Azriel Capoue - The secrets of Al

Chapter 15

Stefan found himself back at the tavern, exhaustion weighing heavily on him. As he rested his hand onthe door, he groaned in discomfort. His other hand instinctively moved to the back of his neck, and whenhe brought it forward, he was met with a disconcerting sight – his entire palm was drenched, resemblinga hand dipped into a bucket of blood."I need to get this checked before my brain runs out of blood," Stefan mumbled, his face growingincreasingly pale, his lips chapped.Desperately searching for Asta, Stefan scanned the now-crowded tavern. He made his way to the tablewhere Asta was supposed to be seated, only to find it occupied by a different group of people. His eyesdarted around the room, but there was no sign of the young boy.A heavy sigh escaped his lips, and he dragged himself towards the bar counter. Mrs. Dorothy, the tavernowner, noticed his condition and inquired with concern, "Officer Stefan...? You look... What happened toyou?"Stefan managed a weak smile. "I – I jumped out a window."Mrs. Dorothy eyes widened, "Oh...""Where's Asta?""The young man you came in with? Yeah, he disappeared right after the meal.""Oh," Stefan replied, disappointment etched in his voice."Well, come this way. Follow me. I'll let Lily take a look at that for you. You have blood all over your neck,and you look like you're just about to lose consciousness." Mrs. Dorothy offered."Lily is around...?"Following Mrs. Dorothy, Stefan was led to a room to rest and wait for Lily, the person he hadn't expectedto still be here.He unbuttoned his regalia and removed it, and then collapsed into the chair, almost carelessly. His voicewas feeble as he uttered, "Lily..."He said her name softly, as if it were his last breath.They hadn't talked in five months, and Stefan had assumed she had went ahead with the definitivedecision to leave the tavern, effectively disappearing from Ωdegaard's map.Stefan recalled their last conversation vividly, a memory etched into his mind:"I'm – I'm leaving," she had said as she slipped into her dress, about to start brushing her hair. Stefan layon the bed, captivated by her beauty, just as he had been every time they shared an intimate moment.Lily was a true beauty, with delicate and finely chiseled features that exuded elegance and allure. Herflawless, porcelain-perfect skin seemed to radiate a subtle luminosity. High cheekbones, a perfectlystraight and pointed nose, and full, sensuous lips framed her face. Her large, almond-shaped, dark eyesadded an air of mystery to her charm. Her shimmering, long black hair had a mesmerizing texture thatglistened under the light. Lily was an embodiment of beauty, drawing admiration from all who beheldher petite and cute appearance."Oh, right. I hope we didn't 'eat' into your shift time?" Stefan said playfully.Lily giggled, turning to him with a shake of her head, disbelief and affection in her eyes.Lily's declaration hung heavily in the room as she delivered her unexpected news. Stefan wore a look ofsurprise and concern as he tried to make sense of her words."This would be the last time we see each other," Lily said, her voice carrying a sense of finality.Stefan struggled to grasp the gravity of her decision. "Wait, what are you saying?" he asked."I'm leaving this tavern, Stefan. I'm leaving this town, this country. I'm leaving," Lily clarified.Stefan's eyes widened in disbelief. "But why?" he inquired; his voice laced with concern."I want something different," Lily explained. "I want to be more than just a tavern lady. I'm still young. If Idon't chase something else, I'll end up being stuck here my entire life."Stefan nodded, understanding the need for change. "I see what you mean. But where do you want togo? What do you want to do? You know you can't just waltz out of Ωdegaard into a new country. Whatdo you think you can achieve elsewhere that you can't here?"Before Lily could respond, a light double knock interrupted their conversation, and the door swung opento reveal Lily. Stefan, half-jokingly, remarked, "So, it's true. I thought there was a new Lily."Lily shook her head and smiled. "Well, you thought wrong.""Can you blame me?"Lily sighed and got straight to business. "Let me have a look at that," she said, placing her belongings onthe nightstand and retrieving a half-filled bucket of water. She dipped a cloth into the bucket andapproached Stefan to clean the blood from the back of his neck.While she worked, Lily inquired about the events that had led to his injury. "I heard you jumped out awindow?""Yes, I did, actually." Stefan confirmed.Lily raised an eyebrow, clearly concerned. "How did you end up with a cut like this at the back of yourhead? Unless..."Stefan finished her thought, "I jumped backward, yeah, with the back of my head taking the brunt of it.""You could have seriously injured yourself. You could have broken your neck. That was really careless ofyou! If your head hadn't been cut right now, I would have smacked it so hard, you would have forgottenyour own name." Lily scolded him."Well, too late. I don't recall my name. The only thing I can remember is how your lips taste like..." Stefanjoked.Lily chuckled and shook her head, and went ahead to treat the wound."Enough about me already. I'm fine. But why are you still here? I feel like you lied to me." Stefan thenaddressed the matter at hand.Lily reassured him, "Oh no, trust me, I didn't lie. I was ready to leave that night, but I didn't... I couldn't.I... I saw something rather bizarre that caught my attention and made me stay. Am I glad you're finallyhere... I need your help.""What did you see?" Intrigued, Stefan inquired.Lily continued, "Well, you know in Tarkwa, we've been experiencing some level of child disappearances.It always felt strange for children to vanish without a trace. But on the night I had decided to leave, Iwitnessed it firsthand.""Oh, did you?" Stefan reacted with surprise."I did." Lily confirmed."But it's not just Tarkwa; many towns and cities are going through this, you know. There are scientistswho experiment on children."Lily's eyes widened with concern as Stefan shared more about the mysterious child disappearances andthe involvement of scientists."Really? Wait, uh... these scientists, do they work for the state, or?" Lily inquired.Stefan clarified, "Not at all. They are wanted by the state actually."Lily, deep in thought, added, "I see... But the people I saw the other night doing the kidnapping were inregalia uniforms. They were state alchemists like you.""Wait... you're not serious, are you?" Stefan couldn't hide his disbelief.Lily's tone turned serious, and she retorted, "Do you really think I'd joke about something like this?"Stefan rose from his chair slowly, his face a muddle of conflicting emotions and thoughts, as he grappledwith the implications of Lily's revelation."The Papacy would never kidnap and experiment on children," he protested.Lily clarified her position, "I never said they are. I didn't even know children were being used asexperiments until now. Let's find out together what the Papacy, or let's just say what the state alchemistswanted with the children they took. We shouldn't involve the Papacy in this just yet, right?"Stefan sighed, realizing the gravity of the situation.As he prepared to sit back down, a sudden memory jolted him. There was a piece of paper on the smalltable beside the couch where Egon had been seated. The room held the silent testament of a terriblecrime, with James' lifeless body under the table. It was apparent that James had written something onthat specific piece of paper before he was murdered.The piece of paper bore an address.Tarkwa CH/N 23cJaqsin streetTarkwa was a sprawling city, too large for the Papacy to control as a single entity, so they had divided itinto three distinct sections: Tarkwa A, with the bustling market, followed by Tarkwa B and C. Even thoughthey were separate, it was still a challenging task to govern them effectively. The distances betweenthese districts were substantial, particularly when traveling from the market in Tarkwa A to the others.The idea of implementing a train system connecting these areas seemed practical, but the Papacydeemed it a wasteful allocation of resources. Thus, the citizens of Tarkwa devised their own solution,later even adopted by cities across Ωdegaard – the velocipede. This peculiar mode of transport featureda passenger standing on the flat wooden platform between the two colossal wheels on either side, withthe front wheel being the smallest of the three, controlled by an individual pilot.Stefan had an urgent need to reach Tarkwa C, but he hesitated, unsure of what awaited him there. Hisgaze darted around the room until he located his handbag. Retrieving the well-worn journal he'd beenreading diligently for weeks; Stefan scanned its pages. Finally, he found the entry he sought."H/N 23c, Jaqsin Street," he muttered. "This is... Wait, why would they be going there? The Cardinal saidofficers thoroughly searched the entire household multiple times, finding nothing. Why does Egonpossess this? Why does Egon have Peter Capoue's home address?"Lily, who had been listening intently, asked, "Have you figured out where they're taking the kids?"Stefan paused, deep in thought. "I need to go."Lily, concerned and objected, "Absolutely not! I'm not done dressing your wound, and what about thechildren?"Stefan hurriedly donned his regalia. "I'll be back for that, Lily, but this is an urgent matter. Ωdegaard'sfuture is at stake. Egon must not get his hands on it."Frustration-tinged Lily's voice, "Get his hands on what? You're not making any sense!"Stefan rushed through the tavern, absorbed in his thoughts, nearly oblivious to his surroundings. He hadmomentarily forgotten about his apprentice. Well, he thought for some reason that Asta had taken off,though it hadn't even been a day since he named him his apprentice.Asta suddenly appeared in his path, "were you planning on leaving without me? And what happened toyou? You look like you're dead," Asta exclaimed.Stefan managed a faint chuckle. "We have a lead; Follow me."