When I returned to my guest room at The Wild Boar, I saw that it was empty and my door was left open. "Now where did Kalistra go?" I asked aloud. The cat girl was probably the one who left the door open. After all, she had my guest room key. And she would be only one to bother checking on me in the middle of the night. In the dim light coming from the hallway, I tried to locate my scabbard on the floor. However, I discovered that it was missing. I suspected that Kalistra was the one who took my sword, for safekeeping.

Returning the favor, I stepped out into the hallway and knocked on the door to her room.

*Knock-knock*

I waited but apparently, no one was inside. "Damn," I muttered. Knowing Kalistra, she was probably trying to follow me to my previous location at the thieves' guild hideout, wherever that was. We were still partied together and Maisen once said that she could locate me if we were separated as long as we were partied together. If so, then the most prudent thing for me to do right now was to stay in my room and wait for Kalistra to return to the inn. Thus, I returned to my room and went back to sleep.

#

*Shake-shake*

I felt my arm being shaken. But my mind was still weary from the previous day's events and I couldn't wake up. Suddenly, a sharp claw struck my right shoulder. "-2 Health." Ow! The pain immediately forced my eyes to open; I saw Kalistra looming above me. "What time is it?" I moaned.

"Maybe 4 in the morning?" the cat girl replied honestly. "Where did you go?" she demanded to know.

I slowly got up from my bed. The room was dark and I could barely see. I cast a Fire Bolt and aimed it at the wall. Using the illumination from this spell, I quickly located the lantern, which was on the floor next to a wall. I walked up to it. I cast the spell a second time to light the lantern. I received two pop-ups offering me 25 XP for each successful cast of Fire Bolt; my skill in fire magic also increased to Level 2, with another 50 XP increase.

"Well?" the cat girl tapped her left foot on the ground impatiently.

"I was kidnapped from my room," I began as I returned to my bed and sat down. I patted my hand on the spot to my right, offering the seat to Kalistra.

She ignored my offer.

"I was taken to meet some guy who called himself 'Lord X.' His caption was blurred somehow. But he's the head of The Double Cross Society in Bristol," I continued.

The cat girl hissed. "What would the thieves' guild want with you?"

"He proposed an alliance with me and I accepted," I replied.

"Why?"

"He said his organization had worked with King Merlin and it was mutually beneficial. He felt that I was a strong candidate to be the next king and decided to make a big bet on me. Of course, it's possible that Lord X offered the same deal to multiple candidates," I shrugged.

"What can the thieves' guild offer you that I can't?" Kalistra asked. She was unhappy with this arrangement because she was concerned that they would lead me off the Honorable path.

"Do you remember the ninja who was following us?" I asked suddenly.

"What about him?" the cat girl's eyes narrowed.

"That was Lord X. He was demonstrating that he could assassinate us anytime he wished. But he didn't. Instead, he was making you chase after him for the fun of it," I explained.

Kalistra hissed again. Her tail whiplashed in anger because she had been humiliated by this mysterious man.

"As part of our alliance, Lord X has canceled all the open contracts on my life. I think it will be a little safer for me now than before," I added.

The cat girl looked me directly in the eyes. "As my Liege, you have the right to decide who to form alliances with. As your instructor, though, I will continue to lead you on the Honorable path," she warned.

"Yes, Master," I agreed and bowed to her from the waist.

Satisfied with my acquiescence, the cat girl unbuckled a scabbard from her belt, knelt down, and placed the scabbard by the wall next to the door. "I'm returning your sword," she said. Kalistra rose to her full height and opened the door. "Get some rest. You need it. I will come wake you a little later than usual," she promised. Kalistra left my room and closed the door behind her.

*Click*

She locked my door, using my room key still in her possession.

#

*Knock-knock*

I immediately awoke to the knocking on my door. I quickly pivoted my body, placed my feet on the ground, and hurried across my tiny room to answer the door. When I saw Kalistra standing in front of me, I asked, "What time is it now?"

"A little after seven," the cat girl answered.

Stifling a yawn, I replied, "I thought you were going to let me sleep more."

"I did." Kalistra's whiskers twitched. "At the dojo, we usually get up at dawn. It's at least an hour past that right now," she noted. "You need to eat and replenish your body. If the free meal is inadequate, then you should spend some coins to purchase supplementary food," she advised while looking down at the sack of coins tied to my waist. "We can also visit the bank if you need to."

I paused for a moment as I considered her suggestions. "I'm not sure if I should deposit these coins at the bank," I answered hesitantly.

The cat girl's ears twitched in surprise.

I held up my hand to forestall her questions. "I might need the funds to buy more spells," I explained. "I'll talk more after breakfast." With that said, I remembered to grab the scabbard leaning against the wall next to the door. I attached it to my belt at my left hip. With the sword borrowed from Master Gurgne back in my possession, I felt whole again.

I left my room and waited for Kalistra to lock the door for me. Then I walked down the staircase, with my bodyguard following closely behind me. When we reached the first floor of The Wild Boar, I saw that Deun'Luye was behind the reception desk. I walked up to his desk and asked, "Good morning, Deun'Luye. Do you know if Lord Vasley resides in Bristol?"

The gnome tavern keeper's heavy eyebrows rose at my unexpected question. "No, milord. Lord Vasley resides in London and he has already departed our city," he answered. "May I ask why you made this inquiry?"

"Oh, I was hoping to show him the technique he asked about from the Melee Tournament," I replied.

Deun'Luye's eyes lowered from my face and took aim at my waist. He saw the sword at my belt and his jaw dropped. He knew that I was changing my profession from Swordsman to Mage. But that was YESTERDAY! How was it possible for me to advance so quickly in my new profession to regain access to my Swordsmanship skills? It was impossible! And yet, the proof was on my belt. If I hadn't regained my melee skills, then Kalistro wouldn't have returned my sword.

I saw his gaze at my scabbard and I immediately understood what the gnome was thinking. I simply winked at him and continued walking until I entered the common room. While Deun'Luye had been unfailingly polite with me, he wasn't my ally and he didn't necessarily have my best interests at heart. For all I knew, the gnome could turn out to be another Sene, the evil tavern keeper in Burnhamm village who had arranged for his nephew and a worker to steal from me. Thus, keeping the gnome off-balanced was the right move.

Kalistra observed my interaction with the tavern keeper without comment. But she approved of my behavior was she, too, did not trust the gnome fully. As we entered the room, her eyes wandered as she sought to discover hostile faces amongst the patrons. If someone saw me enter the room and his initial reaction was one of hostility, then that person was someone my bodyguard needed to watch more carefully.

I, on the other hand, had no such worries in my mind. All I cared about was finding two empty seats. I managed to find them . . . right in the middle of the room. I immediately walked over and claimed my seat.

Kalistra sat to my right, after elbowing and nudging the commoner next to her to shift his body a bit over.

Knowing her, I highly doubted that it was a light tap.

The barmaid from yesterday quickly walked over to our table.

I looked up at her caption and read her name as "Lavitea." "Good morning, do you have chicken soup or beef stew?" I asked.

The middle-aged lady with brown curly hair tied in a bun shook her head. "I'm sorry, milord, but that's not part of our breakfast menu. We only have oatmeal, buttered bread, and fruits right now. No meat is served by our kitchen until lunch," she explained.

I tried my best not to look disappointed by her answer but I failed. Badly.

Lavitea gave me a sympathetic smile. "We can add a cup full of strawberries and bananas to your oatmeal," she quickly added.

"That's fine," Kalistra said with a wave of her paw. "And please bring two teas with honey," she ordered.

The barmaid curtsied and returned to the kitchen.

I turned to face my bodyguard. "Why don't they serve meat during breakfast?" I asked.

"It's probably an edict from the Mayor," the cat girl speculated. "If it was a church edict, then The Noble Lady wouldn't be offering chicken soup for breakfast." She reached into her pouch and pulled out two beef jerkies. "We can supplement our breakfast with this," she grinned.

I winced at the sight of the hard-as-rock beef jerky. Reluctantly, I took one piece from her. Since I was expecting a hard day of assignments from both the church and the mayor today, I will need all the food I could get my hands on.

Soon, Lavitea returned with a tray. She placed a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal in front of me and then the second bowl before my companion. After she gave us our teas, she left our table.

I looked at my oatmeal and saw that it was packed with strawberries and bananas, as Lavitea had promised. Honestly, it was more than I expected. I put the beef jerky into the bowl to soften it and started eating my meal. I must have been more hungry than I realized because I finished my bowl in under five minutes.

Kalistra, on the other hand, was taking her time to eat her breakfast. Once she was done, she drank her tea and then said, "Let's talk for a bit in the Public Square." The cat girl left a few copper pieces on the table.

I added two coppers as a tip for Lavitea. The owner had said I could eat for free for a week; thus, I didn't need to pay for my breakfast.

We rose from the bench and our spots were quickly claimed by other patrons.

Mindful of the fact that I was the nobleman and Kalistra was my servant, I took the lead and left The Wild Boar.

"Walk two blocks west and then turn north," Kalistra said from behind.

I followed her instructions and soon, I found myself standing in the Public Square. I turned around and asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

"What exactly did you offer Lord X in return for his support?" the cat girl asked.

I tilted my head and thought back to my conversation with the mysterious man. "Actually, nothing specific," I answered. "Lord X said King Merlin had allowed the thieves' guild to operate within his kingdom. That implied he wanted a similar deal from me if I took the crown. But until that happens (assuming it happens), there wasn't much that I could offer him in return."

Kalistra's whiskers twitched as she considered my answer. It was basically similar to her own request of me, namely to abolish the Church by outlawing it within the Kingdom. This will occur only if I took the crown. Even though The Double Cross Society was a chaotic organization, it appeared that their goal was in alignment with her own. The cat girl nodded. She wasn't happy that I had agreed to this alliance without consulting her. But Kalistra recognized that I had to give an answer on the spot. And if I had declined, Lord X would have probably killed me.

"Where were you last night?" I asked. "You weren't around when I returned to my room."

Kalistra's tail whiplashed angrily. "I awoke to a big flashing light and I immediately went to your room. However, I arrived only to see a portal disappearing. Since we were still partied together, I had an idea of where you were taken. It was outside Bristol. Unfortunately, Bristol was on lockdown and the gates were closed. I managed to climb the wall while avoiding patrolling Watchmen. But before I managed to reach your location, you returned to Bristol. It was harder to sneak back inside the city but I managed it. When I returned to The Wild Boar, I found you asleep," she recalled.

"Thank you for trying to rescue me," I said and bowed deeply.

The church bell tolled eight times.

Ouch. I didn't realize it was so late already! "I need to go to the Church and then the Mayor's Office to get my assignments. Afterward, I will need to find Rijana and hopefully, learn more magic spells from her," I said.

"Lead on," Kalistra replied.