I decided to jog to the Church building. Part of the reason was that I wanted to return to my guest room at The Wild Boar ASAP so that I could finally get some rest. The other reason was that I wanted Van, Asuora, and Doudan to be relieved of guard duty as well. Thus, the sooner I met with the archbishop, the sooner I could get their replacement and return to the Magic Guild.

Kalistra easily matched my pace and a few minutes later, we arrived at the Church building. Since it was already late in the evening, the main doors were closed.

Because non-humans were barred from church grounds via a magic barrier, the cat girl had to remain across the street. She simply leaned against the exterior of a shop which had closed for the night; she sat down and started meditating.

I approached the Watchmen on duty guarding a side door. I pulled the Truth Stone out from under my tunic and said, "Greetings. I have an urgent report for the Archbishop."

The guards eyed my necklace and nodded. "Please find a page inside and ask him to take you to the archbishop," a Watchmen replied and opened the side door.

A young lad waited for me in the corridor.

"Greetings. I have an urgent report for the Archbishop," I said.

Eyeing my Truth Stone, the boy nodded and started walking down the corridor. He led me up a flight of stairs and passed through two more corridors before finally stopping in front of a door. He knocked loudly and said, "Pardon me, Your Eminence. Brother Mulligan is here to deliver an urgent report."

A moment later, the archbishop spoke up. "Please send him in," he ordered.

The lad opened the door for me and bowed.

I nodded slightly and entered. It was a bedroom and I saw that Archbishop Wilshire was already in bed. I immediately walked over to him and kissed his ring. "I apologize for disturbing your sleep, Holy One."

The old man waved his hand dismissively. "Was your Undead Hunt successful?" he asked impatiently.

"Yes, Your Grace," I nodded. "We found the undead horde inside a cavern under Bristol. They, along with a vampire and two golems, have been cleansed. The three charmed mages are currently at the healer's clinic inside the Magic Guild. However, there is a complication. Before I staked the vampire, I was able to ask him questions. Trenton was his name and he was originally an apprentice to those three mages. Somehow, his masters were able to capture a vampire named Lazarus and they forced the vampire to turn Trenton into one as well," I explained.

"OUTRAGEOUS!" the archbishop blurted out. He could not contain his anger at this blasphemous act! The old man took a deep breath, and his calm facade quickly returned to his face. "Please continue."

I nodded in agreement. "There were approximately 250 bodies and Trenton was the one who killed them in order to feed on their blood. I interrogated one of the mages who had been revived. I put Gonzi under a truth oath and he confirmed Trenton's story."

"Accusing the three mages of breaking the Bristolian law, Van immediately requested to take custody of them. I reported to the leadership of the Magic Guild and it was decided that the three rogue mages will be kicked out of the guild. Once the paperwork is completed and they are officially non-members, their custody will be turned over to the Church."

"In the meantime, Van, Asuora, and Doudan are guarding the mages at the clinic even as we speak. I humbly ask Your Holiness to send six men with access to anti-magic beads to relieve Van and his companions from guard duty," I requested and bowed deeply.

Archbishop Wilshire put a hand on my shoulder. "You have done well, Brother Mulligan," he praised me. "I will send six Watchmen to return with you to relieve Van and his men. When you leave the Church building, please wait in front until they arrive. Please return to see me tomorrow morning. I will have another assignment for you."

"Pardon me, Your Eminence," I replied. "I plan to leave Bristol tomorrow. I have another important mission I must complete. Unfortunately, it will require extensive travel through Britannia. If it's possible to put the rogue mages to a public trial tomorrow, I would greatly appreciate it." I bowed deeply.

The old man's brows furrowed at my response. "There will be no public trial. They will be executed in secret," he answered.

My eyes widened in surprise. "Why?"

Archbishop Wilshire looked directly into my eyes. "The presence of a vampire in Bristol must be kept a secret. Otherwise, the common folk may panic and leave Bristol. I cannot allow this to happen. Thus, there cannot be a public trial for those three mages, no matter how much they deserve it," he explained.

I shook my head in disappointment. "You're going to cover up this incidence? How will you explain the 250 victims?"

"They will be treated by the Watch as simply missing persons or people who left the city without telling anyone. Bristol has around 10,000 residents. People come and leave freely," he replied calmly. "I order you to remain silent in this matter. For the good of the Law and Order in Bristol," he added. The old cleric locked his eyes on mine and waited for my response.

"Yes, Your Eminence," I bowed deeply. It was the only answer I could offer.

The archbishop's face softened. "I understand that you may be disappointed by my decision. But this is for the greater good of Bristol and the Church. If the citizens lose faith in the ability of the Church to protect them from evil, this will weaken us and strengthen the hand of Chaos. As servants of the Law and Order, we cannot allow this to happen. Before you leave Bristol, please see me. I will reward you handsomely for your service on behalf of the city. Now, leave this old man to his sleep." He smiled warmly.

"Yes, Your Grace." I bowed again and then left his bedroom.

The young page was waiting in the hallway and he led me to the side door where I had entered originally.

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As we walked, I read my notifications: "Major faction quest COMPLETED. +1,000 XP, +1,000 Reputation, +2,000 XP." While I was surprised to see the big increase in reputation, I was still bitter inside. Basically, the system itself was confirming that suppressing the truth was the right decision. And I couldn't agree with that, no matter how much the system was trying to bribe me with reputation and experience points.

Once I walked out of the building, I crossed the street and approached Kalistra, who was sitting on the ground and meditating. "Kalistra, I need to wait for the replacement guards to arrive. Please wait here for me."

The cat girl's eyes remained closed. But her ears and whiskers twitched.

I crossed the street again and waited in front of the Church building. As I waited, I began to internally process my meeting with the archbishop. I felt stomach turn at the memory of what happened back inside. Archbishop Wilshire had directly ordered me NOT to talk about the sordid affair between Trenton, Lazarus, and the three rogue mages. In particular, the man was desperate to avoid revealing the presence of a vampire in Bristol, which I personally had confirmed due to my encounter with Trenton and his destruction.

I couldn't fully describe the extent of bitter disappointment I felt toward the archbishop, the Church, and the Magic Guild. Everybody just wanted to sweep this under the rug for selfish reasons. The archbishop wanted to remain in office and the presence of a vampire in Bristol would call into question his diligence in protecting the innocent lamb from evil. The Church would be seen as equally culpable for its failure to protect the commoners. Xon 'Tein and his guild was in a similar boat and that was why he offered what amounted to a token resistance before turning the rogue mages over to the Church. This way, he would wash his hands of this affair.

The only casualty was the truth. Weren't the families and loved ones of the 250 victims owed the truth? Clearly, the answer was a resounding "NO." This incident truly crystallized what it meant to serve the Law and Order: The truth had no role to play in the maintenance of law and order.

Yet, I couldn't become a whistleblower and reveal the truth myself. I had no doubt that Archbishop Wilshire was among the few Church leaders eligible to vote on my candidacy for Kingship. If I crossed him on this issue and spread the word that a vampire was in Bristol and it claimed an enormous number of lives of commoners, then the archbishop would never vote for me. Furthermore, he would try to influence the other voters within the Church against my candidacy. Thus, I truly had no choice but to obey the man and suppress the truth.

Yes, I was bitterly disappointed with Archbishop Wilshire for making this decision. Yes, it was the best method to ensure the maintenance of the law and order within Bristol. In the eyes of the Gods, the old cleric did not commit sacrilege in suppressing the truth from the commoners. But worst of all, I was angry with myself for following his order because this meant that I was no better than him. As an outlander from America, of all places, wasn't I supposed to be committed to uncovering the truth? Heck, the Pentagon had investigated the existence of UFO for years and they suppressed the truth from the American public. At this point, was I any better than them?

Before I could berate myself mentally any further, the reinforcements had arrived. The newcomers consisted of four men and two women, five of them wearing chain mail armor while one woman was wearing plate mail. The woman saluted me and stepped forward. "Sir, we've been dispatched by Archbishop Wilshire to guard some rogue mages inside the Magic Guild. Please take us there."

I looked up at her caption and her name read, "Yorldia." I nodded slightly to the blonde haired woman with a scar on her right cheek. "Yes, I have been expecting you. Are you carrying anti-magic beads?" I asked.

"Affirmative," Yorldia replied.

"Very good," I said. "Please follow me." I turned and started walking toward the Magic Guild.

Kalistra joined me and stayed on my right.

The sound of boots on the streets echoed in the dead of night. After a few minutes, we reached the entrance of the building.

I stepped through the automatic doors and my companions followed me inside. I turned around and said, "We need to hold hands so that I can teleport you with me."

The Watchmen obeyed immediately.

I used the power word, "Medens!" After my dizziness faded, I entered the healer's clinic. However, I was surprised to see the three mages with bloodied faces; they were also unconscious. "What happened?" I demanded to know.

Van approached me with a smug expression. "These three thought they could overpower us with magic and escape. We gave them a good beating to interrupt their spell casting. That's all." He shrugged innocently.

Asuora and Doudan smirked but added nothing to the paladin's explanation.

Yorldia approached Van and saluted. "I have been sent by the archbishop to relieve you of duty."

Van immediately saluted back; his face turned serious. "I have been relieved," he answered mechanically. He saw the six Watchmen immediately surround the unconscious mages. He turned toward me and said, "Brother Mulligan, please take us out of this building."

I gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and walked back into the hallway. Wordlessly, we held hands and I used the power word, "Exitium." After taking a moment to reorient my senses. I stepped through the automatic doors.

When Van stepped outside, he asked, "Brother Mulligan, should we escort you back to the tavern?"

I glanced at Kalistra and shook my head. "No need. I doubt anything is going to happen to me with Kalistra as my bodyguard," I replied.

The paladin looked at her and then back to me. "In that case, I thank you for allowing the three of us to take part in your Undead Hunt. May the Gods of the Law and Order continue to watch over you." Van bowed deeply to me and the two vampire hunters also bowed. Then the trio turned and headed in the direction of the Church.

I turned and started walking toward The Wild Boar. I reached out with my right hand and grabbed the cat girl by her shoulder. I closed my eyes and activated my Spirit Sense. I took note of a person on a rooftop just a few houses back. Fortunately, no one else was out on the street near us; I detected numerous auras but they were all inside their houses. "One person following us," I said in a low voice and opened my eyes.

"Please let me know if this individual tries to approach us. It could be a spy from the Double Cross Society," Kalistra replied and led me down the street.

"Probably," I answered. To my relief, the spy kept his distance. When I finally entered The Wild Boar, the spy took a spot across the street and stayed there the rest of the night. I walked up the stairs and opened the door to my guest room. Not bothering to light the lantern, I cast Night Vision on myself. "Night vision SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP."

Kalistra followed me inside and closed the door behind me.

At this point, I knew better than to protest the cat girl spending the night in my room. After all, two nights ago, I was kidnapped from this very room by Tescka.

Kalistra was not going to make the same mistake again. The cat girl took a spot on the ground and leaned against the wall next to the door. She crossed her legs and took a meditative pose. "What are your plans for tomorrow, Lawrence?" she asked with her eyes closed.

"I would like to leave Bristol sometime tomorrow," I answered.

Kalistra opened her eyes. Her pale green-yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. "Where to?" she inquired in a neutral tone of voice.

"I want to resume the quest to unlock the Ph'laen Ruins," I answered. "Archbishop Wilshire has decided there will not be a public trial for the mages. Therefore, I won't be needed as a witness. And I prefer to leave Bristol ASAP," I explained.

"They will be executed in secret," she realized. "He wants to prevent the commoners from learning about the presence of the vampire in Bristol."

I only nodded knowing that she could see me in the unlit room.

"I'm not sure that's Honorable," the cat girl voiced her skepticism.

I sighed aloud. "I feel the same way," I admitted openly. "It's part of the reason why I want to leave this city. I'm really disgusted at the way he's sweeping it under the rug. Plus the fact that I'm letting him," I added quietly.

Kalistra walked across the room and petted my head. "Get some sleep, Lawrence. We'll talk more in the morning."

"You're right. I'll do that. Good night, Kalistra!" I collapsed, face first, onto my bed. The softness of the straw-filled mattress quickly lulled me asleep.