The Unfading: Second battle of the codex

Chapter 2: The warrior in Mozal

The morning Sun rose. Bright & calm. Alvia, Zetta & Aryan were all at the gate of the town. Meeting Hassan. All were wearing casual clothes. The sand outisde was glittering in the golden light of dawn. They exitted the town on a cart. The horse ran fast. Then came the hard part. The extreme heat of the desert. Waves were rising from the ground as they spotted their neighbouring town in the distance. Surrounded by a wall made of huge wooden logs. After they passed the checkpost, they entered the town. One thing that was visible, was the huge stone building in the middle of the town. Grey in colour with several stories. The main gate was made of wood. Beside it was a wooden board with multiple papers attached  to it. A woman was sitting beside it in a wooden cabin. "Welcome to Mozal. What would you like Sir?", she asked politely staring at them with her big black eyes. "Uhh....we'd like to stay", Aryan answered. "Yeah....is there any place nearby where we can spend a few days?", Alvia asked. "Yes mademoiselle. You can stay in the temple. There's everything. Food, beds, water, bathing facilities & more. Also if you wanna pray, the statue hall is on the base floor. The receptionist is inside, by the gate. You can register your stay there", the woman replied. "Thanks", Zetta said. They all walked in. The reception table was by the gate just as they were told. There was an old man sitting there. A few papers beside him along with a feather-pen & an inkpot. Alvia & Zetta stopped by the gate & dropped their bags at the ground. Aryan walked to the receptionist. "We are looking for a place to stay",he told the old man. "How many of you?", he asked. "Three", Aryan replied. "Ok.....are you travellers?", the man asked again. "Yes we're actually going to Firkal, the town beside this one", Aryan replied. "Oh. Have a nice stay then. All facilities are free for travellers. How many days do you plan to stay here?", the man asked. "Tonight only, we'll leave tomorrow at sunset", Aryan replied. "Ok", the man said. "Here's your slip, show it to the guard & he'll guide you to your rooms", the man said as he tore a paper, handed it to Aryan & pointed towards a guard standing by the staircase. "Thanks", Aryan bowed & then walked towards his other two comrades. There were a lot of tables infront of the reception desk. Lots of people were sitting on them, talking loudly. However there was one familiar face among them. Orange hair, orange haori. White hakama & nagagi. A katana on the left side of his belt. His mask however, was different. Not the fox mask which totally covered his face. It was a metallic one which covered only half of his face. The other half was visible. His eyes were closed. Fenrir was sitting there. Among mortal humans, un-noticed. 'I wonder if he is faking it' , 'I hope my wife is fine back home', 'How can he say that?', 'Is this actually alright?', 'What was the name of Hassan's wife? Maryam I guess', he could hear the thoughts of everyone around him as he turned to look at Alvia upon hearing her thought about Maryam. His eyes still closed. Alvia also looked at him cause of his sudden movement. A chill ran up her spine upon seeing him. His eyes were still closed. Still she felt as if he could see her. She could feel his attention focused on her. 'Who is he? Why's he looking at me like that? What's with the sudden change in environment? It's as if the air became heavy. He looks so dangerous. Giving creepy vibes. Does he know who I am? If that's the case then I'll have to kill.....', she thought but stopped as Fenrir turned his face back. "It's been so long, does it take this long to cook lamb chops?", he spoke looking at the maid standing beside his table. "Yes sir, it's a long process", the maid replied. "Ehhhh really?", he commented. 'Now he just changed instantly as if to contradict my suspicion. Did he sense that I was doubting him? His attitude changed from menacing to flirty so quick, it's even more suspicious. I should really keep my distance from him', she thought as she picked up her bags. Aryan was in the distance taking a key from the guard. Her eyes were still fixed on Fenrir as she walked by the guard & went upstairs with Zetta & Aryan. Aryan unlocked the door of a room with the key he was given. The door creaked open. The room was nice. A huge curtained, circular window opposite to the door. 2 beds on either side on the door. A small table on one corner & a small cabinet in the other. Aryan walked in & held the door open for the other two to enter. Alvia dropped her bag on the larger table in the centre of the room & plomped on a bed. "Ah, I'm tired...", she said as she lifted her hands & rubbed her eyes. "You weren't that soft...", Zetta said as he sat on the other bed. "What? I never said I was tired of the journey. I'm tired because I thought too much", she replied. "Hmm? What were you thinking?", Aryan asked as he locked the door & placed his bag on the table. "It sounds stupid but, I think someone knows who we are", she replied. "Who?", Aryan asked quickly. Zetta also jolted on her words. "There was this guy in the lobby I never saw before. He was acting strange", she answered. "What exactly made you suspect him?", Zetta asked. "I don't know....it's like my instincts are telling me he knows something about us", she spoke. Zetta let out a sigh of relief. "C'mon don't just suspect people on basis of your instincts", he said. "She might be right. There was a guy in this town looking for us. If that guy was the same person, then it may be true that he already found us", Aryan said as he sat on the bed beside Zetta. "He was kinda scary & creepy. Different from the rest. I think he sensed that I was suspecting him. Because he instantly moved his gaze away as soon as I thought of killing him", she said. "It's a big town. It's too much of a leap. The guy might just be in a bad mood", Zetta said as he fell back on the bed. "True the chance of him being the same person looking for us, is extremely slim. But still it'll do no harm to stay on-guard. We need to stay safe at least until we reach the headquarters here", Aryan said. "Yes, I'll talk to them about the guy we came for", Alvia said. "For now, I just wanna rest", she added. "Yup sure", Aryan replied. "Zetta you'll sleep on the floor-", Aryan said as he turned to look at him. He was already asleep. "Nevermind, I'll just sleep on the floor", he added as he let out a sigh.