A Visit from a Friend

by Kevin Meehan

The woman was covered in dust. She had ridden long and hard through the desert but her journey was almost over. Up ahead was the town of Honor Hold. Although, truth to tell, the word town was giving the place too much dignity.

The woman entered the local inn, went over to the innkeeper and asked, "Excuse me, is there a Klatu here?" "Up those stairs, first door on your right ma'am." The woman nodded her thanks, pushed her way through the crowed and went up the stairs.

Klatu turned out to be a Draeni. She hadn't seen a Draeni before but she had been told that Klatu was honest. She walked up to him and took a battered wooden box out of her back pack. "Excuse me, are you Klatu the priest?"

"I am."

"I'm Alexia Walker and I need a favor. I need this box delivered to a paladin named alChandler and I'm told you can be trusted." Alexia then held the box out to Klatu. Klatu looked at it and said, "I've heard of alChandler but I've never met him. They say he's on his way here. From the stories he doesn't seem evil so yes, I'll deliver this if I see him."

"You will. This is the only inn in town so he'll show up sooner rather then later. I'd give it too him myself but, uh, I'm not from around here and I don't know how long I can stay."

"Understood, peace be with you daughter of Norrath."

Alexia Walker looked surprised, then nodded and replied, "And with you, priest of Azeroth." She then turned and went downstairs. She walked over to the innkeeper, handed him a silver coin and said, "They'll be a man named alChandler coming here. When you see him, tell him Klatu has a package for him."

The innkeeper nodded. Alexia Walker turned, left the inn, got back on her horse and rode off into the night. She had a long way to go in time and space. As she left she didn't notice an armored figure in black leave the shadows and glide up the stairs of the inn.

Three days later alChandler rode into town. He had lost a lot of coin through his own stupidity but had heard that there was a lot of loot to be had in the Outlands. It had been awhile since he quested for coin but he still remembered how it was done. As Alexia predicted he headed for the inn before doing anything else. Two large mugs of ale later he asked the innkeeper for a room. When the innkeeper saw his name he said, "There was a woman here for you a couple of days ago. She left a package for you with Klatu the priest. He's upstairs on the right."

"Thanks," said alChandler and tipped the man a silver piece. "So, Alexia Walker found a way to get here after all," he thought. He went upstairs, found Klatu and said, "I'm alChandler. I was told you had a package for me."

"But...but...alChandler was already here. He picked up the package right after Alexia Walker left."

"What the hell...what did this "alChandler" look like?"

"He was small, wearing black armor. He was hooded and cloaked but I think he was dark skinned. He spoke in a whisper. I'm sorry of there's been a mistake but Alexia never described you to me."

alChandler swallowed his wrath. "Shit happens," he said. Then he left the priest, went downstairs and sat at the bar. "Ale and lots of it," he said.

***

She walked into the Transexpress building and everything came to a stop. She was used to that. After a few seconds people saw the danger underneath the beauty and discreetly looked away. She walked up to a woman behind a counter wearing a name tag that read "Kandy". She pulled out a wooden box and said, "Kandy, I'd like to leave this package for a Mr. Grim Walker. It's quite valuable and I'll pay for extra security."

Kandy smiled, "We're the best in the business ma'am. Now I'll just need some information first. Could you give me your name?"

"Certainly. It's Alexia Walker," said Bladewalker.

The End