During their last week, Zander, Sophie and Cyrus asked Mr. Franklin to design special clothing, with a rare type of material, only found in the capital city.
For Zander and Sophie, he designed several sets of black and white shirts, hoodies, and pants that were highly resistant to flame and kept them insulated and warm. On the back of the shirts, after several trial and error attempts, he was finally able to design shirts for them that contained slits in the back that allowed their wings to come out without ruining the shirt.
For Cyrus, he received warm weather clothing as clothing that was specifically designed to keep him cool, as it was now June. He also designed winter gear, which would allow Cyrus to stay warm.
He also designed them special waistbands and sheaths for swords and such. He didn't bother to ask why, but had a feeling they might come across enemies.
Zander purchased a brand new, heavy duty SUV which had plenty of storage for all their things. He had Ella's husband, Jed, draw up a secret backseat compartment to hide their money, luggage with copies of documents from the secret room and special clothing. Jed and his newly purchased construction firm were able to put together in the vehicle.
Zander used his dimensional void for all the magical items, it was easier to pull them out and infuse them for Sophie.
The SUV was black, large, bulletproof, had tinted windows and was designed for all types of terrain. Zander was amazed at what technology could do, as Cyrus explained most of the features on the SUV and how it was able to switch tires and such.
They all brought cell phones, but they were all brand new and only contained numbers of their family and Zander's inherited inner circle, listed with code names. They would only reach out if absolutely necessary.
Their plan was to start by leaving Harmonia and entering SilverCrest via the Northeastern side of Harmonia, which was the Southeastern border of SilverCrest.
From there, they planned on renting a room for a night and then starting their trek, following the map Zander's parents left, which was also in his system.
According to the notes and map, Haven seemed to be quite difficult to actually get to or even find. Zander explained no vehicles were allowed for 50 miles and no teleportation was allowed for 10 miles. This was a barricade to make it difficult to find.
On top of that, Zander and Sophie discovered via the notes on the board in the basement of the secret room that no type of compass or GPS would work within a 50 mile radius of Haven, which made things far more complex.
When they arrived at SilverCrest, they planned on purchasing a magical tent, one which looked like a normal outdoor tent but opened up to a spacious living area. If they desired, tents with more luxurious interiors with up to 5 bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen with cooking appliances and a refrigerator and freezer were available.
Thankfully, they had more than enough to purchase one and had pre-ordered one for pick up two days before their journey began. They went for a two bedroom, two bathroom model with a good sized living room, kitchen and even a TV, as they would be gone for some time. They also put in a special request for a storage room with passcode, which was an expensive, yet necessary purchase.
As they neared the Harmonia border, Cyrus was driving with Sophie up front and Zander in back. Sophie wanted to sit in the back with Zander, but it just looked and felt awkward as they'd have to show documentation while crossing the border.
"I really hope we don't have any issues with border security after our little stunt at graduation." Sophie said nervously.
"It should be fine, my parents left via normal means most of the time, well, at least I think they did, at least when I was a teenager." Zander explained.
"You two need to stop worrying, what can they deny us access for? Threatening Phantoms Keep? Plus it's not like they've seen our faces and didn't your attorney get us real and fake identification paperwork anyway?" Cyrus chimed in with a laugh.
"Oh, ya, I forgot about that. He picked such basic names for all three of us, put down Sophie and I were 21 and you were 18 because he said 'we looked older now for some reason," Zander said.
"I grew two inches each time I evolved and even though you didn't grow, your muscles and body became much more refined and muscular as you transformed," Sophie told Zander.
"Must be nice, just makes me feel better. I won some of our spars. Anyway get your fake identification and travel papers out my older brother Zach and my older sister Sandra," Cyrus said with a chuckle, as he pointed at the highway exit, leading to the off road checks on the right of the freeway.
Every car had to stop, in either direction, and provide identification, a proper reason for entering the new nation as well as a vehicle inspection, which is why they were glad and hopeful Jed's secret compartment would work wonders.
Cyrus pulled over and after about a 30 minute wait, a larger looking officer in his middle thirties signaled for him to pull over.
"Please identify yourselves and provide your identification, drivers licenses, and travel paperwork and state your reason for travel," the officer asked.
Zander and Sophie handed Cyrus their things, and Zander said, here you go Chris, please hand ours to the officer. My name is Zach Williams."
"I am Sandra Williams," Sophie said with a polite smile.
Cyrus handed over all three of their paperwork and stated, "I am Chris Williams and that's my brother and sister. We're traveling to SilverCrest to visit some relatives," Cyrus said politely, with a smile.
"That's quite a nice vehicle you have there, may I please see the license, registration and insurance paperwork?" the officer asked politely.
Cyrus looked nervous as he wasn't expecting this.
Zander said, "Sandra, it's in the top side passenger compartment," and Sophie reached in, grabbed the paperwork and handed it over to Cyrus, who passed everything over to the officer.
"I see that Zach is the owner, why is it you are driving Chris?" the officer asked.
The three of them were shocked at how thoroughly they were being checked. On their honeymoon, the checkpoint only took Zander and Sophie about a minute. Once that female officer saw it was an Elrod, she let them right through, no questions asked.
"We took turns driving from South Harmonia officer. We figured we'd get here a day early and surprise our relatives, so we didn't stop at any hotels to rest," Cyrus lied.
"I see. That's quite a long drive, well, it looks like you are also on the insurance so all that's left is a vehicle inspection. If you three could please step out and stand in the yellow circle for your protection, it would be appreciated," the officer said.
"No problem," they stated as they all got out and stood inside the yellow circle.
The officer then used a radio, and Zander and Sophie took a deep breath as their sensitive hearing picked up what the officer said.
"Need someone of seniority over here with a magical orb to search this car. These kids are too young to have this type of tank SUV to just be visiting relatives," the officer stated.
Oblivious to the situation, Cyrus watched a man come over with some weird orb and raised his hand like he was in high school.
One of the other officers came by and Cyrus asked, "excuse me, is there some type of problem? We've traveled here several times as a family and have never seen that orb thingy?" Cyrus asked.
The officer smiled and said, "it's a magical device that detects spells used to hide or conceal things in a vehicle. You wouldn't believe how many dangerous things we've seen concealed by magic over the border, especially on the North side. It's actually more common for people to try and leave with things they purchased here, as we are the magical nation and all."
"That makes sense. I can only imagine how much of a headache it must be for you and your fellow officers sometimes," Sophie said loud enough for the senior officer and original officer to hear.
"Like any job it has its days, but we're all well trained in magic and have anti-magic devices on us at all times, and it pays pretty well, so I can't complain."
"Oversharing again Officer Davies?" the senior officer and original officer said while walking back with the keys and their paperwork.
"They're just curious kids, it's not like we keep any of this hidden from the residents and the youngest one asked about the device you were searching with because he was confused and thought there was a problem," Officer Davies said.
"Well, fortunately we were not able to detect anything hidden in the vehicle, but I must ask, why the need for such a sturdy vehicle for a routine family visit?" the senior officer asked.
"Over protective and rich parents," Zander said with a laugh and the others joined in and nodded.
"Better safe than sorry, please enjoy your stay in SilverCrest and stay out of trouble. Hopefully your family lives in a good area because your car will be a target for thieves," the original officer said and handed them their paperwork.
"Thanks for keeping us safe," Sophie said with a wave and the three got back in and Cyrus pulled off slowly and eventually ramped up the speed.
"Holy crap that was fricken crazy!" Cyrus said with a sigh of relief.
"It's a good thing we went with Jed and not magic, that was a good call Sophie," Zander said. "I'm also glad I obtained that new skill shortly before our trip to hide all the weapons and magical items in my dimensional void."
"Honestly, I just figured Ella's husband is really great at his job, and he bought out the construction company after the hotel renovations and that team has experts in almost every field. We just got lucky they relied on magic and didn't thoroughly search the vehicle and find the button," Sophie said.
"So what if they did, it's not like their fingerprint would open it or anything," Cyrus said.
"It would cause them concern and they'd have each of us touch it, I'm sure," Sophie said with a sigh.
After about three more hours of driving, they finally arrived at their destination. They picked up their magical tent, then after an hour drive east, they were in one of the bigger cities in SilverCrest called "Fox Valley." It received its name due to its warm climate and busy night life.
It was nothing like the capital, where Sophie and Zander had spent the weekend during their honeymoon, but as they arrived at their hotel, someone was there to valet their car, to which Cyrus showed him a "VIP," parking badge and said it wouldn't be a bother.
Then the man apologized and Cyrus entered a smaller parking garage where you needed the VIP parking badge and your room number entered. He entered in "333," and followed the signs until they reached parking spot "333."
"We're finally here," Cyrus said in relief, looking exhausted as he had driven the entire day. He insisted it was the least he could do because Zander and Sophie were paying for everything.
"Place looks nice, remember let's not use any magic unless we absolutely have to." Zander reminded the group.
They entered their room, which was quite large and luxurious and had two king sized beds in it. They agreed they'd talk about what to do next in the morning, and they all went to sleep.