I stood in front of the door to the Magic Shop. It was after hours and I wouldn't be surprised if the shop was closed and the shopkeeper had gone for the night. But I decided to give it a shot anyway. I knocked on the door. I heard steps behind the door and finally, the door opened. It was Xon 'Tein who had opened the door.

The gnomish Guildmaster tilted his head back and said, "Come inside." Once I stepped into the shop, he closed the door behind me.

I looked around. There were globes of light strategically placed all over the shop. The light was too faint to read a book under. But the illumination was enough for me to avoid stubbing my toe on the corner of a shelf here and there. I followed as the shopkeeper led me to his office at the back.

When I entered the office, I saw that it was illuminated with a sphere of Light hanging from the ceiling. At a corner, there was a two-seat sofa and a blanket. "Do you actually spend the night inside your shop?" I asked out of curiosity.

Xon 'Tein looked at me like I was stupid. "The inventory in this shop alone is more valuable than that of the next two shops combined. Of course, I would stay here and guard my merchandise!" He shook his head and walked over to his chair behind the desk.

I resisted the urge to smack my forehead. When I thought about it, Xon 'Tein's sleeping arrangement wasn't unusual. For example, my business partner, Roen, had his sign maker shop on the first floor and his living space on the second floor. Heck, the dojo where I trained was also where the masters and their students slept at night, too. Keeping my mouth shut, I walked over to the chair in front of the desk.

When the two of us sat down in our respective seats, Xon 'Tein wiggled a finger. Two mugs flew across the room and landed on the desk. A pitcher soon followed and some yellow liquid was poured into each mug. The Guildmaster grabbed a mug and raised it. "To your success in completing your mission."

Our mugs clinked gently and we each took a big gulp.

To my delight, I discovered that the liquid was honey mead. I took another sip and set the mug gently on the table.

The gnome copied my action and sat back in his chair. "Tell me what happened," he ordered.

I nodded. "We found a portal leading to a cavern under Bristol. Once we arrived, we cleared out all the undead monsters. They were mainly skeletons and zombies. There were also two golems that obeyed the command of the vampire. We knocked out the three charmed mages but otherwise, they were left unharmed. I personally staked the vampire, whose name was Trenton. He revealed that he was formerly an apprentice under those three mages. When I interrogated Gonzi under a truth oath, he confirmed that the three had captured a vampire named Lazarus and they forced him to turn their apprentice into a vampire as an experiment. Trenton turned the tables on them and charmed the three mages while Lazarus escaped. We also learned that it was Trenton who killed all the city residents in order to feed on their blood," I explained. "Their bodies served as material components for the undead horde."

I took a moment to catch my breath and then addressed an important issue. "Van, a paladin who was sent by the archbishop to accompany me on my undead hunt, has demanded that the three mages be turned over to the Church."

"On what basis?" the gnome asked calmly. Xon 'Tein had expected this request once he learned that a paladin had accompanied me.

"By turning their apprentice into a vampire, the three were indirectly responsible for the deaths of 250 residents of Bristol," I answered. "They must answer for their crimes."

Xon 'Tein looked directly into my eyes. "What do you recommend?"

I sighed. This was a tragedy that could have been avoided altogether if the rogue mages were supervised more closely by the guild itself. "I agree with Van. The three mages committed an evil act in having their apprentice turned into a vampire. And evil begot evil. If you refuse to turn them over to the Church, I fear that the archbishop may start another guild war. I assume that you have no knowledge of this evil act, correct?"

The guildmaster slammed his fist on the table, causing some of the mead to spill from his mug. "I didn't know. Frankly, I didn't think it was possible to keep a vampire in captivity in the first place." Xon 'Tein shook his head at the notion. He took a deep breath and made a decision. "I will ask the Leadership Council to issue an edict revoking guild membership of those three mages. Once that occurs, their names will be stricken from our membership rolls. At that time, they will no longer receive the protection of the Magic Guild and then the Church can take them into custody. The paperwork will take one day or two at most."

This was a stalling tactic at best but this allowed the Magic Guild to offer token resistance against the Church. This was meant to show the guild membership, once they learned of this matter, that the guild leadership will take reasonable measures to protect guildmates. Of course, Xon 'Tein had no illusion what the Church will do with the rogue mages. They will receive a public trial and then executed in the Public Square.

"I will let Van know. The three are currently at the healer's clinic now. Is it okay if the Church and the Watch keep them under guard until the paperwork is finalized?" I asked. I realized that there was no way Van would allow the three to be unguarded by a member of the Church or the Watch.

A look of annoyance shot across the gnome's face. "I will allow two guards for each mage," he replied.

"That is fine," I agreed. If the guards carry anti-magic beads, then there was no way for the rogue mages to escape. I cleared my throat and shifted the topic. "Now, about my reward . . ."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Xon 'Tein rolled his eyes and muttered something about "greedy humans" under his breath. He opened his drawer and took out a sack. "There are 1,000 gold coins inside the bag for you to split with your party. I will also allow you to keep the anti-charm rings, the Ring of Power and the Undead Eradication scroll. Unfortunately, Lazarus is still on the loose and there is a possibility that he may seek revenge against you personally for killing his spawn," the guildmaster explained.

I nodded. "Yes, I'm expecting it. I was going to ask to keep the rings if you hadn't mentioned them. Now, what about my scroll of invisibility?" I inquired.

The gnome rolled his eyes again and opened his drawer. He took out a scroll tube and placed it on the table.

"I couldn't help but notice that this building relies on teleportation magic," I began and grinned.

The Guildmaster's thick brows knotted.

"I bring this up because I will need to do a lot of traveling in the near future. Is there a way for me to teleport to another branch of the Magic Guild?" I asked. I wanted to continue my quest to unlock all the Ph'laen Ruins. When I unlocked the first alien outpost, a map had shown the locations of three more outposts. Unfortunately, their locations practically spanned the continent of Britannia. And since Kalistra was permitted to accompany me for only seven days following the end of the Melee Tournament, I wanted to reach the next location before my bodyguard had to return to her dojo in Tregome.

"You mean in another city?" Xon 'Tein asked.

"Exactly," I nodded.

"What level are you now?" the gnome asked.

"7," I replied.

Xon 'Tein shook his head. "Teleport Self is a Fifth-Tier spell. You need to reach Level 9 as a Mage to be able to cast it. Teleport Other is a Sixth-Tier spell. Recall, which teleports you back to a pre-designated location, is also a Sixth-Tier spell. Gate, which creates a portal to transport an entire party, is a Ninth-Tier spell. The point I'm trying to make here is that teleportation magic is very advanced magic. Even if you use your Ring of Power, you still wouldn't be able to create a Gate. I can create a Gate to transport you and your party to another branch of the Magic Guild as a personal favor. But it would only be a one-time request," he said.

"That's fine," I smiled broadly. Once I reach the next branch of the Magic Guild, I could seek a guildmate to Gate me to the next branch.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked.

"I'm not sure yet," I replied. Before the gnome could yell at me, I held up my hand. "There is a special quest that requires me to visit ruins at various locations in Britannia. The distances are quite far. I'm hoping to use teleportation magic to cut down the travel time," I explained.

Xon 'Tein stared at me with a wistful look on his face and sighed. "If I was younger and not in this current position, I would go with you," he admitted honestly.

"Whenever I finish my quest and return to Bristol, I will tell you more about it," I offered.

"Deal," the gnome nodded. He rose from his seat. "It's time for you to go back to the clinic and inform the rogue mages that they will be booted from the Magic Guild. Whatever happens to them after their expulsion will no longer be the guild's concern."

I stood up and bowed deeply. "Yes, Guildmaster."

The gnome led me out of the shop.

When I returned to the corridor, I had to take a deep breath. My report to the guildmaster had inadvertently turned into a hard bargaining session. Standing outside the shop by myself, I finally had the time to check my notifications: "Minor faction quest COMPLETED. +1,000 XP, +500 Reputation, +1,000 XP." "Negotiation SUCCESSFUL. Level 4, +50 XP."

I was very happy to see a boost in reputation on top of the experience gains. Frankly, I was expecting it because the mission was a black eye to the Magic Guild. This incident probably reinforced the stereotype of mages being crazy or mad because no sane person would intentionally turn another human being into a vampire, especially not an apprentice. By bringing these rogue mages to justice, I was helping to preserve the dignity and reputation of the Magic Guild. Thus, my increase in my personal reputation was well-deserved.

That being said, I was really surprised to discover that my Negotiation skill had increased. But after I took the time to reflect on my meeting, I shouldn't be surprised by this development because I believed that Xon 'Tein was really hesitant in offering to Gate my party to another branch of the Magic Guild. And convincing him to add this sweetener was what led to the skill increase.

I suspected that he was prepared to allow us to keep the rings and the scroll because he could simply order more of those magic items to be made. Heck, he could turn the replacement of these items into quests for apprentice Enchanters. But since Gate was a Ninth-Tier spell, I doubted that he could pass off this task to another mage as easily. And it probably annoyed him to no end to make this concession to me.

Once I dismissed my pop-ups, I was now ready to return to the healer's clinic. I used the power word, "Medens!" The world again turned into a kaleidoscope and it took a moment for my dizziness to fade away.

I took a deep breath and then entered the clinic. I saw that Van, Asuora, and Doudan were watching the three mages like hawks while Kalistra was impatiently pacing back and forth around the room.

"Finally," the cat girl grumbled as she approached me. Her tail lashed and flickered like a whip.

Everyone noticed my return and all eyes were on me.

"I have delivered my report. The Leadership Council will issue an edict tomorrow revoking the membership of these three mages from the Magic Guild. Once their names have been stricken from the membership rolls, they will no longer enjoy the protection of the Magic Guild. The Church will then take them into custody. In the meantime, the Church may station up to 2 guards to watch over each mage in this clinic," I announced.

Van scowled at my announcement. He was unhappy with the fact that he had to wait for some silly paperwork to be processed before he could take these three murderers back to the Watch Headquarters. Justice delayed was justice denied.

I untied the sack of coins that I had received from the guildmaster and passed it to Kalistra. "This is the reward for completing the quest. There are 1,000 gold coins inside. Please give every party member an equal share," I requested.

The cat girl's eyes gleamed with greed and she immediately snatched the sack with her paw.

The paladin held up his hand. "The three of us will decline to take shares in the bounty," he proclaimed. "We are in the service of the Church and we expect no monetary reward for our services."

The two vampire hunters nodded in agreement.

Kalistra's tail dangled happily. This meant she was now getting a bigger piece of the pie. Splitting between her, me, Tescka, Rijana, Bjoukin, and Bjoukia, each member will receive 166 gold pieces and change. She purred in delight.

I rolled my eyes at her antics. I looked at the cat girl and said, "I need to report to the Church and ask for guards to relieve Van, Asuora, and Doudan. I'm sure these three are tired from our Undead Hunt," I said.

Asuora smiled at me.

Kalistra looked up from her coin counting. Her ears flickered in annoyance. "Fine, I'll come along. It is getting late," she admitted.

I nodded. I turned my attention back to Van. "I will return soon," I promised. I walked out the door with Kalistra following me. When we returned to the corridor, the cat girl grabbed my arm. I used the power word, "Exitium!" After my dizziness faded and I regained my senses, I confirmed that we were standing in front of the exit.

The two of us left the Magic Guild and stepped into the street.