The Achievement Junkie

High in the sky just beyond the borders of Ponlinne, two people were being carried in the talons of a roc. Suddenly, they both disappeared and reappeared on top of the roc behind another man.

"Jeez, kid, your luck with women is crazy!" shouted Rydel.

Keela blushed, uncertain how she should interpret the meaning of Rydel's statement.

"Shut up! Let's hurry and get out of here!" yelled Jack. "Don't waste time, just go!"

Not wanting to mince words verbally, Rydel replied telepathically. 'Seriously, kid, weren't you coming here to revive your girlfriend? And now you're bringing another girl home? If you manage to pull this off, I can't wait to see the look on her face.'

'Shut up and fly!'

Seeing that Jack wasn't in the mood for jokes about his love life, Rydel set his gaze on the horizon and let Ayden toward the border.

Uneasy about being so high in the air and riding on such a powerful beast, Keela clung tightly to Jack.

Before they exited the tomb, Jack had mentioned that he only needed to stall for some time and that he wanted Flint and Tarnel to hurry to their families so they wouldn't get involved. Jack never mentioned how exactly they would get away after stalling long enough.

Never in her dreams would Keela imagine that she'd have a chance to fly through the air on such a magnificent beast. After a while, she got a little more comfortable and started to enjoy the flight. She did, however, keep clinging to Jack but he acted like he didn't notice.

Many hours passed and they would soon be approaching the Zuran-Reinolt border.

Excitement swelled up in Keela's and Jack's eyes, both for their own reasons. Soon, they would be out of harm's way.

"CAW!"

The roc gave a shrill cry and caught everyone's attention. As they looked ahead, the three passengers saw a few black dots appear above the clouds. Soon those black dots started to multiply and grow larger.

"The Zuran sky navy…" murmured Rydel, catching Jack's and Keela's attention. "Get ready for a bumpy ride, because things are about to get complicated."

"Can't Ayden outrun them?" asked Jack.

"Normally, yes. But with three people on her back, Ayden and those hawks should be equal in speed," explained Rydel. "There are a few options. One, we stay the course and take our chances in the air, but I can't guarantee anything since we're high up and there's no telling what would happen if she or you fell."

"Second, we descend and go the rest of the way on foot. That way, we'll meet back up with Ayden after entering the Reinolt Kingdom. What do you think, Jack?"

Unhappy to be delayed, Jack was forced to make a hard decision. "Get us down. We'll have to go on foot. Have Ayden try to distract the sky navy, maybe it'll give us time to escape them.

Not wasting a second, the roc descended at the speed of sound and rushed to the ground. It slowed momentarily and let it's riders hop off before bolting back into the clouds, heading in a new direction to avoid the sky navy.

On the ground, Jack, Keela, and Rydel hid as the Zuran sky navy flew past. They had acted fast enough for them not to notice the change of riders.

"Alright, kid, you're the one with the map, so you're taking the lead."

When Rydel passed command to Jack, Keela was astonished Rydel was clearly a talented and experienced person. If Jack was this person's leader, what status did he have?

With a sigh, Jack raised his hand and placed it on his face.

Keela watched carefully as her heart started beating and her thoughts were racing. 'Is he going to show his real face? What does he look like? I hope he's handsome.'

As the mask came off, Jack's entire aura and stature changed. His posture was now confident and heroic. Jack's face was young and handsome, bringing a smile to Keela's face.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked as he saw Keela fixated on him.

"Idiot, it's the first time she gets to see her hero's real face. Let her take in the moment, will you?" laughed Rydel.

Intense blush flooded Keela's cheeks as she looked away to avoid eye contact with Jack.

"Whatever, let's go," Jack pulled out the map of the Zuran Empire and started heading for the border town. "Bowzer, you can come out too."

When a cute, furry head popped out of Jack's cloak, Keela was startled. She wasn't sure what to think. Why would Jack have such an adorable beast companion?

Sensing Keela's gaze, Bowzer blinked and got a good look at her while he perched himself on Jack's shoulders. Seeing that she wasn't afraid of him, Bowzer leaped into her bosom, startling her.

"His name's Bowzer. Don't worry, he super friendly, especially with cute girls," stated Jack.

"Does that mean you think I'm cute after all?" Keela asked timidly.

Before Jack could respond, Bowzer started cuddling up to Keela and licked her cheek, as if to confirm her question.

"What kind of fox is he? Not many people are willing to take foxes as beast companions, don't they cause too much trouble?"

Chuckling to himself, Rydel itched his stubble and said, "This little guy's different. If we told you what he was, you'd be too afraid to pet him."

"Come on, don't' be ridiculous! He's too cute not to pet!" argued Keela, still pushing for an answer.

"He's a Hell-flame Fox," answered Jack.

"A what?!"

"We told you," joked Rydel. "Don't worry though, he's way too friendly. He only attacks when he or Jack get threatened."

Keela's voice trembled. "You mean… this fox pup is really a Hell-flame Fox?"

"Mhm."

Thinking of recent news, there was a story related to a Hell-flame Fox that had started to circulate in the Zuran Empire. No one believed it, but it still existed nonetheless.

It was said that a new summoned hero had emerged in the Reinolt Kingdom. Though he was still low-leveled for a summoned hero, people said he had tamed a Hell-flame Fox and flipped the capital upside down with the help of the Adventurers Association.

"If… this pup really is a Hell-flame Fox, doesn't that mean…"

"That your new friend is Jack, the summoned hero from the Adventurers Association?" Rydel finished Keela's question for her, smiling while he did it.

"Really?"

Jack sighed and looked back at Keela. "Yes, that's me. I told you before, that you'll have to follow me until you can take care of yourself. Until then, you'll have to hide your identity. Here, wear this."

As Jack handed her a dark brown cloak, she smiled resplendently and accepted it. It was on her in seconds and now they were all like common travelers as they reached the main road. Though it was slower than traveling by air, they had no choice but to put up with the change of plans.

By nightfall, they reached the Zuran Empire's border town. With less than an hour of walking, they'd reach the border checkpoint.

Last time they avoided it with Ayden's help, but now that the Zuran sky navy was involved, that option no longer existed.

"Hey, kid, what should we do now?"

Taking a moment, Jack pondered his options. They could either try to hurry through the border at night, or they could wait till morning and hope security would be more relaxed.

"What do you think, Rydel?" Jack trusted Rydel's opinion greatly.

The hunter clicked with his tongue and started thinking out loud. "I know you don't want to waste time, but our safest bet is waiting till morning. Early tomorrow we can find a merchant caravan to hire our services, which should make the border check go much smoother. However, you know that will greatly affect our time."

"On the other hand, we could try to pass the border check tonight, but I can guarantee that it will be more difficult since their expecting us to try and escape as fast as possible. Since you're the one who wanted to make the trip in the first place, I'll let you decide for us all."

Scratching his head, Jack was weighing the options out in his mind. He could either choose a safer passage in the morning, or a more complicated passage in the middle of the night.

Neither option was great, but he still had to choose.

Keela then grabbed Jack's sleeve, surprising him. She said, "Go in the morning. We'll get caught if we go now."

"And why's that?"

"How are we going to hide me?" asked Keela, bringing up a good point. "If we join a caravan, then I can pass as a sick woman. That way, you have reason to join a caravan to have safety in numbers."

"She's got a point kid," added Rydel. "It's too late to find a caravan now, and our best option is to wait till morning. Is that okay with you?"

"Fine," answered Jack. He looked unhappy, but he would have been unhappy with either option. Though it would take more time, wouldn't it save more time in the end by avoiding conflict?