"Please give me your oath," I asked politely but firmly. It was not a request that Solina could deny and maintain her innocence.

The Headmistress bowed in acknowledgment of the situation. "I, Solina, Headmistress of the Paget Orphanage, swear upon the Gods of the Law and Order, to tell the truth, upon the penalty of death." A ray of light burst from the swirling stone and struck her in the heart.

Satisfied that the oath had been properly made, I released my hold on the truth stone. I leaned back in my chair to make myself comfortable. But first, I turned my head to look at my bodyguards. "Please take a seat," I ordered. Depending on the answers and how cooperative the witness was, this interrogation may take a while to finish. There was no point in making them stand behind me when there were seats available.

My companions sat down in the chairs next to me. Even if Solina tried to escape from the room, I doubted she was faster than all four of us.

Frankly, I was relishing at this opportunity to pretend that I was an attorney examining a witness in court. When I was a young child, I used to watch the TV show "Matlock." The brilliant criminal defense attorney charged one hundred thousand bucks to take a case and that was a substantial amount of money back in the day. I admit that I was enthralled by the idea of making a ton of money while defending the wrongly accused. It would be the proverbial "have your cake and eat it too."

Ahem. Back to the present. I decided to start the inquiry with a softball question. "How did you become the Headmistress at this orphanage?" I asked.

Solina smiled in appreciation of my approach. She wanted to present herself as a professional and show that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. Furthermore, she wanted to show that she was cooperative in this investigation. Finally, the headmistress believed that how I approached the interrogation sent a reassuring signal that she was not under suspicion currently. Nor was I seeking a scapegoat among the staff. Otherwise, she would have been accused right off the bat--or forced to name one.

"I used to teach at the royal academy where the nobility sent their children," she revealed. "I was a popular teacher in proper etiquette and eventually, I became a confidant to a number of students from important families, including Kuerten Paget and Yanbrie formerly of de Camoys. Saint John the Kind became concerned about the growing violence in the slums. He decided to build an orphanage, which meant jobs for the local residents. And the existence of the orphanage also gave him an excuse to send additional patrols into the slums. Otherwise, the residents of the slums would accuse the Church of undue interference within the district."

"The challenge, though, was figuring out who would be willing to take the job of Headmaster because the job essentially required the person to live in the slums. Thus, very few teachers at the academy would consider taking this job. But I felt inspired by the saint and decided that I could make a great difference in the lives of the most unfortunate members of our society. Saint John was pleasantly surprised to receive my application for the position and hired me immediately. That was two years ago," she explained.

"How did the Pagets come to sponsor this orphanage?" I asked.

"The Church was willing to pay for the recurring expenses such as teacher salary and food. But it couldn't afford the initial investment of building the orphanage on its own. The Regent stepped in and provided the majority of the funding. In recognition of the Paget family's generosity, the orphanage was named in their honor," she answered.

"How many orphans live here?"

"36."

"How many ran away since the opening of this orphanage?"

The witness hesitated for a moment. Finally, Solina looked down with shame and said, "12."

My jaw dropped at this revelation. 12 runaways meant a quarter of the orphans had disappeared. I decided to up the ante and apply some pressure. "Did you abuse them?" I asked with an accusatory tone of voice.

"No!" she answered forcefully. Her eyes stared into mine with controlled anger. She took a deep breath to calm down. "Brother Mulligan, I understand why you would think that. While I have treated the children with strict discipline, I have not abused them either physically or emotionally. Nor have I touched them inappropriately." She slapped her hand over her heart for emphasis, as if daring the Gods to strike her dead for lying. When nothing happened, she gave me a triumphant look.

I nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm glad that to learn that you aren't the reason behind their disappearances."

The witness nodded back.

I decided to widen the net. "Do you have any idea of what happened to them?"

Solina frowned and remained silent for a moment. "Some of the kids were definitely dissatisfied with living in the orphanage," she admitted.

"How so?"

Anger crossed her face briefly. "They chafed at the rules for living here. Curfew at the ninth bell in the evening. Mandatory class attendance and homework. Further responsibilities to help maintain the facilities. I designed a program expressly to provide a proper structure for their day-to-day lives. And some kids resented that. A lot." She shook her head.

"Any other reason?"

The headmistress tilted her head for a moment. "Some of the kids arrived at our doorsteps emotionally unprepared to live here. They may have been abandoned by their parents. Or the parents died suddenly and tragically. Perhaps they were ashamed to have fallen so far from their previous stations in life. Yanbrie is a perfect example of someone I wouldn't be surprised if she ran away."

"So you think there's nothing you can do to lessen the number of runaways."

Solina was miffed and shook a finger at me. "I didn't say that." She was surprised by her rudeness and dropped her hand. "I apologize," she bowed.

"No, I was at fault for my statement," I replied. Actually, I was intentionally trying to goad her into anger. This technique was designed to force the witness to say something inadvertently. Unfortunately, it didn't work on her.

The witness looked me in the eye again. "Look, this is the slums. Our building is right across from a field with the Gods know what lurks within. Could a predator have dragged a wandering child back into its nest? Yes. Could the kids have been kidnapped and sold off to slavers? Yes. There is only so much the staff could do to protect the orphans here. I'm grateful that the saint sends guards to patrol the nearby streets but I'm afraid that it's not enough to keep the children safe."

"There are wolves in the field," I noted. Before my group arrived at the orphanage, I used my Spirit Sense to figure out what creatures were inside the field. I told Solina because I was curious as to whether the staff knew of the presence of wolves so close by.

The woman turned pale and became lightheaded. "You saw them?" she asked in a frightened tone of voice.

I shook my head. "I have an ability to detect living things. Along with the wolves, there were snakes, rabbits, birds, and a badger too," I explained.

Solina took a deep breath. "It's too dangerous to have this field so close to the kids. It has to go." Suddenly, the woman reached out and grabbed my hands.

My bodyguards reacted to stop her but I said, "It's fine."

"If nothing else, please convince the saint to clear the field. I'm sure some of the kids have been killed by the wolves." There was a look of despair in her eyes as she made the plea.

I nodded. I had a suspicion that some of the runaways were eaten by the wolves. But now, I needed to eliminate the other staffers as suspects in the disappearances of the orphans. "Can I ask you to arrange for your staff to interview with me individually?" I requested.

"Certainly," she nodded. "I'll do it now." The headmistress rose from her seat, bowed deeply to me, and left her office.

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Now that it was just me and my bodyguards in the room, I turned toward them. "Impressions?"

Van spoke up. "I used Detect Evil on the headmistress. It was negative. I'm inclined to believe her," he opined.

Bila looked straight into my eyes. "I know that I said earlier we should leave the field alone. But now that I learned of the presence of wolves and snakes, I agree that the field has to be cleared for the sake of the children. And with your permission, I wish to hunt them."

Suddenly, the door to the office opened. It was Kuerten Paget. With him were Yanbrie and his uncle.

The bodyguards immediately offered their seats, which was accepted.

Once the boy sat down next to me, he asked, "What about wolves and snakes?" He had overheard the cat girl's mention of them.

"There's a pair of wolves in the field and they may be responsible for some of the missing kids," I explained.

"That's terrible!" Yanbrie blurted out in horror. She grabbed Kuerten and hugged him tightly. Her body was visibly shaking.

The boy hugged her back. "It's okay. You're safe. Lord Mulligan will take you far, far away from here. Isn't that right?" Kuerten glanced at me.

"Yes, we're going to take you to Tregome now," I confirmed.

Yanbrie released Kuerten and pulled back. She shook her head. "I can't leave the children here to fend for themselves."

"They won't be," the boy declared. He turned and looked at his uncle. "Uncle, please ask the guards to enter the field and hunt down the wolves!" he demanded.

Weston shook his head. "If I leave now and do as you ask, you're going to ask Lord Mulligan to take you to Tregome. I don't want to be separated from you."

Kuerten snapped his fingers and gave his uncle a sullen look. "Damn."

It was my turn to speak up. "Lord Paget, I would like to take the young lord to Tregome. With these skilled bodyguards accompanying me, I can guarantee your nephew's personal safety," I reassured him.

Weston turned around and looked at each bodyguard in the eye. Bila, Van, and Dovarata each gave the nobleman a small nod in response. The lord looked at Kuerten and said, "Fine, you can go. But you must obey Lord Mulligan." Weston then turned toward me. "I leave my nephew in your care." The nobleman bowed to me.

I bowed deeply in return. "I will keep my eyes on him," I promised.

Weston rose from his chair.

Before he left the office, I raised my hand. "Oh, I have a favor to ask of you, Lord Paget. I have some additional companions who may be coming to the orphanage. The group is comprised of an elven fighter, an elven ranger, and a human enchanter. If they show up before I return, please ask them to assist in clearing the field." I had left a message for Rijana, Bjoukia, and Bjoukin that I will be visiting the orphanage. I wasn't sure if they will come but in the event that they do, I may as well ask them to assist in hunting down the wolves and snakes.

"I will do as you ask," Lord Paget confirmed and left.

I got up from my seat and the two kids did the same.

Dovarata said, "This room is too for me to use the Gate spell. Let's go back to the lobby."

Since Yanbrie was familiar with the orphanage, she led the way and soon we returned to the lobby whereupon the headmistress also reappeared with her staff.

"We're going to take Yanbrie to another place now. I will return shortly to begin the interviews," I informed her. "Also, Lord Paget is going to take the guards into the field to hunt down the wolves and snakes. Can you make sure the children stay indoors until the hunt is over?" I requested.

One of the staff began to protest but the headmistress gave him a withering look.

"Why are you opposed?" I asked while looking at a middle-aged man who had a stocky build. His caption identified the man as "Erfre."

"Occasionally, I go into the field to hunt rabbits, milord," he confessed.

"But you've seen the wolves?" I pressed him.

Erfre looked down at the floor and nodded. He knew he should have spoken up and told the guards when he first saw the wolves roaming the field. But he didn't because he wanted to continue hunting rabbits and he feared their nest will be destroyed by the guards if the field was cleaned up. He had a tremendous appetite and the meager salary from his teaching post didn't pay well enough to support his eating habits.

"And you didn't tell me or the guards?" Solina asked.

"No," the man shook his head.

"In other words, you, as a teacher of this orphanage, decided that filling your stomach was more important to you than the safety of our children? You're fired!" the headmistress yelled. Solina raised her arm and pointed at the door.

"What!" Erfre protested. "Why should I be fired over some stupid kids eaten by wolves?" he blurted out.

"Leave at once!" the headmistress demanded.

The fired worker cocked his fist back and prepared to punch her in the face.

Solina, aware of the danger, took a step back.

However, Van grabbed his wrist and began to squeeze, inflicting pain on the man. "You should leave before you do something foolish," he said in a quiet voice that sounded like rumbling thunder.

Erfre pulled his wrist free. "Who the bloody heck are you to order me around?" he asked.

"My name is Van, a Paladin in the service of the Church. My word alone will be sufficient to have you tossed in the dungeon."

Erfre froze. He bowed profusely toward Van and quickly ran out the door.

"I didn't realize we were in the presence of an esteemed paladin," Solina remarked and gave the holy warrior a deep bow.

"I don't like to make a fuss," Van smiled slyly.

"And you're Brother Mulligan's bodyguard?" she inquired.

"Yes. I'm doing a penance toward him. It's an embarrassing story," Van admitted and rubbed the back of his head.

Kuerten cleared his throat. Loudly.

"I'll activate the Gate now," Dovarata said. She took out the Orb of Travel and chose Tregome as the destination. She poured mana into the orb and a portal began to form in the center of the lobby. The blue portal grew in size until it took the shape of an oval.

Bila entered the portal, followed by Van. Kuerten and Yanbrie entered with joined hands.

Finally, it was me and then Dovarata, who closed the portal behind her.

We arrived in front of the Church in Tregome.

I activated my Navigation Sense and led the group directly to The Noble Lady. "Navigation sense SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP." I dismissed the message.

We arrived during the lunch period. Seeing Bila licking her lips, I decided that we should have lunch at the tavern as well.

I opened the door and walked past the reception desk. When I entered the dining room, someone yelled out, "It's the Dragonslayer!" Patrons turned toward me and stared. When they recognized me, the patrons started raising their mugs and hailing me. "Dragonslayer! Dragonslayer! Dragonslayer!" A table was hastily emptied and my party was invited to take it.

A short moment later, the person I had been dying to see finally arrived: Amelica. I rose from my seat and my beautiful angel gave me a hug and a kiss. The world shrunk until it was just the two of us. The patrons started catcalling us until our lips parted.

When Amelica released me, she said, "I didn't expect to see you again so soon, milord."

I looked at my table and saw that Kuerten and Yanbrie were sitting on the other side of the table; they were watching us. "Do you need additional help here? This young lady needs a job and a place to stay," I explained while looking at Yanbrie.

My girlfriend followed my gaze and examined the girl visually with growing interest.

Yanbrie rose to her feet and introduced herself. "My name is Yanbrie formerly of de Camoys." She gave a small curtsy and then sat down.

"A former noble?" Amelica's brows rose in surprise at the revelation.

Kuerten stood up and introduced himself, too. "I am Kuerten Paget, son of the Regent. I also request that you take her in. Or else Yanbrie will have to return to the orphanage."

Amelica blanched at the idea of the young girl going back. The sight of Yanbrie tugged at Amelica's heartstrings. "Working here is not an easy job. But if you are willing to learn and work hard, then we will hire you on a provisional basis for a month. After that, we will reevaluate your performance and decide whether to keep you on a permanent basis. Sounds fair?"

Yanbrie nodded and smiled brightly. "Thank you." She was so happy right now!

The waitress smiled back. Amelica was in Yanbrie's similar situation many, many years ago. And she was happy that the Gods have allowed her this opportunity to pay the favor forward. "Okay, I have to get back to work." She turned toward me. "Your order is five of today's special plus honey tea?" she asked in a professional tone of voice.

"That would be fine," I agreed.

The lovely woman turned and quickly made her way to the kitchen to relay my order to the cook.

As we waited for our food to arrive, I saw that Yanbrie's eyes were darting back and forth. "Don't worry. The patrons here are nice. They all love Amelica and they will like you, too," I said.

Kuerten removed his necklace, which was a medallion bearing the Paget family crest. "I want you to have this," he said while putting the necklace around Yanbrie's neck. "If anyone gives you trouble, just show them this necklace. People will know that you're associated with the Regent and back off," he explained.

Yanbrie's eyes widened with delight at the gift and she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you," she smiled.

The boy blushed and looked down.

Amelica soon returned to our table and started placing bowls of beef stew in front of each patron. She added a basket of biscuits in the center of the table. "When can you start working?" she asked Yanbrie.

"Right after I finish this meal," the girl responded.

"Excellent," the waitress smiled. "I'll be back with your drinks," she said and left.

After Amelica returned with mugs of honey tea for everyone, we ate our meals quickly.

Bila and Dovarata each wanted a second serving of the stew but I shot them down. "We have a lot more interviews to complete today," I explained.

Once we were finished eating, Kuerten insisted on paying for all of us. He left one gold coin on the table.

When it was time to leave, Yanbrie and Kuerten walked hand-in-hand to the door. They shared a kiss and a hug.

"I'll come by often to visit you," Kuerten promised and then the boy walked out.

"Please work hard," I told the sad girl and patted her gently on the back before leaving.

Each of my companions gave Yanbrie encouragement and then left the tavern.

When I stepped out on the sidewalk, Kuerten approached me said, "Thank you for helping Yanbrie. I am indebted to you." The boy bowed deeply to me.

At this moment, I received a pop-up message: "Minor faction quest COMPLETED. +1,000 XP. +2,000 Reputation, +4,000 XP." I was so shocked by the enormous gains in experience and reputation that I was momentarily at a loss for words. I offered to pull Yanbrie out of the orphanage as a favor to Kuerten. But I didn't expect to receive any benefit from this arrangement. In this particular instance, doing a good deed yielded a major benefit to me personally. I shook my head to return to the present.

"There's no need for that, Lord Paget," I replied. "We need to return to the orphanage," I added.

Kuerten raised his head and nodded.

Dovarata took out the Orb of Travel and set the orphanage as the destination. Once the portal was formed, we walked through the oval-shaped doorway and returned to London.