Chapter 2 C

"I see her, over there," Cobra pointed out, peering through the thick haze of smoke in the tavern. He gestured towards a woman surrounded by a group of men and laughing.

"I can tell she's Chelleskan," Axel shouted over the noise of the tavern.

"We knew that," Cobra replied, glancing back at the woman. "But how are we supposed to identify her?"

"We're not very close, and the lighting in here is terrible," Axel admitted.

Their conversation was interrupted by a burly man in leather armor who tried to take a seat at their table with his plate of food. Cobra stood his ground, insisting that the table was reserved.

The man grumbled, but Cobra offered to buy him a drink, and he eventually left. Once they were alone again, Cobra and Axel resumed their discussion about the Chelleskan woman.

"Maybe we should try tomorrow morning, now that we know where she is," Axel suggested.

Cobra was more focused on their mission than observing the traditional day of rest. "When was the last time Solis meant anything to us?" he retorted.

"I thought you city boys took Solis off!" Axel joked.

"Only the priests consider Solis a day of rest," Cobra stated, keeping his eyes fixed on the Chelleskan woman.

Axel grinned, not bothered by Cobra' serious demeanor. "We just need to distinguish the Chelleskans from the shadow mages," he redirected the conversation.

"But her hair is also black," Axel sighed, considering the difficulty of the task.

"It's too dark in here to see the shadows. We'll keep an eye on her and catch her tomorrow morning," Cobra reassured him.

"It could be a profitable venture. She could charge an exorbitant amount for guarding a caravan, and not many people could verify it," Axel commented.

"It's not a venture," Cobra corrected him, noticing that one of the Chelleskan's companions was watching them. "But it's a good sign." He raised his mug in the direction of the person, causing the young woman to turn back to her group with a mix of surprise and offense.

Meanwhile, Wendy watched from the other side of the table, feeling frustrated with Selena's behavior towards Grey. "Why is she so unfair? Selena seems to want to be with every man she meets," Wendy thought to herself.

Despite Grey's attractiveness, Selena continued to overlook him for other men, and Wendy couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him. She pushed her greens around on her plate, wondering when Grey would make a move, but couldn't resist being drawn to their group and their exciting adventures.