Kitahria launched herself at Gregor before anyone could react. She wanted to both impress her lord and slake her blood lust, by taking out the fat mayor early. She slashed both her blades at his neck, hoping to sever his head in some flashy display to cow the rest of the guards. To her dismay the man vanished before her just as her kukris were about to strike.

Kit blinked and noted that his image didn't waver or was disrupted, it wasn't an illusion. She only had a little training at identifying magic but suspected the mayor teleported or perhaps blinked into another dimension in time to avoid her blades. She still smelled his presence though and she scanned the room hoping to spot him.

She noted right away the servant cowering on the ground while Pig Iron had drawn his weapon and skewered one of the guardsmen rushing the room. Maid avoided a guard's slashing sword and literally spun and danced to safety behind the stout dwarf. The Innkeepers main strength seemed to be in skirmishing, support or in surprise attacks, and she would have little chance to excel in this enclosed battlefield. Kit didn't notice Sir Jose had readied his shield, but it was at the ready as her master punched a guard flat in the face with it. After that heavy blow the knight twirled his blade and slashed another one of the charging militia across the chest as he then turned to scan the room as well.

Though there was no sign of the mayor, Kit guessed he used some sort of invisibility or illusion to hide his presence after he teleported. She wasn't sure of course but that was the best she could assume from her limited knowledge of the workings of magic. It shouldn't have surprised her though, since they did see a magic user of some sort engaging the dragon at the walls, but it never occurred to her now that the foppish looking Gregor was the source.

As Pig Iron and Sir Jose hacked another pair of guards, Kit's keen ears picked up chanting from the corner of the room. . She smiled as she located her prey and happily skipped and hopped through the once opulent room. Though she saw nothing, her ears and nose didn't lie.

Suddenly, before she could reach her target, her path was barred by four black and red segmented worms.

"Fiendish centipedes! ", shouted Maid in warning.

Kit nodded as she faced monsters. The creatures were the size of a man and a hellish surrounded them. A viscous liquid drooled from their clicking mandibles and the young squire knew well to be wary of their poisonous bite. She wasn't sure if their jaws were strong enough to penetrate her skin, but she knew well that if any of their venom got in her eyes or mouth she would most likely be incapacitated by it.

Two centipedes lashed out at her like snakes, but Kit easily avoided their blows. She rolled forwards and tumbled past the other pair but her path was blocked once again. Two hunched, black haired apes appeared out of no whwere and swung their long arms at the squire. One cleanly missed, while the other battered her to the side. She felt a surge of dark energy flow through the creature as it struck her, but curiously it passed through her harmlessly even as she was smashed into the wall. Though the energy did her no harm, she was still staggered from the attack and even dropped one of her blades because of it.

Kit scrambled even as one of the apes rushed her. Her gaze met the creature's soulless black eyes and she realized the creature was fiendish as well. She suddenly realized the nature of the foe they were fighting even as the creature grabbed and pummeled her into the ground.

"He's….oww….a …ahh…..a ….summoner! ", she barked as the monster slammed her repeatedly into the ground. Kit's strength was no match for the ape's but at least her hide held against its blows. She tried to weasel away before it began to more effectively choke or crush her to death. Her skin would not save her from such attacks.

As Kit was being beaten into the ground, the attacks suddenly stopped and the massive creature fell lifeless next to her. She glanced up and spotted Sir Jose standing above her hacking his blade into the other ape with chopped and hacked pieces of centipedes scattered around him. Behind him he saw a hound made of flames appear, seemingly out of thin air.

Kit tried to yell a warning but the beating she took left her breathless. Thankfully the hound's smokey aura alerted the paladin and he spun to meet it before it bit him. Kit watched her master's shield parry the monster's bite and in a flash his sword slashed its side. The creature was unfazed though and it reared up before releasing a torrent of fire on the knight.

The room was bathed briefly in the hellish hound's flames, and Kit was thankful that the fading body of the dead ape helped block protect her from them. As the fire subsided she saw Jose blackened and smouldering, but still standing undaunted before the creature, while Pig Iron and the remaining militia were stumbling and rolling on the ground from the flames.

"Is that all you got essay?", shouted Jose defiantly as he twirled his sword in an elaborate display and seemingly shuffled his feet as if in a dance. Kit noticed a slight slur to his speech and knew that the accursed fermented Agave worm juice he guzzled earlier was having its effect. Her lord refrained from employing the rough and tumble fighting style of his people, Daros lucha, in favor of the more rigid style of the knights, but reverted when under stress or more often enough when he was drunk. It was both a comical and effective style but as his squire, it was embarrassing for her to watch. More importantly Kit heard a chuckle from what could only be Mayor Gregor emanating from an unseen source in the corner. Kit saw her chance to redeem her earlier failed attack, and sprang to action once again. Though she couldn't see her foe, her ears and nose gave her a good idea where he was . She threw her remaining blade and grinned when it stopped in midair amidst a splash of crimson.

Before she could celebrate a victory though, more arcane words were uttered by the invisible summoner. She could see the fat wounded mage materialize where she guessed even as the debris of the room began to slowly rise infront of him. Shattered furniture, broken glass, and even the platter were suspended before the now visible mayor. Kit briefly wondered if the wreckage would serve as a barrier but her question was quickly answered when they suddenly were propelled towards her.


Kitahria awoke in a sweat. She struggled to rise but a soft hand pushed her gently down.

"It's ok Kit , it's ok. Rest," said the sweet comforting voice.

Kit's eyes focused and she saw Maid smiling and sitting next to her. The squire accessed her surroundings and saw that she was in a soft bed with muffled music in the background. She guessed they were in Maid's inn, Dragonslayers or something like that if she recalled, since the room did not look like any from Erland's Keep.

"What happened? ", Kit asked in confusion.

"Well…I must say your master has a….unique fighting style…especially after he gets some of that Agave juice in him. Suffice to say we killed the hell hound , scattered the remaining guards, and won the battle, but you took a nasty strike to the head. Mayor Gregor used a telekinesis spell or something and struck you with a silver platter. He knocked you out, but Jose managed to stab him before he teleported away. After your lord stabilized you with his healing touch , I stayed to tend you , while he and Pig Iron collapsed the bug bear tunnel. We weren't in any condition to repulse a serious attack," explained the Innkeeper.

Kit nodded at the explanation, and touched her head . She felt a stabbing pain , as she confirmed the wound that Maid described and recoiled her fingers reflexively. She had hoped to impress her lord, but felt glum when she did not succeed. A part of her was disappointed that she did not get to kill him, but more importantly she recalled some of the words that Gregor spoke, before the melee broke out, and her heart sank.

Maid seemed oblivious to Kit's concerns, or at least did not show any signs of noticing them. "Sir Jose had been at your side all day, but he has to purge then reorganize what's left of the militia. He rightly fears an attack by the bug bears now that their contact in Essuria has been exposed. ", she sighed. "Pig Iron is helping him…..in his own unique way. He might be a borderline criminal, but the razing of this town is bad for business. Also he's a dwarf, and you know how dwarfs get around goblins."

Kit nodded at Maid's comment, but her mind was preoccupied with other things. She recalled Gregor mentioning that Jose was a fallen knight, and also that she radiated evil upon inspection. She wondered if any of his statements held any truth. It was true that Jose was an unorthodox knight to say the least. From his low bred background, to his heavy drinking, his choice of love interest, and even his decision to make Kit his squire were all things that set him apart from the other knights. Kit didn't think any of these would remotely jeopardize her master's standing as a paladin, and thought it must have been an attempt by the Mayor attempting to sow distrust into their ranks.

His other comment about her being evil thought, weighed uneasily on her heart. Ethics and morality were not something that Jose taught well, but even Kit knew the basic differences between good and evil. If you were good you acted for the benefit of all, if you were evil your actions benefit only yourself often at the detriment of others. That was a simplified view of course, and it allowed a whole plethora of various degrees of good and evil but that was her ethics cosmology in a nut shell. She considered her past actions, especially when she was an assassin under the rule of her dark lords, and wondered where on the good/evil scale she fell. She had killed plenty of monsters and people under both Mogombo and Sir Jose and noted to herself that she both enjoyed and often took pride in her bloody work. Was she evil? It made no sense if she was since to her knowledge, paladins were forbidden to employ or associate with evil beings. She also recalled a mark of justice placed on her head, and that stopped her from doing anything bad. Upon reflection, she was pretty sure she was not evil, since her lord was a holy warrior, a paladin of Nirrodin to be exact, and he surely he would not harbor her if she was.

That is of course if Jose was still a paladin. Kit had witness him employ his holy fire on many occasions and use his divine magic to heal , but she knew that such feats could be duplicated by magic. Also she recalled Jose's former lover, the Lady Stille. Though she admired the Baroness, the young squire knew that she had an evil aura about her. Kit always thought it was due to the fact Stille possessed some measure of demonic blood within her , but could it be that was not the whole truth. The baroness always behaved in a pious and noble manner, but was that all an act so she could corrupt her lord? From her service under her former lord, Kit had seen succubus before, and knew that Stille did not possess the lewd charms of a lust demon. That did not exclude her from being an alu demon, or something similar. Kit also recalled the abrupt way that Jose left their former comrades. Perhaps Martinez had suspected the change in her lord as well. Though Kit did not consider the duelist the brightest of individuals, he was very observant, almost supernaturally so. If Jose had indeed fallen, Martinez would have noticed, and what better way to escape his perception than by leaving his company to go on a distant crusade.

Kit's mind was a jumble from these discordant thoughts. Perhaps it was the blow to the head, or her failure in the last battle, but the squire felt her paranoia rise as she thought about her master. Even with Maid's gentle ministrations she did not feel comfortable knowing her lord might be on the dark path.

"Is she awake?", asked a firm but gentle voice outside her vision.

Kit's heart stopped as she saw Sir Jose enter the room.

"She's fine. ", smiled Maid. "I'll leave you two be", she added against the squire's silent wishes.

Kit wasn't ready to face the knight alone. She knew her worries were probably baseless, but a part of her were fox nature made her skittish and naturally distrusting.

Before Kit could protest,Maid had left the room and Sir Jose sat by her side.

"You fought well, but careless Keeta. ", he commented as he examined her head with a worried look.

Kit would normally make a snappy remark at this point, but her impulsive nature got the best of her." Was what he said true?" She blurted without thinking.

Jose sighed and to her horror he nodded as if he understood her cryptic statement. "Yes it's true. I'm sorry."

Kit recoiled from him slightly. She thought she had been following a holy warrior not a fallen knight. She still respected him , but a part of her was hurt from this revelation.

"When we first encountered you, they thought you were a demon, a Rakshasa , and told me to kill you. Even the kind hearted Stille thought you were too dangerous to live. I admit I was tempted to do so but even though you radiated evil , it did not seem right. You were young, a victim of your background, and I would not have slain you even if I did not realize you were a lycanthrope initially," explained Jose.

Kit blinked in disbelief. What was Jose telling her? Was her fears about him unfounded? Instead of him being fallen, was she the evil one?

"I placed a mark on your head, and called it a mark of justice to alleviate the fears of my companions, but as you probably alreay know, I cannot conjure such an enchantment. It was only holy water combined with a simple light spell, but it was enough to fool my companions to spare you. I wasn't sure why , but I felt I could redeem you," continued the knight. "And for the most part you did not disappoint."

"Wait...for the most part? Are you telling me …that Gregor was right? I am evil? ", asked Kit in disbelief.

Jose sighed and slumped his broad shoulders. "I thought you would have realized that when those fiendish creature's tried to smite good you. Listen Kit, I learned a long time ago to stop trusting my paladin vision, and make my ethical decisions based on the actions I witness. It's a handy tool, but not something to solely base my judgements on. If I didn't I would have attacked the Baroness a long time ago, and been at war with roughly a third of Grom by now. So called good people are not always in the moral right, and so called evil people are just doing what they can to survive. There's a lot of grey in this so called black and white world. In your particular instance, yes you radiate an aura of evil, but if it makes you feel better it's a lot less intense than when we first met. It takes more than a simple change in your employer to wash the stains of your previous deeds. Despite your progress, you still enjoy killing and you possess an unhealthy dose of blood lust in battle. Slightly less important, but still significant, is that you think mainly of yourself, and regretfully me before you consider the plight of others. While it's flattering to be included in your inner circle of priorities it doesn't change your aura ", explained Jose.

Kit was at a loss of word, as both squire and knight sat in uneasy silence. The inn music in the background seemed more and more distant .

Finally Kit shook her head. "Wait, you're a paladin. Don't you have a code against associating with …evil? Don't you lose your paladin powers or something?"

Jose chuckled. "Well….In the old days that's true. That was definitely the case in the first and second edition of the paladin codex. The third, and the slightly revised three point five code of paladins, relaxed it a little , but it was still pretty strict on the manner. Luckily I abide by the even further revised three point seven five rules of conduct and thus exempt from such restrictions."

Kit was still in a state of shock , but was curiously amused by Jose's explanation. "Wait, that sounds like something you made up. You get to pick and choose which laws you follow? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of laws and rules?" She asked playfully despite the suddenly dark atmosphere between them.

Jose shook his head ," Listen Keeta, I'm not making this stuff up. I abide by the codified three point seven five rules of conduct for paladins. It states under associates ' While she may adventure with good or neutral allies, a paladin avoids working with evil characters or with anyone who consistently offends her moral code. Under exceptional circumstances, a paladin can ally with evil associates, but only to defeat what she believes to be a greater evil. A paladin should seek an atonement spell periodically during such an unusual alliance, and should end the alliance immediately should she feel it is doing more harm than good. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are lawful good. ' To clarify, you do not consistently offend my moral code, and I don't consider you a follower or cohort,you are more like a bad student at worse or a friend or associate at best. In fact if you were to ask any knight about which code of conduct they follow, you will find all the Northern Orders follow the three point seven five version as well. We briefly adopted the fourth edition rules of behavior but they were quickly scrapped. I believe Grand Champion Frank stated that they were, and I quote. 'It's for lamers, hipsters, and made for people who have ADD. ' I don't know what that means exactly, but I assume it's bad."

Kit considered his words carefully. "So I don't have a mark of justice on me? ", was her only reply.

Jose sighed once again this time in a defeated tone, "No you don't. I am sorry for the deception. Your actions should be your own, I apologize for placing the hollow threat of divine retribution to govern your actions. If you choose to leave my service because of this, I understand, and I will take no retribution against you. At the time I thought myself clever for that well-meaning deception, but in retrospect it was still a lie. "

Before she could reply, Jose got up and walked to the door. "When you were struck down in battle, I felt horrible. Not only because I thought you died, but because I thought you were fighting for a cause that you may or may not believe in. I knew if you survived I had to tell you the truth. This is my crusade and I have no right to drag you unwillingly into it. I'm sorry ," he apologized once again before leaving the room.

Kit could not believe her ears. Was everything she had done, a big lie? Was all her sacrificing, all her restraint she had shown in the past few years due simply to a clever deception? Was she free to resume her former life as an assassin ?

Even though Mogombo was slain, he was a demon, and there was always a chance he could return. Despite this, she still detested him, and had no desire to return to his service. The more she thought about it the more she remembered how much she hated her former life. Her current life wasn't that much better and the more she thought about it the more similarities she saw between them. She mentally compared her past to her present, all she did then and now was going to town to town, city to city and kill stuff for her master. She ate better and enjoyed more comforts under Mogombo , but felt safer and learned more under Jose. She was subjected to the occasional beating under the Rakshasa, but she also hated guard duty and dog grooming under the paladin. She hated herself as she realized she was subconsciously making a check list of pros and cons from both her previous lords. Was she so clueless of what's right and wrong, that she had to make a list to compare. Was so morally lost that she was confused by the path she should take?

As Kit questioned herself , Maid re-entered the room with a concerned look on her face. "Is everything all right Kit? I saw Jose leave and he looked white as a sheet. He didn't' say anything but from the way he looked, I thought you died or something. "

Kit considered her words, and sank back into the bed. She knew then what she must do.