Chapter 6
Gajeel awoke to the annoying buzz of his lacrima phone. With a grunt he rolled himself across the bed to grab the device from his side table, only to be tempted to throw the phone across the room when he saw the caller I.D.
"What is it Sparky?"
"I might have found your hammer."
"No fucking way…. How?"
"Sort of ran into this chick and knocked her out, she fits the description and has a hammer. She's in the guild infirmary. The hammer is weird; thought you might want to take a look considering it's your job request."
"Yeah thanks man I'll be there soon." Gajeel had already started getting dressed when he hung up the phone.
After a quick trip into the bathroom to finish waking up and check that he was somewhat presentable he made his was down the stairs. Pulling his phone back out as he went.
Lily trained with Erza on Saturdays at the guilds practice fields, and he would head to the guild when they were done; Gajeel trusted he could meet up with him there, the cat liked to keep a schedule. Levy answered on the third ring.
"Hi Gajeel, how are you today?" Gajeel couldn't help but smile at how cute the woman sounded even over the phone.
"I'm good; Sparky just told me he might have found that hammer. I'm heading to the guild now."
"Oh wow, really? Okay I can meet you at the guild in about... half an hour."
"Great I'll see you there."
Gajeel slipped his phone back in his pocket and quickened his steps toward the guild listening to the approaching thunder storm.
When he arrived it was just past noon and the hall was mostly empty. Only Mira, the master, Laxus and oddly enough Lucy were there; with the blonde girl drinking her usual strawberry shake.
"Who wants to fill me in?" Gajeel walked over to the bar where they had all congregated.
Laxus let out a heavy breath wondering how many times he was going to have to retell this story today. "Went for my morning jog wasn't paying attention, ran into this girl knocking her down, and her head lands on the edge of a rock. Took her to get healed by Wendy; Wendy heals her up and puts her under a sleep spell, which she is still under. Noticed the hammer on her leg; tried to remove it but it won't budge."
"What do you mean it won't budge?"
"I mean there are no straps around it keeping it in place, the leather holster it's on looks like it has heavy rune work so the hammer just stays put. Elfman even came by and tried to take it, but he only ended up almost dragging the girl off the bed. At which time Wendy kicked us out. Freed is in the library looking up the runes. He's never seen anything like them."
If Freed didn't recognize the runes it showed just how out of their depth this job was taking them. The only other person who might have an idea was Levy, but runes weren't really her specialty. A loud crash of thunder shook the building, followed by the guild doors crashing open and the small black Exceed flying into Gajeel's arms. Entering behind him closing the doors were Erza and a very windswept Levy.
"I thought today was supposed to be clear for the festival." Erza let out a huff as her and Levy joined the others.
"It was supposed to be." Lucy had finally pulled away from her shake. "This storm seemed to blow in out of nowhere. You would think there would be rain with that much thunder and lightning." A flash of light and another boom of thunder seemed to prove her point.
"Well I'm taking a job then. They're going to cancel it at this rate anyway." Erza stomped over to the request board in frustration.
"Here Lily you cuddle with bunny girl. Levy you follow me to check out some runes." Gajeel handed his friend over to the blonde who immediately took to comforting the terrified cat.
Gajeel gave Levy a quick update as they headed to the infirmary. When they walked through the door they met a very irritated Wendy.
"If you're planning on dragging my patient around the room again you better think twice!" The dark scowl on the younger girls face was comparable to Mira or Erza causing the two to put their hands up and take a step back.
"Just going to check out those runes and take a look, no dragging involved." Gajeel said wondering when Wendy had picked up this amount of intimidation.
Walking up to the bed they looked down at the woman who could hopefully help solve this mystery. Thick hair that curled and waved around her head was damp with sweat. Her eyes could be seen moving under the lids and her mouth kept forming into a pained frown. Every few seconds her hands would grip the sheets with almost enough force to rip the material before relaxing again.
"She's having a nightmare." Levy grabbed a cloth out of the cool water basin and started to wipe the woman's forehead. "Shouldn't you wake her up?"
"I can't, the spell is used to make things easier when the patient has the time to sleep. It doesn't last more than a day, but I can't wake her from it. She should wake up when her body is ready, and that usually happens before the twenty-four hours are up." Wendy stood on the other side of the bed wringing her hands.
Levy's soft care seemed to have calmed the woman enough that her sleep became less agitated as her face relaxed into a calmer expression.
Putting the basin to the side Levy moved down to the hammer that remained on her leg. The holster was made of a belt that sat low around her waist and a leather strap that went around the bottom of her right thigh. The two were connected with three more sections of leather one on the front of her thigh, another on the back, and the last one along the side. The sections on the front and back were angled so they connected to the belt near the middle of her body, then wrapping down to connect at the bottom of the straight side section. This is where the head of the hammer rested. Its handle stopping just before it reached the bottom of the belt. Like Laxus had described there were no straps or loops holding the hammer in place it was simple on the leather.
Levy could just make out the faint indentations of the runes that marked the straps. The leather itself she could tell was old, much older than the woman who wore it. As she traced a finger lightly over the runes she brushed against the hammer. Immediately as she made contact another loud rumble shook the walls.
Levy took a step back grabbing Gajeel's arm as he want to inspect the hammer. "I don't think it likes being touched." At Gajeel's look of confusion Levy lightly touched the handle. Once again the walls shivered with the powerful thunder.
"I think it's called the Thunder Hammer for a reason. Until we know more it's probably best not to touch it." The three mages took a step back from the bed, each eyeing the hammer as if it would come to life at any moment.
Both mages were deep in thought as they approached the bar. Wendy had decided to stay in the infirmary in case the woman woke up.
"Did you two learn anything more?" The master had taken an interest in this job as more questions started forming. He also wanted to make sure the tabloids didn't catch wind of Laxus injuring the woman. Even if it was an accident the damn journalist would be sure to twist the story into something to sell.
"The runes aren't anything I recognize. Did any of you notice the storm when you started messing with the hammer?" Levy's question was answered by Mira.
"I think so the weather was clear until Laxus brought her in. It changed quickly after that." They all glanced out the window to see that while still cloudy and dark the thunder and lightning weren't as fierce as before. "Why does that matter though?"
"The weather seemed to get worse when I touched the hammer, but it could have just been a coincidence." Levy turned to look at Gajeel for confirmation, but his eyes were unfocused and he had a scowl cut deep into his face. "Gajeel, are you alright?"
Gajeel's head snapped up at her soft words and the small hand placed on his arm. "I can't tell what it's made out of." He finally replied. "I can usually tell the difference between different metals by smell. I have to taste it to tell the difference between two of the same metals; like the difference in karats of gold. I've never smelled anything like this, and I don't think there's a metal I haven't run into. Oh and it's all one piece the whole thing besides the leather grip is one piece of metal. It doesn't even have the marks of being forged. As far as I know you can't embed that much magic in a weapon without doing it in parts and then working the magic and metal together, but you can still see the marks and lines if you know what you're looking for." Levy could feel the frustration rolling off the man in waves.
At that time Freed joined the group with an equally frustrated expression. "Nothing, there is no information on those runes in our library, and considering I'm a rune mage we have an extensive section on the subject. I know they aren't in any of my books at home either."
"So what could be powerful enough to change the weather, but have a completely unknown origin and made of an unknown element." Lucy's unanswered question left them all with a deep sense of dread.
I know nothing about forging weapons, so if you do know anything about the topic, nothing I had Gajeel say is true as far as I know. BUT this is a world with magic so maybe that is how it works in Earthland... the world may never know.
Love- P.P.V
