After the guests left his apartment with Bolrema, Mordekai took out a small mirror and placed it on the coffee table. Invoking a word of power, the surface of the mirror shimmered for a moment and became cloudy. Finally, the cloud evaporated, revealing the face of an old but kind looking man. Dispensing with the customary greetings, the white mage reported, "The Player Character has arrived in London. His group just departed for lunch at the Big Oak Tree."

"I see. What is your impression of him?" the other man asked.

"Brother Mulligan seems very capable, multi-talented, and open-minded. Humans make up the minority of his companions. He was a Finalist in the Melee Tournament held recently. But it turns out that his profession is a swordmage," Mordekai reported.

"A swordmage?" the older man's brows rose. "The last I read in the church reports, he was a swordsman," he frowned. "I guess I will check his current status myself."

Mordekai nodded politely. "Indeed, that would be wise. It is best to get an update on his status before offering your support for his candidacy."

The other man kept his poker face. "Now, now, my friend. You should not poke your nose in the affairs of The Twelve."

The mage bowed deeply. "I apologize. But I'm anxious to see that incompetent Regent removed from his position as soon as possible." His eyes became angry at the mention of Regent Paget.

The old man raised his hand. "The majority of the noble families gave their support to him for the position. Neither you nor I could interfere to oust him unless serious charges are brought against him."

Mordekai clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Paget is too careful to be caught in his nefarious schemes."

"All we can do is place our faith in Lady Musa that she has chosen the right person to support for the crown," the other man said. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to prepare for the meeting."

Mordekai raised his hand before the connection was severed. "By the way, a paladin will be coming with him."

"I see. Thank you for informing me. May Lady Musa continue to watch over you."

"Likewise."

#

When Van and I left the Big Oak Tree, I had no idea where to go. Unlike Bristol and Tregome, the church building WASN'T the tallest building in London. I was simply overwhelmed by the hodgepodge of buildings of various heights, sizes, colors, and materials. Several buildings which appeared to be mage towers loomed over smaller, single-floor or double-floor storefronts and homes. Other buildings were wide enough to take up half the city block. I couldn't help but gawk at them as I walked by.

"Right this way, milord," the paladin said as he walked ahead of me.

I quickened my steps and walked to his left so that his right arm was free to draw his blade. After all, Van was my bodyguard and therefore, he should be close to me as we navigated our way through the busy streets. "Have you been to London before?" I asked.

The paladin looked at me and grinned. "The Pilgrimage of Paladinhood requires any candidate seeking to be recognized as a paladin to visit all the major churches in the kingdom. So the answer is yes, I have visited this place. And I know you're going to be amazed when you see Westminster Abbey." He chuckled lightly.

As we walked through the streets, would-be pickpockets tried to bump into me and grab my sack of coins which was tied to my belt. Fortunately, my high Dexterity attribute allowed me to thwart their attempts. I either sidestepped their small pocket knives or slapped away their grubby hands. I tried to use the minimal amount of force and the slaps resulted in only one point of damage to each pickpocket's Health.

Every attempt resulted in this pop-up notification: "Dexterity check SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP." By the time I was within sight of the abbey, I had racked up 250 XP. The thieves were mostly street urchins or beggars; they appeared to be very young. I was very sympathetic to their plights and decided to let them go rather than detain them and send them to the Watch.

In a twisted way of thinking, I was flattered to be targeted by so many thieves. It meant that I appeared to be rich and perhaps even a nobleman in their eyes. Either that or the kids believed that I had too many openings compared to my bodyguard. Well, I would rather believe the former rather than the latter.

Van saw what I was doing but decided not to intervene. Yes, he could have "roughed up" a few of the pickpockets but he, too, was sympathetic to the fact that they were kids. If the paladin had the coin to spare, he would offer his money to them freely. However, the Church gave out a very small stipend to him, just enough for his daily necessities. And he did not have the extra coins to offer the children.

When I arrived at the Westminster Abbey, I was in awe. The main building was a long chapel in the shape of a cross with white marble walls and gold accents. The ceiling stood some three stories tall and there were many windows. There were spires every ten feet or so along the walls. A high tower was attached to each side of the chapel as if they were guardians protecting the front entrance.

The church was a frenzy of activity. Many people, whether commoners, clergy, or knights, entered and left the building. Several groups of Watchmen patroled the streets outside the church.

A young lad stood near the entrance. He had a beak-like nose, mope-like brown hair, and a narrow but sharp chin. He glanced casually at everyone entering the abbey with his pale-blue eyes. When he saw me approach the entrance, he raised his hand. "Are you Brother Mulligan?" he asked politely. The boy was checking everyone's name and he already knew the answer.

"Yes, I am," I replied.

"My name is Gael and I am an assistant to Saint John the Kind. The Holy One has asked me to take you to see him right away," the boy said and bowed deeply.

"Okay," I agreed readily. As I followed the boy, I activated my Magic Sense and Spirit Sense to see if Gael was the avatar of a divine entity. After all, Lord Bane had taken a similar disguise as the assistant to Bishop Canterbury named Enab. Fortunately, it appeared that Gael was exactly the human boy he appeared to be.

To my disappointment, the assistant did not lead us to the main hall of worship which I had been looking forward to visiting. Instead, he took us through the right door and then down a long hallway. Finally, he took another right turn and stopped in front of a door. He knocked loudly and announced politely, "Brother Mulligan is here."

"Please come in." The voice was firm but gentle.

Gael opened the door for us.

I nodded in thanks and strolled into the room. I saw that it was a simple study room with a desk, two chairs in front and a chair behind, plus a bookshelf and a cabinet. On the wall was a white cross. Inside the room was an old man who looked to be roughly sixty years of age. His head was bald and he had a kind expression which reached his blue eyes. I rushed up to the old man sitting behind the desk, bent my knee and kissed his ring.

Van also did the same.

"Please take a seat," the cleric said and we quickly obeyed.

"I am Saint John the Kind and I am pleased to finally meet you, Brother Lawrence Eugene Mulligan. Bishop Canterbury and Archbishop Wilshire both think very highly of you and implored me to meet with you. And it's good to see you again, Van."

"Thank you for taking the time to see us personally, Your Eminence," I replied and bowed deeply to him.

The cleric turned the paladin. "Are you on an assignment from the Church? If not, I may have a mission for you."

Van hesitated for a moment before answering. "It is with great shame that I inform you that I am undergoing a penance."

The Saint's eyebrows rose. "You wish to confess?"

The paladin nodded. "While we were in Tregome, I threw Brother Mulligan against a storefront and injured his person. I also broke a window. Instead of seeking my death, Brother Mulligan was merciful. In his capacity as town judge, he decided that I should serve as his personal bodyguard for a week as penance in addition to paying for the damaged window."

I nodded and confirmed Van's recollection of the events back in Tregome. It happened the day after the God Leonus teleported Kalistra, Bila, and I to the dojo in order to defend the school against Hleandros the red dragon who came to settle an old vendetta.

"I see," the cleric began. "Why did you attack him in the first place?"

Van looked down. "I was jealous of Brother Mulligan because he fought against a red dragon that was threatening the town. I was ordered to assist in putting out the fires that broke out in several sections of Tregome. I was very upset that I had missed the fight and I took my frustration out on Brother Mulligan."

While the paladin was confessing, I was quietly counting out the gold coins in my sack. I placed 50 gold pieces on the table. "This is my tithe."

The Saint nodded in appreciation. He saw five stacks of ten coins each; notably, all the coins were gold. He looked up from the table and then asked, "Brother Mulligan, are you on a Church mission?"

"Not exactly. I'm currently on a personal mission," I answered.

"What is it, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I'm seeking to locate two sets of old ruins. One of them is within a hill outside London," I informed him.

Saint John thought for a moment and changed the topic of conversation. "Bishop Canterbury submitted a very serious report. He said there was a wererat invasion in Tregome and you were instrumental in putting down the wererat leader. You also exhibited some unusual abilities. Please hold out your hand," he requested.

I held out my left hand.

The cleric pulled out some parchments, a quill, and an inkwell from his drawer and placed them on the table in front of him. He held my hand in his own with a surprisingly firm grip. He closed his eyes and used his divine-gifted ability, "The All-Seeing Eye of Musa." To my amazement, he called up my player status screen and started scribing the front page onto the parchment. When he was finished copying my status, he finally dismissed the screen and released my hand.

Saint John looked at the parchment on the table and then looked at Van. "I have some private matters to discuss with Brother Mulligan," he said.

The paladin immediately rose from his seat. "Yes, Holy One." He bowed deeply and walked out of the room. Van was secretly relieved that the leader of the Church did not give the paladin another assignment.

Once the door was closed, the cleric continued. "I'm very pleased to see that your alignment has shifted to Lawful Good. It would be rather difficult for me to support your bid for kingship if you aren't Lawful Good," he admitted. "Bishop Canterbury had reported that your alignment was previously Lawful Neutral."

I nodded. "I was provided with proper guidance by the Gods and the Church."

The saint chuckled at my response. "I didn't realize you had such a silver tongue. I admit that your Charisma attribute of 12 points is rather low. If you don't mind a recommendation from an old man, I suggest that you raise your score to at least 15 points. You are a leader. Unfortunately, the Gods have declined to give you a handsome face. Thus, you need to put some points into Charisma. It will help you immensely in your face-to-face interactions with the people," he lectured.

"Thank you for your advice, Your Eminence. I will follow your suggestion when I advance my character level," I promised him.

Saint John leaned back in his chair. A look of pleasure crossed his face as the cushion on the seat relieved the tension in his back. "Please forgive my rudeness, Brother Mulligan. As an old man, my back aches frequently."

"Not at all, Holy One."

The cleric smiled at me and then continued with our discussion. "You have accomplished a number of notable feats. In particular, your participation in the successful subjugation of an evil red dragon was truly outstanding. And the Gods have recognized this feat by providing you with the title of 'Dragonslayer.' Normally, this would qualify you to receive the support of The Twelve voting members for kingship. In fact, if the vote is taken right now, you will receive six votes including mine."

"Thank you for your support." I bowed deeply to hide my face. Honestly, I was excited to learn that I had so much support for my candidacy already!

Saint John raised his hand. "The problem is that the Regent is opposed to your candidacy. And he has somehow convinced six members of The Twelve not to support you. Do you have any idea why he would be opposed?" he asked.

I tilted my head and thought for a moment. Suddenly, I remembered that the Regent was a member of the Paget family. "I fought his son at the Melee Tournament. I was pressured to throw the match but I refused. I ended up winning the match and humiliated the arrogant boy in the process. I think this is the reason why the Regent will not support my candidacy."

The cleric sighed. "Yes, that would explain his stubborn opposition. Regent Paget is a particularly prideful man. Seeing his son humiliated publicly would make his blood boil." He looked at me with a blank expression. "Did someone try to assassinate you?" he asked in a cautious tone of voice.

I nodded. "Actually, my bodyguard at the time, Kalistra, became aware of the assassins following us while we were traveling to Bristol. She defeated them but couldn't find out who sent them after me. After that, I've been traveling using magic and probably lost them."

Of course, I did not tell him that Kalistra was poisoned during the fight and lost the use of her Stamina, which meant that she could not use any sword techniques because they required Stamina to activate. Fortunately, Rijana's party stumbled upon us and she created a magic item to enhance the generation of Stamina. Kalistra was able to recover enough Stamina to resume our journey to Bristol.

"So that's why you decided to have Van as your bodyguard," he noted in understanding.

"I actually have a second bodyguard, a cat girl named Bila. We met while in Southampton. She recognized me because I had defeated her sister at the Melee Tournament," I explained.

"Should I assign additional guards to you?" the saint asked with growing concern for my personal safety.

I shook my head. "I should be safe in London, no?" I replied.

Saint John looked away. "Not necessarily. If the Regent was the one who sent assassins after you, he may try again. Or he could let it be known to his allies of his desire for your life and they will hire assassins in order to curry favors with the Regent. The game of nobility is nasty business." He made a sour expression at the thought.

"But if I could link Paget to a plot on my life, then you could remove him from his position. That will, in turn, knock out the opposition to my candidacy, right?" I asked.

The old man nodded. "Spoken like a true nobleman," he smiled faintly. "Speaking of noblemen, there is another tradition that the nobility uses to settle disputes: political marriages. Perhaps we could match you with an extended member of the Paget family?" he suggested.

"Um, I'm not really a nobleman," I admitted.

Saint John frowned at my reply. "Well, if you are a Player Character, then it's true to the extent that you don't come from a noble family. But you possess the divine blessing of six Gods, with three markings from the Gods of the Law and Order. No one else in the entire Kingdom of Merlin can boast that. You are also a skilled swordsman and an archmage as well. People won't care as much about your lineage. Instead, you would be considered an attractive addition to any noble family. And even the Pagets would set aside their hostilities if they can claim you as one of their own through marriage," he explained.

"I appreciate the offer but I must decline. My heart belongs to another. I have no interest in capturing the remaining six votes via a political marriage to a member of the Paget family," I firmly declined.

The cleric sighed softly. "If that is your decision, I will respect it. If I may ask, Brother Mulligan, who is your beloved?"

I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment and looked away. "There is a wonderful angel by the name of Amelica. She is a barmaid at The Noble Lady in Tregome."

"I see," the church leader replied. "Since you declined my suggestion of a political marriage, we will have to convince the Pagets the hard way. I would like to offer you a mission. There is an orphanage here in London that receives financial support from the Pagets as a very public act of charity. However, there have been frequent reports of the orphans running away. I need you to investigate and confirm that the orphans ran away of their own volition."

"Confirm reports of runaways?" I asked. Suddenly, I understood the unspoken fear. "You think worshippers of Drowsidea may have kidnapped them!" I shouted with alarm.

"That is one possibility. Another possibility is that the children may also have been sold off to slavers," the cleric suggested.

"I thought slavery is outlawed!" I exclaimed. I became angry at the thought of the kids being forced into slavery.

"The continent of Britannia is vast. And there are many parts that are beyond the control of the kingdom. I have no doubt that slavery still exists somewhere on Britannia. But the reports of such have been prevented from reaching the Church," Saint John replied.

"You think there is a Thieves' Guild in London running a slave trade," I said with astonishment at the notion.

"The thought has crossed my mind," the old man admitted grudgingly.

I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair. "This is a lot to take in," I remarked.

"Welcome to my world," Saint John smiled faintly. "If you do claim the crown, you will be confronted with these problems."

"And you're wondering if I'm still interested in pursuing the crown despite these problems awaiting the next king?" I asked.

The saint nodded.

I looked straight into his eyes and gave my answer. "Yes."