A few minutes later, Kevin finally stumbled his way out of the Academy grounds, entering the city proper. The city was bustling with people, even deep into the night. It was a wonder how people slept in the houses nearby.

Kevin moved through the crowds, noting the wide berth people gave him. He didn't blame them for not wanting to be too close. Never mind how fine his clothes were, the state they were in would make anyone avoid him. He grabbed at the burnt cape, noting how many more holes there were now. He did make sure, earlier and out of the public eye, that he was at least decent.

Where would he go now? He couldn't stay in the city, that much was for sure. He doubted Jack would do anything to him, but just to be sure he also had to get away from Silveria. Maybe he could take a caravan. No, those would cost far too much. A porter, then? He pinched his flabby arms and saw the reality of that idea. Still, that was his best idea yet. Maybe Greg could've come up with something else, but Kevin hadn't see it since the explosion. Must've been the energy tax for saving him.

Kevin headed towards the large stone gates that dictated the entrance and exit to The Capital. The caravans would be in that direction.

Sure enough, there was a mass of caravans, like a herd of sheep. There were some that were more lavish, with distinctly furnished exteriors, while others were more similar, having roughly the same look. He strode up to the latter group of caravans, walking through them.

Even though it was still night, a lot of them still seemed to be up, checking stock, keeping an eye on their stores, or keeping an eye on the other caravans. It certainly wasn't a friendly place he found himself in.

Finally, he chose one caravan that had no boxes on the ground, with people that seemed especially serious. They must have been mercenaries on the job. He walked towards it.

One of the mercenaries, a scarred man built like a mountain, raised an eyebrow at Kevin. "What're you doing here, kid?" he asked, looming above him.

"I would like to be a porter," he asked, the words flowing with more confidence than he felt.

The big man stared, dumbfounded, before he started laughing. "Yeah? You, a porter? No thanks! If we wanted someone who couldn't even lift a box, we'd ask a corpse. At least, then, it wouldn't hog up our food. Now, get going." He waved his hand dismissively

"Hey, Bull," said a tired voice, yawning. "Could you quit it with that yelling? I just want to sleep." The source of the voice was an old man who, despite being much smaller than Bull, seemed to be much stronger.

"Sorry, Khal," Bull apologised. "This kid just asked if he could-"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Be a porter," Khal finished, yawning once again. "Say, you officially wanted by any state, city, or country?" Kevin shook his head. "Then welcome aboard, is what I would say, but I don't own this caravan. The man who does is asleep right now." Bull turned and walked away. "Four conditions, and I'll put in a good word for you. One, don't commit any crimes. Two, don't steal from this caravan. Three, do your job. And four, don't start any fights."

Kevin nodded. "You got it, sir," he said. "May I... sleep here, as well?"

Khal looked at the sky, tilting his head to the side. "An hour," he said. "We leave at first light. Oh, and you should probably change soon, if you want to pass Rudal's inspection. Actually, I doubt, even then, you'd pass his inspection," he laughed, holding out his hand. "Name's Khalor, but only call me Khal and we'll get along just fine."

"I'm Kevin," he replied, gripping Khal's hand.

He frowned. "Sheesh, how are your hands like that, but your arms are that flabby? You better do your job properly."

"I will."

"Get some rest, now, kid," he yawned, thumb pointing towards the tent. "It'll be difficult later."

Once again nodding, Kevin hurried into the tent, taking an empty spot on the crowded floor. He was so tired...

He was woken up half an hour later by an incessant scratching near his ear. He sat up, groggily looking over his surroundings, and found that no one had moved. Then, what had-?

"Hey there, Kevin," Greg's voice said, coming from right next to his ear. "Saving you really sucked, you know that? Anyways, wow, you need some new clothes. Let's get away from prying eyes, alright?"

"No one else can see you, right?" Kevin whispered, making sure those around him stayed silent.

"They'll see what I'm going to do. Now, hurry up."

Kevin hurried up, moving to a sectioned-off area meant for changing, and headed into a cubicle. "Now don't say anything," Greg ordered. In a flash, Kevin's suitcase appeared, landing on his toes.

Somehow, Kevin managed to keep his volume to a very high-pitched imitation of an ear ringing. Still, it took several minutes before he actually managed to change into new clothing that was only slightly too small for him. He held his uniform, at Greg's request, when he left.

Outside, he saw Khal speaking to someone, a bearded man who argued relentlessly. The man didn't even stop when he pointed at Kevin, saying very low and angry. Instead of responding, Khal smiled, waving for Kevin to come closer.

"Kevin, glad you got a change of clothes," he greeted. "This here's Rudal, who will hire you as a porter, if-"

"I can speak for myself, Khal," Rudal said, carrying an accent that slurred words together. "I will only hire you, if you have something worth it for me. I don't want to hire a future criminal."

Kevin awkwardly coughed, then responded with, "Why would I be a future criminal?"

"Oh, please," he shot, exasperated. "Only a couple reasons someone would want to take a caravan last minute. The most likely is you just committed a crime, and want to quickly leave. Of course, so long as there's no news about it, I can feign ignorance, but you gotta have something worth it. So, come on, what is it?"

"Uh, how about this?" Kevin offered up his uniform. "Real, authentic uniform of Idiofiya, with real embroidered gold?"

"Laying it on thick, don't you think?" Khal asked as Rudal took the uniform, inspecting it. He seemed to gloss over the destroyed parts.

Rudal sighed, downcast, as he said, "Yes, it is just barely enough. He can join, but he better pull his weight!" Rudal tromped off somewhere, his steps becoming more furious the farther he went.

"Welcome to the party, kid," Khal announced, slapping him lightly on the back. "You just earned yourself a free ride to Ploro."