Extremis: City of Sand

~ 5 - Arriving in Epinnois ~

Just as Turlon had said, the group arrived in Epinnois by noon. The town was larger than Belltou. The houses and other buildings were arranged around the land in a more organised manner, instead of simply being scattered around. One building stuck out compared to the rest due to being the largest building in the town. Artemis knew it was the library; she had never been inside on previous visits to the town, but she had seen just how large it was.

"Artemis," Turlon began, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I hate to separate from you so soon, but... would you mind if I left you here to head on to the library? There's something I want to do first."

"Oh, right, you were born here." Artemis remembered. "So your family lives here."

"Although I'm ashamed to admit it, it's been a while since I've visited." Turlon told her. "I kept meaning to, but with jobs coming in every day, I never got around to it... Now would be the best time to finally see them, especially before we set off on such a long journey."

"You go ahead." Artemis said. "We'll come get you when we're finished."

They walked together until they reached the Romardon residence. Artemis watched as Turlon approached the front door and knocked. The door opened, and an elderly woman was stood in the doorway. Her face lit up as she embraced Turlon, and they spoke in hushed tones that Artemis could not make out.

Artemis heard a gagging sound that took her attention away from the scene. "Are all you humans like that?" Azrael asked. "So... soppy? So easily attached to other people?"

Artemis ignored him, exchanging a glance with Ursula. They left the Romardon residence behind and headed towards the library. The building was tucked away in the corner of the town, out of the way despite being so large. It was even more impressive on the inside, as Artemis learned as she stepped through the doors. To her, it looked more like a palace than a library; chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the carpet was covered in soft velvet, and the several floors seemed to go on forever into the sky.

"You don't seem very impressed with this place, Stephen." Ursula stated, nudging the doctor's arm. "Does nothing at all leave you in awe?"

"It's not that," Dr. Cosmas sighed. "I've been here to study too many times to count. Any academic professional worth his salt has."

"Oh, then you would know about which section we should look at." Artemis said. "This place is huge... We'll be here for a very long time if we just look through everything. So where should we start?"

"You're looking into a matter involving an ancient city and advanced dark magic. It's not going to be on the ground floor." Dr. Cosmas remarked. "In fact, it's going to be very difficult to track down at all. I can show you where it could be, but I can't guarantee you'll find what you're looking for."

"Don't be so sour." Ursula reprimanded him. "You just show us where to go and we'll handle it from there, okay?"

The doctor led the way through the library. Artemis and Ursula followed him up the many sets of staircases that followed. The library had a total of ten floors, and when they had arrived at the correct floor, they were almost at the very top. Reaching the top of the eighth staircase, Artemis stopped to catch her breath. Her legs burned, and she had to lean against the wall to prevent her knees from giving out. She looked down and saw Azrael poking out of his pouch and staring at her. "What?" She questioned.

"Why are you so exhausted?" Azrael asked. "Your job is to protect people from monsters, and you can't handle going up stairs?"

"They're two completely different things." Artemis responded. "In battle, I have the adrenaline to help keep me going. I don't have that here. Maybe you'll have room to talk when you actually get involved in a fight."

Artemis averted her focus before Azrael had the chance to say anything back. Ursula was searching the bookcases, tracing her finger along the spines of the books. She was alone. "Where did Dr. Cosmas go?" Artemis asked as she approached.

Ursula shrugged her shoulders. "I think he said something about doing his own research. Men, especially ones like that, are mysterious creatures."

Artemis smiled, although in reality she was not sure she really understood what Ursula meant by 'mysterious creatures'. She decided to herself that maybe it was an adult thing she did not understand yet.

"If only we had some kind of name to go by," Ursula muttered. "That would make this so much easier."

"It would, but according to Azrael, he can't tell us." Artemis said.

"It's true." Azrael confirmed. "Even if I wanted to, it'd violate the code. Even I have to stick to that rule."

"Then it's a good thing I found your answer for you."

Turning towards the voice, the three saw Dr. Cosmas approaching them. He was holding a large book that he held open. The covers were worn with age to the point that any title had faded away, and the pages were yellow.

"This sounds similar to what you described." The doctor continued. "A city of dark magic hidden deep in a desert... According to this, it's called Maru."

He set the book on a table, and Artemis sat at the table, leaning over the book. The words were just barely legible. The book discussed Maru's history; about how all of its residents had been turned to stone during an attack, and how the petrified bodies were buried underneath the sand. "This is a really old volume," Artemis stated. "I guess that means no one's been there in a while."

"After the incident that turned all those people to stone, I imagine no one would want to take the risk." Ursula said. "But it sounds like we're on the right track. Does it mention how we can get there?"

Artemis turned the page as gently as possible, not wanting to damage the old pages in any way. The next pages were covered in writing that was somehow even more illegible. "I think so... but most of the words are kind of faded. It's difficult to make everything out."

"Leave that part up to me." Dr. Cosmas said, taking the book from the table. "Now that we have what we're looking for, we can be on our way again."

"Wait, are we taking that with us...?" Artemis questioned. "Are we allowed to do that?"

"I guess we can." Ursula shrugged. "Come on, let's go before he leaves us behind."

The two followed after Dr. Cosmas and left the library. They went back to the Romardon residence, and Artemis knocked on the door. When the door opened, Turlon was standing in the doorway. "You were gone for quite a while," he said. "Did you find anything?"

"We did, actually," Artemis told him. "It looks like a city called Maru might be what we're looking for."

Turlon said his farewells to his family before leaving the house and closing the door behind him. "In that case, what are we waiting for?" He asked. "Let's move out."

With that, the group began moving again, leaving Epinnois behind them. However, unbeknownst to the group of five, someone was trailing behind them. Her face obscured by a scarf she had picked up a week before, she waited until the group were a fair distance away before following them.

In particular, she was focused on the youngest of the group, and the small demon that the girl carried. After years and years of being separated from him, she was finally going to see her beloved Azzy again.

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another mysterious ending, what am i doing

~ AceAttorneyFan ~