When we stepped out of the building, sunlight shone directly into my eyes, blinding me. I quickly held up a hand to shade my eyes. It felt like I had been indoors for years rather than hours. When my eyes readjusted to the light, I saw that my guide was already half a block down the street. "Hey, wait up!" I yelled.

Iunicus immediately stopped and turned around. He had a hood over his head and it protected his eyes. However, his mouth was visible. And he was scowling at us. The white mage tapped his left foot impatiently until the rest of us caught up with him.

We pushed our way through the pedestrians on the busy street and, in two handfuls of seconds, we finally reached him.

"Brother Mulligan, please endeavor to keep up with me. Time is of the essence," the white mage said curtly while he avoided looking at me. Without waiting for my response, the man turned around and continued his fast-paced walk.

"Jerk," Bjoukia muttered under her breath. She was appalled at the way I was being treated by Iunicus and she was mighty tempted to knock some sense into him with the flat portion of her blade.

Her brother, Bjoukin, grabbed the fighter's arm--just in case.

I turned my head to face Bjoukia directly. I shook my head and smiled. "He's not worth it," I said quietly.

She saw that I was unwilling to make an issue out of my mistreatment and reluctantly held her peace. The elf fighter understood why. As the Head Enforcer within the Magic Guild, Iunicus was in a position of power. If he abused his authority to accuse us of wrongdoing, then we could be punished with imprisonment or even worse. Bjoukia was not willing to test this man's patience. Once we have dealt with the pirates, we could leave Southampton and resume with the mission to explore the ruins. We would never have to deal with that insufferable mage again!

Paying us no attention, Iunicus walked two blocks west, one block north, and then another block west. Finally, we reached The Trade Wind. It was a two-story building made of cobblestones. The building took up a third of the block. The second floor had numerous windows. Above the entrance was a green flag decorated with blue, horizontal wavy lines.

When I looked up at the flag, I noted that it was constantly billowing in the air. Ah, there was an air current passing through this street! Hence, the name of the establishment.

Without checking to see if we were still following him, Iunicus entered the tavern.

When our group stepped inside the building, I saw that we had entered the lobby. And Iunicus was walking toward the receptionist standing behind a desk to our left.

The receptionist was a middle-aged lady with brunette hair tied up in a bun and held in place with a red pin. She was dressed in a white tunic and dark brown pants; there was a sword hilt at her left hip. "Greetings, Iunicus," the woman smiled politely and bowed deeply. "Are you having lunch today in our common room?" she inquired.

However, I noticed that her smile was forced and there was no happiness behind the expression.

The white mage sniffed loudly as if he had been insulted by her presumption. "Greetings, Bernetta. The Council is requesting rooms for these visitors to our city. They need to be well rested for a guild mission which will begin after twilight. Please make sure they are provided with an adequate lunch. The Council will foot the bill," Iunicus said with equal politeness. He turned around and waved a hand in our direction.

The tavern keeper gave him a quizzical look. "They won't be spending the night here?" she asked for a confirmation. It was a rather unusual request. After all, my group appeared to be travelers visiting Southampton for the first time. Visitors tend to spend the night at The Trade Wind since the tavern was relatively close to the gate.

"No," the mage shook his head, "they won't be staying here for long. I just need a place indoors for them to spend the next few hours so that they will stay out of trouble." Iunicus turned his head and made sure to look at each of us as a warning.

Bernetta eyed us carefully and took note of our equipment. She saw a well-balanced veteran party and the tavern keeper could easily guess what our mission was. "I have three rooms available at the moment," she answered.

"That's fine," Iunicus replied with a nod. "I need to return to the Guild. I will leave these guests in your care for now. I will return to retrieve them by twilight. I have other guild duties to attend to."

Bernetta bowed deeply. "I will care for these guests until your return," she promised.

Iunicus finally turned his attention to me. "Please enjoy your stay at The Trade Wind, Brother Mulligan. I will return in six hours," he said and nodded. With his duty completed, the white mage left the tavern.

Once the mage was gone, Bernetta exhaled a deep breath. She was no longer tense. She called out, "Tavara! Please take over the reception desk!"

"Yes, boss!" A light voice replied. A young girl immediately ran into the lobby. She appeared to be fifteen years old. She had light blonde hair. A well-worn, homespun dress confirmed her petite figure but it was mended with patches on her elbows.

Bernetta stepped out of her post and Tavara took her place behind the reception desk. The worker finally noticed us standing in the lobby and gave us a bright, friendly smile. "Welcome to The Trade Wind!" she said with a deep bow.

The tavern keeper's face turned serious. "These are important guests of the Council. If they request our services, please ensure that their needs are met."

Tavara's blue eyes widened in understanding. "Of course! You can count on me!" She bowed deeply to us again.

Bernetta turned her attention to us. "Please follow me. I will take you to a private party room to partake your meal." She walked through the doorway on the right and entered the common room.

As we followed our tavern keeper-turned-hostess, I was struck by how polite if not jumpy Bernetta had acted toward the white mage. Furthermore, why was the Magic Guild in charge of defending Southampton? Shouldn't the Watch and the Church be taking the primary responsibilities for the city's defense? I felt there was some important information I was missing regarding the governance of the city, and I resolved to ask Bernetta these questions whenever we were seated.

Stolen novel; please report.

Our hostess led us to a bright, lavishly furnished private room. There was blue-colored carpet on the floor. A big swordfish, with a length easily greater than the height of an average human, hung as a trophy on the wall. There was a fireplace underneath it. A long mahogany table took up residence in the middle of the room. There was seating for a dozen people. Three sets of chandeliers hung from the ceiling, hovering over the table.

I was stunned by the sight because this was truly a VIP room.

"Please sit. Your meals will arrive shortly," Bernetta said.

I took the seat at the head of the table while Kalistra sat to my right and Rijana to my left. The Elves sat on Rijana's side of the table while Van sat next to the cat girl.

Before our hostess left the room, I raised my hand. "Is it possible for you to join us for lunch? This is our first time visiting Southampton and we have some questions for you," I requested.

The tavern keeper was hesitant at first.

However, Rijana quickly spoke up. "Your answers will help us complete our mission for the Magic Guild."

Bernetta eyed both of us. Or rather, she looked at our clothes. With my white robe, I appeared to be either a cleric or a white mage. The tavern keeper did not understand what Rijana's gray colored robes signified but she was certain that Rijana was also a mage. Hence, Bernetta could not decline our request. She smiled politely and nodded. "I need to inform the kitchen staff to bring lunch for seven." She quickly left the room.

"Why did you ask the tavern keeper to join us?" Van asked quietly. "You're pulling her away from her duties."

"None of us have been here before, correct?" I retorted. I surveyed the table.

"I have never left Bristol before," the paladin admitted.

"I've only journeyed to Bristol for the Melee Tournaments," Kalistra answered.

I turned toward Rijana.

She, too, shook her head. "The forests of the Elven Nation don't extend to the south. I had no reason to travel to this seaport until now."

The two elves nodded in agreement.

I smiled. "That's what I thought. I was hoping that Bernetta will tell us more about the areas beyond Southampton. In particular, I want to learn about the landscape because the Ph'laen Ruins are likely to be deep under a mountain. She will help us eliminate some of the guesswork," I explained.

About ten minutes later, Bernetta returned with several waitresses behind her carrying trays of food. Each of us was given a platter of fish and shrimp, rice, and a slice of lime. Additionally, we were served small bowls of fish and potato soup plus a mug of honey mead to wash everything down.

Kalistra's tail kept whacking my arm; apparently, she was thrilled and delighted with all the seafood on the table waiting to be devoured by her.

I, on the other hand, wasn't too happy with the entre. I preferred a simple, boneless fish fillet because I was not good at removing the tiny bones as I ate. Thus, I gave the cat girl a proposal: "Kalistra, I'll trade you my fish and shrimp for your soup."

"Deal!" The cat girl immediately snatched my plate and scooped the fish and shrimp onto her plate. She left the rice and put the plate in front of me. Then she placed her bowl of soup on my plate.

"Thanks," I muttered and rolled my eyes at her antics. I was keenly aware of all the eyes in the room on the two of us. We were like a live comedy show.

But Kalistra had not heard me because she was busy devouring the seafood.

I slowly drank my soup and ate my rice. I was on high alert for fish bones in my soup. Thankfully, there weren't any. I noticed that Kalistra was able to finish her meal before me but I was not surprised by this turn of events. In fact, I learned a valuable lesson today: Never stand between Kalistra and her fish--either as food or pet. I should have chosen to be a comedian for my occupation rather than a writer.

"Milord, what questions do you have for me?" Bernetta asked.

I looked up and saw that she was sitting directly across from me on the other end of the long table. "I have two missions. The first mission is to help you repel the pirates attacking Southampton. The second mission is of a personal nature. I'm seeking some ancient ruins that I believe are buried under a mountain near Southampton. I don't have an exact location but I was hoping that you may be able to suggest a direction for us to head toward whenever we depart from this city," I explained.

The tavern keeper's thick eyebrows rose. "I can talk about the pirate raids. But I'm afraid I lack knowledge of the landscape beyond this city. I do know a hunter who might be able to help you. But he is currently away on a hunting trip. He should return tomorrow. He's renting a room at my tavern," she answered.

"Okay," I nodded. It was a reasonable answer because Bernetta needed to stay in the city in order to keep a close eye on her business. Who else could she entrust to run it? "What can you tell me about the raids, then?" I asked. "What do they target usually?"

"A better question is what race are the pirates?" Kalistra interjected. "Are they human or demi-humans?"

Bernette turned her head and eyed the cat girl more closely. "You raise an excellent question. It's actually sort of a mystery to us," she admitted.

"How so?" I asked with curiosity.

"The raiders are mostly humans but there are some demi-humans mixed in. But all of them wear metal collars around their necks," the hostess answered. "We believe the raiders are being mind-controlled."

"Why would you think that?" Rijana asked. As an Enchanter, she was aware of the existence of such devices. While slavery was outlawed in the Kingdom of Merlin, there have been whispers and rumors of mind-control collars being used to enslave people.

Bernetta closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts and then reopened them. "The first time I saw a raider, his eyes were unfocused and he looked dazed. But suddenly his mood shifted to anger and he attacked our defenders recklessly. The raider felt no pain even as he was being cut down." She shivered at the memory. "But his eyes told a different story. It was as if the man was trapped in his own body. I tried to stop the fighting but it was too late. The man had suffered critical wounds and we couldn't spare a healer on a raider."

I saw an opening and immediately jumped in with a different question. "Speaking of healers, don't you have access to healing services from the Church?" I asked.

A look of surprise flickered across Bernetta's face. "The Church has been banished from Southampton many years ago," she replied. "While our city pledges fealty to the Regent, we are a free city. The Magic Guild governs Southampton."

"The Watch is banished, too?" I asked. While I was aware of the conflict between the Church and the Magic Guild, I never realized that the Church could be banned outright from a human settlement. This made me wonder just how strong the mages in Southampton were.

Kalistra's ears perked up as she listened closely to our conversation. She had her own misgivings with the Church because of its discrimination against demi-humans. Nothing would please her more than to banish the Church from Tregome, her hometown.

"Correct," our hostess confirmed. "The Watch is the enforcement arm of the Church. One can't exist without the other and thus, the Magic Guild could not allow the Watch to remain in the city. Of course, I understood how useful the Watch would be in providing the Law and Order in our city. And due to their absence, our city can be somewhat lawless at times," she admitted. "Without their protection, residents had to learn to protect themselves," Bernetta added while patting at the sword hilt next to her hip.

I slowly took out my Truth Stone of Order and Chaos. "I'm a Church official. Van is a Paladin in the service of the Church. We met with the Leadership Council and they have treated us with utmost courtesy. Why didn't they throw us out of the city immediately?" I asked.

Rijana raised her hand. "I have a theory. It's because you are also a member of the Magic Guild. Unless you break their rules, the council must treat you respectfully. Especially since the two of us belong to the Bristol branch, which is considered one of the most powerful branches of the Magic Guild," she explained.

"What about Van?" I asked while pointing a finger at him.

"He's a member of your party and therefore courtesy must be extended to him," Rijana smiled.

"Of course, not everyone in the Magic Guild feels this way," Bjoukia pointed out without mentioning Iunicus by name. She was still angry with the white mage for the contemptuous manner in which Iunicus had treated me.

Suddenly, we heard loud drums beating!

Bernetta practically jumped out of her chair. "That's the emergency signal. The pirates are raiding our city!" She ran across the room until she reached me. "Can you help us?" she pleaded while holding my hands.

"Of course!" I answered confidently.