Previously
"Don't worry, we can try and find him after we're done." Meredy attempted to cheer up the older woman. But despite her words, Meredy knew that things like that aren't so easy, the chances that they'd find him again were slim. Perhaps if this fails we should just try and meet up with him at the guild. Right?
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.: Before Her Time Runs Out :.
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.: Chapter 4:.
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.: In The Desert :.
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Currently
Gray groaned as the ridiculously bright sun hit his weary eyes after he pulled back the curtains of his hotel room. He looked down upon the plaza to see that the marketplace was just as bustling as it was last night. Gray wondered if the people here ever slept. Probably not, it was soooo hot...
Gray realised that his skin was dripping with sweat, and what little clothes he had left on were sticking to him uncomfortably. This added to the foul mood he had been feeling since waking up. The mood in which he had come to find himself was stirred by the memories of his pathetic attempt to catch Ultear's attention. Why did it matter so much to him anyway? She hadn't heard him, that was all; and it wasn't if she'd want to see him anyway. She was probably here for other, much more important things than talking to him. He cursed himself for fretting like a lovestruck teenager. He wasn't even in love right? He'd barely ever talked to Ultear... yet he felt he understood her so well.
After crossing his arms over the windowsill and leaning out slightly he eventually decided that there was no point in moping about the situation, so he walked in to the bathroom in the hope that he could do something about his current state.
Undressing fully and turning the shower faucet to the lowest temperature possible, he let out a sigh of relief as the deliciously cool water ran soothingly down his body, washing away the sweat, dirt and grime of the journey.
Twenty minutes later and now feeling thoroughly refreshed, Gray thought it was about time to get going with the mission. He looked at the wall clock in the room to discover that it was actually around 2PM. Better get a move on.
Outside
Gray glared at the short, wiry old man he was currently bargaining with. Why was he making things so complicated?
"8000 Jewels," the driver insisted.
"What the... why?" Gray protested.
"8000 Jewels. And I take you only three-quarters of the way there," he added, with a thick accent.
Gray was utterly confused as to why the prices were so steep. 8000 Jewels was more than the cost of his entire journey so far, including the hotel. The steamy air from his wet, showered head only added to the look of rage present on his face. "And just why do you expect me to pay 8000 for a bloody cart ride?" Turning on his heels, Gray began to walk away, "I'm leaving." He was abruptly halted when he felt a hand tug at his forearm.
"What the..." he started, "let me go!" He shook the old driver's grip off of him.
"7000 Jewels. Best price you'll find. Won't go any lower."
Gray smirked at the small victory but decided to take it further. "And you'll take me the whole way."
The driver instantly shook his head. "No. It cannot be helped. Not a single soul from 'round here has set foot in Terraminos for long time. They say it's overrun with dark guild..."
"Well, I happen to be the mage sent to destroy that dark guild."
The old man's eyes took on a fearful look, "You speak nonsense... Success will not be yours!"
Gray's anger increased but he resisted the growing urge to grab the stingy driver's shoulders and shake him for his impudence. He breathed in deeply and spoke through clenched teeth,"look, just lower the price to 6000 and you don't even have to take me the whole way."
"Fine, fine..." he relented and walked to the back of the cart to shift the covering canvas for Gray to enter. As Gray did so he immediately began freezing up the sides and benches in order to quench the stifling, stuffy air inside.
With no further ado the elderly driver set about attaching the leather harnesses to the two gigantic green lizards that would be pulling the vehicle. He then sat at the front of the cart and took up the reigns, giving them a slight tug to get the beasts moving. The cart soon left Ammos Fontana with a cloud of dust churned up by the fast moving wheels.
That Evening
Gray stepped out of the rickety old cart in to the overwhelmingly quiet outside. He discovered two things upon doing so. One: The air had a cold bite to it, not that he minded; in fact, he relished it. Two: It was dark; so dark that he could not even see his own feet.
The driver began the arduous process of turning around the vehicle on the makeshift dirt path.
"Oi!" Gray shouted after him, "how the hell am I supposed to find Terraminos?"
The driver lifted up a dying oil lantern and pointed diagonally towards the sky. Gray directed his gaze towards where he was pointing to see the star filled sky. "The village is directly North of here. You follow North Star!" He jabbed his hand towards said star for emphasis. Gray saw the star and gave the driver a nod. The man gave the ice mage a cocky snort in response as if Gray was some kind of amateur, before taking off back from whence he came.
The fading sound that was the clattering of the cart lingered in Gray's ears long after it was gone and he was left in utter silence. There was no breeze, no movement, no nothing. Eventually Gray's eyes adjusted, and he could just about make out the outlines of the landscape from the sheer amount of starlight.
He double checked the sky to see if he was heading in the right direction before trudging forward. Each footstep made a loud, sandy crunching noise which Gray thought must surely be audible for miles around. Not that there was anyone for miles around.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The sound of footsteps ceased.
Gray stopped, realising something. He had failed to ask how much further Terraminos was. How long would it take to walk there? What if he started walking in the wrong direction? For all he knew, a slight error in judgement here could land him miles off course later. He'd be lost in this vast expanse of nothingness.
He shook the worries from his head and thought rationally. He would be fine so long as he followed the man's instructions. The North Star. Gray looked up at it. Unknowingly, he placed his right arm in front of him as if it would stop him from straying off course. He would just keep walking forward, keep checking the sky every few minutes. He carried on this way, over and across the many dunes for just over two hours.
It was faint but he was sure he saw a dim glow of light. He honed in on the source and was delighted to discover a building. Civilisation! People! He quickened his pace as he headed for a cluster of the buildings of which he could not make out any details in the low light.
He restrained himself from running but nevertheless his quick pace earned him a face full of pavement once he adjusted to the change in ground texture. Gray got up and temporarily forgot how to walk on non-shifting surfaces.
After having calmed down from his earlier self embarrassment he walked further in to the village, coming to stop at the lone street light. The bulb buzzed and flickered irritatingly but the light it gave off was enough for Gray to make out the signpost. Terraminos Town Hall. Perfect.
Gray knocked on the rather modest front door to find no response. Wait. That was stupid of him, they'd be sleeping. No, actually, it should only be around 9PM unless Gray underestimated how long he'd spent hiking. He knocked again. Silence.
Gray knew when to admit to defeat and settled to sleeping on the streets. He'd try again in the morning when everyone must surely be awake.
Meanwhile
"Meredy, Jellal, we're leaving early tomorrow morning so you'd better get some rest," Ultear yawned.
A large map lay in the centre of the spacious circular tent where the Crime Sorciere members were currently resting. Meredy was knelt beside it and seemed to be placing and removing various coloured pins out of it, pausing sometimes while making a decision.
Jellal stood from his place next to Ultear, took the hanging lamp and blew out the subtly flickering flame.
"Jellal!" Meredy complained. It was now completely dark within the tent meaning that Meredy could no longer read the map.
"We've compromised our position for long enough, we'll finish the tracking work tomorrow," the blue haired man explained.
The sense mage raised a finger as if to protest but then stopped herself. "That's okay, I believe the caravan just passed through the Cream Canyon."
"Caravan, eh?" Ultear looked puzzled, "what odd behaviour for a dark guild," she mused.
"It would appear that way but the dark guilds' culture around here must be very different to the ones we know from the Baram Alliance," Jellal reasoned.
"You know..." Ultear began, "back when I was in Grimoire Heart I don't believe I ever heard of a dark guild called 'Burgundy Scimitar' and we supposedly had records of every single one."
"Perhaps they were just incredibly secretive. Anyhow they're on the move now, yet we have no way of gauging their power... extreme caution must be exercised when dealing with them." Jellal was a little anxious since Crime Sorciere usually knew exactly what they were dealing with. It was simple: find the dark guild, incapacitate the members, wait for the Magic Council to show up before disappearing. This time was different though; there was no Magic Council base for nearly a hundred miles round. Did that mean they would actually have to kill their opponents? That was an extent that they thought to be extreme, no matter how serious the criminal. At best, they'd be able to restrain the members and then proceed to removing their magic capabilities.
But what were they to do if Burgundy Scimitar were revealed to be the more potent force? They'd have no chance at salvation out here.
Jellal was broken from his troublesome thoughts when Meredy spoke, "well that can wait for tomorrow...I'm going to sleep like Ul suggested," she whispered. No one had reason to disagree, they were pretty tired after all. After a brief jostle to get fully settled in their sleeping bags they were soon asleep.
Terraminos, Next Morning
The residents of the small village of Terraminos had been greeted with a rather unusual sight as they had awoken on this particular morning. Considering the nature of the village, no one had ever actually seen something quite like this. An outsider. That in itself was rare but to see but one sleeping on their streets was on a whole other level.
They had woken hours before at dawn to get their hardest chores and work done before they could be assaulted by the full force of the sun. So by now, a meagre crowd had formed around the sleeping man, whose skin was going to burn if he did not move now.
The black haired stranger did just that, stirring awake under the gaze of several people invading his personal space. His eyes slowly fluttered open, glad that they were shaded until he realised where that shade was coming from.
Waking up to people staring at oneself could not be described as the most pleasant thing ever. In fact it was very unnerving, and Gray's body language showed just that. He reeled back very hastily and scrambled against a nearby wall, clutching for something to help him up.
The bystanders all took a few steps back but to Gray's surprise no one uttered a word. Not even a whisper to each other. It was creepy to say the least.
A lone figure made their way to the front of the gathering. She was an old woman who was dressed in a bright blue shawl which looked slightly more expensive than what the rest of the villagers were wearing. She was obviously addressing Gray but instead of speaking, she simply made a gesture with her hand for Gray to follow her. Seriously. Why was it that not a single person made any noise? Was it some kind of rule here? Any which way, Gray would have felt incredibly awkward if he were to be the first one to break the silence.
The woman led him to the front of the town hall he had spotted (not so late) last night. The building consisted of rough stone with curved lines which made it flush with the landscape. The simplicity of the architecture it shared with the rest of the houses showed the antiquity of the settlement, which seemed to be older than anything Gray had previously seen in all his adventures. He couldn't explain what exactly it was but he just felt like he'd stepped back in to an entirely different civilisation, one in which he was not all that welcome.
Inside
After being brought inside to the wonderfully dark and shady indoors Gray was seated on the sofa in some kind of makeshift waiting room within the town hall. He had later deduced that the old woman who had led him here was the wife of the mayor. More like chieftain... or something like that...
The woman hadn't specifically told him this but he could tell that the town hall was no more than a slightly larger house which she clearly shared with somebody.
His mind drifted to other places as he watched the fan on the ceiling spin slowly, circulating the air just enough to keep the temperature to a comfortable level. Gray longed for this horrible mission to be over and done with. He'd take out all of his anger and frustration on the unsuspecting dark wizards and then claim the deliciously sweet reward. He'd get back and not take on another job for two whole months. Hell, he'd even spend that whole time at Akane resort... maybe with Ultear. Yeah, that sounded nice...
"Come in." He heard the deep voice of the mayor from the room to the side. Gray did as instructed, pulling back the fabric which separated the office from the waiting room.
As he entered, his eyes took a while to adjust to the bright golden glow coming from the far side of the room. The mayor was sitting at a desk in front of an open archway but Gray couldn't make out any details of him due to the glare. He shielded his eyes from the unwelcome light and on closer inspection he could see that the archway had a view across the whole village and the surrounding desert.
"Sit." He was invited, using a minimal amount of words.
Gray pulled back the flimsy chair and lowered himself until he was sat across from the mayor. He took a moment to simply look at the man before him but there wasn't much to describe aside from his attire. He wore a white hooded silk cloak with a blue sash. His face was had a deep bronze tan but his eyes were concealed with a pair of visor like sunglasses which looked really out of place.
"I assume that you're the mage we requested," the mayor began.
"You'd be correct."Gray did not know what else to say. The way in which the people here use the minimum amount of communication possible must be rubbing off on me, Gray thought.
"The dark guild 'Burgundy Scimitar' is currently on the move. We know where to intercept them."
Wow, could you even be any more blunt? "Great! Tell me where and I can begin." Gray smiled nervously.
The mayor was not given time to respond as the woman from before entered the office carrying a tray with two teacups and a pot. She set the tray down and the mayor went about pouring the steaming liquid. He handed a cup over to Gray who placed his hand in front of him in refusal.
"Please drink," the mayor insisted, his wife now leaving them in peace.
"No that's okay..."
"It is a custom." It was clear that the man was not about to drink his own tea without waiting for his guest. Gray took a reluctant sip of the dark green liquid. It was... interesting. Refreshing despite being hot. The mayor now gained a satisfactory smile as he continued talking.
"The guild will be passing through the point of intercept in exactly three days. Until then you will make yourself useful."
"Why should I do that?"
"Please. A mage of your specific abilities will be very helpful to my people."
What? I don't remember ever telling him about my ice magic. How would he know such a thing? Gray glared at the mayor suspiciously but the man before him was unwavering. He took a long sip from his cup as he tipped down the rest of the contents.
He grinned delightedly as he shooed Gray away, "well get going! My wife will have a room set up for you by night-time. You can leave your things here."
Great. I've gotta do menial chores for three days and share a house with these weirdos. Just Great.
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Three Days Later
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Ultear crawled up the last stretch of the the crimson sand dune flat on her stomach. She dug her elbows into the gritty sand as she wriggled next to the pile of stones. The stones belonged to the ancient, decrepit shrine which sat atop the dune. It was only small, really more like a stopping point on a pilgrimage to some faraway place.
Shortly afterwards, she was joined by Meredy and Jellal who adopted similar positions to her in order to avoid detection. They had ditched their typical dark cloaks in favour of desert camouflage attire which helped them to stay hidden in the surrounding environment. Blending with the sands at will, they had stalked the dark guild caravan for three whole days and had not once been detected. During this time they had observed the members and noted that there were at least twelve powerful mages present, most of which were concentrated around the back of the caravan where a sedan chair was being carried by several servants. However, strangely enough the main bulk of the caravan was made up of lizard drawn carts carrying people who seemed to have no magic capabilities whatsoever. In all, it looked more like a nomad tribe than a guild.
She pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked down at the slight valley and was completely stumped as to where the rest of the caravan were. They were completely gone. Only the group of wizards and the sedan chair with its bearers were left, standing outside the ruins of some ancient site.
The sedan bearers were all dressed in pure white robes while the wizards wore navy blue. Every one of them wore veils though, and also large circular caps with cloth hanging down from all sides which joined the robes at the back and split over the shoulders.
Meredy, to her left was also looking through a pair of binoculars and suddenly let out a gasp as she noticed something. Ultear wanted to ask her what was wrong but before she could speak, a powerful gust of wind knocked the words out of her mouth. The wind did not relent, sending the shrine flags flapping and whipping around, thoroughly distracting the three mages. When Ultear regained her senses she could see why Meredy had gasped. Her heart caught in her throat.
Standing before the splinter group was a lone figure. A young man with spiky black hair. What are you doing here Gray? Her thoughts were anxious. She could see that he was about to attack before something halted him. Did one of them say something? Ultear couldn't tell since she was too far away.
The sedan chair was set down and the small door was opened to reveal what Ultear could make out to be a tall woman with a flowing pink dress, a white veil and unlike the others her hair - which was emerald green and waist length – was exposed. Her reveal clearly alarmed the others present especially when she began to step towards Gray.
Ultear could clearly see the look of panic on the ice mage's face when she did this but what happened next was what really confused her.
In a flash, a torrent of rocks was sent swirling around Gray and when it receded he was in the clutches of one of the veiled wizards. With a knife pressed against his throat. At once all of the other wizards pointed their weapons and charged spells aimed at the attacker.
Was this internal conflict?
"We have to do something!" Ultear hissed and made to run down to the aid of Gray.
She was promptly held back by Jellal. "Are you crazy? He has a knife to Gray's throat. We'd just be making things worse by going down there."
Ultear knew this to be the truth so she kept watch through the binoculars. If she could get down there then she would be able to crumble the dagger by sending it into its rusty future but for all she knew Gray's throat would be split as soon as she was spotted.
The struggle continued with words which could not be heard being thrown back and forth. Neither side was backing down. Everything went to hell in that moment though. All eyes were on her position.
"WE KNOW YOU'RE UP THERE SO JUST GET DOWN HERE IF YOU WANT THIS BOY TO LIVE!" was the last thing she heard before eveyone succumbed to the complete and utter chaos.
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.: End of Chapter 4 :.
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.: To Be Continued :.
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So, slightly longer chapter here. And don't worry, I will write about what happened during those three days up until the current events in Gray's point of view.
Any thoughts on the village or anything else so far? Any of your thoughts are very much appreciated and I can answer any questions you might have.