Leo, Ursula, Virginia and Maurice followed Erick to the Rest House. He stopped just in front of the brick wall of house number 12 and they all crammed on the small pavement next to him, most of them unsure what he was up to. The graffiti on the wall was colourful doodles of no certain shapes, among the doodles, there were smaller shapes that could not be seen from a distance but they blackened a big part of the wall nonetheless, and among those shapes, Leo noticed, there was one that looked very similar to the mark in Erick’s palm. It was hardly visible behind the name of the street that had been engraved on the wall in many fonts, which distorted all of the colourful images on it as well as the black shapes. With his left hand behind his back, Erick extended his marked palm and, without looking, placed it on the exact similar mark drawn on the disfigured wall; clearly he had done that many times before. The wall shined with blurring light and all the drawings glittered and became dazzlingly bright. They all stood for some time gazing at the magnificent sight of the transparent light. The light seemed to be coming from the wall itself, and it spread all over it like milk spilt on a glass surface. The wall, which was once dark red and coloured with ugly paint, was now screened in white. The shocked look on Leo, Ursula and Virginia’s faces continued as a wooden, old door appeared in the middle of the bright wall.

    ‘Please come in,’ said Erick.

    ‘Is this the door to your world?’ asked Ursula in amazement forgetting that they had to stop by the Rest House first.

    ‘No, this is still Curtlane town. This is the door to the Rest House,’ Erick reminded her.

    ‘So this is how you enter this place,’ said Leo in awe. Erick then went and opened the door for them and there was nothing but darkness inside. Erick smiled at their confusion. Leo was the first to walk through the door, he was curious for years to see the inside of that house, and he was followed by the others. Behind the old door, the dark, small, wooden cabin became even darker when Erick closed the door behind him.

    ‘Is this an elevator?’ asked Leo. Erick pulled a handle, and they felt a strong shake. Ursula screamed as the cabin fell and landed in the basement with a bang but without being damaged; it stood strong and in good shape. ‘Was this supposed to happen?’ asked Leo, who was just as startled as Ursula and Virginia.

    ‘Welcome to the Rest House,’ said Erick and when he pushed the handle back up—another door in the cabin opened. They walked out of the falling elevator and realised that they were no longer in the dark, foggy streets of the town, they were inside the house and they could feel the warmth of the place. However, it was not like entering any other building in town for the warriors, it was like going back in time, it seemed. They were finally inside the Rest House; the place looked much like a small bus station but without all the buses. The dim lighting of the lanterns and the loudness of the customers made the place feel medieval. It had a low ceiling yet it was a wide basement. There was a booking office, wooden benches and a small kitchen at the corner next to a poor restaurant, but no matter how small that place was, it looked much bigger than Leo had expected. There were people buying tickets, others were having a chat over a hot dinner at the restaurant, there were women serving orders, and a young man helping a guest with his bags up a wooden staircase. Everyone was wearing strange costumes that looked old and of poor fabric— none were wearing clothes similar to their modern-fashioned ones.

    ‘This is the Rest House?’ asked Leo with a smile on his face.

    ‘You don’t look disappointed,’ said Erick. ‘That’s good.’

    ‘What—is happening here? A costume party?’ Virginia smiled too.

    ‘No,’ Erick laughed. ‘Consider the Rest House a preview of what you’ll find in Hozafia. In the cosmic world, people dress differently. Their style choices seem constant and nothing gets thrown away. The way people dress in Hozafia hasn’t changed for more than two centuries.’

    ‘Captain Erick,’ said a man as he made his way through the tables of the restaurant and came to them. ‘How wonderful to see you.’ He was an old, thin man with a big, grey moustache. He wore a striped shirt, a checked scarf, a brown velvet floral waistcoat, a pair of brown wide trousers, double the man’s size, and a brown beret, which he took off to greet Erick.

    ‘How are you old friend?’ asked Erick. ‘Where have you been? It’s after midnight.’

    ‘On the other side, buying some things for the house,’ said the old man. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived. Finished your job for today, I see.’ The old man motioned towards Leo, Ursula and Virginia.

    ‘It took much longer than last year, but it’s done.’ Erick sighed in relief. ‘They’re the last three, the rest are in their rooms.’ Erick introduced the warriors.

    ‘So, a Leo, a Virgo and a—’

The old man tried to guess their signs from their names since it was common for warriors’ names to be inspired by their signs or elements.

    ‘An Aries,’ Erick helped the man discover Ursula’s sign.

    ‘My name is Alfred,’ the old man introduced himself with a big smile and a bow.

    ‘He is the owner of the Rest House.’ Erick informed them.

    ‘Consider yourselves at home,’ said Alfred.

    ‘Thank you,’ said Leo.

    ‘Honoured to meet you,’ said Alfred. ‘I haven’t met the others, but I was told that the last warrior was a young girl and came here unaccompanied. Maurice helped her through the door. She is very brave, isn’t she?’

    ‘I hope they truly are,’ said Erick, then he clarified, ‘some of them live close by.’

    ‘Hey, Brita,’ Alfred called a woman who was serving drinks. ‘Will you come over here for a moment please?’ Brita was Alfred’s wife; she was a full-figured woman who wore a simple, brown dress, a white apron, a white bonnet, and a wide smile. Once she realised whom her husband was talking to, she came almost running.

    ‘Hello, Captain,’ said Brita.

    ‘Brita, I want you to meet these three young people over here,’ said Alfred.

    ‘HELLO! More warriors. Easily the happiest day of the year. Welcome to the Rest House.’ Brita was loud, but her warm welcome made them feel quite at home. 

    ‘Shush, Brita,’ said Alfred. ‘We don’t want anyone to notice who they are.’

    ‘Oh yes, yes, of course. I read the instructions,’ said Brita, a little quieter but still audible to everyone. ‘I’m sorry. I’m so excited to receive you all today. Let me give you the keys to your rooms.’ Brita took three keys out of the pocket of her apron and handed Leo, Ursula and Virginia each a wooden key, which truly caught Leo’s attention; he had never seen a wooden key before.

    ‘Are we going to stay here?’ asked Virginia.

    ‘Just for tonight, travelling is safer in the morning,’ said Erick.

    ‘Travelling?’ said Ursula.

    ‘I’ll explain tomorrow,’ said Erick.

    ‘Now, that young man waiting for you by the stairs over there is my nephew,’ Alfred told them. ‘He will escort you to your rooms.’ Alfred’s nephew bowed his head slightly.

    ‘No actually, if you don’t mind, I will do that,’ said Erick. ‘Then I will come down to talk with you about some arrangements for our trip tomorrow.’ Alfred wished the warriors goodnight, Brita didn’t forget to ask if they wanted dinner to be brought up to their rooms and Virginia took her time to thank the man and his wife for their hospitality. Meanwhile, Leo was having a side chat with the landlord’s daughter.

    ‘My name is Crystal, How do you do?’ she introduced herself. Crystal was a pretty, young girl with long, jet-black hair and blue eyes.

    ‘How do you do?’ Leo was quite charmed. ‘My name is Leonardo Donner, but you can call me Leo.’

    ‘Nice to meet you, Leo,’ Crystal bowed her head, her smart grin white and shiny, ‘you’re one of the new warriors, aren’t you?’

    ‘Apparently. That’s what they’re all saying.’ Leo smiled unconfidently.

    ‘Don’t worry I won’t mention that you’re staying here to anyone.’

    ‘It’s okay—I guess,’ said Leo. ‘Do you work here?’

    ‘Of course, I do. Alfred is my father. It’s a family business you see,’ said Crystal.

    ‘This place looks so’—Leo searched nervously for a good compliment—‘great,’ he said and Crystal flashed another one of her smiles. 

    ‘Donner,’ Erick called. ‘We’re waiting for you.’ Erick, Ursula, and Virginia were standing by their bags next to the staircase. They watched as Leo excused himself awkwardly and as Crystal blushingly wished him goodnight. ‘Shall we?’ said Erick who couldn’t hide a smile as Leo came to join them, probably at Leo’s astonishing ability to adapt to a new situation.

    ‘It looks like you’re going to make a lot of friends here,’ Ursula remarked as they followed Erick upstairs, but Leo only smiled disarmingly.

    After the girls were shown their rooms, Erick and Leo were left to search for the last room in the gloomy, old corridors. They were guided by the lights of two faint lanterns attached to the walls by dragon-shaped brackets at the start and end of each corridor.

    ‘This is your room,’ said Erick as they finally stopped by one of the hardly-painted, cracked, wooden doors with the number eighty carved on it. How many rooms are in this place? Leo thought but didn’t ask. Erick opened the door and looked inside first before allowing Leo to walk in. The room was dark and Leo could hardly see what was inside, but from the look of the poor Rest House, he didn’t expect much. ‘You’ll find candles and some matches inside,’ said Erick.

    ‘Why isn’t there any electricity?’ asked Leo. ‘We’re still in Celavia, aren’t we?’

    ‘This place is supposed to be abandoned, no bills should be sent here. In fact, Alfred prefers not having to pay for any electricity, the Rest House is doing well, but it’s a cheap service, its income merely sustains their needs,’ Erick explained. ‘Don’t lose the key. As you can see, the keys here are very special and they can’t afford to replace them.’ Erick was about to leave, but he only took one step before he remembered something. ‘By the way, did you see him?’

    ‘Who?’ asked Leo.

    ‘The one that attacked Virginia.’

    ‘Yes, I took off his hood.’ Leo was again pleased with himself.

    ‘And?’ Erick eagerly asked.

    ‘He looked funny actually.’ Leo’s smile faded as he recalled the man’s odd features. ‘He had long, white hair and very strange, dark eyes. Unhuman, really.’ Erick looked shocked, then his expression changed and seemed a little apprehensive.

    ‘Who was that?’ Leo asked.

    ‘It’s alright,’ said Erick rubbing his forehead, ‘it doesn’t matter. You’re safe now.’

    ‘No, I don’t think we are. You warned us yourself about something dangerous, Mum looked worried about something, and then this thing happened to a girl who was, like us, searching for the Rest House. What does this mean? And how concerned should we be right now?’ Leo finally found an opportunity to truly inquire about what bothered him. Erick had no choice, with Leo’s demanding gaze, but to answer him.

    ‘Alright, you’re going to know sooner or later,’ said Erick then he took a breath. ‘These past five years, there have been attacks on warriors; kidnappings. Some of the warriors that were kidnapped were found but many others were never found again. This was probably what was going to happen to Virginia tonight if it wasn’t for you. The strange thing is that these attacks never happened in Curtlane town before. That is why I must warn you, Leo, don’t go telling people you just met who you are or what you’re here for, not until we’re safe in Zodia. I saw you talking to that girl downstairs.’

    ‘Isn’t she the old man’s daughter?’

    ‘Yes, she is, but you wouldn’t know that until she’d told you. Don’t talk to anyone at all, understand? Especially those who show interest in you being a warrior,’ said Erick firmly, and Leo could sense that asking more questions was not an option so he stayed silent. ‘Now, goodnight. My room is at the end of this corridor just in case you need something. Close this door and do not open it for any reason. I’ll see you in the morning. We’ll have a quick meeting before we leave.’ With that, Erick left Leo and went downstairs.