Saint John the Kind stared back at me for a lengthy duration. Finally, he became convinced of my resolve. A smile crept across his face as he nodded with satisfaction. "Very well, Brother Mulligan. Your church assignment is to visit the Paget Orphanage and investigate reports of the runaways. While there is no time limit for the completion of this mission, the sooner you investigate the better it would be for the remaining orphans. May Lady Musa continue to watch over you."

Understanding that I had been dismissed, I rose from my seat and bowed deeply. When I opened the door, the saint called out, "Gael!"

The young lad immediately entered the room. "Yes, Your Grace?"

"After you escort Brothers Mulligan and Van out of the building, please return to me. I have an important task for you."

"Of course, Holy One!" The boy bowed again and then closed the door softly behind me.

I saw that Van was waiting in the hallway. We followed Gael and soon we departed from the church. The boy was obviously in a hurry to return to the saint and he dismissed the two of us with a deep bow.

Once we stepped outside, I turned toward Van and said, "The saint gave me an assignment." Since Van was forced to wait outside the room while Saint John discussed more sensitive matters with me, the paladin was not aware of my new assignment.

The paladin couldn't hide the anxiety from his face. "What is it?" he asked.

"He wants me to investigate the reports of runaways from the Paget Orphanage," I answered.

"Why would he ask you to do that?" he asked in puzzlement.

I looked around to confirm that no one was eavesdropping on us. I drew closer to Van's head and put my mouth next to his ear. "He doesn't think the kids left voluntarily," I said quietly.

Van's eyes widened in disbelief and then he turned angry when he understood what I meant. "They've been kidnapped!" he hissed.

"His speculation is either slave traders or the drow," I continued.

The paladin was aghast at the possibility. London was the seat of power for the entire kingdom. If innocent children were longer safe, then it was his duty as a paladin to eliminate the evil threat! "On my Honor and Duty as a Paladin, I will find out what happened to the missing orphans," he swore.

Seeing how serious the man was, I patted him on the shoulder. "I'm counting on you," I said with a nod. "Let's go back to the inn first and regroup." I activated my Navigation Sense and a map appeared in my mind depicting the areas of the city that I had visited. The Big Oak Tree was clearly labeled and I simply followed the map to return. When I arrived at the inn, I received an in-game notification: "Navigation sense SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP."

When I entered the lobby, I saw a different elf behind the reception desk. It was a male elf with a youthful looking face. He had short, light blond hair and light green eyes. His frame was lanky but tall. His pointy ears stuck out of his head sideways. He was dressed in a brown vest over a long-sleeved green dress shirt and dark yellow pants. I looked up at his caption and his name was "Jakoplin the Manager."

Jakoplin offered me a bright smile as I approached. "Ah, the guests from Room 5! Is the room satisfactory?" he asked.

I was impressed by the fact that the manager already knew which room I was staying in. "Yes, the room is fine. I have a question for you. Do you know if my companions from Room 4 and 6 are still here?"

The elven manager nodded. "The guests from Room 6 are having a light snack in the VIP room. The guests from Room 4 went out shortly after you left. They have not returned," Jakoplin reported.

Van chuckled when he heard me mutter under my breath, "Those greedy pigs!"

I was annoyed with Bila and Dovarata. We just had breakfast! I didn't come to London so that the two could stuff their bellies! I took a deep breath to calm down. "Thank you, Jakoplin," I said politely.

The manager bowed to me.

I quickly walked past the common room and burst into the VIP room. Just as I feared, Bila and Dovarata were stuffing themselves. This time, they were having chicken soup.

The two looked up from their bowls. Their eyes widened in surprise.

The dracon had the intelligence to look guilty. Her eyes refused to meet mine.

The cat girl, however, was not ashamed at all. Instead, she said, "This soup is great, Master! You should get a bowl, too!"

I rolled my eyes and sat down. I took the chair I had sat in earlier this morning. "I have a new assignment from the Church," I announced.

The two sat up straight and gave me their undivided attention.

"Saint John the Kind has asked me to investigate reports of runaways at an orphanage. We need to figure out what happened to the missing children. There's a possibility that they may have been kidnapped--either by followers of Drowsidea as human sacrifices or by the Thieves' Guild on behalf of slave traders," I explained.

The cat girl's eyes lit up while the dracon was expressionless.

Dovarata raised her hand. "It's also possible that the kids truly ran off because of abuse at the hands of the people running the orphanage," she suggested. "The truth behind the disappearance of the children may not be as nefarious as you believe," she cautioned.

I nodded in acceptance. "That is certainly a possibility. If the people in charge of the orphanage abused the children, then they wouldn't admit it to their patrons and risk losing their jobs." I pulled out my Truth Stone of Order and Chaos. "I will need to interview them and obtain their truth sworn testimony."

"Yes, we should take advantage of your holy relic," Van agreed.

"As soon as you two are finished with your 'snacks,' we will depart for the orphanage." I turned toward the paladin. "Do you know the directions to the place?" I asked him.

Van smiled. "Yes, milord. I happened to visit the Paget Orphanage during my Pilgrimage of Paladinhood," he replied.

After a few minutes of eating, Bila and Dovarata were finished with their soups. Each person left a few coins on the table.

I nodded and rose from my seat. I led the group out of the VIP room.

The staff waited patiently for us to leave and then rushed in to clean up the room and prepare for new VIP guests.

I walked over to the receptionist desk. I saw that Jokoplin was still on duty. "Can I ask you to give a message to the guests of Room 4?"

"Yes, milord," the manager nodded.

"Please tell them we went to the Paget Orphanage and ask them to meet us there," I said.

"Okay."

I walked out of the inn and waited for Van to take the lead.

The church bell tolled ten times. Ouch. I didn't realize it was already so late in the morning. I wanted to reach the orphanage ASAP so that I could start interviewing the staff. I realized the interviews may take some time, especially if there were many workers or if they gave evasive answers to me.

The paladin started walking ahead of us. I followed closely behind him.

With a mischievous grin, Dovarata hooked her right arm through mine and snuggled close to me.

Bila hissed and quickly imitated the shameless dracon.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked with embarrassment as the commoners stared at the three of us on the street.

"I'm just walking with you," Dovarata replied innocently.

"I'm copying her," Bila answered.

"You DO know there are many pickpockets in this city, right?" I warned them.

"I dare them to try!" Dovarata replied haughtily. "I'll smack them aside with my wings. And if they're particularly insistent, I'll use my dragon breath." Her red eyes glowed at the thought of being challenged by foolish thieves.

"Let them taste my sharp claws!" Bila hissed.

I rolled my eyes at their bloodthirstiness and pushed ahead, pulling the two along with me.

The orphanage turned out to be located in the shadier part of the city, on the east end. There were guardhouses stationed right at the entrance to the "Developmental Section" as stated with a big signage over the gate. The knights were extremely alert and paid careful attention to every person entering and leaving this area.

The guards saw the black wings on Dovarata's back and they became concerned. "Where are you going?" they demanded to know.

I pulled out my Truth Stone and offered them a friendly smile. "She is my companion. I have been assigned by the Holy One, Saint John the Kind, to visit the Paget Orphanage," I explained.

At the sight of my holy relic and the mention of the saint's name, the guards immediately saluted to me. "Please forgive our rudeness, Brother Mulligan," the leader of the guards said after checking my caption.

I waved my hand. "It's quite alright. You are keeping the city of London safe with your diligence in performing your duty. The discipline of your men is very commendable, Captain Aizdon," I replied after checking his name.

"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Mulligan." The captain and his men bowed deeply to me.

"We'll go in now," I said and started to walk through the gate.

"Do you need an escort?" the captain offered.

I shook my head. "I have bodyguards to protect me," I noted while pointing my chin at Van, Bila, and Dovarata.

"Ah, I see!" Captain Aizdon nodded in understanding. He couldn't accept the fact that a high ranking member of the Church would be friends with a dracon and a cat girl. But if they were accompanying me as bodyguards, then this made perfect sense. "Please be careful. The Developmental Section is plagued by lawlessness," he warned. "But we do have patrols inside the zone. If you encounter any riffraff, please holler for the guards."

"I appreciate your warning. May Lady Musa continue to watch over you," I said and then passed through the gate.

Once we moved some distance away from the gate, Dovarata dug her nails into my arm. "I didn't realize I became your bodyguard, Lord Mulligan," she said in a frosty tone of voice. "Perhaps I should give you a new hairstyle with my dragon breath. I think the bald look will suit a clergyman like yourself," she threatened with fiery eyes.

I stopped and turned toward her. "Look, you have red scales and that means you are related to red dragons, which are known to be evil. The guards are right to be wary of you. I had to come up with a reasonable explanation for your presence in my party." I pointed at the truth stone around my neck for emphasis.

"Oh, fine," the dracon pouted. She had forgotten how the humans viewed dracons with fear and this reminded Dovarata of why she was attracted to me. "You better treat me to a nice dinner."

"Sure," I smiled.

"Me, too!" Bila jumped in.

"Sure," I repeated glumly. I was fearful that the two of them will eventually eat up all my money.

Van took us past many decrepit and broken buildings that looked ready to crumble. But there were telltale signs of inhabitance by squatters. The streets were filthy with dirt and . . . waste. The stench of the open sewer was awful enough to make my eyes water. Eventually, the three of us were forced to cover our noses and breathe through our mouths.

However, the paladin stoically continued forward, drawing us deeper and deeper into the slums. Somehow, he was able to tolerate the stench, as if he was accustomed to it.

Now that I thought about it, perhaps the paladin was used to these conditions as part of his training for paladinhood. Being a paladin meant helping the people, particularly the weak, the elderly, and the poor. As such, I had a suspicion that Van had to live and work in the slums as part of his training. That would explain why he didn't bat an eye at the condition of our current environment.

Well, if he could tolerate it then so could I. Steeling my body, I dropped my hand and breathed in the stench through my nose. Dice rolled inside my head and stopped. "Wisdom check SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP." Once I made my saving throw, my body was able to handle the odious smell.

Bila and Dovarata were quite surprised at my ability to adapt to the conditions of the slum. But neither dared to copy me and drop their hands.

Using the paladin as our guiding light, we moved in unison into the heart of the Developmental Section, which turned out to be a playground. Or what was one originally. The place was a big field full of overgrown, yellowed grass. The grass stood literally up to my waist. Several tall trees peeked through the grass.

As I looked at the field, I became concerned that something, such as wild animals or even monsters, may be hiding inside the grassland. I closed my eyes and activated my Spirit Sense. When I stretched my detection field over the grass, I had quite a few pings. I discovered a solitary badger in an underground nest. Several hares were also under the surface. A few birds' nests were high up in the trees along with some squirrels inside the tree trunks. There were also a few snakes and even a pair of wolves! But none of the animals were near us. Furthermore, there were no monsters lurking inside. However, I wanted to double check. "Hey, Van!" I called out.

The paladin stopped moving and turned around. He had a curious expression on his face.

"Can you use your Detect Evil on this field?" I requested.

"Yes, I could use the ability. But the range is very short," Van noted.

"That's fine. I just want to confirm there are no monsters nearby. I didn't find anything aside from some animals which we will have to hunt down to keep the children safe, though," I explained.

Bila raised her paw. "Master, it may not be prudent to hunt the predators. There is probably a delicate balance of nature here in this field. If the predators are eliminated, then the other animals will breed unabated and the population will eventually grow beyond what this field could support," she explained.

"Okay," I nodded in acceptance of her opposition. I didn't expect the cat girl to be an environmentalist.

As we talked, Van closed his eyes. He concentrated for a moment and then activated his ability to Detect Evil. Unfortunately, the range was only ten feet. As expected, he picked up nothing with his ability. The paladin opened his eyes and looked at me. He shook his head.

"Okay," I nodded. "Please continue leading us toward the orphanage," I requested.

Van nodded back. He turned left and walked around the field until he reached the other end. Before us was a wide, two-story building made of wood and stone that looked like a boardinghouse. On the first floor, there were two terraces attached to the front of the house, split by a set of stairs leading to the front entrance located in the center of the building. There were many windows, most of which were shuttered shut. Through the open windows, I saw a lot of bunk beds. And, more importantly, no walls or partitions for personal privacy. In front of the building was a blue signpost with red text which read, "The Paget Orphanage."

Parked in front of the building, on the right side, was a carriage and two horses. The coachman fed the horses while some kids were busy scrubbing the filth off the wheels and the lower portion of the vehicle. A contingent of six guards stood and watched nearby.

There were many tables and chairs on the terraces. A teacher was providing a lesson to a group of kids seated on the left terrace while other children were busy cleaning the furniture on the right terrace. The teacher was an older woman who turned her head toward us when the children noticed our approach. She nodded to acknowledge our presence but continued her lesson.

I listened quietly as we passed by the terrace. The teacher was teaching addition and subtraction. I looked at the students; some were attentive while others were practically asleep.

The guards eyed Bila and Dovarata with suspicion since the two weren't human. However, they saw the Truth Stone around my neck and gave me a sharp salute.

Van walked quietly up the stairs and opened the door for us. We entered through the front entrance. Inside was a parlor room which was sparsely furnished with a few wooden chairs around two small coffee tables.

Seated in a chair was a teenager with shortly cropped golden hair who wore a blue silk shirt over brown pants and black leather boots. Sitting to his right was an older looking man similarly dressed; he had long blonde hair tied back with a black string. Both appeared to be nobles.

The boy glanced at me for a moment with a haughty facial expression. His icy blue eyes immediately recognized me and he reached for the highly decorated sword hilt at his belt. "You!"

I stared back at him and groaned inwardly. This was the last person I wanted to see: Kuerten Paget!