Chapter Thirty-three: CLUE

Jeremy was astonished when he saw Aarav packing punches. He always thought Aarav was only a kid. He never knew there was so much power hidden in those slender arms. He was itching for a spar after witnessing his raw strength.

He heard about the death of the merchant from Sanka from their conversation. He was reminded of a peculiar case from two months ago.

A man of Sanka native was found dead in his apartment. What was peculiar was that he died from natural cause. And the natural cause was ageing. That guy was only about 200 years and died looking like 500, near the end of his lifespan. There were a few similar cases after them. The second victim was even related to that man, and the third victim was relative to the second man. It looked like a chain reaction. But nobody could find out the cause.

"Excuse me. Aarav, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Aarav went to the corner of the room to hear out Jeremy. He told him about the case. Aarav was confused. He wanted to take a look at it. He had to investigate about the merchant and his connection to find his property back.

After leaving Jeremy's mansion, Aarav headed straight for the Communication office. He wanted to leave a message for Samuel to tell them they were in Caito. Communicating was a hassle. If they were in Alchemy town, he will come and go to administration for multiple reasons. He will get the message as long as he was inside the city.

He went back home. He felt exhausted.

It was his off day. He didn't have any work to do, and he didn't do anything all morning. But he was exhausted. 'Maybe we should not have left'. Regretting his past decision, he came back home.

The room was dark when he came back. Kiara had not returned as she was still in the institute.

He found the house too big for some reason. He was worried about others. He didn't believe Ajil when he said they were doing okay. It must have been okay from his standards. They were from Earth where betrayal was the worst crime. People abhor those who break their trust. They had placed their trust on the Sanka natives. After suffering and walking through the jungle, the Sanka village was like an oasis. But they were too wrong.

He wanted to find the rest of the people, but he found his hands too small. He was filled with disappointment. He sat still on the sofa without switching on the lights. Like that he spent the whole day till Kiara came back in the evening.

"I will go to Alchemy town,"

Kiara said while drying her with a towel. Aarav told her everything. She listened to him patiently. She didn't express anger towards the native or regretted their decision to leave the village earlier.

"Prof. Rigaro wanted few things from Alchemy town. I will volunteer to go. I can meet them then. You can find your locket. We both know that locket is the only clue to go back home. You find it. I will search for others."

"Don't you feel angry?"

"On what? They thought it was the only way out. People can be cruellest if it comes to their kin. At least all of them are alive. Don't worry. We have gone through a lot. We will be fine."

Faced with Kiara's positivity, he soon found his confidence.

Next day, Aarav begged the officer in charge of the peculiar ageing case to let him follow. He was the youngest in the HQ. He was considered a child. He used this fact to the fullest and got a chance to access the case. He got all the files related to it. He studied them. The case files also included a list of things found on the victims. He went through the list but didn't find the locket. He also contacted all the people with whom the victims had connections. He was having a busy week.

He put his ability to full use. But the items were not enough to gain him a full view of the incident or even a glance of the locket. He still kept going on.

Meanwhile, Kiara went to Alchemy town. Another researcher, Freesia, a brown and tall woman, accompanied her. They went by prof's private airship, which took a few minutes to take them to the town.

As soon as they set foot on the town, a medicinal smell wafted their nose. Alchemy town was also a free town. Access was free, and the security was lax. There was no strict checking. Anybody could enter the city. Because of that reason, most people preferred Caito. But Caito was very costly. Anybody can't survive there. Unlike Caito, people can not get evicted if they become jobless.

Freesia was telling Kiara about all the stories of dacoit and burglary rampant in the town. Kiara felt worried after hearing about it.

"You said you have some personal work here. You can go ahead. I will go to the town library by myself."

"No, it's okay. We have a lot of time. Let's go together,"

Kiara can't say she wasn't afraid to walk about alone in a town notorious for crime. She can put off her work for the time being.

The town looked mediocre with comparison to Caito.

They soon reached the town library. It was a five-storey building and the largest building in the area.

Inside there were enormous shelves loaded with books, like the typical library. It was same for all the five floors. Every field had a separate room for the books. They went through the index to find the right room where the books they needed were. There were too many books they had to find, so they divided the work and went to separate rooms.

Kiara was feeling dizzy from looking at so many books. She had always been a bookworm. Now she hated it. People tend to hate things when they forced to. Taking a deep breath, she pulled a trolley and started putting books she needed. She had glanced through the books if the book had the content she needed. Sometimes, a glance ends up to studying it for a full hour.

As she was busy with the books, somebody tapped on her shoulders. She turned around to find a familiar face.

"Kiara. Is that really you?"

"Prof. Brandon. Oh my God!"

She hugged him with her eyes brimming with tears. Brandon was also excited.

"I thought I saw someone familiar. But thought, who would come here. And then it was you. It's so good to see you."

Brandon was tearing down. They had got the message from Aarav but they couldn't send a reply to him. They wanted to meet him. But their savings were not enough. Also, because of the recent incidents, they did not want to implicate them. Aarav could lose his job if he meddled with their situation. But seeing Kiara in front of his eyes, Brandon blurted out everything. He told them how Suho and his friends have become fugitives, Asahi being missing and also the betrayal of the natives in full glory.

Kiara calmed Bradon and asked him to take her somewhere they could talk. They were in the library. Brandon's incoherent blabbering was causing a disturbance in the library. And also Kiara didn't understand a thing he said.

After informing Freesia and Brandon asking permission for a break, they walked out of the library. He took her to a nearby tavern. The tavern was mostly empty as it was working hours.

"Now, feel free to tell me what happened"

Brandon explained everything in details without leaving out anything.

"Suho was able to learn healing magic. He was immediately hired as an apprentice. Me, Samuel, Aadil could get a job. But Jun and other kids could only attend the academy. Ian was already a student. So it didn't matter to him if he worked or not. But Jun and other boys were adult too. But here they were not. It was becoming tough for them to adapt to the academy. They wanted to help. However, they fall into a bad company without knowing. That guy lured them into this illegal hunting. Suho tried to stop them but he couldn't. He joined them if in any case, they fall in danger, he could help them out. But who knew they will get badly implicated."

"Where are they now?"

"They are on a run as they cannot enter the town. The guards would arrest them immediately. They can only wander in the wilderness. We are different from people here. So the toxicity from outside doesn't affect us. But the only issue is that they have somehow evoked their blessings,"

"Evoked. How? The blessing is supposed to stay as long as you are alive."

"That is true. I don't know why they no longer are protected. They keep getting attacked by wild animals. Samuel was with them for some time. He arranged them shelter outside the town. They should still be there."

"Sigh! If they stay still, they will be fine. I will look for Valenthia to bless them again. Aarav can help to remove their fugitive status."

"Thank you for your help. Wait! Did you say Valenthia?"

"Yes, we met her on the way. If we request her, she might help us."

Brandon had a dumbfounded look. She was talking about the guardian who everyone feared and respected. Seeing his confused look, she told him her part of the story. Their journey was long and tiring but also thrilling.

Brandon gave her his address to meet the rest of the people. They soon went back to the library. Brandon had stayed a bit over his break time. He was worried that he would get reprimanded, but he couldn't help smiling. He was happy to see Kiara. They had thought that they must have died. They had received the message from Aarav. But seeing with eyes is more believable.

At evening Kiara went to the said address, which had old and worn-out quarters. They were staying in single room apartments with a shared bathroom. The condition was less than hygienic. She could feel the desperation Jun and others felt. They were living at the bottom of society, and they couldn't do anything about it.

She met the four people, Samuel, Aadil, Brandon and Ian. It was heart-wrenching to see that only four of them were left. They talked about a no. of things. The similarities between Earth and Taiba. Also, how Earth was still better. The evil side of society was also found on Earth, but they won't admit it because they were never on that side. They all have lived a peaceful if not a lavish life.

When it was time for Kiara to leave, she offered some money to Samuel. But Samuel rejected her. She also asked them to come to Caito as it wasn't safe for them to live here. It was difficult to find a job in Alchemy town, but they still found jobs. It was suitable for them. The money was not anywhere near Caito. If they leave for Caito now, then they will only burden Kiara and Aarav. It was a big city. It was nowhere easy to get a job there.

With a heavy heart, Kiara left for Caito.