“Oh, you really shouldn't have gone there, Al... Your silly ‘just for crusaders’ stuff doesn't work with me. I already know a lot more than you think about your so called holy secrets. You see, I read a lot of books, Al, and not just demonic grimoires. From time to time, I pick up something not work-related, so to speak, just to amuse myself with fantastic stories and such.

How do you think I know so much about your Scriptures? Honestly, religious texts are the perfect bedtime books, the ideal read to slip into a comatose state, I assure you!" the warlock mercilessly teased the paladin while not so subtly reminding Aldarius of the many theological arguments he had lost to Jadrik in the previous days.

“Now, what you might not know, Al, is that I went so far as to read the Code of Conduct of your dumb Order before we left for this pointless little quest of yours. And if I remember correctly, there is a section about oaths and duty and that kind of demented stuff," Jadrik said, reining in his horse right in front of Aldarius's charger, forcing the paladin to stop and finally look at him.

"Apparently," the warlock stated, locking gazes with the frowning knight, “there was no need for you to come here and fulfill your oath of reclamation to be allowed to get married. No need at all. Since the Chapel has been claimed by your people less than fifty years ago, it doesn't qualify as a ‘blessed sanctuary’, or whatever you clowns call these things. And because of that, according to your insane regulations, any oath taken relating to it is not binding beyond the ‘normal accomplishments of your knightly tasks' to quote what the code says. In practice, it means that you could have just left this all thing alone and got married right away, especially since your superiors had already given up on this stupid shrine among the rocks after they lost battalion after battalion of armored buffoons over it in the recent past. Isn't that right, Al? Have I got it wrong, or are you just a pompous, self-righteous little liar?"

"What?!" Shayla exclaimed, closing in on Aldarius too, "Is this true, Al?! Look at me, damn you," the wizardess yelled at the top of her lungs, “or I'll fireball your lying ass right now and then make Jadrik call back your spineless soul and have it answer me before we send you to rot forever in the foulest pit of the darkest, cruelest, most demon-infested Hell there is

“Aye, ye better come clean right now, laddie," Uli butted in, his massively muscled arms crossed over his barrel chest and his flinty eyes trained on the fidgeting knight.

“I suggest ye spill the beans before I get tired of playing nice and use my axe to spill yer guts instead

Cowering under the wizardess‘s flaming gaze and with the dwarf‘s all too serious threats ringing in his ears, the paladin tried to sit straighter in the saddle and muster some semblance of dignity, failing miserably.

As he attempted to swallow down his nervousness, Aldarius was acutely aware of Jadrik's wickedly gleeful stare drinking in the whole scene.

The knight's voice was unsteady as he answered, his eyes turning up to the sky in a silent plea for guidance from the Gods of Light.

"ALL I'LL say," the paladin haltingly mumbled, “is that I'm doing this for the greater glory of the Order

“Pff, no you're not!" Shayla growled back at Aldarius, grabbing him by a shiny pauldron and forcing him to look her in her raging blue eyes.

"You lied to me! You used the fact that we were going to get married to make me find someone to help you with this stupid quest, so that you could then go back to your brothers and be a hero! I know you, that's exactly what you were thinking, isn't it?! You useless piece of gold-plated shit!" the wizardess yelled, her hands already tingling as her fingers traced in the air the first arcane signs needed to conjure the blazing ball of fiery destruction she meant to launch at Aldarius.

"You knew I would go get my friends to complete this meaningless quest, and you knew that with three serious adventures like us backing you up you'd surely succeed! AUL that crap about duty and honor was just talk! You're always preaching about honesty and righteousness and the Ways of the Light, and look at you: scheming and tricking people and manipulating even your betrothed into gaining you prestige and making you famous and all that ridiculous hierarchical stuff you dumb knights love so much! I should have known that you're nothing but a vain, armor-clad moron, just like every other paladin!"

“Now, dearest, don't get mad..." Aldarius sheepishly said, raising his arms defensively as he attempted an explanation that would save him from dying in a burst of magical flames.

"I did it for us.., It's going to be good for you as much as for me, you see. Just think: once we're married, all my glory is yours by default too. As my wife, you'll be considered almost as highly as myself... So, in a way, I was doing you a favor."

"A favor?! I don't need you, or your favors! You pathetic little weasel!" Shayla roared, raining down a litany of scathing insults upon Aldarius. As her blazing rage consumed her, the wizardess's words shifted seamlessly from cussing the paladin in the common tongue to reciting a fiery incantation in the language of magic, her brain focusing solely on casting a fireball against her silver-plated, two-timing, slimy, lying moron of a fiance.

ALL of a sudden though, while a grumbling Uli and an ever more pleased Jadrik moved away to avoid getting caught in the obviously incoming detonation, a sudden apparition at the very edge of her vision interrupted the wizardess's concentration.

“Hey guys, I'm back!" Laentharyel chirped, pulling back the hood of her magical cloak to reappear a few feet from the companions, smiling cheerily.

“Whoa, what's going on? Shayla, you look so mad... Did I take too long?" the elf said, misreading the situation and nervously looking around.

As she played with her long blonde hair, a shadow of guilt marred Laeny's beautiful visage and led her to apologize.

“I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner, guys, I was just being thorough. My Sisters always insisted that I double check every time I was out on ranging duty, so..."

Blinking her eyes and shaking her head to dispel the angry red fog that had descended on her, Shayla sighed and held her hand out to Laeny.

“It's alright, sweetie, don't worry. You did nothing wrong. It's not you I'm mad at..." the wizardess said through clenched teeth, still glaring daggers at Aldarius.