Surprise 1

Inside his tent, Captain Greyhn questioned the guard he had kept watching Luke. "So you're saying he's quite average?" He asked for the third time.

"Yes, captain. I believe he is. Who takes that long to fight a two-ringed rabid jackal and claims to be a top shot? I'm pretty sure none of them even sensed me following them." The guard boasted.

"I see. Then we'll end this case here." The captain finally gave up on pushing any further.

None of them knew that Luke and even Kyne noticed the spy and decided to act that way.

"You may leave." Captain Greyhn gave the man the order to leave the tent.

"Thank you, captain." He stood up, saluted the captain, and left the tent.

*****

Luke and the others had arrived at the portal from which they departed before.

They arrived during the day. Luke could see things more clearly now than that night. The land was wide, about a hundred yards wide. Short grasses grew all over the place and in the middle of the place, the teleportation device rested. There were about four tents at one corner of the open space.

They didn't find the captain of the guards present when they arrived, so they believed he might've been asleep in one of the tents or probably out for another mission.

All portals could serve as exits without activating them but for the portal to become an entrance, it needed activation, which was done by the captain of the guards themselves. There was no need for activation of the portal since it only served as an exit this time.

"Very soon, they'll be checking for IDs just at the front. But don't worry, I'll cover for you. This will probably be the last time." Aurora informed Luke.

"Okay, thanks." He replied and they slowly moved to the front as the people in front got fewer.

"Where's your ID?" A guard asked Luke.

"Actually, he was robbed while we were in the training zone. He had his money and ID taken away. The ID was taken away probably for this reason, since anyone without an ID that comes out from the training zone is taken to prison." Aurora was the one to answer for Luke.

"And who might you be?" The guard asked her.

"Pardon my misbehavior, but I saved him in there." She bowed slightly and handed her ID to the guard.

When he saw the family name on the card, his eyes went wide open.

"Greetings Lady Aurora. Pardon my previously rude question." He bowed so low that his head became the same height as his waist.

"It's fine. So can we move ahead? The one behind me is my guard and the one behind him is also a team member by the name Kyne Gadoth." She spoke for them all.

"Yes, sure." He bowed again.

"Well then, thank you." She bowed back and the four of them walked away from the inspection zone.

"Well, that went rather smoothly. Thanks for the cover-up." Luke replied.

"It still doesn't repay you for saving my life and the life of Sihlon." She replied.

"Well, I already said I did it because I had to catch those beasts alive." Luke was scratching his neck.

"You saved us. That's all that matters to me." She replied.

"Any way you'd like to put it. I guess this is where we part." He said to them and then spoke directly to Kyne. "I'll make sure to visit your house one day and if I ever catch you slacking off, you're going back there with me. I'll be waiting to hear of your fame so don't let me down." They hugged and then shook each other's hands.

"I'll be waiting for news about you too." Kyne replied. "Then, you'll have to wait for a long time." Luke chuckled.

He turned to Aurora. "Stay safe." Then he looked at Sihlon. "Keep your lady safe by all means."

With a grumpy voice, Sihlon replied. "You don't need to remind me."

"Yes, yes. I hope to never see you again." Luke waved him off and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Aurora stopped him before he left. She walked to him until she was only a few inches away. With a red blushing face, she hugged him. Luke was stunned.

Kyne just stood there with his mouth open. Sihlon was so surprised that his head went blank.

"Thank you once more. I really mean it." She spoke with a tender voice. She pulled herself back and held out Luke's hand.

She placed a 'D' shaped silver crest. Luke was sure it was 'D' shaped but it was more of an 'O' shape. It was a token of identification for the Daveon family. The logo of the family was beautifully engraved upon the silver crest.

"If you ever plan to visit the Daveon family, show this to them and they'll let you in without any more questions." Aurora explained.

Luke raised above his head to get a clear view of it and the moment Sihlon saw it, he shouted.

"My Lady! You should hand that out to just any…"

"Silence! She yelled at Sihlon before he could finish talking.

"Do you think he is just anyone? Remember we won't be here if he hadn't shown up." She scolded Sihlon.

"I'm sorry for my rude words, My Lady." He knelt and apologized.

She took a deep breath. "It's fine. Get up and prepare to leave. Our ride will be here any minute."

"Well, thank you for the invitation. I also hope I'll visit there one day." Luke bowed slightly and dipped the crest into his pocket.

He winked at Kyne and then, he turned, whistling as he walked away.

When Luke was out of sight, Kyne sighed and turned to look at Aurora. "Sooo… do I get one too?" He asked her.

"Sorry, but I have a very limited number of those and this time, I only came here with that one. Maybe another time, if the stars decide to let us meet." Aurora replied to him.

"Oh well, I was only joking. Now, I guess I'll be leaving next." He exchanged handshakes with Aurora and Sihlon and walked off too.

*****

Luke arrived in front of the building of his apartment. It looked older every day that went by.

"Damnit. My card is still in the bank. Well, I can head over there later. "

"I'm sure the old man would be worried too since I haven't shown up at work for the past two weeks." He spoke to himself as he headed into the building.

"I'll go to work starting tomorrow, so there's no need to worry."

He walked inside, climbing the stairs all the way to the top floor. He pushed his key inside and opened the door.

What greeted him wasn't the room he knew.

"What the f**k has this bastard done?" Luke couldn't put his emotions together.

"Obed!!!!" Luke yelled.

Obed was nowhere nearby but he would probably be sneezing from the way Luke screamed his name.