A/N: Boom! A new chapter!
I don't Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 47: Tea Time with Death
April 20, X792 – Morning
The mist of Caligo came in waves across Strom's Helm, bringing with it an eerie feeling that had the guild on edge. It was only Charon's invitation onto the island that kept everyone from losing it and demanding to turn the guild around. It had taken the guild a bit of time to travel around the island, but they had finally managed to find a small port on the island, most likely being the only one on the entire island.
"Are you ready for this?" Cordelia asked, glancing over at Ace. He looked just as wary and nervous as she did and she almost felt bad for making him go, but she also did not want to go onto Caligo and face Charon alone.
"Not really," he answered, returning her nervous stare, "But I'm going with you, so let's get this started. The sooner we go see him, the sooner we can get the hell out of here."
She nodded at him, turning around to look at the small group of mages that were up on deck with them. Most of the guild had hidden away under deck in their rooms, wanting somewhere to feel safe while they dealt with their business on Caligo.
"Nanami," Cordelia began, looking at the woman seriously, "No one else steps foot on the island, got it?"
"Yes, Cordelia-san. We will keep watch while you are gone."
"Thank you. I trust you five to keep things in order while we're gone," she said, looking at Nanami and the other four S-Class of Storm's Helm. They all nodded at her and just as she and Ace turned to go, a bark echoed across the deck. Cordelia turned around to see Bones bounding towards her, his light gray fur appearing muted in the thick mist, "Hey boy," she smiled at him, bending down to scratch behind his ears, "You have to stay here this time."
The hound whined at her answer before giving her a heavy huff and walking towards the exit onto the port.
"Bones!" she shouted after him, feeling a hand land on her shoulder and seeing Ace next to her.
"He technically is a Murdock."
"I guess," she said, looking back at her S-Class team one more time before moving towards the exit with her brother, "We should catch up with him before he really does get lost."
Bones was waiting for them on the old, wooden dock. It creaked as they stepped onto it, the siblings exchange worried looks as they hurried off the dock and onto solid land, having taken the injection to temporarily cure their land sickness earlier that morning.
There was a narrow dirt path leading away from the dock and seeing as that was the only path before them, they took it. It was deathly silent as they walked, only hearing their footsteps as they moved forward. A small whine eventually came from Bones right before what sounded like a man's horrified scream echoed through the air. The trio froze at the sound, fear running up along their spines. They stayed frozen for another few minutes until a misty, skeletal hand reached out towards them. Bones was the first to see it, the pit bull snarling at it. The siblings saw the hand just before the hound snapped at it, the mist disappearing through his teeth. At the sound of his teeth clacking together, the siblings yelped and made a run for it, Bones following closely behind them.
As they ran, more and more skeletal hands of mist reached out towards them, causing them to zigzag around the island. They lost the path they had been following, which caused more panic to well up within them.
"Why are we being terrorized if we were invited onto the island?!" Ace shouted.
"The hell if I know!" Cordelia shouted back just as they zigged to the right.
There was another angry snap of teeth as they zagged to the left. They looked down as their feet hit a dirt path again, causing them to miss the darkening of a cave in front of them until they slammed into the rock around the mouth of the cave.
Silence filled the air again as Cordelia and Ace slid down the rock to slump onto the ground. Bones came up to them and licked their hands and faces to make sure they were alright. This earned him a pair of groans and a hand smoothly running across his head.
"Welcome."
The trio jumped at the low voice that came from above them. They looked up to see the hooded figure of Charon staring down at them. They scrambled to their feet to stand in front of him and bow to him.
"I am pleased to see you made it to my island," Charon said, an amused tone lacing his words.
"Then why scare the crap out of us on the way here?" Ace grumbled, causing Cordelia to elbow him in the stomach.
"Yes, well, it was purely for entertainment reasons, I assure you. It does get dreadfully dull around here on my own."
Both Cordelia and Ace could feel their eyes twitch in irritation, but made no further complaint on the subject.
"And you did bring someone other than Murdock blood with you," he said, pointing a bleached bone finger at Bones.
"Bones is filled with just as much Murdock blood as Ace and I," Cordelia said quickly, taking a step closer towards the hound.
Charon watched as the intense look on Cordelia's face matched the one on the dog's and her brother's, "I do suppose he is," he said, waving his skeletal hand at them, "You can calm down. I am not going to kill the hound, though I do not much care for them. He will need to wait outside. I promise no harm will come to him out here."
Cordelia and Ace gave each other a look before glancing down at Bones, who seemed more than happy to stand outside on guard, considering the wary look the hound was giving the dark cave.
"Follow me then," Charon said as he moved into the cave, looking as if he was gliding across the ground.
Cordelia rubbed Bones' head as she and Ace walked passed him and into the cave.
"Would you like some tea? I do believe I still have a few packets around."
The sibling's eye went wide as they walked passed a skeleton at the mouth of the cave, one of its arms stretched out as if it had reached for something right before dying.
"No…thank you," Cordelia finally managed to say while looking at her brother as they exchanged a questioning look, each asking the other if Death can drink tea.
"I know what you are thinking," Charon said without looking back at them, "And I do drink tea. I like the aroma and the heat of it."
Cordelia and Ace exchanged another look before taking in their surroundings. The further they got into the cave, the less it actually looked like a cave. Torches hung along the sides of the cave created a warm glow. Tasteful and elegant artwork began to pop up and even a few expensive vases on display on handcrafted, dark wood tables. Eventually the cave opened up into a large living room area. Heavy, wooden bookshelves lined the room, each filled to bursting with books of all genres, colors, and sizes, most of them looking rather worn. A few puffy armchairs and recliners filled the area along with a large, brown leather couch. Warmly colored throw rugs covered the floor while a large and heavy looking coffee table sat in front of the couch.
Charon made his way back towards a small woodburning stove and placed a blue tea kettle onto it. He pulled out three matching green teacups from a wooden cupboard and placed teabags into each of them. He ignored Cordelia's original refusal, knowing that the tea would help in the long run as they had much to discuss.
He looked over at the siblings, seeing them both standing in the middle of the living room with surprised looks on their faces, "Take a seat," he said, causing them both to jump a little before moving to the leather couch.
"Your home is rather…nice," Cordelia mentioned while waiting for Charon to finish with the tea.
"Did you expect a cold and damp, dark cave? With spiderwebs and vile creatures lurking in the dark? Did you think I sat upon a throne of bones while I stared distantly into the souls I have collected, swirling in a pool beneath my feet?"
"Kind of, yeah," Ace answered, shrugging at Cordelia when she stared at him with wide eyes, "Might as well stop trying to step on eggshells around him when we're sitting in his home and he's making us tea."
"I am not a savage. I enjoy living in some relative comfort just like you," he said, pouring the hot water into the teacups, "And your brother is correct, Cordelia. Please stop acting as though everything you say will send me over the edge. I currently only want your respect and listening ears, not your fear."
Cordelia nodded at him as he walked over towards them with the tray of tea. He set the tea down on the coffee table while taking a seat in one of the recliners next to the couch.
"Well then, we should get started with our discussion," Charon said as he picked up his cup of tea and took a deep drink of it.
"What exactly did you want to talk about?" Cordelia asked, letting her own tea cool off a bit more.
"Storm's Helm's future."
Cordelia quirked an eyebrow at this, but said nothing in return.
"All the pieces of the puzzle have been connected and now things are set into motion. How all the motions will play out, that has not been decided yet, but everything leads to one final ending, one between you, Cordelia Murdock, and Killian Doran."
"What pieces of what puzzle? What are you talking about? And who is Killian Doran?"
"The pieces of Storm's Helm's fate. There is significance to everything that happens. Dylan Murdock creating the guild. Meredith Murdock becoming the tragedy that she is. Finn Murdock almost letting the guild fall to ruin before becoming a better man. Duke Ramirez falling in love and having that love taken from him. You and your brother being born. Every person who has joined the guild is a piece of the puzzle in their own right. But you, Cordelia Murdock, you were the last piece in the box once you became the guild master. You completed the puzzle and now the picture it created is moving."
"That didn't really answer anything," Ace said, "You being cryptic like this isn't really helping us. If we need to know something, just tell it to us straight."
"I cannot tell you in clarity what will happen as there are many paths that lead to the final one. All I can tell you and warn you of are the broken scenes I have seen."
"Why even tell us anything at all?" Ace continued to push, "Aren't you supposed to be neutral in everything that happens?"
"I am, but even something like this puts me on edge. There will be too many lives lost before their time if I do nothing."
"What's coming?" Cordelia asked, not liking that there was something in the world that could actually worry Charon.
"Killian Doran is what is coming. He has something planned that will split this world apart, but I cannot tell exactly what it is yet. He is a dangerous man who has interfered with my work countless times."
"So, what, is this guy a necromancer or something?" Ace asked.
"Or something," Charon said, his eyes lighting up into ivory orbs, cold and angry.
"Who is he?" Cordelia asked again.
"That is something you will need to find out on your own. I cannot give you all the answers."
Cordelia sighed, feeling like she was going to have to find Duke's journal all over again with trying to find answers on this Killian guy, "What are we supposed to do then? What paths are the right ones to take?"
"There are no correct paths, my dear," Charon said, his ivory orbs fading into black, "Your choices will simply choose how everything plays out. There is no easier or harder path. There are paths you are destined to win or gain something out of. And there are paths that you will surely fail and lose something from them."
Silence surrounded the room again. Cordelia looked down at the dark tea before her, deciding that she did need the drink and silently thanked Charon for making it.
"I wanted to warn you not only of Killian, but of Eden as well."
"Eden?" Ace said, "As in the manmade island in southern waters?"
"Yes, that one."
"Why? We never go to that place. Anyone in their right mind never goes to that place. I've even heard rumors of the Southern Pirate Lord keeping clear of that place."
"You thought that you would always stay clear of Angel's Cove and yet you went there."
"Because we had to," Cordelia said after taking a sip of the tea, which was surprisingly good, "We wouldn't have been able to complete the treasure hunt without going there."
Charon was quiet for a moment as he drank his own tea, "I still must warn you of Eden. It will be five against the entire island. The death toll will be high and no one will make it out unscathed. It will be your first trial against Killian and you will wonder for a long, long time if what you do there will have been worth it. You will suffer greatly and your morals will waiver. But you have to decide if saving one and proving to Killian exactly who you are at the cost of many will outweigh your suffering."
Cordelia sat her drink down, no longer feeling like she could put anything into her stomach after what Charon had just told her.
"Goddamn," Ace said, running a hand across his face, "We have Killian Doran who is going to split the world apart and then Eden where we'll suffer like never before. Any other cryptic burdens you would like to throw at us while we're here?"
"A madcap, a sadistic sister, and a dark summoner. You need to watch out for those three with Killian. They are some of the major players on his side."
"They sound fan-fucking-tastic," Ace said with a huff, "Anything else?"
"A couple of things, but they are things to give you rather than more warnings."
They watched as Charon got up from his chair and make his way over to a desk that sat in between two of the large bookshelves. He pulled something out of a small drawer and made his way over to Cordelia. He handed her an envelope that was closed with a black wax seal.
"Once this treasure hunt of yours is over with, you will want to follow the instructions in that to find an item that will help you with your endeavors against Killian Doran."
She nodded as she tucked the envelope away into her coat. She then looked up to see a skeletal hand in front of her.
"Blackstroker's map, my dear."
She handed the map over to him. He opened it up, dipped a bleached finger into his tea, and then held it over the map. As soon as it splashed on the map, it was sucked into the parchment and revealed the last part of the map that had been blocked off. As soon as it was handed back to Cordelia, both her and Ace had their eyes glued to it.
"So you got all buddy-buddy with Charon, eh? Good for you! I bet he gave you some cryptic shit about the future too! Did you find out when you're going to die? Because he wouldn't tell me jack about that for me, the prick!"
Cordelia and Ace looked up at Charon to see that he was mostly unbothered by what Blackstroker had said, aside from the ivory orbs lighting up briefly.
"Now then, I don't have a huge riddle this time around for you. The map is uncovered and as you can see, it is of the main island of Caelum. But I have not given you the red X to find the treasure. You will need what started this entire adventure, the blood of my blood. Good luck finding it a second time though! William Blackstroker."
"I really can't wait to sucker punch this guy in the face," Cordelia said lowly.
"Oh, I am sure you will get your chance," Charon said, almost sounding like he was smiling, "That is everything I have for you currently, though I am certain we will speak again in the future, Cordelia Murdock."
She nodded at him as she and Ace stood up from the couch, "Thank you for the information you gave us and for the tea. We'll be heading back to the guild then," she said before turning on Charon quickly, "And no funny business this time either."
Charon let out a sound of amusement, "Just follow the path and you will be fine," he said, watching the siblings head for the exit, "Oh, and Cordelia, here."
She turned in time to watch him flip a large coin towards her. She caught it in one hand, the coin being as large as her palm, feeling as heavy as a bar of iron, and being purple in color, "What is this?"
"A special coin. There are very few in existence, so keep that one in a safe place."
"What do I need it for?"
A heavy feeling took over the room, like a sadness that Cordelia would never break free of. She almost felt like crying when that sadness weighed down on her shoulders. Then just as soon as the feeling had appeared, it vanished, and her body was light again.
"You will know when to use it," was all Charon said before he waved them out of his home.
A/N: And there we are! I hope you enjoyed it!
I was going to add another scene at the end of this, but I really wanted to get something posted and I want to get the next scene just right, so it will have to wait till next chapter. Just know that I am super excited about it!
Also, I know that this was an info dump chapter, but it was all very important stuff. I kinda had to push myself through this chapter a bit, but I'm still hoping that it all flowed nicely. Really, I just needed to get this scene done so I could move onto other things. Though, I must say that I greatly enjoyed pretty much turning Charon's home into a hobbit hole, haha!
I was so happy to see the responses from the update I recently made about me working on this story, so thank you to everyone who either reviewed or sent me a PM! You're all awesome!
I think that's pretty much it for now. The next chapter should be a bit longer and I've got most of it planned out already.
See you all next chapter!
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson