The Last Paladin of Highmoore: The Legends of Valoria

Chapters 13, 14 & 15

Chapter 13 - First Assignment

"Alright, Alec. The best way for us to get all of these things finished is to split up. I will take this half of the list. You take the other half and we will make back here when we are finished. Sound good to you?" This was the question Eliza had asked him early that morning and it had been foolish of Alec to answer with a yes. He was sitting at the same table that they had sat discussing the best way for them to complete their objectives. Eliza was kind enough to leave Alec all of the fairly simple tasks, allowing him to talk to villagers for various reasons, whether to hear their complaints about different policies or to deliver messages.

His favorite task of the day had been to travel into town and collect a list of groceries from the town market. None of the tasks Alec had performed that day was what he would deem a worthy enough cause for a knight to be required, but they were all tasks that had been set forth to them by the council. Now, he sat where he had been sitting for several hours, impatiently awaiting Eliza and he assumed Zelus to return from their half of the tasks. The waitress had already made several rounds toward Alec and he had already eaten one meal there and was becoming increasingly tempted to order again when finally he could hear the sound of a young man and woman arguing. Alec raised three fingers into the air and counted down the seconds before Eliza came barging in and sat next to him.

"What are you counting?" She snapped at him. He rolled his head to the side and saw Zelus sit opposite Eliza, a broad smirk on his face despite the enormous handprint that also bore on his face. From the look of the smirk on his face, Alec knew that Zelus had been laying on a thick layer of sarcasm, and had probably been hounding Eliza for hours, judging upon the look on her face.

"Me, oh nothing. I was just getting ready to flag down the waitress." As if on cue, the young girl who had been flirting with Alec for most of the day arrived.

"Anything I can get for you, darling?" Alec smiled at the greeting as the young woman placed her hand on Alec's. Eliza rolled her eyes already annoyed by the girl. Zeus smirked, hinting to Alec the source material of their bickering.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, my friends and I would like whatever it was that you brought me earlier." The woman smiled.

"Alright then, three bowls of the red fire stew. I'll be right back, darling." The waitress turned and both Alec and Zelus perked up and watched as she swayed her hips as she walked, aware that they were watching. She turned back to match their gaze and smiled as she continued to walk seductively. Eliza cleared her throat loudly to alert them that she was still there.

"So Eliza, how went your half of the list?" Alec asked as he stretched back in his chair and took a deep breath. Eliza glared at him for a few minutes and then looked to Zelus.

"Well, not that he was of any help, but we managed to finish everything on the list." Zelus attempted to hold back a laugh and instead let out a choked gurgle.

"What happened? There's obviously a story here." Again, Eliza glared at Zelus as the waitress came back and sat down three steaming bowls of heavenly smelling stew, three cups and a pitcher of water.

"Is there anything else that I can get for you three?" Sensing the tension, the waitress smiled, winked at Alec and Zelus, while she walked away, giggling to herself as Eliza fumed.

"As I was saying," Eliza started after swallowing a mouthful of stew. "That we had started to finish our half when." A shocked expression crawled across her face as if she had just seen the reaper and then, with panicked intensity, sprang into frenzied action, trying to pour water into her glass. After fumbling around quite some bit, she managed to gulp down three glasses as Alec and Zelus roared with laughter. Eliza gasped trying to catch her breath before starting at the two of them.