"Yes, Commander. It's good to be alive and kicking. And this guy here, Ari, is the one who saved my life," Kant vouched for himself and Sharv.
"Hmm, then he must be powerful." The man nodded. "Sit, sit. I want to hear the full story."
He poured tea into three cups and offered one to each of them after taking one himself.
"Well, I met him outside the forest," Kant started speaking while Sharv just sipped his tea and observed the conversation. He told everything, from Sharv's motive behind traveling the land to the point in the fight where he had lost consciousness. Obviously, he left out the part about Sharv being a Keeper.
"That must have been horrifying. Getting bombarded by a combo attack of two Adepts is no joke, especially for a Novice," the in-charge commander comforted Kant and then addressed Sharv.
"And you just shrugged it off, Ari. Really amazing. What happened after that?"
"What else? It was a death battle death battle,
so they had to die," Sharv said nonchalantly.
"I also got some info after dismembering one of them. Apparently, they were sent by the City Magistrate of the next city..."
"Swarnaa, it is," the man filled in the name. 'He really is strong. I should not come across as unfriendly. He might become a new recruit or partner.' A conclusion was made in his mind.
"So you killed two Adepts without a problem and even got some info. That's incredible. You saved Kant in the process, so what can we do for you?"
"Nothing in particular. I... just want some answers, Mr....?"
"Suvan, that is. Ask what you want," the man spoke with a big smile.
"Okay, Mr. Suvan, it might be a little inappropriate,
but I heard this is a rebel organization. So why do you use the same insignia as the Army?"
Now both Kant and the base commander lost their smiles. The base commander cleared his throat then said, "Straight to the point, huh. Well, Sharv, as it is, you can clearly see a little distinction between the feather colors. Ours is golden."
Suvan took a deep breath, " But the details are... you can say... exclusive to the organization. So I can't tell you that. You can ask the real base commander, Chakra Master Jay, after he returns. After all,
I am just temporarily in-charge."
"I understand," Sharv nodded, "so can you at least tell me the name of your group?"
"Yeah. We are called The Embers Of Avanti," Suvan said with excitement. Now Sharv looked at Kant and then turned to Suvan.
"You see... I made a promise to save his brother." He pointed to Kant. "Can you give me some details about him?"
The question caught Kant off guard as his face turned somber. He looked up to Suvan's face with pleading eyes
.
"That's… a really big promise and a really precarious situation," Suvan said in a solemn, serious tone after looking at Kant. "His brother is in the City Jail of Varnaa, two hundred miles west of the next city. But many of our brothers… comrades, you may say, are in the Swarnaa city jail. I can't say much, but the Base Commander has gone to our different base to do something
about it."
"That is troublesome but manageable. When should I bring your brother to meet you, Kant?" Sharv asked.
"Are you craaazyyy?" Suvan almost jumped out of his sofa. "YOU ARE PLANNING TO INFILTRATE A CITY JAIL ALONE?"
"Hmm, what's surprising about that?" Sharv asked, oblivious to the gravitas of the situation. Suvan looked at Sharv, then at Kant, who was facepalming himself, to confirm if he was the only one bewildered and aghast.
"HE SAYS WHAT'S SURPRISING ABOUT IT!" Saying this, he laughed out loud. His laugh reverberated in the hall. Sharv looked around to see that nobody else had stopped their work, as if it was routine.
"Oh God, it's really good to be young, powerful, and
ignorant."
"Okay, okay, let's just talk about it," Sharv said, squirming from the situation. "Who is the strongest person in a city?" he asked.
"The City Magistrate."
"And how strong is he?"
"A Supreme Chakra Masters at least."
"That is manageable," Sharv said in a contemplative voice. Suvan was surprised again but he controlled himself.
"You might be underestimating the opposition, but that is not my problem," Suvan said in a serious tone. "But if you go to bring only one of us back, then despite success or failure my other captured brethren will suffer the repercussions. And I can't allow that."
Sharv nodded as if understanding the situation now.
"I say you wait for our commander to come back and then do what you want."
At first, Sharv was reluctant, but once Kant urged him, he accepted the offer.
"But I won't stay here. I will be staying by the lake," he insisted.
"Don't get misled by the term 'rebel'. We are hospitable people," Suvan joked.
"Oh, it's not about that. I like nature and practicing my art in nature. And this is a really good chance, so I don't want to miss it. You can just come there and find me."
"Okay, Ari. Kant will come for you once the base commander is back." Suvan got up, extending his hand.
Sharv looked at the hand with an emotionless face then stood with a smile.
"You are a loyal and respectable man, I should say." He said clasping a hand shake, "And you are no different, Kant." He said to the brown haired teenager.
"Call me Sharv, not Ari."
With the final message Sharv left the hall before another question was asked. Kant stood there in daze for a while. Suvan observed Kant's reaction.
"You didn't know his name?"
"Well, he told me it was Ari Mardan. But Sharv…. I didn't know."
"Do you think he is reliable?"
"As much as I know, without a doubt."
'Okay go take a rest for now." Suvan said, sitting back on his couch. Kant also left the hall to rest.
"What an interesting fellow!" Suvan mused. Sharv had already left an impression, even without trying.
"Sir, you might want to take a look at this." A lean man, who was working on the consoles, interrupted his amusement.
"What is this?" Suvan asked after turning to take a look at the big transparent screen, which now showed a map of a city with some kind of movement of a particular group.
"Sir, that is Swarnaa. And city knights are being mobilized to the city borders and the East and North sectors of the city."
"Did they send Ward Chiefs with knights to capture the boy?" Suvan asked.
"No, Sir. They really did send the Void Corps, according to the intel," the intel guy answered. "Ohh, so they really believed that Sharv was a Voidheart," Suvan was surprised.
"What do you think of the lad, Mac?"
"I would say he is calm, calculated, and confident. Nothing in particular about him was like a Voidheart. But that's my assessment."
"Yeah, I also think the same. Otherwise, why would he save Kant, risking himself? He could have just surrendered."
But then he waved his hand and added, "Anyway, keep an eye on the situation. I think Sharv hit them hard."
"As you say, Sir."
The intel guy returned to his seat, and amusement again filled Suvan's face.