38 A Reason to Figh (1/2)

The next day, Timothy received splendid news from James. The saboteurs he sent to burn the food of the Tulosans were successful.

”Where are they?” Timothy excitedly asked. He was making an inventory of the weapons in the armory when he heard of the news.

”In your office” James was ecstatic. ”Tim, luck is finally on our side”

Timothy put down the sword he was holding. He gently sheathed the blade and gave it to one of the Quartermaster's assistants.

He then walked towards James and put his hand on his squire's shoulder. ”It's not luck James. Many things in this world are brought upon by mere luck, but our situation right now is not a gift from the goddess of fortune. We made this for ourselves.”

”Yeah” James lowered his head and smiled. ”We made this for ourselves” he repeated.

”Let's go. I need to hear the full story. But first” he paused and thought for a while ”Do you think General Marvin still have some Hadean wine left?”

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Timothy poured the bottle of Hadean wine into three cups. He carefully filled each of the cups with the divine liquid, afraid that a single drop will be spilled. The golden hue of the wine seduced him into gulping the whole bottle.

He then blamed Marvin. The General actually sent him a bottle of Angel's Wings. There were only about a hundred bottles of Angel's Wings left in the whole world and it was the second rarest wine ever produced. After seeing the bottle, Timothy's first thoughts were to hide it and offer the saboteurs a lesser wine. But he dispelled these thoughts. The two men in front of him risked their lives so they deserve a taste of the second rarest wine in the world.

”Before you tell me of your story, drink first.” Timothy gestured towards the three cups.

”Your Highness” one of the saboteurs voiced. Timothy remembered his name to be Jop ”That's Angel's Wings right?” he pointed at the bottle with his finger shaking.

”It is” Timothy confirmed

”Then” Jop looked at him like a puppy begging for food ”Can we have a taste?”

”Of course. I told you to have a drink, didn't I?”

Jop grabbed two of the cups and offered the other to his partner. Timothy also grabbed his cup and slowly poured the wine to his mouth. It was a sip at first, but after Timothy's tongue was touched by the divine liquid, he couldn't help but gulp the whole cup. It was beautiful. He had never tasted wine as good as Angel's Wings before. The aroma of aged wine and its unique sweetness combined into a concoction that severs one from reality.

”Praise the creator!” Jop exclaimed after licking the bottom of the cup. ”Am I dreaming? Elisar, don't wake me up if I am”

”Have some respect Jop” Elisar gritted his teeth ”We are in front of the Prince”

Timothy laughed. These two… They were so different from each other. One of them was serious, and the other was a chatterbox. They were unlikely friends.

”It's okay” Timothy coughed to stop his laughter ”So, let's begin”

Timothy saw that Jop was still eyeing the bottle.

”Don't worry, it won't run away. Bottles don't have feet” Timothy joked. ”I promise we will split the rest of the wine later”

”Then.. let me start at the beginning” Jop said

”No!” Elisar protested ”Your Highness, let me report to you about the details of our mission instead. My friend sometimes blabber about useless details”

”Shut up El. I got this” Jop insisted.

”Go on. I like reports to be as detailed as possible” Timothy said to Elisar. The soldier nodded but he gave a worried look towards Jop.

Jop started talking. Timothy then understood what Elisar meant. 'Sometimes blabber about useless details' was an understatement. Timothy regretted his decision. Jop wasn't just a chatterbox, he was a talking machine. It was very detailed, too detailed. He blabbered about unrelated things like what they ate, how the food tasted, the weather, where they rested for the night, the hole in his tent, his soggy shoes. He also revealed personal details like the little drama they had when they were escaping the Tulosans. He revealed every single line of conversation of that night. It was like watching a dramatic play. Timothy eyed Elisar and he saw that the soldier was lowering his head, clearly embarrassed. Jop's story took an hour.

”Wow” Timothy was amazed by Jop's ability to talk endlessly.