Once we stepped on the sidewalk, the two cat girls took their positions to my left and right. They quickly scanned our surroundings for any sign of an ambush.

I closed my eyes and activated my Spirit Sense. I also activated my Magic Sense. I felt overwhelming auras from the building behind me and I was forced to drop my senses before I receive damage through the feedback loop. I sighed to myself. The Magic Guild was making it impossible for me to sift through a ball of yarn's worth of auras. If I ever reach Mastery of either sense, I could probably distinguish them. But at my current levels (8 and 5, respectively), I wasn't up to the task. I checked the pop-up message, which confirmed my predicament: "Spirit sense FAILED. Magic sense FAILED." Oh well. At least I didn't lose any XP or health over the failed detections.

I cast a Light sphere and started walking north toward the tavern. Until I gained some distance from the guild building, I had to trust my bodyguards to detect an ambush in the street. I walked at a steady pace and allowed the illumination from my magic to vanquish the dark corners. About halfway through my trek, I felt that I was being watched. I activated my Spirit Sense and Magic Sense again. This time, I was rewarded. There were a few dozen undead creatures closing in on our position. "Ambush. Undead," I said quietly. "Spirit sense SUCCESSFUL. +250 XP."

My companions quickly pulled out their blades and turned their backs toward me.

I did the same.

A minute later, our enemies arrived. They were zombies created from the bodies of the dead citizens. More worrisome, though, were the skeletal warriors on horseback leading the zombie horde. I read the caption above one of the riders and the monster was identified as a "Skeletal Knight." I suspected that the knights were more difficult enemies than the skeletons I had fought so far.

Riding with them was a person wearing a black robe. When the group stopped its march, he got off his undead horse and confidently approached me. He had a white mask covering his face. He wore a white sash with an ivory wand tucked at his hip.

From his tall height and thin build, I crossed out Urru as a suspect. She was shorter than the person before us and she had a full, feminine figure that her robes couldn't hide. The mage before us was clearly male and I didn't believe Urru had access to magic to change her physical appearance to deceive me. Nor would she have the incentive to do so, for that matter.

"Good evening, Lord Mulligan," the black mage spoke. He had a distinct accent and his voice was high-pitched and sounded like a teenager. But his mannerism portrayed him as an aristocrat.

"It is impolite not to introduce yourself first," I retorted. I was tempted to bow to the nobleman but decided it was not proper decorum for a member of the Church to acknowledge a necromancer in a friendly manner. I tried reading the caption above the newcomer's head but it was fuzzy. It was probably obscured by magic.

"Call me the Black Jester," he bowed.

"What do you want?" I asked with a slight nod. "I don't want to miss curfew and spend a cold night out here on the street."

The mage snorted in derision. "I represent an organization called the Jesters Group, which has certain interests in this region. I am here to express our . . . dismay at your interference with our plans. When you leave this city, it would be in your best interest never to return."

"Oh?" I mused aloud. "Your organization wanted this seaport to be destroyed? Or did you want the Magic Guild to be banished just like the Church was? And then take over the city?" The Black Jester did not reply but I felt his intense hatred for me. Apparently, I had hit a nerve with him.

He stared at me for a long moment. Finally, the black mage spoke up. "I have delivered my message to you. I will now leave in peace. I bid you a good evening." The undead horde turned around and moved away from us. Black Jester snapped his fingers and a black mist covered him. When the smokescreen dissipated a few seconds later, he vanished from our sights.

I closed my eyes and activated my Spirit Sense. I immediately located his blood red aura along with the black auras of his fellow riders. His group was moving eastward and they will soon leave town. "Spirit sense SUCCESSFUL. +150 XP." However, zombie horde was nowhere to be found, meaning that the mage had already dismissed them. Of course, there will be badly decomposing bodies of the zombies on the streets, but that was no longer my concern at the moment.

"Should we go after him?" Kalistra asked. Her eyes glowed and her tail swayed with anticipation of a fight.

I opened my eyes. "No. We need to return by curfew," I decided. Besides, I did not wish to fight the undead without Van. The Black Jester could probably summon something even deadlier than zombies and skeletal knights to fight us. I wasn't afraid of losing the encounter per se, but I had a feeling that the paladin would be VERY upset if he learned that we fought undead without him. It wasn't worth antagonizing Van, especially since he will be tagging along as I travel to the other two sites of Ph'laen Ruins in addition to the one near Southampton.

We continued moving in silence until we finally returned to The Trade Wind.

I breathed a sigh of relief because we were able to return to the tavern by the start of the curfew.

Bernetta smiled when she saw us enter the lobby.

I walked up to the reception desk and asked, "Is the VIP room closed for the evening? I would like to talk to my companions in private. I fear we may disturb your guests if we talked in my room."

The tavern keeper looked at me for a moment and then nodded. "Milord, please note that our kitchen is closed for the evening. But we can serve you water if that is okay with you."

I waved my hand. "That's fine. I'll go to the VIP room now. I know the way." I winked at her and entered the common room. As expected, the room was almost entirely free of patrons aside from a handful of people who I presumed had rooms upstairs. They were lingering over their last drops of ale for the night and they appeared to be sorrowful over that fact.

I nodded at them and marched straight into the VIP room. I cast a Light sphere to illuminate the room. I took my seat at the head of the table and my bodyguards quickly joined me.

Bernetta brought us glasses of water along with a small plate of crackers. She bowed deeply to me and closed the door behind her.

"We're fortunate that Van did not come with us," Kalistra remarked as she snatched a few crackers.

I glanced at her. "Because the paladin would have disregarded my order and gone after the Black Jester."

The cat girl nodded. The paladin was bloodthirsty whenever he encountered undead and he would have been difficult to restrain from attacking the Black Jester, who was clearly evil.

"Milord," Bila spoke up hesitantly. She wasn't sure if it was proper for a lowly servant to voice her opinion. Especially a new hire.

I waved my hand and smiled to encourage her to continue talking.

"I think the mage may have been seeking to lure you into a trap. If you decided to go after him, there may have been more minions awaiting us," she noted.

I nodded in appreciation. "The thought has crossed my mind. In Bristol, the streets were poorly patrolled by the Watch. We had several encounters with the local thieves' guild. That experience was what made me decide to return to the tavern by the curfew," I explained.

Kalistra gave the other cat girl a sharp look. It was time for Kalistra to be more forthcoming regarding the dangers that their Liege was facing. "Someone wealthy paid to have Lord Mulligan assassinated before we reached Bristol. The attempt failed obviously. The Double-Cross Society, which is the local thieves' guild in Bristol, decided to offer an alliance with our Lord. When Lord Mulligan accepted, this alliance ended all the outstanding assassination contracts against him." She raised a paw to forestall a question from Bila. "However, it's possible that someone else has hired assassins to follow us. The longer we stay in Southampton, the more likely that an assassin will arrive to carry out the contract again. Thus, the safest thing to do is to keep traveling and not stay in town for too long."

Bila accepted the news calmly. She had been warned that I had powerful enemies. An assassination attempt or two was par for the course, in her view, because any influential nobleman should have at least a few mortal enemies. Bila accepted the job of guarding Lord Mulligan with that understanding. The cat girl placed her right paw on my hand to reassure me. "Milord, do you know who's after you?" she asked.

I traded looks with Kalistra. I wasn't sure I wanted to start making a list because it will be quite long.

"From the Melee Tournament alone, he had made several enemies with the nobility. The Regent's family, for example, and several families seeking to curry the Regent's favor. Lord Mulligan defeated a nobleman with ties to the Regent during the tournament and humiliated the boy," the cat girl explained.

Bila shrugged. "If Lord Mulligan fought Honorably in his duels, that can't be helped."

"True," Kalistra nodded in agreement. "But the nobility don't think that way. To them, giving face and saving face is what's important. In their eyes, our Lord is not a true nobleman and he should have thrown the match to the boy. In fact, Lord Mulligan was explicitly asked to throw the match but he refused. His failure to do so has ruffled a lot of feathers. And I'm sure they are plotting against him. Even now."

"It would have been Dishonorable for our Liege to throw the match. Even if the audience forgives him, the Gods would not. Thus, I believe he made the right decision in refusing to throw the match. As for the blowback from the nobility, if Lord Mulligan continues to achieve great and Honorable deeds, like defending Southampton, then even the nobility can't touch him," Bila pointed out.

The smaller cat girl grinned. She was beginning to appreciate the way that the newcomer was defending their Liege. This interaction had unveiled the true extent of Bila's loyalty to Lord Mulligan and it made Kalistra very happy to see that Bila was passing the loyalty test with flying colors. And Kalistra had made the right decision to permit Bila to join them. If Bila had failed this test, Kalistra would have dismissed Bila when the party left town tomorrow. "That's why I would have gambled on pursuing the Black Jester and ignored the curfew. If we manage to capture him and force him to confess his crimes before the Leadership Council, it would have greatly enhanced Lord Mulligan's reputation."

The taller cat girl shook her head. "We are his bodyguards. It is our duties to reduce the personal risks to him. Pursuing the Black Jester would have increased such risks."

Kalistra nodded with approval. "That's why I accepted his decision immediately."

I raised my free hand. The two were talking as if I wasn't around. "Um, I'm still here. And awake."

"So you are, milord," Bila squeezed my hand and purred affectionately.

Kalistra rolled her eyes. The other cat girl's affection for me was something Kalistra would never understand. "In addition to the nobility making trouble for our Lord, the Gods of Chaos may also mobilize their followers against him. He foiled a kidnapping of children by followers of Drowsidea and the drows have been defeated twice so far. But I assume that they will try to kidnap him to use as a sacrifice again. Other gods may step in as Lord Mulligan's candidacy for Kingship becomes more viable in the future." She decided not to mention an angry dwarven bar owner and their roles in freeing his two workers turned burglars. Kalistra doubted the dwarf could harm them anymore.

Bila finally released my hand. "It will be a difficult assignment to keep you safe, milord," she concluded.

Kalistra nodded solemnly. "Do you regret swearing fealty?" she asked.

The other cat girl shook her head. "Not at all. After hearing what threats our Lord face, I think of it as a fun challenge."

"You sure have a weird notion of 'fun,'" I mocked her playfully.

"I'm just a different kind of girl." Bila's whiskers twitched and her tail whacked my arm lightly.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Kalistra asked. Her voice turned serious.

I turned to face her. "The Leadership Council will summon me in the morning. Delkon had said he wants to reward me. But I think he wants to talk to me privately because he never had the opportunity to do so."

The two cat girls nodded. Our two meetings with the blue mage had been in public.

"I need one of you to stay here in the tavern and speak to the hunter on my behalf. If possible, I want to hire that person as a guide. I would prefer Bila to be the one talking to the hunter because you're from Hampshire, which is relatively close by and you're more familiar with this region than anyone in my party," I continued.

Bila bowed deeply. "Yes, milord." She was disappointed to be left behind tomorrow morning but she couldn't fault my logic.

"Please offer 50 silver pieces per day to the hunter for his services. But you are authorized to offer double that, or one gold per day, if necessary to procure his services. And offer an advanced retainer fee of one gold to show that we're serious about hiring him as a guide. " I untied the sack from my belt and took out 10 gold pieces. I stacked them neatly on the table in 2 piles and pushed them toward her.

Kalistra's eyes glowed and her whiskers twitched. But she kept silent.

Bila reluctantly took the coins and placed them in her waist pouch. It was a lot of money and more than commoners, including hunters, can make in a week. Thus, the cat girl was confident that she will be able to hire the hunter as a guide.

I yawned and quickly covered my mouth. "I think we should retire for the night." I rose to my feet and walked out of the room.

My bodyguards quickly did the same.

When we passed through the common room, I saw several workers who were busy cleaning the tables and moping the floors. "Good night!" I said.

The workers bowed toward me. "Good night, Lord Mulligan."

When I reached the lobby and saw Bernetta, I said, "I'm expecting a summons to the Leadership Council tomorrow morning. Please let me know when Iunicus arrives."

"Yes, milord," the tavern keeper replied with a deep bow.

"Good night!" I waved and hurried up the stairs. When I opened the door to my room, I didn't bother to light the lantern. Instead, I flopped onto my bed, face first, in the darkness and soon fell asleep.