Alkimiya - A Fantasy Mystery Series

FIVE - The Father of Alchemy

Tilde sucked in a sharp breath and eyed the occupants of the room, clearly hoping that they would tell her it was all a joke. When it became abundantly clear that no one was going to do that, Tilde's shoulders sagged and she collapsed into a chair with a drawn-out, "Oh."

It was James Clay who broke the silence that followed Tilde's less than stellar reaction. "Not to step out of line, but where was Scarlett Burn going?"

"The UDF," chirped Mimi. She had regained her seat but had a difficult time remaining in it, as was apparent by her bobbing leg.

Inspector Hatwig's lips pinched together. "That information is outdated, I'm afraid."

Mimi's leg froze in place. "Since when?"

"Since I heard back from Ms. Burn's publisher in Naiaca." Inspector Hatwig pulled out a small notepad from an inner breast pocket and flipped to a page filled with notes. "Scarlett was off on her next adventure, searching for the Lost City of Al-Kimiya."

Zenetra learned early on to refrain from mentioning Xuxa to anyone other than Commissioner Fokle, as the Hive enjoys gathering every tidbit of information available about her family, but at the mention of the ancient alchemic tale, she spoke before she could stop herself.

"My sister loved that story."

"What's that now?"

James was not the only one confused. By the indented eyebrows of Captain Inglehart and the rest of Team Yellowbird, it seemed no one else knew the tale.

Inspector Hatwig rushed to answer. "As Cadet Noire so put it: a story. It's more popular amongst Vorrocans." She crossed the room in a few quick strides to the wall behind the map board, where a row of navy blue cabinets was situated. Her jacket skimmed the floor as she bent to retrieve something from within. Returning to the board, she handed Zenetra a corner of a rolled-up poster. "Help me with this, Cadet."

Zenetra assisted in unraveling what appeared to be a broader map of the world and tacked it over the current map they were using.

Inspector Hatwig's fingertip rested over the western coast of the Five Nations. "Here's the UDF." Trailing her finger down the coastline, she paused at the southernmost peninsula. "This is the Kingdom of Marzhan and these," she said, moving her finger into the Sapphire Sea, "are the Gryphon Isles." Inspector Hatwig's finger jumped south to the massive, crescent-shaped landmass that was the Qoman Empire.

"Vorroco is here. Though empires have come and gone throughout thousands of years of recorded history, Vorroco has remained relatively unchanged. This is largely due to it being the birthplace of alchemy. You see, an enemy would need a very large, very skilled army to even consider attacking a city defended by the Knights of Azoth. Since the dawn of its creation, Vorroco has been under siege only twice and each time has come away the victor.

"The story of the Lost City of Al-Kimiya predates the establishment of Vorroco. Names of cities alter over time, often with a change of ruler or religion, but most historians assume that Vorroco and Al-Kimiya are one and the same. The reason theorists debate this story is due entirely to a woman called Renavolena. Be it oral or written record, there is no other mention of her in any other alchemic story.

"Theorists partial to Renavolena claim that the real city of Al-Kimiya was on an island somewhere off the eastern coast of Vorroco. Renavolena was its fabled queen and when her city—a city rumored to be made entirely of gold—was threatened by war, Renavolena was said to have lifted her island out of the sea and into the sky. If this story is true, then the island of Al-Kimiya came before the establishment of Vorroco, and alchemists had to have existed long before Heironymux the Elder was born."