We entered the tavern. I walked over to the reception desk and saw that Bernetta was serving as the receptionist again.

The tavern keeper smiled broadly when she saw us. "Are you staying the night?" she asked. Bernetta had a pretty idea that was my plan. Especially if I was seeking to rendezvous at the tavern with the hunter she had mentioned earlier in the day.

I nodded.

Bernetta tilted her head for a moment as if lost in thought. She frowned slightly. "I only have 3 single bed guest rooms available at the moment," she said. The tavern keeper had rented out most of her rooms to city residents whose homes had been destroyed during the pirate raid.

Her uneasiness grew as she eyed my party. As a nobleman, I was not expected to share my room with anyone else--aside from my lover, that was. But she had no clue if anyone in my party will be sharing my bed. Assuming that I was, that still left two males and three females to split two beds and two rooms. Ouch.

"We'll take them," I answered. I reached for my belt to untie my sack containing gold coins. "How much to rent them for one night?" I asked.

Bernetta shook her head. "It's on me," she smiled, "in appreciation for saving our city."

"Thank you," I replied with an appreciative nod.

"Tavara!" the hostess yelled.

The young woman appeared in the lobby within seconds. "Yes, Mistress?"

"Please show these guests to their rooms. It's E, F, and G." Bernetta said and handed over the room keys.

Tavara took them and then turned toward us. She offered me a deep bow. "Please follow me up the stairs, milord."

We walked up the creaky staircase and reached the upper floor of the tavern.

Tavara walked down the hallway and opened three adjoining doors on the left side of the hallway. "Here are your keys," she said cheerfully and handed them to me. "Please remember to come down after the sixth horn for dinner." She curtsied and departed quietly.

"I'll take the middle room. You guys could decide on your room arrangement," I said. I had no desire to get in the middle of a fight between them over beds. I kept the key to Room F and passed the other keys to Van.

To my surprise, both Kalistra and Bila followed me and entered my room.

I turned around to face Bila. "Kalistra is my bodyguard and we usually share the same room. Now, why are you still here?" I asked. I was fine if she decided to adventure with me. Heck, I assumed she was planning to, anyway. But surely, the cat girl didn't expect to share my bed, too!

The cat girl looked directly into my eyes. "I wish to join your party and go on an adventure," she said.

"Why?" I grilled her.

"You can summon the Gods. You are heroic and handsome. Someday, you will be a legend like Merlin and Arthur. I wish to follow you," Bila answered honestly.

I blushed at the high praise. Honestly, it was unsettling since I was already accustomed to the constant bullying from another cat girl. "I don't mind if you come along," I replied. "We can always use another sword in our party. But Kalistra is my teacher and my advisor. I value her advice. What do you think, Kalistra?" I asked.

The cat girl turned to look at Bila. Kalistra's tail swooshed back and forth. "I'm not opposed to having you serve as a bodyguard for Lord Mulligan. He is very important to the Gods of the Law and Order and he has made numerous powerful enemies. I agree with you that he has the potential to reach the greatness of Merlin and Arthur and change Britannia itself. I am willing to share this burden of keeping him alive with you, Bila. But I need you to swear fealty to him. Right now," she demanded

Bila did not hesitate. She knelt before me and grabbed my right hand. "I, Bila of the Rising Sun School of Swordsmanship, do Hereby Swear Fealty to Lord Lawrence Eugene Mulligan." She kissed the back of my hand.

I received a pop-up message, which read: "Follower GAINED: Bila, Journeyman Swordswoman. +500 Reputation, +1,000 XP." Um, what just happened? I turned to face Kalistra. "Why did you force Bila to swear fealty to me?"

"It concerns the cat people," she answered cryptically.

"Tell me," I insisted.

Bila rose to her hind paws. She wrapped her arms around me and started purring. "As you know from your relationship with Kalistra, the cat people can be fickle and we often change our minds. Oaths help bind us and harden our resolve," she explained.

"But why me specifically?" I asked. I started petting Bila's head and she purred even louder.

"You are blessed by the Gods. The Gods believe that you walk on the Honorable Path and I have confirmed this with my own eyes when you came to the defense of Southampton. You are a worthy human to swear fealty to," she explained. She finally released me and took a step back. Her tail dangled happily in the air.

"Thank you," I replied. I felt humbled by her explanation and her faith in me. However, my heart began to race at the unexpected expectations that Bila had placed on my shoulders.

*WHAM* "-2 Health." I winced at the hard slap on my back. I didn't need to turn around to know the culprit--Kalistra! It was just like her to knock me down a peg or two. I didn't bother to heal the wound. This was one of those times when I wished I had changed my Class to Cleric instead of Mage because I would have been allowed to wear armor. And that, in turn, would prevent slaps from the evil minx from hurting me.

"You should get some rest, Lord Mulligan," the cat girl suggested innocently.

"Yes, mother," I teased her. I unbuckled the scabbard from my belt and placed it on the ground next to my bed. I crawled onto the straw mattress. I tried to rest on my back but the sting from the slap forced me to sleep on my side. I turned away from the window and soon fell asleep.

Bila tried to approach my bed to sleep with me.

However, Kalistra held her by the back of her neck and refused to let go.

The taller cat girl hissed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kalistra asked.

"I'm joining my Lord in his bed to keep him warm. It gets chilly at night," Bila answered.

"No, you won't," the shorter cat girl said. "Lord Mulligan is the frequent subject of scrying and spying. If he is discovered to share a bed with a cat girl, he would incur a severe loss of his personal reputation. This cannot be allowed. Thus, Lord Mulligan must be left alone when he sleeps on his bed," Kalistra explained.

Bila's ears were bent downward upon hearing the explanation. She understood the prejudice against the animal people and the commoners' scorn for bestiality, or improper relations between the humans and the animal people. Kalistra's cold logic made sense. But it hurt Bila's heart to be denied a chance to become closer to her Lord. "Fine," she sulked. "Where do I sleep?"

Kalistra released Bila's neck. She pointed her paw at the floor. "You can take the middle of the floor. I will lean against the wall. We'll take turns on watch duty. In the past, Lord Mulligan has been kidnapped from his room. At the time, he stubbornly refused to allow me to stay in his room. After the kidnapping incident, he was forced to change his ways."

"I see," Bila nodded slowly. She was shocked to hear the great Kalistra admit to a personal failure. But it increased her respect for the Master Swordswoman. She suspected that Kalistra would not anyone guard Lord Mulligan unless Kalistra trusted that person. "I will not let you down," Bila promised.

***

In the hallway, Van, Rijana, Bjoukia, and Bjoukin looked at each other. They were surprised to see that Bila had entered Lord Mulligan's room. They were astonished at the fact that Kalistra hadn't thrown out the other cat girl. The four exchanged shrugs; they were waiting for Bila to return to the hallway. Since that wasn't happening, it meant they needed to figure out their rooming arrangement.

Rijana spoke first. "I'll take Room E with Bjoukia. You boys can take Room G." She held out her hand for the key from Van.

The paladin quickly gave it to her.

The enchanter unlocked the guest room and entered.

Bjoukia followed and closed the door behind her.

Van opened the door to room G.

Bjoukin entered the room. "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor," the ranger volunteered.

"Thank you," Van nodded and quickly claimed the bed. He didn't bother to remove his plate mail armor. The bed groaned under his weight but held firm.

The companions, with the exception of Kalistra, soon fell asleep.

The party slept through the next change in the hour, which was denoted with the blowing of a horn from atop the Magic Guild.

Kalistra tried to awake Bila to take over watch duty but the other cat girl was fast asleep. "She's totally useless," Kalistra muttered and returned to her post. The evil minx took pleasure in awakening Bila when the next horn was blown again. It was now six hours after twelve noon. *Whack*

Bila yelped at the pain in her left thigh. Her fur immediately puffed up and her claws were extended. She quickly discovered the identity of her tormentor--Kalistra!

The petite cat girl was holding a scabbard and its end was positioned in front of Bila's nose.

"Why did you hit me?" Bila hissed.

"Because otherwise, you wouldn't wake up," Kalistra replied nonchalantly. She withdrew the scabbard and fastened it to her belt.

The taller cat girl reluctantly retracted her claws. Bila couldn't refute the reason. She DID have trouble waking up. It was the reason why she was fired from her last job as a guard for a traveling merchant. The employer found her asleep during watch duty and decided to replace her.

Bila saw Kalistra silently approach me, who was still asleep on my bed. To Bila's horror, she saw the evil minx poke a sharp claw into my right shoulder.

"Ow!" I was jolted awake by the pain. "-1 Health." I sat up on my bed and rubbed my shoulder. "I thought we had moved past that already, Kalistra," I complained.

The tormentor's eyes glowed and her tail swayed from side to side. "It's six in the evening. If you prefer to skip dinner and sleep more, we can arrange for Bila to stand guard," Kalistra suggested politely.

Bila's eyes narrowed and her fur puffed up again. But she kept silent and simply waited for my decision. Was it too late to rescind her oath of fealty to me?

Thankfully, I was not interested in skipping my meal. I held up my hand and said with a cheerful tone of voice, "No, I can sleep later. I wouldn't want to miss dinner at the famous The Trade Wind."

"That's right!" Bila added immediately. "I'm sure the others are waiting for you to come. Let's go!" she said enthusiastically. She grabbed my left arm, opened the door, and practically pulled me out of the room.

Kalistra grinned to herself as she closed the door behind me.

Sure enough, the rest of my companions were already waiting in the hallway.

"Sorry, I kept you guys waiting," I apologized.

"We just came out, too," Rijana said diplomatically.

Bjoukia giggled and received an elbow from her brother.

Van took the lead and walked down the staircase.

I walked behind the paladin and I was followed by Bila, Kalistra, Rjiana, Bjoukia, and finally Bjoukin.

Bernetta greeted us when we entered the lobby. "I hope you found your rooms satisfactory, Lord Mulligan," she said.

"They were," I nodded slightly.

"Please follow me to the VIP room. The cook has prepared a fine feast for the saviors of our city," the hostess said. She turned around and led us through the common room to the VIP room.

As we walked through the common room, the patrons rose from their benches and applauded us.

I offered a polite wave of my hand to acknowledge them and then quickly entered the VIP room. I took my seat the head of the table. The rest of my companions took the same seats as before with Kalistra seated to my right and Bila to my left.

While we waited for Bernetta and her staff to return to our room with our promised feast, Bila touched my arm to draw my attention. "Milord, are all these people your retainers?" she asked.

I tilted my head at the question. I wasn't sure how the term was defined in this gaming world. "What do you mean by 'retainer?'"

Thankfully, Kalistra interrupted with an explanation. "She's asking if everyone in this room has sworn fealty to you," she said helpfully.

"Oh." I shook my head. "Only Kalistra has done so," I answered honestly.

"Lord Mulligan has been acknowledged by the Church of Britannia as a candidate for Kingship. My dojo has decided to throw its support behind his bid," Kalistra quickly added.

"But the rest of the people here have not?" Bila motioned her left paw at them. "Why not?" she was befuddled by this notion.

I shook my head again and smiled at the cat girl. "Van is a paladin. He cannot forsake his vow to the Church without losing his Specialty Class. Rijana, Bjoukia, and Bjoukin are members of The Elven Nation. Their allegiance is to Gaea and I would not ask them to forsake their vows either." I pulled my right sleeve and cast Unveil on Gaea's divine mark. I showed the symbol of the seed on my right forearm to Bila. "I'm a Servant of Gaea and therefore, I have the support of The Elven Nation. Additionally, Rijana is my Magic Instructor. My strong ties to those three have rendered the need for oaths of fealty unnecessary," I explained.

"So, in essence, I'm your first follower?" Bila asked. Her tail and whiskers twitched excitedly.

"If you put it that way, yes," I admitted.

The cat girl grinned at the unexpected development. Since she was my first follower, this meant that Bila will have seniority over the other followers that I will eventually acquire. She couldn't wait to order them around!

Kalistra quickly burst her bubble. "Don't forget that I have seniority over you," she added.

Bila's ears flattened at the unwelcome reminder. Since Kalistra was the Heir of a dojo AND a Master Swordswoman, her status far exceeded Bila's.

Suddenly, the door opened and a parade of servers entered with heavy trays loaded with food. The long table was soon filled with mouth-watering platters of seafood such as whole lobsters, shrimps, and fish prepared in a variety of styles including steamed, boiled, and fried. Rice, beans, carrots, salads, and soup was served along with the platters.

I took only a small portion of the fried fish and gave up the rest of my platter to Kalistra, who passed me her fish chowder soup. I watched in awe as the cat girls methodically spat out the tiny fish bones and devoured the fish without pause.

Once the food on the table was completely devoured, I sat silently as my companions engaged in small talk around the table. Rijana and Bjoukia had passed me their soups, too, and I was full. I became sleepy from the hearty meal and I soon fell asleep at the table with a loud "Thud!"