John and Charrack spilled onto the other side of the portal in a heap. The local sun shone brightly outside the pavilion they landed in, and birds could be heard singing nearby.
"Hello, and welcome to Markland!" A cheery voice greeted them.
A man dressed in a red uniform and cap grinned at John. The tag on his chest read, "Mathis".
John rolled over and stood to his feet. Their current situation was a significant improvement when compared to the military compound. Nevertheless, he was surprised nobody seemed worried that a Valk had just appeared through a portal.
"Did you bring any travel bags today?" The greeter inquired.
"No, our third companion has everything we need, they should be along shortly to check us in." John bluffed.
"I see. Perhaps you might explain to your friend here that it isn't appropriate to travel in costume." Mathis gestured at Charrack, who lay unconscious on the wooden floor.
John nodded, "I'll make sure he understands when he wakes up. By the way, is it normal to fall unconscious when portaling?"
Mathis shrugged in a lopsided manner, "I've seen it once or twice before, but I think he hit his head when you came through."
John sat Charrack up against the railing and surveyed the grounds. The lawn was well tended, and several decorative bushes and trees lined different paths and walkways. What little he could see of the buildings was the log siding that appeared to be customary. Farther off were some trails leading into the woods themselves, usually for the purpose of hiking.
John turned to the greeter and asked, "Can we go exploring while we wait for our friend to check us in?"
Mathis shook his head, "I'm afraid your companion is in no condition to explore at the moment. Not that it matters anyway, we require that everyone sign in on arrival. Can you just give me the name of your reservation?"
John scratched his head and tried to think up a name as quickly as he could, "John," he paused, "Smith."
The man appeared to stare off into space for a moment before smiling, "Welcome Mister Smith. Allow me to escort you to your lodge. My apologies for not recognizing you. Would you like for me to send for a medical team to carry your friend."
As much as John wanted to take advantage of the opportunity he waved him off, "It's no trouble. I'll just carry him myself."
John slung Charrack over his shoulders and stood to his feet with a groan, "He is heavier than he looks."
Charrack was very obviously not a human, they were lucky indeed he was mistakenly identified as a cosplayer. John carried him all the way to the lodge of mister Smith and dropped him on the couch once they were through the door.
Mathis smiled and bowed, "If there is anything else we can do for you, don't hesitate to call."
The man closed the door, leaving John and Charrack alone. A moment later and Charrack opened one eye, "Is he gone?"
John stood up angrily, "You were awake this whole time?"
Charrack rubbed his head, "Well I actually did black out for a second, but I figured my accent would give me away."
"So you sat there silently while I picked you up and carried you away." John crossed his arms.
Charrack grinned sheepishly, "You did an amazing job of bluffing your way in here. But I did struggle to refrain from laughing."
"Where to next? We can't stay around here, otherwise mister Smith is going to rack up quite the tab." John examined the room they were in.
"Is that such a bad thing?" Charrack asked.
"Well, if he realizes money is being withdrawn from his account and sent here, he's going to check it out in person. That's a situation I don't feel comfortable with."
Several art pieces lined the walls, trophies were mounted on shelves and over a large stone fireplace. All the furnishings were made of wood framework, and the windows offered an excellent view of the forest skyline.
John figured they could stock up on supplies and disappear in the forest. The only risk factors they had were the people who had seen them here already, and doctor Newman. If they all kept quiet, nobody would ever think to look for them here. Although with his luck, they just might find them anyway.
"I'm going to grab what supplies I can, then we should make a break for the trees."
John rushed into the kitchen to grab nonperishable foods. Charrack rummaged through the closets to find blankets and hopefully a tent. They met back together and stuffed everything they could find into a couple of backpacks. There wasn't much in the way of weaponry, but survival gear was easy to come by.
John opened a screen door and peaked around, "The way is clear. Let's move."
He ushered Charrack to run in front of him so he could cover his tracks. Human footprints were common enough, but Valk stuck out like a sore thumb. A few minutes of walking and they were off the trails.
John sought to put as much space between them and the lodge as he could to lay low. Hours of silent trudging began to take a toll on John. His legs grew sore and his mind was going numb. Every step he took to cover Charrack's footprints added to the monotony until he couldn't stand to go further and called for a rest.
Charrack decided to set up a makeshift campsite with what they had brought from the lodge. The portable fire canisters made an easy fire that wouldn't leave much trace and provided warm food for an evening meal.
"Are we going to stay hidden on this planet indefinitely?" Charrack asked while he stirred a pan of beef stew.
John layed back and covered his eyes, "I haven't thought any farther ahead than, wait till we aren't being chased."
The two had switched to their previous method of speaking the others language.
"We can't just sit around and do nothing while the galaxy burns." Charrack insisted.
John sat up, "Then what do you propose we do? Start an insurgent uprising? We don't know what is even going on, we would make things worse for everyone!"
"It would be better than waiting here to die!" Charrack yelled.
John waited a moment for the echo to subside, "Try containing yourself you we don't get caught in the meantime."
Charrack grumbled to himself and took the pan off the miniature burner. The rest of their evening passed in silence, and eventually they both fell into a fitful sleep....