Hey everyone, I still haven't decided how often I am going to post. Work as been extra busy and I have been picking up shifts. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during quarantine.

I am so glad you are all enjoying my story so far. It's been fun to let my imagination run wild. This is the first story I have written so I am still learning how to pace my writing and dealing with writers block. I love positive feedback!

Here's another one for you, a bit shorter but the next one should be a long one. Enjoy.

I do not own Fairy Tail.

4.

The Fairy Tail members stood before Mr Rishi who had stood up from behind his desk once they entered his office. Lucy was excited and nervous, it was her first job after all. They had all taken a seat in the chairs provided for this meeting. The desk was completely bare except for a name plate that read Mr. Rishi and a cup full of pens. His office however was covered in paintings and one of the walls was filled with books, from ceiling to floor not one open spot. Lucy wanted to check it out she had a huge love for books, it even had a ladder that went from one end to the other.

"Let's get down to business Fairy Tail, who do I have the pleasure of working with?" Mr. Rishi asked interrupting Lucy's thoughts.

"I'm Natsu and this here is Lucy," He said pointing to his right. She tilted her head with a smile. Natsu then introduced the other members. "This is Gray and my little buddy Happy" Happy responded with his signature 'AYE' and Gray gave a nod. "So what kind of treasure will we be searching for?" Natsu asked the museum owner.

Mr. Rishi looked over the group. He was glad that the guild had responded so quickly to his quest. He knew that Fairy Tail was the number one guild in Fiore. "It's nice to meet you all, now the museum hasn't gathered any new artifacts in a long time. I have recently stumbled upon a map" he said digging into his desk and pulling out a rolled piece of paper. "This is a map of Mount Hakobe, the ice mountain near Magnolia. I am sure you are familiar. On the back of this map holds clues on where to find three weapons I wish to display at my museum. An Ice sword, a bow and a lacrima. I want to hire a strong team to find all three. It will be a dangerous mission. Are you up to it?"

Lucy knew Natsu was strong but what about Gray? Could they handle this job? She thought about herself and her spirits. Could she really do this? The sound of going to a mountain that was completely covered in snow and ice didn't sound that appealing. Plus her current outfit wasn't fitting for the weather conditions. She looked at Natsu with slight worry in her eyes. He gave her a reassuring look.

"We accept the job, we can leave right away." Natsu said

"Wonderful, do you have any questions? If not, I can show where you can prepare." Mr. Rishi said, rolling up the map and handing it to Lucy.

"What's the payment for this job again?" Gray chimed in

"Oh yes, payment is 300,000 jewel, I have upped the payment due to the danger you may stumble upon."

The four wizards all looked at him wide eyed. That was double what the flyer said. That made the job more enticing considering the conditions they were about to endure.

"If you don't have any further questions, I will show you to the study," He got up and led the group out of his office and down the hall.

…

The study looked much like the office except instead of a desk there was a table and chairs for them all to sit. "I hope you find yourselves comfortable, please don't hesitate to ask my assistant, Zara, for anything you may need regarding your quest." With that he left them in the study.

"Wow, is he really going to pay 300,000 jewel." Gray gasped, Lucy was left speechless. She couldn't believe the reward.

"Now you have a few months rent, Lucy" Natsu said smiling.

"Yeah, thank you guys, now we all get a larger cut." she said, handing the map to Gray. She opened her bag and pulled out the herbs she got earlier that day. She wanted to get the charm done before they left.

"Don't worry about my cut Lucy, you need it more than I do." Natsu told her

"You sure Natsu, I don't mind sharing, plus I see many more jobs for us in the future." She asked a bit surprised, he was too generous.

"Yeah, no prob, Happy and I have plenty of savings until the next gig."

"Yeah, you can have my cut too Lucy." Gray added, getting a look from Natsu. He also wanted to contribute to the beautiful new mage who just joined the guild, he didn't know her well, but he got the jist of it. She's come a long way, he hated to admit it but he couldn't let Natsu be the only one giving charity.

Lucy started to tear up, "You guys are too nice, thank you, please let me make you all dinner or something in payment once we get back." she told them. They both nodded in agreement.

"Do you guys think we can really handle this job? I have read books on Mount Hakobe, It can be pretty brutal." Lucy stated with a hint of worry in her voice as she started to assemble the herbs.

"We'll be fine" Gray said, "I'm an ice make wizard, a little snow ain't gonna bother me"

"Yeah! It will be an adventure Lucy, I've seen your spirits in action, you're strong we totally got this" Natsu assured her

Lucy wasn't sure what to think, she decided to go along with it. What's the worst that could happen? All she needed was a few warmer clothes and she'd be fine.

...

Gray was studying the map first while Lucy started making her charm. Natsu and Happy sat with her watching as she mixed the herbs together in a small bowl. She put a tiny bit of essential oils into the charm and then added the herbs she mashed up. She braided the cord together and slid the charm into place. She added a few beads on each side tying everything together so it stayed in place. She just hoped that she had made the charm correctly. There was only one way to find out.

"Hold out your hand," she told Natsu. He held out his right arm to her. She tied the bracelet to his wrist. "There you go it's all finished, so this charm here," she said pointing to the dragon shaped charm." it's filled with oils and herbs said to prevent motion sickness, I also added something extra. Since you use fire magic I didn't want you to burn it. Everything is fire proof thanks to the special cord and an extra herb said to protect against fire." She told him hoping that he liked it.

"Lucy, this is perfect, you are really amazing, you know that" he told her, getting her to blush. "Pretty cool dragon charm too" he added. "Let me see" Happy interrupted. Natsu showed Happy the charm, "Can you make me one too Lucy?" he asked

"But you don't get motion sickness, do you?" she asked laughing, of course Happy would want one too. Good thing she had purchased a few extra charms and cord. "Of course, but you'll have to wait, okay? It's my turn to get a closer look at the map and I will need to get a few more ingredients anyways." she said

"Okay, but could you put catnip in it?" he asked

"Yeah, sure Happy, whatever you like." she assured the feline, still giggling.

She cleaned up her mess and put her things away. She grabbed a pencil and paper to make any notes. "So Gray, what did you discover" the group gathered around Gray who was holding the map.

"Well, it's your basic map of the mountain and the clues on the back are not very clear." He flipped over the map and pointed to the script. There were three sentences written:

1. The arrow points to the bow.

2. The sword's sheath is made of ice

3. The lacrima will appear before what is pure.

Lucy reread the clues over and over again trying to make sense of it. She wrote them down and flipped the map back over to study it. She had never been to the mountain but she has studied it. "What do you guys think the clues mean." she asked everyone.

Natsu had a puzzled expression, this kind of thing wasn't his forte. He scratched his head looking hard at the map.

"Natsu, are you okay? If you look at the map and harder you're gonna set fire to it." Happy said. Lucy really hoped that didn't happen, they needed this map.

"No, I am just thinking, I really want to figure this out." Natsu said.

"What? Natsu, thinking? That's a first" Gray taunted the dragon slayer.

"HAHA very funny, I mean it, this kind of thing isn't something I am great at and I don't see anyone else spitting out ideas"

"Well, what do you think Natsu?" Lucy asked him. "I'm not sure but maybe once we get to the mountain the clues will start to make sense?" he replied

"Yeah maybe." she said continuing to look over the map.

After a few minutes Lucy had realized something, she looked closer at the map. "Hey I think I get it now. Look here, the first clue says the arrow points to the bow." she traced her fingers along the map making an outline of an arrow."What if this is pointing to it's location of the bow on the map? What if we discover the other clues after finding the bow like Natsu was saying maybe the mountain holds the answers?" She looked up to see the expressions of her companions.

"That makes sense I guess, it's a start at least." Gray said crossing his arms. Lucy circled the tip of where the outline of the arrow was pointing and rolled the map back up.

"Aye" Happy shouted in agreement

"It's settled the.." Natsu began to speak but his stomach growling interrupted him.

"I guess we should gather a few supplies and eat." Lucy commanded, packing up her bag.

...

Zara helped them with all the supplies they would need. Giving them new clothes for the weather except Gray who denied them. She gave them extra food and a first aid kit just in case. Lucy was glad to have a warmer set of clothes. There was no way she was going to survive Mount Hakobe dressed in a mini skirt.

Mr. Rishi and Zara wished them luck as they left the museum. They went to find a place to eat a decent meal so they could be on their way.

It was later in the day then they all expected, the job might take a few days after all. Hopefully they could find a cave to sleep in for the night and better yet, a hot springs to warm up in. The cafe they found was just across the street from the museum, they all got something to fill their bellies.

"When does the next train leave back to Magnolia, that's where should start right? The mountain is near by." Lucy asked

"The train leaves every two hours, we have about 30 minutes to get to the station, once we get back we will need to hitch a ride west to the trailhead." Gray said looking up at the clock in the center of town.

"We can grab any last minute supplies while we are back in town too." Natsu added.

"Where are we going to find a ride?" Lucy wasn't convinced it was going to be that easy.

"Not sure, but we will figure it out one step at a time. We just gotta get to the station or we wont make it in time." Gray insisted.

...

Once on the train Lucy was nervous about the charm she had made for Natsu, this was the real test to see if it would work. After a few moments they heard the conductor announce that the train was leaving. She closed her eyes and waited. The train began to move.

She felt a warm embrace around her shoulders. "Lucy!" She opened her eyes to see Natsu's giant ear to ear smile. "The charm works, I don't feel sick at all, this is totally awesome" Natsu approved her work. Her cheeks were dusted pink. She was so relieved that she was able to make it and it actually works. "I am so happy it works, I was a little worried that it wouldn't if I am being honest."

"You gotta have more faith in yourself, Lucy." Natsu told her keeping his arm around her shoulders. She didn't mind she loved his warmth.

The four spent the train ride back to Magnolia talking and laughing. Even Gray and Natsu seemed to be getting along, for now. They had a long road ahead of them and there was no way of knowing what they would encounter on the mountain.

...

At the Magnolia station someone was waiting for them to arrive. Not just anyone but someone with an S class ranking was about to be joining them on their journey to Mount Hakobe.

The train reached the station, the four Fairy Tail members gathered their belongings and made their way off the train. Little did they know there was a visitor waiting for their arrival. Once off the train Natsu, Gray and Happy all had wide eyes and mouths hung open. Lucy was confused until she saw a beautiful woman with long red hair standing before them.

"Hello team" she said

I bet you all know who it is!

Thanks for reading. :)