Winter was drawing near. Cold, dreary winds that blew from the seas brought chills to the citizens.
It was another slow day for Yarrin, the shopkeeper of Lucky Cat. Her jasmines, lilies, and lotuses hung low, looking as sleepy as their owner. Sleepiness got to Yarrin eventually, and she started snoring lightly. As she scrunched up her nose a little and closed her eyes, the young shopkeeper fell to the side.
And then she let out a gasp. Her eyes were wide open, but the dark circles under her eyes showed unmistakable exhaustion. She rubbed her forehead quickly, for it was swelling up from knocking on the wall. "I wish Elsa were here," Yarrin muttered, staring at the ground.
She was reminded of her nice colleague. When she was still around, the girls would take turns watching over the shop, and life was good for Yarrin. But ever since she went missing two months ago, Yarrin had to take over all the work here.
Lucky Cat was a flower shop catered to the elite, and they only hired beautiful shopkeepers. It was no easy task to find another passable employee on short notice. Which means I have to hang on for at least a month more.
Yarrin felt a little dejected. She lost a lot of sleep over worrying for Elsa, and now she couldn't even take a nap. At this rate, she would go mad. "You have to come back and save me, Elsa. Please be fine."
And then someone knocked on the counter before her.
Yarrin almost leapt in shock. I didn't even hear them coming in. "This is a mysterious one." She looked up at the newcomer with a sweet smile and was met with a stranger.
The young man had wild, golden eyes and a slender body. He was wearing greyish-black armor, something unusual for her usual customers. No. He looks like a… A hint of fear flashed in her eyes. It was then she noticed two sword hilts protruding from his back.
"Welcome, dear customer. This must be your first time in Lucky Cat. Are you picking a gift for your wife? We have the most comprehensive list of quality flowers at your picking, sir." She forced a smile but tried her best to avert the young man's gaze. She sweetened her voice. "If you don't mind, can you tell me what you'd like? I can guide you through the store's offerings. There's bound to be something you would like."
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in flowers. At least anything that's not a rose." Roy looked around the shop. It wasn't big, but it was beautiful and colorful. The first thing he smelled when he entered was the scent of flowers. It was relaxing. She's the only one here. Roy gave a look at the burly man outside the flower shop.
"Wh-What do you want?" Yarrin noticed the look this young witcher was giving his companion. Realizing something was wrong, Yarrin quickly leaned on the wall, shivering in fear.
She quickly whipped out a few coins from the drawer. "Please don't hurt me. I'll give you all the coins I have. This shop is under Master Orloff's protection. You don't want to cross him, do you?"
***
"I'm not a bandit. Keep the coins." Roy shook his head. He loved coins like any other guy, but robbing a helpless girl was beneath him. "Calm down. I have some questions for you. Work with me, and you'll be fine." He ignored the girl's plea and made a quick sign in the air.
Axii worked its magic once more, and the light in Yarrin's eyes went out. She hung her head low like a puppet that lost its strings.
"Name and age?" Roy leaned on the rattan chair behind him and crossed his legs. Straight interrogation was his preferred method of questioning.
"Yarrin. Twenty-five years old," the girl answered plainly.
"You're the shopkeeper, I reckon? How many people have worked in this shop over the last six months?"
"Two. Me and Elsa. She went missing two months ago, leaving me alone to deal with this shop."
"How would you describe your relationship with Elsa?"
"She was like my sister. We did everything together."
Roy nodded. Yarrin's testimony lined up with Todd's. Seems like she's not the suspect. "Do you know if Elsa has any friends or acquaintances in Novigrad? How do they get along?"
Yarrin paused for a few moments. She might have lost her own will under the effect of Axii, but she still had to try and recall things to answer questions. A moment later, she shook her head.
"Elsa has been working here for less than six months, and she's a timid girl. Aside from the customers, she almost never talked to anyone else. And she rarely ventures far. Most of the time, she would stay in the shop or her quarters. And this center area."
"That's a simple life." Roy tapped his finger on his temples. "Elsa's a beautiful and innocent lady. There must’ve been customers who harassed her on the regular, wouldn't you say?"
Yarrin thought about it again and told Roy about the three men who would harass Elsa. They were a jewelry merchant's son, a minor aristocrat, and the shopkeeper of a sundry store.
Roy made a note of those names. He would pay these people a visit later at night.
And then only Roy and Todd were left in the store.
"Did Elsa exhibit any strange behavior prior to her disappearance? Did she say anything weird?" Roy pulled a beautiful rose out of the flower basket and smelled it.
Yarrin said no.
"Last question." Roy fell into a pause before he asked, "What do you know about Elsa's disappearance? Tell me everything that happened that day. I want every single detail."
"On the ninth day of the ninth month, Elsa and I opened up shop at eight. After that, she left the shop to make some purchases at the marketplace as usual…"
***
Five minutes later.
"Welcome, dear customer. It must be your first time here. Are you picking out a gift for your lover?"
Yarrin was wearing a sweet smile, but there was a hint of embarrassment in her eyes. She was sure that this young man saw her dozing off. But I feel like I've seen him before. Was it a dream?
The young witcher winked at her mysteriously and left a crown on the counter. Yarrin watched curiously as the young witcher picked up a rose and left her shop.
***
"What were you two talking about, Roy? Did you find any clues?" Todd caught up to Roy as fast as he could. The wind was blowing the stench coming off him in Roy's direction.
The young witcher rubbed his itchy nose and answered, "You'll know soon."
***
Judging from her testimony, Elsa went missing while she was on her way from the shop to the marketplace. That's about twenty minutes on foot.
Roy led Todd around to scout out the geography of the place. Almost every shop in the business district catered to the elites. Security was tight, and armed soldiers would patrol this place every fifteen minutes. It's not easy kidnapping a beautiful girl in broad daylight here.
And the path that led to the marketplace was mostly bustling and packed with people. Everyone was heading to the marketplace at eight. There's no way anyone could kidnap her without making a ruckus. Unless Elsa gave herself up willingly.
The only place where Elsa could be kidnapped was the long, dark alleyway between the business district and the marketplace. It was situated near the fringes of the slums.
Compared to the bustling path, it was a shorter path to the marketplace. A girl should reach the marketplace in ten minutes if she walked normally.
"What is this?" Todd crouched down and pointed at a crooked wooden stick in a putrid puddle in the alleyway.
"A pipe for tobacco." The witcher picked the stick up despite how dirty it was. "This is a perfect place for the addicts to gather." He looked at the stick closely.
The walls on the sides were filled with moss, and some parts of them were covered in slurs and indecipherable graffiti. The ground was wet and slimy, and a few makeshift beds made out of hay and hemp cloths were stacked in the corner. Rotten garbage littered the ground, and some parts of the alley were filled with disgusting excrement. There was barely a clean spot here.
"Addicts? Are you saying those bastards kidnapped Elsa when she was going through this alley in a hurry?" Todd mumbled, a look of worry appearing in his eyes.
"I won’t exclude that possibility. They might have taken a liking to Elsa and knocked her out." The witcher added, "But if things were that simple, Chappelle and Bedlam would have found out about it."
Bedlam didn't come back with any news, and Eternal Fire didn't find any clues either. This is a cruel guess, but I don't think Elsa is still alive.
All he could do was try his best to check the crime scene and fish for the culprit. But it had been two months since Elsa went missing, and there were a lot of disruptive factors at the scene. Roy spent half an hour looking for clues in the alleyway, but he came up with nothing.
But something unexpected happened.
"Roy, I think the miasma of this alleyway is getting to me, but your pendant is vibrating." Todd pointed at Roy's pendant curiously.
"You're not seeing things." Roy could feel the vibrations, and he moved to the spot where they were most violent. The young witcher spread his arms and felt the air for a while, then he froze up. In the center of the alleyway floated a light ball the size of his fist. It was almost hiding in the moss-filled corner, and the ball was very nearly extinguished.
"Not much, but this is chaos energy. Someone cast a spell in this alleyway before." Roy said, "And in this dark, damp spot too. Also the spell was cast about two months ago. The timing makes sense."
Shocked, Todd stammered, "Y-You're saying Elsa is k-k…"
Roy's experience told him one thing: anything that was related to magic was always dangerous and hard to handle. "I hope it's just a coincidence." Roy sighed. "Or this is going to be more trouble than I imagined."
***
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