Chapter 4: Curiouser and Curiouser
After that double-sidedmeeting with Mako, they headed to the next mage: someone named Farah Heather. She hung to the side, blending nicely with the shadows. Her brown eyes followed Serena as she moved up to her, waving hello quietly.,
"Hey, so you called us over, right? That means you have an encounter?" Serena said. Farah only slightly nodded, and braced herself. "Yeah, I did. I was hanging around early Sunday morning, trying to help Riya clean up. I was tidying up the dishes when suddenly I felt a prick at my purse. I'm very protective of it, of course, and immediately went to hurt my attacker. But it wasn't there," She finished. Mariam's eyes flitted to the purse, jutting out her lips in thought.
"What's in it...? Drugs?" She asked, pointing to the small, leather pouch. "No, it's my source of magic!" The mage shouted, holding a protective clutch over the lumpy pouch. Her interrogater held out her arms immediately, setting up a protective wall. "We wouldn't dream of taking it. But, this really could be helpful in order to solve this investigation," Serena gently reassured. The mage let her fingers drift from the pouch, now lightly touching it. "I guess I could tell you," Farah said.
Still clutching the pouch, she said, "I'm a... color mage, I use dyes of color wools to throw bombs. Designated colors for designated attacks, of course. It's complicated to tell now because it's so much to learn in the short five minutes, but um- I hope this suffices," She said, holding her pouch more carefully now. Serena sweetly nodded, "It's understandable, of course." The mage slipped away from the group as quickly as possible, coming as quickly as she went.
"This'll be fun..."
As the sun started to set amounts the bustle of day, our trio was sit at a wooden table outside against the background of the cafe. Serena's head was dug into the mess of papers that were flounced around the table-while her teammates stood around her, intently studying them.
"Mako gave us a bit of information pertaining to the case, perhaps it's a good idea to start in the cellar. After all, a ton of people had said they've felt something weird down there," Mariam said, holding a loosely scribbled notebook page. The strawberry blonde picked up another, and closely observed another paper. Xavier leaned over her shoulder and surveyed the paper himself. "But look at the story, it's clear we need to research the bar first. Remember the glass-breaking story story Riya told? That's some clear poltergeist activity, there, and needs to be immediately investigated," He argued. The girl only rolled her eyes in response.
"What do you think, Serena...?" Mariam said, directing her anger to her friend. Who was intently studying a report. "Hmh? Oh, well, I may want to try the S-Class area. Eric's story of hearing footsteps down the stairs, is almost a telltale sign we're dealing with some powerful ghosts. I'd like to check it out," She explained. The other two members nodded, and were about to head out when Serena cleared her throat.
"I also.. have something to tell you," Serena started. Xavier and Mariam turned back, sharing a questioning glance. "Today, when all the guild stopped moving, I felt as though someone was watching me. And it felt so... malicious, and truly made me break out to goosebumps. I want to warn you both, because who really knows what's going to happen out there, and of course: we need to be prepared," Serena finished. Mariam let out a half-smile and walked over to her friend, patting her shoulder. "Why'd you ever worry, I don't know. But of course we can handle ourselves out there, no need to worry," Xavier said. Mariam simply patted the other shoulder, and nodded.
"Thanks, guys. I'll see you out there then, good luck tonight," She said. Xavier sent a questioning look and said, "But... aren't you going to join us? You're going to miss sushi night?" The one in the orange jacket said, appalled at someone missing their sacred night. To this, the ravenette only sighed. "I want to visit the guild mistress and see if they'll let me into their graveyard." A series of understanding comments emitted from her friends, and she waved goodbye to them quickly. She didn't hear them.
The guildhall was quiet now, almost around noon; all mages had settled into their routine-some took jobs, others wasting away the day. Serena felt like an outsider amongst these familiar yet foreign people, who've all known each other all their life. Some since they were kids. Serena wondered if others had felt like this when they'd join the guild.
Waving away her thoughts, she collect herself at the door. She stood in front of the office, hearing low voices argue about.. property damage? Something about almost killing a nobleman and utterly destroying an estate. Serena huffed in amusement. Then, as if they'd been notified by her presence, the door flew open to find the guild mistress changed out of her classical clothes into a light purple blouse, black pants, and grey boots with her hair in a nice ponytail. She realized her clothes almost matched hers.
"Good afternoon, Serena. Um, you've come at a bad time, please come back-" The mage started. "I'd like to go visit the cemetery... please. I know it's a weird request, but-" "Say no more, I'll walk you there. Come, follow me, Serena," She lent out her hand and Serena took it, following her down the stairs and out to the afternoon sun.
There, along the Ivy-coated path and the overgrown grass, led to a beautiful yet painful sight of thousands of graves sporadically placed. Some epitaphs were washed away from history, while some still stood proudly against the marbled gravestone. But majestic tributes dissolved the tiny headstones, with life-like statues that depicted their dead so well, Serena thought they'd come to life. Before they entered, the guild mistress bowed her head and opened the giant, marble gates.
"This was all our mages throughout the years; some are almost 700 years back, some -unfortunately- are from a few years back. We started this a few hundred years back...," Serena let her voice dissolve into air as she wandered around the sacred place of the fairies, making sure not to step on any overgrown headstones.
The paranormal investigator could feel the high energy bouncing off of each grey, boring stone. It was fervent and beat against her, rewarding with her own. The energies seemed to lead her to the back of the garden, slowly time traveling. Serena tried to read the names: Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden, Mirajane Strauss... from the back of her mind, she remembered them as renowned mages from Fairy Tail's history. She was in the presence of history.
All of it spilled out to the last and first graves, to the beginning of the start of graves. She bent down to the nearest one, contorting her features to read the copper tribute. "Makarov Dreyar, one of the first guild masters of Fairy Tail's history. X683-X790. Wizard Saint at 48, he ran the guild for the rest of his life: for 90 years, until his death five years after the defeat of Acnologia..." Tears soon blurred her vision as she realized one of the legendary guild masters. As a show of respect, she bowed her head to honor him. To collect herself, she wandered away from his grave to inspect the rest.
Juvia Lockser, dead X801 from "broken heart." Laxus Dreyar, dead X820 from old age. Each one deserved a bow of the head.
Then, she hovered to a rather large tribute. Five people stood frozen in various poses, each one about to cast their magic: a sword (requip, perhaps?), fire, wind, ice, and what looked to be the lost celestial magic. She could swear to kami she knew them from somewhere, but Serena couldn't -no matter how hard she tried- resurge the memory. It was lost to the void. In front of the tribute was a golden sign:
'Team Salamander; Members: 'Titana' Scarlett (X792) 'Salamander' Dragneel (X792), Lucy "Celestia" Hartfilia (X795), Gray "Ice King" Fullbuster (X796), and Wendy "Sky Maiden" Marvel (X797). Legendary mages of their time, who've defeated the most powerful villains. They've been hailed as the Savior's of Fiore, as most of them helped defeat the godliest terrors ever known to man: Zeref and Acnologia. Most of their names and have been lost,(Like in Dragneel and Scarlett's case), but their Magic's and deaths haven't. The original reading was burnt up in X832, after the Battle of Haregon.'
After reading, Serena looked to the statues again, slightly darkened now by the slow descending of the sun; the team looked so lonely to Serena, who creased her eyebrows in concern. All of them died within two-three years within each other. And sadly enough, died before their own crippled guild master.
"Ah, you've found them." The ravenette whipped around to the guild master, carrying a face of pity and soft, motherly concern. "Oh. Hi, um, Guild Mistress," Serena let her words fumble around. Her conversationer only put up a hand. "In this garden of legends, I am a fellow mage. Please, only call me Fare Dreyar," She said, sweetly.
Serena quickly collected herself and tried for a more friendly tone: "Of course, Fare," The guild mistress laughed, her laugh like a snort. "Continuing on, I guess you found the roots of the graveyard. Team Salamander. They're such an odd bunch of mages, but are so mystical. Titania, the one in the front, made me want to learn a magic like hers: Requip. But it's such an old magic, I couldn't find it. I found another old magic, though, Storm magic," Fare offered, drifting over to tribute.
Serena cocked an eyebrow. "Storm magic? What's that?" The paranormal investigator inquired. "Tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes. That kind of stuff." The ravenette only nodded. The conversation dissipated from their memory, as both stated at the commanding figures.
For some reason, the energy collected most at them. Especially the one's in the front. It was calling from the beyond, yelling for help she felt. Serena fell for the trap, latching onto their leads. Entranced, she blindly walked up the few stairs and brought her hand to the waiting hand of Titania and Salamander.
She raised her hand and felt the energy of a thousand years surge through her body as if she just got electrocuted. Was this the power of the alleged Team Salamander, who's power combined was enough to make the Wizard Saint list and beyond?
Hmh.. I'm so mean, aren't I? So, how was your first taste of Team Salamander? I hoped you liked it, and isn't it sus that the dates are so close, huh? I wonder why?
I'm excited to start writing the investigations, I hope I creep some peuple out. It'll be hard to write the encounters I have but hey, I'llget through it. If you also want a song to go along with this book, I'd suggest Billie Eillish's song Bury a Friend. So much of that song has heavily inspired me to write.
Anyway, that's enough of me. Stay safe, healthy, and positive! Have a good day/night, and I'll see you later! Bye~!