my next quest. I wanted to visit the Treant because he was the emissary of Gaea, whom the elves and Rijana served indirectly. If I received permission from the Treant to have those three join my quest to unlock the Ph'laen Ruins, this would help me immensely.

Bjoukia was a fighter and therefore, could serve as a primary tank to soak up damage and defend the party. However, I would be more comfortable having a second tank for the quest as well. Jasla's monk form was agile and highly elusive. Her Null Palm ability could chew up and spit out even the toughest monsters. Thus, Jasla would have been perfect for my party as the second tank. And while it was true that Kalistra was a fighter, she was primarily a damage dealer and her effectiveness would be reduced if she was saddled with defensive responsibilities. I sighed aloud at my predicament.

Suddenly, I felt my stomach rumble. "Let's go downstairs to break our fast and then I'll head over to the Church," I said quickly to hide my embarrassment. I got off my bed (for the second time this morning), retrieved my scabbard from the floor, and left the guest room. I took out the room key and locked the door behind me. I turned toward my companion. "Do you need to retrieve anything from your room?" I asked. Seeing her head shake in denial, I hurried down the staircase.

When we reached the front lobby of The Wild Boar, I walked over to the tavern keeper and said, "I'm planning to leave Bristol today." I returned the key to the gnome.

Deun 'Luye's eyes gleamed with delight at my announcement. He had promised one week's room and board for free at his tavern for my unexpectedly high placement in the Melee Tournament. If I wasn't going to use the full week, then the greedy gnome couldn't be held responsible for the remaining days left unused.

I nodded and walked past his desk to enter the common room. As I searched the room for an open table I asked quietly, "How long was I unconscious?"

"Almost an hour," the cat girl replied sourly.

I winced at her answer. This explained why there the room was nearly full: It was the middle of the morning rush hour for breakfast! I finally spied a couple leaving their table and I hurried over to claim their seats.

Kalistra was forced to sit next to me as we both squeezed into the bench.

The waitress soon arrived to take our orders.

"A simple bowl of oatmeal topped with banana and a hot tea with honey," I ordered.

"I'll have the same," Kalistra added.

The waitress nodded and headed back into the kitchen to pass our orders to the cook.

As we waited, the cat girl started tapping her left hind paw on the ground impatiently.

I was really tempted to nudge her to make her stop this annoying behavior. Being the coward that I was, I decided that I valued my life more. Thus, I pretended that this was simply another training session to endure.

Thankfully, the waitress returned with our order in just a few minutes.

Wordlessly, we both buried our faces in our bowls of oatmeal and finished it even sooner.

I left 2 silver pieces to cover generous tips plus my bodyguard's meal.

When we got up from our table, our spots on the bench were immediately claimed by other patrons. We left the common room less than 10 minutes after we arrived.

I nodded to the tavern keeper as we walked through the lobby and the gnome bowed deeply to me. We left The Wild Boar for the last time and quickly headed for the Church building. Unfortunately, the streets were already packed with peddlers and pedestrians and it took double the usual amount of time for us to arrive.

Kalistra stayed on the block while I crossed the street to reach the Church building.

I pulled out my Truth Stone of Order and Chaos to show the Watchmen guarding the main entrance. The two guards saluted me as I passed by. Once I entered the church, I looked around for a page. When I saw a young boy nearby, I raised my hand to draw his attention. "I need to see the archbishop immediately. He is expecting me," I said.

The page eyed the Truth Stone around my neck and bowed deeply to me. "Right this way," he said and started walking down the left corridor. He led me up a staircase to the second floor and down another corridor. Finally, he stopped in front of an open doorway.

Peering inside, I saw that it was the mess hall. Archbishop Wilshire was sitting at the back by himself and eating. There were other tables which were occupied by other clergymen.

The boy turned to me and said, "Please follow me." He led me across the large room.

As we walked past the other clerics, some raised their heads to look at me while others simply ignored me.

I received a few nods of acknowledgment and I quickly reciprocated. I was becoming uncomfortable with the attention that I was receiving. While no one attempted to strike a conversation with me directly, I heard a few whispers at my back.

"That's the one who killed the vampire," someone said and elicited a few gasps.

"He's also in the Magic Guild."

"Why in the name of the Law and Order is he carrying a sword?"

"I recognize him from the Melee Tournament."

Mercifully, we reached the archbishop's table and I was able to ignore the incessant conversations about me.

I immediately knelt down and kissed the man's ring.

"Good morning, Brother Mulligan," Archbishop Wilshire greeted me with a kind smile. "Please take a seat. Have you break your fast yet?" he asked.

"Yes, Your Eminence," I replied as I sat down.

"Ah, I see. If you will allow this old man to finish his bowl of oatmeal first, we can talk shortly." The archbishop turned to look at another cleric, who stood nearby.

The man, who was middle-aged with shortly cropped black hair, brown eyes, and wore a white robe, bowed deeply and quickly left the room.

"Of course! Please take your time." While the old man was finishing his breakfast, I started looking around the room. I saw that most of the brothers were keeping their eyes on us as we ate. I realized that any conversation I make with the archbishop will be overheard.

In a few minutes, the assistant returned. He held a sack in his hand. Accompanying him was a familiar face--Van!

The paladin immediately bent his knee and kissed the archbishop's ring.

Archbishop Wilshire motioned with his hand and the sack was placed on the table. "This sack contains a small reward for your service on behalf of the Church and Bristol. The 400 gold coins will help you in your travels. Second, I am officially recognizing you as an Undead Hunter. There is a scroll inside authorizing you to demand assistance from any member of the Church or the Watch in pursuit of the undead. They are beings of great evil and darkness and it is a critical mission of the Church to ensure their eradication from all of Britannia. For this reason, I have assigned Van to accompany you on your travels. You have worked together to successfully eradicate the undead in Bristol. I believe the Gods of the Law and Order desire your partnership to continue. I am merely acting on their wishes."

I took the bag and tied it to my belt. "Title ACQUIRED: Undead Hunter. +1,000 Reputation, +2,000 XP." I was stunned by the message because I did not expect to see so much reputation gain for acquiring my new title. But since the undead were evil and part of Chaos, they were antithetical to the Church itself and thus the importance of my task was reflected in the enormous reputation acquired along with my new title.

"May the Gods of the Law and Order bless you on your journey," the archbishop said.

Taking this as a dismissal, I rose from my seat and bowed deeply to him. As I walked out of the mess hall, the brothers nodded slightly to me.

Once we returned to the hallway, the page approached us. "I will lead you to the exit."

Van patted me on the back. "I look forward to cleansing more undead from Britannia with you."

I nodded politely while keeping my face neutral. I had no doubt that Archbishop Wilshire had assigned the paladin to me in order to spy on my activities. On the other hand, Van, with his plate mail armor and protection from evil, would make an excellent primary tank for my party. Thus, his presence will benefit my party enormously. A loss of some privacy to the Church was a small price to pay in exchange for Van's services.

When we left the Church building and crossed the street, I was not surprised to see Rijana, Bjoukin, and Bjoukia waiting with Kalistra. I had a feeling that I would see the trio before I left Bristol.

Rijana approached me and bowed. "Lord Mulligan, will you allow us to accompany you on your next quest?" she asked.

I smiled broadly. "Sure."