As we approached the lines of people and wagons waiting to enter through the gate, Van held up his hand. He turned toward me and asked, "Where should we go?" He gave me a pointed look.

Ah! He was concerned about the assassination attempt yesterday, which I had not disclosed to my companions. "I would like to visit Sister Waverly and then go to the Magic Guild Library," I answered.

"Do you want me to reserve a practice room?" Rijana offered.

I nodded. She was asking if I wanted to add new spells to my spellbook or practice using them in the pocket field on the Plane of Air.

I took out a gold coin and handed it to Bila. "Please return to the Big Oak Tree with Dovarata and buy yourselves some lunch."

The cat girl's eyes gleamed as she immediately snatched the coin from my hand. She started purring.

Dovarata stared at me for a moment. The dracon was torn between following me and going with Bila for lunch. In the end, her rumbling stomach made the decision for her.

"I'll report to Mordekai," Fondus offered.

I nodded in appreciation. Since the trip to Primrose Hill was a personal mission of mine, I didn't need to report back to the Guildmaster of the Magic Guild. Fondus, on the other hand, did have this obligation since he was assigned by Mordekai to guide my party to the Ph'laen Ruins.

After twenty minutes of waiting, we were able to past through the gatehouse after I pulled out my Truth Stone and showed the guards my holy relic. The knights bowed deeply to me and immediately allowed my party to enter without further inquiry. I had to admit that being a church official had its privileges.

Once we entered the city of London, we separated into three groups: Van and I in the first group; Fondus, Rijana, Bjoukia, and Bjoukin in the second group; and Bila and Dovarata in the last group. With a wave of hands, we went our separate ways.

I activated Navigation Sense and located Saint Mary's Convent on my mental map. Since we had entered London through the northern gate, I was facing south. To my right was the west, which was the direction of the convent. Thus, I turned right and started walking along the street.

Van walked closer to my right and discouraged pickpockets from trying to steal my money sack.

Two daring thieves made the attempt anyway, but I made my Dexterity saving throws and avoided their attempt to cut off my sack.

Van noticed them and kicked them in the stomach. He glared at them and the would-be pickpockets quickly hid in the crowd.

The paladin tried to go after them but I put my hand on his arm and held him back. "Don't bother," I said and he reluctantly let them go. While I COULD use my Spirit Sense to track them down, I didn't want to go after the thieves for two reasons. First, securing Sister's Waverly assistance before I visit the final Ph'laen Ruin was my top priority.

Second, I was concerned that the thieves were part of the official Thieves' Guild and I wasn't prepared to disturb a beehive, so to speak. In other words, if I took down the two thieves, their guild may send more men after me. I already had assassins looking for me; I didn't want to incur the wrath of the Thieves' Guild, too.

Of course, Van, being a paladin, would not see things that way. And I didn't want to fight a losing argument with him.

Along the way, we both ate an apple purchased from a street peddler. It was already mid-afternoon but I didn't want to eat lunch in a tavern and risk missing the nun. I didn't know what her schedule was at the convent but surely she would break for afternoon tea, right? And afternoon tea was typically served at 4 past noon.

When we arrived at the convent, we were greeted by another nun who was much older. I checked her caption and her name was "Head Sister Kira."

The nun nodded and said, "Greetings, Brothers of the Church. I am Sister Kira. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

We nodded back. "Greetings, Sister Kira. I wish to speak with Sister Waverly," I said.

The nun looked up at the clock on the wall. It was twenty minutes to 4. "I'm afraid she's at work right now. Is this an urgent Church matter or a personal matter?" she asked.

"Personal," I answered. "Is it possible to see her during afternoon tea?" I requested.

"Sure," Kira nodded. "In the meantime, would you like to visit our cloister?" she suggested.

"That's fine," Van replied.

The sister led us through the lobby and we returned to the cloister, which the two of us had visited just yesterday. "I will let Sister Waverly know that you're waiting," she promised.

We nodded and then Sister Kira left.

The two of us sat on the ground and made ourselves comfortable on the grass.

Van removed his mace and shield and started oiling them.

I decided it had been too long since I sharpened my sword. Thus, I took out a whetstone from my pocket. When I took the sword out of the butterfly-adorned scabbard, I was reminded of Kalistra and the fact that her dojo had been forced to leave the Town of Tregome.

It had been a while since I departed the town after helping to defend the dojo from Hleandros the red dragon. As I sharpened my sword, I resolved to learn Recall and travel to Tregome and then cross the bridge to visit the new village of Kalistro.

The two of us were so absorbed in the maintenance work that we were surprised to hear the church bell tolling four times. Soon, we were the squealing sound of wheels rolling nearby. It was Sister Waverly pushing a cart.

I looked at the cart and saw a teapot, several plates and cups, two lunch boxes, and a blanket.

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The nun pushed the cart to the edge of the grass. She laid the large blanket on the ground and said, "Good afternoon, Brothers. Please come over here."

The two of us walked over and sat on the blanket.

"How would you like your tea?" Sister Waverly asked.

"Black," Van replied.

"Two sugars and a bit of milk," I answered.

The nun prepared our teas and handed a teacup on a small plate to each of us. She then placed the two lunchboxes at the center of the blanket and opened the boxes. Inside the first box were simple ham, cheese, and lettuce sandwiches. The second box contained cookies.

I was surprised that we were having an impromptu picnic. But since I had skipped lunch, I didn't mind.

"Please have as much as you like," Sister Waverly said with a smile as she took a buttermilk cookie for herself.

Once Van and I had devoured the sandwiches, the nun began to talk. "Head Sister Kira said you wanted to talk to me?" she asked.

I nodded. "I need a cleric who can raise the dead for my next mission and I would like you to join my quest."

Sister Waverly took a sip of her tea and then set her cup on the plate. "Why me? You are a member of the Church. If you ask Saint John the Kind for assistance, I'm sure he would assign a suitable person to your party."

I smiled and raised two fingers on my right hand. "I have two reasons. First, this is a personal mission and I would prefer not to involve the Church."

"In other words, you don't trust the saint." The nun looked directly into my eyes and dared me to contradict her statement.

I remained silent.

"And what is your second reason?"

I raised my left hand. I turned toward Van. "What I'm about to say is an important secret between the sister and I. Can you cover your ears? I will raise my hand again when it's okay for you to listen in."

The paladin was surprised and disappointed but he covered his ears as I had requested.

The nun's eyebrows rose.

"I believe you are the human avatar of Lady Musa," I told her.

Sister Waverly's faint smile immediately turned into a frown. "How did you know?" she asked with annoyance. "I'm aware that you know of Bane's mortal disguise. I made sure to hide my divine power from you."

"When I rolled up my sleeves and displayed my divine brands, I felt a tingling sensation. At the time, I couldn't figure out which mark had reacted but I knew the sensation was in reaction to your presence. Using the process of elimination, I figured out that Sister Waverly was most likely the human form of Lady Musa," I explained.

The nun applauded and shook her head slightly. "You're too smart for your own good, Lawrence Eugene Mulligan." She gave a side-glance to the paladin, who was still covering his ears with his hand. "I'm glad you did not reveal my secret to Van, or else he will act skittish in my presence."

"Can't blame him when he is your servant," I remarked.

She tilted her head. "I suppose not." She looked at Van again. "Please don't tell Van or else he won't allow me to accompany you."

"Yes, your secret is safe with me," I confirmed. I raised my hand again and Van dropped his hands. Then I continued my discussion with the sister. "As you know, I've been traveling to unlock the Ph'laen Ruins. The last place I visited was in Primrose Hill. When I unlocked the ruins, I almost died."

"Why?"

"I was granted access to Matter."

"Interesting." The human avatar of Lady Musa maintained her poker face.

"I believe that when I unlock the final Ph'laen Ruins, I will be granted access to Antimatter."

"And you're concerned that you will be instantly killed." Sister Waverly understood the reason for my request.

I nodded.

The nun eyed me silently for a moment. "I don't mind accompanying you and raising you back to life on your quest. The problem, though, is that you will need to convince the head sister to let me accompany you. Let's say for a week."

I sighed. "What do I have to do to convince her?" I asked.

She grinned. "I believe you have access to the Earth sphere of magic."

"Correct."

"I would like you to make repairs to the foundation of the Convent."

"Why would I need to use Earth magic for that?"

"Some of the cracks are very hard for a person to reach and repair. If you summon an Earth Elemental, the work can be done safely."

"I see." In other words, she wanted me to cast Summon Earth Elemental and make the minion do the repair work.

Sister Waverly placed her teacup and matching plate on the tray. She then rose to her feet. "Please remain here while I go to the Head Sister and seek her permission to leave the Convent with you. Meanwhile, you can finish the tea." She smiled and then left the cloister.

When she was gone, Van asked, "What was that about?"

"Regarding?"

"The secret between you and the sister."

"I promised not to tell," I replied nonchalantly.

"If you make her stray from her Oath of Chastity, I will personally deliver severe punishment to you," the paladin threatened.

I immediately spat out the tea that I was drinking and started coughing. After a few seconds, I finally caught my breath. "We don't have THAT kind of a relationship!" I threw Van a dirty look.

"You better not," he warned again.

I shook my head at his silliness.

It took some time for Sister Waverly to return. By then, we had finished the rest of the tea and all the cookies in the second box. Yup, we were THAT hungry from skipping lunch!

The nun was apologetic at first but then she noticed the empty box. "Hey, you could have saved me a cookie!" she pouted.

We looked away with embarrassment.

"Oh, nevermind. Anyway, I'm happy to report that the head sister has agreed to my request. And the sooner you finish making repairs, the sooner I get to leave. So . . . let's get started right now!" she grinned.

Van and I exchanged looks and then we rose to our feet.

Sister Waverly led us to the other end of the cloister. There was a staircase leading to the basement. The basement was illuminated by candlelight. It was dark, damp, and moldy.

I winced at the musty smell of mold.

The nun created a Light sphere and started walking slowly. She stopped a short distance from the stairs. "See these cracks?" she said while pointing at the wall.

I stepped closer and I saw a long crack running along the foundation. "I got it," I replied. I knelt, closed my eyes, and placed a hand on the ground. I started casting the spell: "I summon forth a Servant from the Plane of Earth!" My spirit left my body and entered the Plane of Earth. My spiritual essence flew across the dimension while I sought an appropriate minion to bring back. It took a while but finally, I found what I was seeking. Extending my spirit to it, I brought the elemental back to my dimension. "Spell of Earth Elemental Summoning SUCCESSFUL. Level 4, -40 Mana, +400XP."

The earth elemental that stood before me resembled Spongebob SquarePants with its rectangular shaped torso, tiny arms and legs, and non-distinguishable head or neck. Its black eyes stared at me as it stood still as a rock.

I pointed at the cracks running along the wall. "Please fill the cracks in the wall," I commanded.

The elemental turned its attention away from me toward the wall. It placed a hand on the crack.

I heard a bubbling sound as pieces of dirt and stone was ejected from the minion's palm and squeezed into the cracks.

The elemental then pressed its hand against the wall and started rubbing the wall back and forth. A few seconds later, the crack in the wall had been filled and smoothed, making the crack disappear entirely.

"Excellent!" Sister Waverly praised while clapping her hands.

I turned toward her. "So how much repair work do we need to do?" I asked her.

The nun stretched out her arms. "The entire basement," she grinned.

Ouch. It will take the rest of the day to do the work . . . if we were lucky. And unfortunately, I had to supervise my elemental personally because I was its summoner and the only person the creature will obey. I pointed at the next crack on the wall and my minion started repairing it.

I turned toward Van. "Can you go to the Magic Guild and tell Rijana that I'm stuck doing work for the Convent? I'll meet them at the guild library tomorrow morning." I fished my pocket and took out the key to our guest room at the Big Oak Tree. I handed it to my roommate. Since I was expecting to finish the repair work well after the 10 pm curfew, I will not be returning to the inn tonight.

"Okay," my companion said as he accepted the key. He, too, realized that it will take the entire day for me to complete the repair work because of the size of the building. He patted my back sympathetically.

"I will escort you out," Sister Waverly said and then she left with Van.

Fortunately, she had left the Light sphere behind. Using the illumination from the magic light, I directed my minion toward the next crack in the wall.