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Recap: The noise of an old truck driving towards the gate brought him out of his thoughts and he signaled to Ilium and Acacius.

Sweat ran down aurora's body as the truck trudged down the path to the city gate, she had maneuvered her way into this position, all she could pray and hope for now was that she wouldn't be caught.

Flashback:

As she headed out of her hideout, Aurora met and approached a young farmer who was at the moment loading his truck with food produce he wanted to sell at the farmer's market in neighboring towns. She told him she needed to get out of the city undetected and asked if he could help her. The farmer wished he could help her but had to decline her proposal since the authorities were strict on their current mission. Aurora said her thanks and walked away or so the farmer thought.

Aurora watched from a secret place as the farmer loaded up his truck and went back in to get a few more items then she snuck out and hid herself in one of the half-empty cauldrons making sure she placed the lid properly. This was one of the moments she appreciated her small body and her stunted growth; it made it easy for her to fit into small places. The farmer soon came out, started his truck, and drove away with Aurora safely tucked away in one of the cauldrons without his knowledge.

Present:

As the truck trudged down the path noisily, Aurora prayed earnestly to whatever god was listening, she hoped they would see the farm produces and just wave him through but she knew that would be too easy and too much to ask, and frankly, her luck never worked that way. Aurora held her breath as she heard the truck get closer and closer to the city gates. She knew that by now they probably had her scent and if she allowed herself to breathe, they could catch her scent and that would spell certain doom for her if not for the truck driver too.

Brian watched the truck coming to the gate carrying farm produce, it seemed like the farmer was trying to make his way to the nearest fruit bazaar before the next morning. It wasn't safe to be on the outroads this late in the evening but he knew the farmer might be trying to be at the fruit bazaar earlier than other farmers. Nevertheless, he alerted the guards to stop and check him, everyone must be checked.

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The guards approached the young farmer and asked him for the piece of paper issued only to essential workers, the farmer produced the papers quickly having anticipated this. The guards asked him to step out of the vehicle while they conducted their search with Acacius and Ilium.

A few minutes later, the farmer was cleared and the city gates opened for him to pass through. Aurora who had been listening in on their conversation was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and as she did, the wind carried her unique scents straight to the nose of Ilium who yelled "Stop" to the surprise of everyone present including his father, Acacius and the farmer who brought his truck to a screeching halt.

"What's it now, the man has just been cleared, Ilium", Acacius who had been silent all night asked. "I can smell the girl on him, he has either seen her or he's hiding her here right now under our very noses". "What do you mean 'smell the girl'?", Acacius asked him. Ilium looked at his father before responding "remember how I always said the girl didn't smell like one creature but smelt like a mixture of several creatures?". Brian replied, "yes, but what has that got to do with the poor driver?".

"Well, I can smell the girl or a similar creature here right now that this 'poor farmer' is hiding from us." Brian thought about not listening to Ilium for a minute but having just been accused of bias by his own son, he decided to listen. "Step out of the vehicle, young man", Brian said to the young farmer motioning Acacius and Ilium to search the vehicle while the guards held the farmer who by the way was shocked into silence. Just a few minutes ago, he had been cleared.

While the boys unloaded the truck and were searching, Brian asked one of the guards to get him the drawing of Aurora they had pasted around town. He showed it to the farmer and asked him if he had seen the girl in the drawing, the farmer looked at the picture closely and answered in the affirmative that the girl had approached him for help but he had declined and she had walked away. Brian "are you sure she walked away?", the farmer replied that he had watched her walk away before going back to loading his truck.

"See, I believe you but you see my sons over there", Brian said to the farmer, gesturing at the duo who were still searching through the boxes, "they don't so we still have to search but since you are telling the truth you don't have to worry, this will be over soon and you can be on your way", Brian concluded and patted the young man on the shoulder before walking over to join his son and his ward.

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