"Wait up!" I yelled as the little minx suddenly disappeared from view. This was crazy. Why couldn't things go according to plan for once? We were supposed to stay inside the cart until we reached the next village. Why couldn't we salvage the plan by simply burying the bodies of the brigands and continuing our journey? Instead, we were split up and now I just lost sight of Kalistra.

My growing anger provided fuel for my legs as I ran with reckless abandon. The padding at the bottom of my nobleman's shoes was rather thin and provided very little protection against small stones on the ground. I couldn't wait to put on those boots I was carrying in the bundle, which was tucked under my armpit like a football.

When I reached the spot where I lost saw my master, I stopped running and looked around. She was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me. Before I could turn around, something furry pulled on my right hand and nearly ripped my arm out of its socket!

"It's me, Lawrence! Now, get down!" Kalistra hissed as I began to struggle against the tight grip.

I stopped struggling and immediately dropped to the ground. I turned my body until I was flat on my belly. Despite the dim light, I was able to make out the form of my master, who was crouching among the bushes. Keeping my head down, I crawled on my belly in order to reach her position. "What are we doing?" I whispered as I gently pushed a leaf away from my face.

"Waiting for the scouts to return," she whispered back.

"I thought we're leaving the remaining bandits for Giudot and Sanryn to take care of," I whispered.

"No," she replied succinctly.

I stared at her with amazement. When we were with the Watchmen, Kalistra acted as if they didn't exist. She was aloof, quiet, and distant. But now, she was willing to delay our journey in order to ensure their safety. "Why?" I challenged her. I thought she wanted to reach Bristol ASAP. With Drowsidea and other Chaotic gods mobilizing their worshippers to capture or even kill me, I was concerned that I would be a sitting duck once I've been located by their followers. Furthermore, given the way that the gods had already interfered in my own affairs, I fully expected a Chaotic god to offer his followers a divine quest to eliminate me. This was bound to happen sooner or later.

However, the cat girl was willing to cast everything aside to ensure that these two Watchmen were safe. Which was the real Kalistra: the cold-blooded killer who took out some half-dozen bandits from behind, or the soft-hearted protector of the weak? My master seemed determined to surprise me every day.

"Maisen would want me to do this," Kalistra finally admitted her reasoning. "And I need to confirm that these bandits aren't part of a larger group."

"Thank you," I whispered back.

Suddenly we heard a snap of a twig nearby.

"Stay here," Kalistra hissed. Her eyes glowed and soon she was able to locate the newcomer. She ran off silently and began to stalk her prey.

The sun had set and it was dark now. I could barely see anything. I closed my eyes and focused on my hearing. Soon, I was rewarded with the soft sound of a "thud." A few minutes later, I heard another "thud."

Soon thereafter, Kalistra returned to my hiding place. "It's done. The two scouts have been eliminated," she reported. "Fortunate for us, they were alone, meaning that the entire gang of brigands are no more." Her eyes glowed in the darkness. "You need to put on your travel cloak and boots. We'll continue to travel in the darkness," she ordered.

I unwrapped my bundle of clothes and put on my boots and my travel cloak. I remembered to turn my left shoe upside down to retrieve the hidden platinum coin. I put the precious coin in my left boot. Then I put on my backpack.

"Phewee!" Kalistra complained about the noxious foot odor coming from my shoes. "You're not taking them with you," she said.

"What if I need proper shoes for an official function?" I challenged her. Besides, my shoes weren't THAT smelly.

"We'll get you new shoes if necessary," Kalistra replied. "I can't travel with you if you plan on keeping them. If you insist on keeping that smelly pair of shoes, then we will split up here. You could travel with another band of merchants, but you might not reach Bristol in time for the tournament," she pointed out and then laid out her ultimatum. "So what will it be? Keep your smelly old shoes, miss the tournament, and lose face for the dojo, or ditch the shoes and reach the tournament in time?"

I stared into the cat girl's eyes as I threw the left shoe and then the right shoe. They smacked into something in the distance but my eyes were on the outrageous cat girl the entire time.

"Good choice," Kalistra nodded and grinned.

"You owe me a new pair of shoes," I retorted.

"Fine," she grinned again.

I looked at her with confusion. Why did she agree so easily to my demand? I quickly realized that she will be placing bets on me. Assuming that I win multiple matches, Kalistra will easily win enough from her bets to afford to buy me several pairs of shoes. After all, with my "hamster" like appearance, I did not have the look of a real warrior like Jormyril. Therefore, uninformed spectators will naturally bet against me in the opening rounds until I showed them some of my swordsmanships. "You're betting on me," I stated.

"Of course." Her whiskers twitched as if I had made a stupid comment. "If you manage to win several rounds, I will make a lot of money off you," she purred at the thought. "I mean the dojo will be making money," Kalistra quickly corrected her Freudian slip.

Aha! "You're going to keep the payouts to yourself," I accused her.

"I'm wagering with my own money," she replied defensively. "The dojo isn't involved. And officially, the school doesn't condone the practice of gambling." She frowned at me. Suddenly, her ears twitched and the cat girl covered my mouth with her paw. "Quiet," Kalistra hissed.

"Ooowwwoooo!"

My blood froze at the howl.

Soon, several more howls sounded off in the distance.

"Damn," Kalistra hissed. "The smell of blood has drawn out a wolf pack."

"We can't leave Giudot and Sankryn by themselves!" I whispered with alarm.

"Agreed. I'm going to ambush any wolf that goes near the cart," the cat girl replied. "If the wolves somehow find you, I want you to climb up a tree and stay up until I come back for you. I don't know if these are normal wolves or werewolves, and I don't want to take the risk for you to turn into a were-creature. Do you understand?" Kalistra asked in a demanding tone of voice.

"Yes, master," I answered and bowed.

Satisfied with my reply, the cat girl's eyes glowed. "It's time to hunt," she said with a happy grin and started moving away with silent steps.

I watched as the darkness slowly swallowed her receding figure. Once Kalistra was gone, I decided to switch to a more comfortable position. I certainly didn't want to lay down on my belly until my master returned. However, when I started to pull myself up, my left sleeve snagged on a bush. When I pulled hard on the sleeve, the fabric ripped. The sound was deafening against the silent background and soon I heard howling and barking.

Following Kalistra's instructions, I looked around for a tree to climb. However, there was none near me that I could see. Without a source of illumination, I simply couldn't see very far out in the darkness. Suddenly, I heard growling nearby and I immediately stopped moving. Before I knew it, something massive crashed into me. When I dropped to the ground, something bit on my left leg and started shaking it. "-4 Health." Dismissing the pop-up, I slammed my right heel against the wolf's head. "-6 Damage."

The wolf yelped in pain and immediately released my leg.

I got back to my feet and quickly pulled out my sword.

Faint yellow-green eyes stared at me in the darkness.

I launched the Charge skill at the wolf. "-8 Damage."

The wolf cried in pain and backed away.

Keeping up the pressure, I started to charge at it again but stopped when I saw two new pairs of eyes glowing in the dark.

The pack quickly surrounded me.

I felt movement behind me and blindly swung out my blade in a backhand. "Critical hit! -20 Damage. +50 XP."

The would-be attacker yelped in pain and jumped away from me.

My victory proved fleeting when the other two wolves jumped at me and slammed me into the ground. The drop loosened my grip on my sword and the wolf that I had just cut grabbed the blade with its mouth. Another wolf clamped its jaws on my right ankle. "-5 Health." The last wolf tried to end the fight by tearing out my throat!

I recognized what the wolf was trying to do and immediately raised my left arm. Dice started rattling inside my head. When it stopped, a pop-up message appeared: "Dexterity saving throw MADE. +50 XP." It was fortuitous that I made the saving throw because the wolf clamped down on my arm instead of my throat. "-5 Health."

Suddenly, I felt a hot, noxious breath near my face. Instinctively, I slammed my right fist up and it smashed into the wolf's face. "Critical hit! -15 Damage. +50 XP."

Having taken another critical wound from me earlier in the fight, the wolf dropped to the ground. Dead.

Its death was confirmed by a notification which read, "Large wolf DEFEATED. +200 XP."

The two pack mates saw what happened and bit me even harder. "-7 Health. -5 Health."

In response, I kicked out my leg but the wolf refused to release my ankle. I punched the second wolf latched onto my arm. "-5 Damage." It, too, refused to let go. I realized what the two wolves were trying to do: either bleed me to death or hold me down until the rest of the wolf pack arrived.

"I thought I told you to climb a tree, Lawrence," a familiar voice said. Swish! Swish!

Just like that, I was released from the death grips of the two wolves. I could barely see in the darkness, but I recognized the voice. It was Kalistra! "I'm sorry, master, but the wolves arrived before I could find a tree to climb," I apologized.

"Sit up so that I can start treating your bite wounds," my master ordered.

"Are you sure it's safe? What about the rest of the wolf pack?" I asked worriedly.

"They've been taken care," Kalistra said coldly.

As her eyes glowed in the dark, I couldn't help but shiver.