Chapter 10: Chores? No, these are quests!

After the training, Filarion waited for the three to wash up, and then gathered them before the F ranked quest board. Visitors could take F ranked quests, if they wanted to. This was something Filarion was banking on.

"Take your pick," the elf waved his hand at the board, and the three shuddered.

"We are too tired for chores, Fil," Gregory spoke, and Filarion's eyes narrowed.

"When you get famous, you will be requested a lot. When that happens, you will either do quests back-to-back, or lose clients. Lesson number two, never lose clients," those words were spoken more from the experience with the family business, than actually questing. Filarion had never been a part of the adventurer's guild.

Privately trained, and taking jobs for the family. The only time he had been to the guild hall before Johnny was to do his battle evaluations. It had amused him to no end, when, after each one, the guild master would come, and offer him a contract.

The three shared a look, and then huddled together. Filarion let them whisper, thinking it cute that they'd do a group huddle to decide something like that. Finally, they broke apart and stared at the board.

"This cat sitting quest sounds good," Nathaniel pointed at a quest, and looked at Filarion.

"You have decided then?" Filarion asked, and the three nodded.

"Then we are going cat sitting," Filarion smirked down at them, and the three gulped. Feeling the trap around their ankles, but not hearing the snap of the spring.

Filarion herded his kids to the front desk, and then smiled charmingly at the receptionist. Agatha was a middle edge former healer, who had retired because of a mana sickness that had cut her supply of mana to a third of what it had been. Still, she looked at the three with a critical eye.

"We are here for the cat sitting quest at Dorrens street," Filarion told her, and she blinked.

"Are you a party?" Agatha asked, and Filarion nodded.

"Leaf party, at your service. Consisting of Gregory here, who is an archer, Nathaniel, a healer, and Zaine, a berserker. With me, Filarion Elathana, a rogue, as the leader," Filarion gave her a traditional elven bow, and Agatha's eyebrows rose.

"Never pegged you for the adventuring type, lord Elathana," she said, but handed them the mission scroll. "Happy adventuring."

Filarion took the scroll, and herded his kids out of the hall, and towards Dorrens street. It was a bit closer to the walls of the village than the rest, and it was the rich district of the village.

Which made sense. Most people in the village just let their cats roam. Whoever their client was, he was not one to do that. Out of pride, or too much love for the animal, Filarion didn't know.

They made it to the house, and Filarion watched as the three gawked at the sheer size of it. What had they done, when they had seen the Elathana estate? Filarion thought that their mouths must have hung open back then as well.

An old lady, with stately clothes and a hair net in her hair, came out to greet them. Filarion could spy pearls in the hair net. They were let in, and then the instructions began.

"Fiona is on a diet. You are to not let her in the kitchen," the lady began, without introducing herself. She didn't ask for their names either. Just one look at the scroll had been enough for her. "She likes being petted, but be careful. If your hands are sweaty, she will bite you."

Filarion nodded politely along as the woman began to list the many peculiarities of her cat. They were left in the living room, with a big snow-white cat, who was sleeping on a cushion. Filarion could see that the three were itching to play with the animal, so he pulled them aside.

"On a quest, every client is important and deserves your respect," Filarion lectured. Something Johnny had told him once. "This cat is not a toy. Let it sleep. Your only job is to not let it in the kitchen."

"But, Fil," Gregory whined, but Filarion just poked him on the forehead.

"No buts. You are to let the animal sleep. We are here for just five hours. During that time, you will read instead," Filarion pulled out three books from his bottomless bag, and handed them over.

"How to build mana for dummies?" Nathaniel asked, and Filarion nodded.

"All of you have a problem with your mana reserves. If I didn't know any better, I would have pegged you for civilians. Now, sit by the cat, and read. I will look after it," Filarion planted himself by the door, staying upright despite the slight pain in his behind. Darn necromancer, he was going to send him to early retirement as soon as Johnny's back was turned!

The teens sat on the couch, and cracked open the books. Sometime later, the cat woke, and made a beeline for the door. Filarion scooped it up, and held it to eye level.

"You shall not pass," Filarion told the feline, and the animal hissed at him. Spittle flying all around. The elf dropped the cat, and blocked the cat flap.

The cat then changed tactics. It began to rub itself on Filarion's legs, purring and looking for an opening. Filarion scooped it up again.

"There may come a day when you will get the cream, but not on my watch," Filarion dropped the cat again. He heard a giggle, and then saw that the three were no longer reading. Rather, they were watching him and covering their mouths with their hands, so they could muffle their laughter.

"Read," Filarion ordered simply, and the three began to do just that. The cat tried to jump between Filarion's legs, and it became stuck. Filarion mercilessly kept it in a leg lock, and watched as the white pest's tail fluffed up. The claws came into place, but the runes on Filarion's pants kept them from doing any damage. All in all, Filarion felt that this quest was a piece of cake.