When I stepped through the shimmering portal, I walked into a room which was an exact duplicate of the room I just left. The new room was circular, had no windows or exits, and the walls were lined with magic inscriptions. However, there was one notable difference: standing in the room was a man wearing a white robe.
The man in question was old, had long gray hair and a long, gray beard. However, his light green eyes were sharp despite his advanced age. He held a wooden staff that appeared simplistic at first. But a quick check with my Magic Sense revealed that it had several magic auras and fairly strong ones at that. A check with the caption above the man's head confirmed his identity as "Mordekai the Wiseman."
I approached him and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Brother Mordekai. My name is Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, a member of the Magic Guild. Councilor Delkon has sent me here," I introduced myself.
"Welcome to the Magic Guild branch in London, Brother Mulligan," the mage replied with an equally deep bow. "I am Mordekai the Wiseman and the head of the White mages. Delkon is a friend of mine and he speaks very highly of you. I invite you and your companions to my home, where we could speak more freely of your mission."
"Yes, that would be fine." I reached out with my right hand and held his left arm.
Bila quickly grabbed my left arm and the human chain continued until its completion with Rijana grabbing Mordekai's right arm.
The host whispered a word of power and our party was immediately teleported out of the Room of Summoning.
My world turned into a kaleidoscope and I became disoriented momentarily. Thankfully, the dancing vision faded shortly thereafter and we stood in a hallway.
Mordekai gently shook his arms free and approached the metal door in front of us. He placed his right hand on it and whispered another magic word. The air in front of the door shimmered for a moment. Then the door opened inward by itself, beckoning us to enter. "Please come inside," the mage said and stepped into the room.
When I entered, I was expecting to see a well-furnished apartment similar to what Delkon had back in Southampton. I was wrong. I stood under a glass atrium inside a room covered with glass. I looked out the glass wall and saw that we were on an island. I was delighted by the ocean view and, inevitably, a bright smile appeared on my face.
Since it was late morning, plenty of sunlight shone into the apartment. I held up my hand to shade my eyes until they adjusted to the brightness of the room. I glanced at my companions and saw that they acted similarly as well.
The old mage chuckled at our reactions to his apartment. "Not what you were expecting, eh?" he asked me with a grin.
I shook my head. "You have a truly wonderful place here. Where are we, anyway?"
"That's a secret," the host replied with a wink.
My brows knitted with surprise at his answer. Why would a leader of the Magic Guild resort to such lengths to protect the location of his home? Did Mordekai have enemies within the guild? Or perhaps he was being targeted by the nobility just like I was? I opened my mouth to ask a follow-up question.
Suddenly, another person appeared! It was a young looking woman who was dressed in a black and white maid uniform. "Welcome home, Master." The maid bowed deeply to Mordekai. Her voice was sweet and delicate.
I stared at the newcomer. She had pointy ears and . . . her skin color was jet-black! She was a drow! My right hand immediately flew to the hilt of my sword.
My companions noticed my action and did the same.
Mordekai calmly raised his hand to placate me. "Bolrema, I have brought some guests. Please prepare some light refreshments and bring them to the living room," he ordered.
"Yes, Master!" The maid bowed again and hurried out of the lobby. She noticed the hostility coming from me and it frightened her greatly. She understood that her existence as a half-drow was troublesome to the master and knew that Mordekai wanted Bolrema to take some time in making her preparations in the kitchen.
"Let's go to the living room," Mordekai invited us and walked straight ahead. He entered a hallway and then turned right. He entered a spacious room centered by an oval-shaped coffee table. Several books were scattered over the table and the host took them and placed the books in a stack on the ground.
Luxurious brown leather sofas surrounded the table. The walls, which were no longer transparent unlike in the previous room, were lined with paintings. A magnificent chandelier dangled from the ceiling. There was also a fireplace on one end of the room.
Bila and Dovarata grabbed my arms in unison and the two led me to a three-seat sofa where I was forced to take the middle seat while the two women sat next to me. They sat close enough that our elbows were touching.
Rijana sat directly across from me in her own three-seat sofa with the two elven siblings next to her.
Van sat by his lonesome self across from Mordekai. Both men were sitting in single-seat sofas.
I was very envious of them and wished that I could trade places with either person. While I enjoyed the company of the two beautiful women sitting next to me, I did not appreciate their clinginess. They were treating me as if I was a wild horse which needed to be tamed! What did I do to merit such treatment? However, since I was a guest in a VIP's house, I could not create a scene and give the two women a piece of my mind that they so richly deserved. Instead, I sat demurely like the nobleman that I was pretending to be.
The white mage studied the two women sitting with me and then looked at me with mild amusement. "You have some rather interesting companions," he began. "Please satisfy my personal curiosity and permit me to ask you some questions. Is it true that you're a member of the Church? And if so, doesn't your relationship with these two women interfere with your Church duties?" he asked.
Mordekai asked these questions in order to investigate my personal views on Church teachings, especially regarding the relationship between humans and demi-humans. He saw my reaction to Bolrema and needed to discern the reason why. Was it because the maid was a demi-human? Or was it because she was a half-elf with a drow as a parent? The answer to this inquiry would help the white mage decide who to assign as my guide for my mission.
I took out my Truth Stone of Order and Chaos from under my tunic. "Yes, I am indeed a member of the Church and also a holder of a truth stone. I am also a town judge in Tregome. That being said, Bila, the cat girl, is my bodyguard while Dovarata, the dracon, is my travel guide. They are both essential for my mission," I explained, "and the Church has not expressed any opposition to their presence in my party. While there is a large faction within the Church which strongly discourages intermingling with demi-humans, I personally value and cherish my relationship with people regardless of their race."
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Mordekai stroked his beard as he listened to me. "You are a very enlightened man, Brother Mulligan."
"Thank you. Now, please permit me to ask why you have a dark elf as your personal maid. Forgive my caution, but my previous encounters with dark elves went poorly," I said.
"How so?" The host's gray eyebrows rose.
I took a deep breath. "I was on patrol duty with the Watch in Tregome on a late afternoon when we encountered a group of drows disguised as merchants. They were pushing a cart full of hay. But hidden inside were a few children that had been kidnapped. The drows planned to sacrifice the children to their Goddess, Drowsidea. We fought with the kidnappers, chased them away, and rescued the children. Later on, I was attacked by them as revenge for my role in killing their leader. Since then, I managed to avoid any contact with the drows," I explained.
These events occurred during my first week inside this gaming world and it was truly nerve-wracking at the time because my character level was quite low and I was only a beginner as a swordsman. From my reading of R.A. Salvatore's fantasy works involving the drow character, Drizzt Do'Urden, I was fully aware of how dangerous and treacherous the drows were and I did not want to cross swords with them. Once I left Tregome, I did not encounter them again and I was very thankful to the Gods for that.
"But the drows have long memories and you're concerned that they will exact vengeance on you someday," Mordekai expressed my concern aloud.
I nodded in agreement.
"Bolrema is a half-elf. Due to her dark skin, she and her human mother were cast out of their village. I encountered the two while shopping in London and decided to hire them to work for me here at my estate. However, her mother, Remara, became ill and passed away a few years ago," the host explained. "I assure you that Bolrema is a sweet-tempered girl and she does not harbor any ill intentions toward you."
Van abruptly raised his hand. "With all due respect, there is an easy way for me to confirm this."
The white mage studied him for a moment. The human warrior was dressed in plate mail armor, which was painted white. From the way the sunlight gleamed off the armor, it was evident that this young man took great care of his personal appearance. Suddenly, he had an insight: "Are you a paladin?"
"Yes," Van nodded.
The surprised host bowed deeply to the paladin. "I didn't realize I was entertaining a paladin as well. I humbly apologize for my rudeness." White mages were closely aligned with the Church because they both worked for the same deity patron--Lady Musa. Mordekai was concerned that he had inadvertently snubbed the paladin and he worried what the man will do. Some paladins had as much pride as noblemen and this hubris often made it difficult for the white mages to work with paladins desperate sharing similar goals.
"I should be the one apologizing for not introducing myself sooner. I am Van the Paladin in the service of Lady Musa," he declared aloud and bowed deeply in return.
Once the formalities were observed, Mordekai returned to the original topic--vouching for Bolrema's character despite her racial heritage. "You wish to use Detect Evil on my maid?" he asked.
Van nodded.
"Very well." The host took a small bell off the table and rang the item. *Ding-ding-ding*
Shortly thereafter, Bolrema entered the living room with a rolling cart. The silver-colored cart had two shelves. On the top shelf, there were a teapot and enough teacups and accompanying plates for the visitors. The bottom shelf was empty. "Yes, Master?" the maid asked in a demure tone of voice and kept her gaze on the cart. She avoided looking at the guests because she knew that her black skin had caused them great discomfort.
Mordekai raised his chin in the direction of the handsome warrior. "This young man is a paladin and he wishes to examine your character."
The young dark elf looked at him with surprise and then returned to a neutral facial expression. "Please go ahead, milord," she replied and curtsied. Bolrema had been the target of this spell thousands of times already and passed inspection every single time. As long as her heart and mind remained pure, she was confident that she will pass this inspection as well.
The paladin closed his eyes and activated Detect Evil. Concentrating on the young maid, he found no trace of evil within her soul. He opened his eyes a few minutes later and nodded to her. "You are clean," he announced.
"Thank you, milord." Bolrema curtsied again. She began to serve tea to the guests. She had waited until the examination was completed because if these guests truly believed that Bolrema harbored ill intentions, then they may suspect that the tea had been poisoned as well. Thus, the maid agreed to the examination by the paladin no matter how intrusive it was to her personally. Once the tea was served to all the guests, Bolrema quickly pushed the cart out of the room. She did not wish to linger in the living room for even one-second longer unless her Master ordered it.
Mordekai took a sip of the tea to show that it was not poisoned. Given my dreadful and frightening experience with the drow, he did not blame me for being concerned with Bolrema.
I took the teacup off the table and drank a small sip. I was mildly surprised by the flavor. It had a strong flavor and tasted similar to English breakfast tea. I added a spoonful of sugar to my cup, stirred the tea, and then took another sip.
"It's good, isn't it?" the host asked with a smile.
"Yes, it is," I agreed wholeheartedly.
Mordekai laid down his cup on his plate and started the discussion in earnest. "According to Delkon, your mission is to locate ancient ruins which you believe are in the hills near London. Is this correct?"
"Yes, exactly so," I confirmed.
"Do you have any idea where the ruins are in relation to London?"
"No."
The host frowned slightly. "The outskirts of greater London has many hills. I assume your ruins are located in one of those areas. I will talk to my associates in the city and ask around," he offered.
"I would rather search the hills one by one," I replied. While I was appreciative of my host's offer, I was concerned that his associates may overlook clues that will lead to the entrance of the Ph'laen Ruins.
Mordekai shook his head. "There are at least one and a half dozen hills in greater London. You could easily spend an entire month searching and traveling through this area and not find the ruins in question."
"I see." I frowned at his troublesome observation. I didn't realize there were so many places to search for the ruins! There were only three possible locations when I searched for the ruins near Southampton and the sites were close enough for us to find the ruins in just two days. If the hills surrounding London were truly spread out, then it could easily take a full month to locate the ruins as Mordekai suggested. I groaned inwardly at this unwelcome development.
The old mage offered me an encouraging smile. He was happy to learn that I was level-headed and did not insist on leaving for the hills right away. By spending more time in the planning phase, a more efficient method of searching will be utilized to eliminate the 18 possibilities one-by-one. "It will take me some time to get the leads for you to check. In the meantime, you should report to the Church," he suggested.
Van nodded in agreement. "Yes, we really should present ourselves to the Church leadership," he said. The paladin firmly believed that it was his duty to report to the Church and announce his arrival ASAP.
I winced inwardly. I wanted to avoid visiting the Church because I was afraid that the church leadership will saddle me with more quests such as to find and kill any undead hidden within the city. After all, I did rid Bristol of its undead residents and surely, the church leadership will be tempted to set me on a similar task in London as well.
But I supposed that reporting to the Church was inevitable. And the prospect of finding the Ph'laen Ruins near London quickly was looking slimmer and slimmer. No, it was more likely that I will be spending some time in this city. Therefore, I will need to find a place to stay in London for a while. "Brother Mordekai, can you suggest an inn for us to stay?"
The white mage stroked his chin as he pondered my question. While there were many fine inns in the city, a high number of them barred demi-humans from entry. But there was one establishment which had an open policy toward demi-humans and welcomed them. "Try the Big Oak Tree," he suggested. "I will ask Bolrema to take you there," he added and rang his bell. *Ding-ding-ding*
The maid returned to the room immediately. "Yes, Master?"
"I want you to take these guests to Big Oak Tree," Mordekai ordered.
Bolrema bowed deeply to hide her surprise. "Yes, Master."