Chapter 11
Austin- So that means I can make my own Dwarves and Elves? Sweet. Also, members of the other factions will arrive, especially Chaos-aligned factions.
Update 1- Question at the end added.
"Hmm, I could offer you two a place here in my guild." Said Makarov as he stroked his mustache as he looked at both Naestra and Arahan. "But I must ask, why come to me for a job?" It had been a week since Naestra realized she and Arahan needed a job to both sustain themselves and their son. Arahan was opposed to it initially until she realized it would be a nice change of pace for her. She was getting sick and tired of hunting animals for sport as well as shooting her arrows at targets just to pass the time.
"The talents of my sister and I are better spent doing things that a guild is known for." Explained Naestra. She did some research and she determined that a guild can do a myriad of jobs, ranging from the mundane, like building a house for someone, to the dangerous, like killing a Wyvern or clearing out a nest of giant insectoids. The latter of which were perfect jobs for her and Arahan, though she admits she can do the former as well. "I can bake and create edible food, but, regrettably, my skills of fighting are superior to my skills of baking and cooking."
"Which is why you came to me." Said Makarov. "Hmm…I will admit, I understand your predicament and I assure you, you've come to the right place. Mercenaries are not widely respected. They're independent and can do whatever they want, yes, but that comes at the price of having a reputation of doing deeds that only the most despicable and cold-hearted wish to be done. In a guildhall, you'll gain not only the respect of the people but also a family that you can rely on to help you when times are tough."
"Yes, that does sound appealing, but I'm afraid to tell you that neither myself nor my sister can do any magic. Will that be a problem?" Asked Naestra. She also learned that, generally, those with the ability to case magic are accepted into Guilds. Hardly anyone without the ability enters them. Some guilds even prohibit magic-less people from entering their ranks.
"Not at all." Said Makarov with a shake of his hand. "My guild is nothing like those guilds that prohibit magic-less people from entering their ranks. If asked to join, I'll gladly let magic-less people join our ranks. Though I will admit some of the tasks you wish to accomplish, will be much easier to do with magic on your side. I even dare say that some are impossible to do without magic."
"That will be fine, Mr. Dreyar." Said Naestra. "We have done some impossible tasks before. We can handle anything you wish for us to do. Of course, it may help to have a mage supporting us if it'll make you feel better." Arahan scoffed at that, believing they don't need the help. Makarov ignored her and responded to Naestra's suggestion.
"That is a wonderful idea." Said Makarov. "It'll also prove to the rest of my guildmates that you two are just normal people. Some of them didn't like Arahan's attitude when she first came here. I hope that you can prove you're more than a little grumpy and rude young lady." Upon hearing called young lady, Arahan glared at Makarov. How dare he call her, an elf that was more than likely older than he was by a large margin, a young lady. She was about to insult him when Naestra spoke up.
"We'll try our best to do so, Mr. Dreyar." Said Naestra. Makarov nodded at that before leading them back to the main hall. Upon arriving back, they saw that a brawl was happening with nearly everyone involved. Seeing a fight happening, Naestra looked around to see Diederick hiding behind the bar of the guildhall with the bartender. Though she was glad that he was safe, she knew the brawl needed to end soon lest that change. And so, she looked at Makarov, who nodded.
"Alright, you brats enough!" Yelled Makarov as he used his magic to grow to the size of a giant, surprising both sisters. The large form of Makarov was enough to make everyone stop their fighting and look at him fearfully. With that, Makarov spoke as he shrank down to normal size. "As most of you are aware of these twins, I don't need to do introductions. What you aren't aware of, however, is that these two have come to me, requesting membership into our guild. They've come to us for help in finding work to support them and their child. As a result, I've granted their request and welcomed them to our guild." That caused some murmuring of surprise from the guild. Magic-less people. Coming to work in their guild. Surprising. "So, can someone go and get a guild stamp of them while I go look at the board to see what jobs are acceptable for them!" With that, Makarov went over to the job board as everyone went back to what they were doing before the brawl happened. As this was happening, the bartender with Diederick came over to the Twilight Sisters with a stamp carrying the mark of Fairy Tail on it.
"So, where would you two like your guild marks at?" Asked the bartender with a small smile. "If you don't mind, I suggest placing it somewhere that people can see clearly. So, they can see that you're part of a guild." While Naestra was more than willing to show the back of her right hand, Arahan wasn't. It took an exasperated look from her sister for her to show the back of her left hand. With that, the bartender stamped the Fairy Tail symbol on their chosen hands, a black one for Naestra and a white one for Arahan. Pleased at this, Naestra thanked the bartender, making her smile bigger, before she left them. Once she was gone, Makarov walked up to the sisters with a smile.
"I have a job for you two." Said Makarov with a flier on hand. "It's neither too easy nor too difficult for you two I believe. Also, should be quite fun for someone like Arahan." He then gave the flier to Naestra, who accepted it. As she read the details, Makarov explained. "A village had requested that we eliminate a group of thugs that have been harassing them as of late. They've asked us to deal with them." Naestra, upon hearing that description, frowned. She knew how Fiore's currency, these Jewels, worked. And the reward given seems to be higher than she thought would be given for such an assignment. Especially if it was given out by a village. Either it was more expansive than she thinks or this smells of a trap.
"And I take it we'll be receiving some support for this, yes?" Asked Naestra. Makarov nodded at that.
"Of course." Said Makarov. "It seems that these bandits have a few members with magic on their side. So, to even the playing field, I'll be sending a few mages to assist you in this endeavor. You'll have to split the reward with them, but their help will be invaluable. Besides, they'll also help teach you the ropes of being in a guild as well as some of it's rules." Naestra nodded at that in understanding. Arahan didn't like it but kept quiet nonetheless. "Macao! Wakaba! Take this job with the two ladies and show them how Fairy Tail does a job. A job without too much collateral damage, you understand!?" Two men, one with blue hair and one with brown hair. The blue-haired one had his hair in some sort of spiky fashion while the brown-haired one had his hair in a strange fashion that had it done in a forward cylinder shape. Both men had smiles on their faces as they looked at the hooded elves.
"Hey ladies." Said the blue-haired one. "The names' Macao Conbolt. And this here is my partner, Wakaba Mine. It's your lucky day, ladies because you two get to be in our lovely graces while we take you on your first mission." Arahan scoffed at that while Naestra just smiled at the man.
"I believe it'll be quite a learning experience for us all." Said Naestra. "Led on." Macao smiled at that before telling her to meet them at the front entrance. Once they were both gone, Naestra looked at Makarov and asked him to take care of their son.
"Of course." Said Makarov. "I'll take good care of him and ensure that he doesn't get hurt in any type of brawl that happens in my guild. You have my word on that." Naestra nodded in thanks at that before looking at Diederick.
"Be a good boy while your mothers are away, Diederick." Said Naestra as she took Diederick in her arms. "We'll be back as soon as we can." Diederick nodded at that, asking her and Arahan to be careful, to which Naestra nodded at that.
"Don't worry, son." Said Arahan as she patted Diederick's hair. "This will be a task not even worth mentioning after the first day." Nuzzling Diederick's hair a bit more, she then looked at Makarov. "If I find he's hurt in any shape or form under your care, I'll hurt you." Makarov just closed his eyes and nodded, having seen something like this coming from Arahan. Naestra chastised her sister for speaking to Makarov like that before she apologized to the man, to which he accepted. Truly, he wondered how these two were sisters when they were such polar opposites of each other.
With all that done, the two went to Macao and Wakaba, having brought all their equipment with them in case they needed to go on a job to prove themselves. Once the four were gone, Makarov looked at Diederick.
"So, do you like candy?" Asked Makarov with a friendly smile.
Sometime later
Meanwhile
Train
"This is utterly fascinating." Thought Naestra as her group was riding what the men called a train. It was currently taking them to their destination. This wasn't the fascinating part, however. What was fascinating was that the train was moving at an incredible speed. Faster than any Great Eagle can fly. Even Gwindalor couldn't fly as fast as this Train was taking them. And it didn't seem the train was stopping anytime soon.
Though she much preferred the World Roots of Athel Loren over this train, she was still in awe of this metal contraption they were riding in. If the Empire of Man had access to such a contraption, they would have used it to great effect in expanding their borders, using a train's great speed to transports soldiers and supplies to all corners of its territory far faster than any horse can do. Even the Dwarves would use such a device for their empire as well.
The elves, however, baring perhaps the Druchii, would never use such devices in their lands. The Asur would see such devices as beneath them and inferior to what they already have. Even if they didn't, they would never use it on the grounds it was an invention of man, not an invention of the Asur. And the Asrai would never use them as well because of the seemingly amount of smoke and land required to operate these things, all of which was something the Asrai would never allow in the forest of Athel Loren, even if it's for their convenience. Even if Ariel would allow such things to be used in their lands, the tree spirits of Athel Loren would never allow it, seeing it as desecration of their lands, and thus cause the tense relations the Asrai have with the tree spirits to deteriorate even more.
It hurt Naestra that the spirits of Athel Loren were so hostile to the elves of Athel Loren, for there used to be a time when Elves and tree spirits were close friends and allies. Before there even Asrai, the forest was Athel Loren was home to only forest spirits of Athel Loren. For thousands of years, they remain safe from the outside world, tending to their forest. During this time, they meet with the elves of Ulthuan and became allies with each other. The tree spirits teaching them much with them tending to the forests of Avelorn. It was a good relationship. But then the Dwarves and daemons came and everything fell apart. Now the tree spirits only begrudgingly tolerate the elves living in Athel Loren at best to just outright trying to kill them when possible. It hurt Naestra that such good relations were now lost.
Most hurting, however, was the loss of Durthu, an elder treeman that was the most ancient of forest spirits. At least what he used to be. He was once the kindest and most compassionate of the forest spirits that saw the elves as good friends now was an avatar of the forests' rage and saw the elves of Athel Loren as nothing more than a means to ensure the survival of Athel Loren. Nothing more. He was the reason that the elves of Athel Loren existed and now he saw them as pests that have caused untold misery to his home and friends. And, as much as it hurts herself to admit, they were not without merit.
Many of Durthu's friends, including fellow elder treemen Adanhu, were slain by the mistakes of elves or to save the lives of the Asrai. Adanhu himself had to sacrifice himself to stop Ariel from losing herself in her bloodlust, an act that their queen regrets to this very day. And another elder treemen Coeddil, was driven mad by one of the Asrai's most dangerous enemies, the Beastmen lord Morghur and imprisoned as a result. Much suffering of the forest was caused by her people and it hurt Naestra to know all this. Arahan didn't care about the past as much as she did, believing what's done was done and that nothing can change it, but Naestra knew that one must learn from the mistakes of the past if they wish to advance as a people and make allies of other nations. Unfortunately, most did not see it that way and thus the elves of Athel Loren had, at best, strained relations with Bretonnia and the Empire of Man. Oh, she hoped that her people haven't destroyed themselves because of their arrogance.
She was driven from her thoughts by a disgusted growl from Arahan. Looking at her sister, she saw her glaring at Macao and Wakaba, both men looking at Arahan's body. They were trying to hide it, but both sisters could see that they were looking at Arahan's body with lust. Men.
"I recommend that you both avoid trying to anger my sister." Said Naestra, catching both mens' attention. "She is quick to anger and has no qualms with hurting either of you if you push her too far. Maybe not enough to cause long-term effects, but enough to make you regret ever raising her ire." That, combined with the death glare that Arahan was giving them, caused both men to gulp before looking somewhere else. A few minutes passed before Macao spoke up.
"So, did the master give you the details of what we're supposed to do?" Asked Macao.
"We have to eliminate a gang that has been harassing a village." Said Naestra. "However, I must admit, while the reward is nice, I must confess that it's leaving me a bit suspicious." That caused both Macao and Wakaba to look at her in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Asked Wakaba. "Think we should get more. Girl, a hundred thousand jewels are more than enough money for the job considering who is giving it out. Don't be greedy. That just gives a bad image for the guild as a whole."
"That's not what I meant." Said Naestra. "What I mean is that the amount of money this village is giving out is very suspicious. From what I've been told, this village is relatively remote, yes?"
"Yeah, Woodmere village." Said Macao. "Little cute place. Probably doesn't have a population of over two hundred. The location puts it a bit far away from any local military garrisons."
"And what does it provide in exchange for monetary gain?" Asked Naestra.
"Fruit and vegetables mostly." Said Macao. "Some of the people are also in the military. What of it?"
"Because such a village shouldn't be able to afford the substantial reward that this village is offering us." Said Naestra. "It's way too much for such a village to afford. I suspect this is all a trap." Both Wakaba and Macao looked shocked at this.
"Whoa, you really think so?" Asked Wakaba in surprise. "I mean, I can see some people doing that, but against Fairy Tail? Nah, they be crazy to do that."
"And why would that be?" Asked Arahan. "Because you are one of the strongest guilds in the country? That is, if anything, a reason for people to spring a trap against you. To prove themselves in the eye of the country that they're dangerous. And what better way to say they're dangerous than by taking out some members of one of Fiore's strongest guilds."
"She has a point." Said Macao after some thought. "There are always a bunch of punks out there that just love to get taken seriously or seen as a threat. This could be a trap."
"God I hope not." Said Wakaba. "Need some money at the moment. Loans are going to be due soon and I still need a bit of cash."
"Just be prepared if this is indeed a trap." Said Naestra. "With luck, it isn't, though I sincerely doubt it." Macao just hummed at that. With that, the rest of the trip was done in silence. Of the four, only three were hoping that it wasn't a trap. The other was eager, however, to shed blood.
Later
Woodmere village
"So this is the village." Said Naestra as the group walked amongst the people of the village that they were supposed to help. Walking in the streets, Naestra could tell that this village couldn't afford the price that they had put out on that flier.
The village wasn't in terrible conditions like a Bretonnian one, no. It was rather nice with strong-looking cottages and buildings all around. The issue was that they were small and it seemed that most of the buildings were small and unsuitable for any large families. There was also the clothing everyone was wearing. Nice, but inexpensive to have or purchase. Some of them even had makeshift patches in them. These and a few other things made the Twilight Sister's realize that something was very wrong. Even Wakaba and Macao smelled something fishy. Still, the four went inside the largest building in the village and entered. Upon arriving they saw a few people going about their business until they spotted the group. Timidly, one came to them, a young man wearing a clean outfit.
"Are you the mages we've sent for?" Asked the man nervously, a clue that something was amiss in the eyes of the Twilight Sisters. Still, they played along to avoid arousing suspicion.
"Yes, we are." Said Naestra. "Can you please direct us to your leader so they can tell us what we need to do to remove the bandits from your village?" The man nodded before directing them to a room, where he told them that the village leader will meet with them. Once they went inside the room, they sat in some of the chairs present. Upon sitting, Arahan noticed that the room was as plain and cheap as everything else she saw in this village. She also noticed that it was crapped and confined, making it hard for one to cast magic without risk of hitting their own allies.
"It seems that we were right in the assumption that is a trap." Thought Arahan, thinking all this meant that the reward was just a way to lure people to their doom. "If that's the case, then these villagers are going to be in for a rude awakening." While Arahan thought these villagers were involved, Naestra didn't think they were. As they were making their way here, Naestra noticed the depression and auras of sadness amongst the villagers as they looked at them. Being an elf, Naestra can see things that most Men or Dwarves would never notice thanks to her superior eyesight. As a result, she noticed how fearful they were and how they tried to hide it. Not at them, specifically, but what will happen to them, especially her and her sister. Arahan also possessed these same abilities, but she suspected that her sister didn't care and wanted the villagers to be involved so she can have even more people to kill. Hopefully, they weren't or else Makarov and the entire country will not be happy with them destroying an entire village, even if it's justified.
Looking at her sister, Naestra silently gave instructions to Arahan. Having fought with her for thousands of years, the two were able to communicate in ways that no one can decipher unless they were mind readers. She would do the same for Wakaba and Macao, but they wouldn't be able to decipher what she was trying to convey. She would apologize later if a fight comes to pass. After she received her instructions, got up and told them that she was going to use the restroom. Leaving them all alone, Arahan left the room to search for a restroom. At least that was what her voiced reason was. A few minutes later, an elderly man with a cane and a young woman carrying refreshments entered the room. Both of them were wearing fine suits that were marginally better than those the villagers wore. Sitting down, the man addressed the three Fairy Tail members while the woman gave everyone a drink of water.
"Thank you for coming so soon." Said the man with relief. "I thought we would have to endure more from that gang of hoodlums." He then looked around and saw that there were only three and frowned. "I was told there were four of you. Where is the final member of your group?"
"She left to alleviate herself." Said Naestra with a small smile, speaking for the group while Macao and Wakaba drank their water. "That isn't a problem, is it?"
"Not at all." Said the man. "Well, I say we should get down to business now. As you already know, my village has been harassed by a group of hoodlums. Hoodlums that have been demanding that we pay tribute to them or they destroy our village. Or at the very least do enough that they may as well be killing us. So, the village gathered what we can spare for a reward and sent several papers to several guilds. I regret to say that you were the first to answer." Naestra hummed at all this. Though he did a marvelous job at hiding it, Naestra could tell the man was lying. About other guilds coming here to help them. She then spoke up.
"Then we will be glad to expunge these villains from your village." Said Naestra, making a guise that she didn't notice something was amiss. "If you can tell us where they are, we'll deal with them for you." The man smiled at that, happy to hear that.
"Thank you." Said the man. "The gang has taken an old church as their hideout. Please take them out as soon as you can. My people can't live under this oppression any longer." With that said, Macao smiled at the man.
"Don't worry, sir. Fairy Tail will take care of them for you." Said Macao. The man then told them where the church is along with what to expect from the gang of thugs. With all that information, the three set forth to complete the job they were assigned to do. Wakaba wanted to wait for Arahan, but Naestra assured him that Arahan will be able to find them without much trouble thanks to the village elder. Thus, they left without Naestra's sister. As they were walking to the outskirts of the village, Naestra felt that they were being watched. From multiple sources. Much as she wanted to convey to both Macao and Wakaba about this, she couldn't. Not without also warning their watchers that they knew about them. She just hoped that they also knew that they were being watched.
As a matter of fact, they did know. Well, Macao at least. From the moment they left the village, Macao got a gut feeling that they were being watched. That coupled with his thoughts during the train ride, about this all being a trap, made him very suspicious of everything. He got the feeling that things were going to be quite hectic the moment they enter the church. He just hoped Arahan was fine.
A few minutes later, they found the abandoned church. Once it had been a respectable place of worship. Now, it was just a decrepit place for scum. Such an indecent end.
Nevertheless, the three entered the building, being mindful of their steps. Upon entering, however, they noticed that no one was present. No signs of people ever living here. And no signs of it ever being used in the first place.
Narrowing her eyes, Naestra was about to talk to Macao and Wakaba when suddenly the doors to the church closed shut. Then, before anyone could do anything, a wall of glowing letters appeared surrounding them.
"Damn, it was a trap!" Yelled Wakaba as he looked at the runes. Naestra said nothing as she drew out her bow, looking for whoever was present with them. Sure enough, a gang of around a dozen members appeared from a hidden passageway just in front of them. Seeing them, Naestra drew an arrow from her quiver and aimed it at one of them while Macao and Wakaba prepared their magic with Macao having fire come out of his hands while Wakaba had smoke coming out of his smoke pipe. Upon seeing all this, the gang of thugs laughed.
"*Snorting* You think your magic is going to stop us?" Asked what appears to be the leader, a man wearing a yellow and purple suit. His black hair done in a mullet style. "Just try it, you stupid mages."
"I'm only going to say this once." Said Macao. "Surrender and stop harassing the village close by. They don't deserve the treatment you've been giving them." Upon hearing all that, the gang of thugs just laughed out loud.
"As if we would ever do something like that." Said a female thug. "Those villagers provide us with good food and a place to get money from."
"Money and food that doesn't belong to you." Said Wakaba with a glare. "Either you guys stop now peacefully or we're going to have to put the smackdown on you." Instead of being scared, the gang just smirked as they drew out their weapons or prepared their own magic.
"Then go ahead and try it." Said the leader before firing a bolt of lighting at the three. Dodging the attack, both Wakaba and Macao attacked back with their magic while Naestra fired a few arrows at the thugs. To her surprise, however, the arrows simply bounced away from the group of thugs as well as the magic attacks from Macao and Wakaba. Before they could even process this, the leader spoke up again.
"Surprise!" Yelled the leader with a smile. "We planned ahead and set up a little trap for you. See the runes around us." He then tapped on one of the walls of runes. "See these? These runes prohibit anyone that drank water from ever harming us. Any attacks made to us becomes nulled." Upon hearing that, Naestra narrowed her eyes.
"Did the villagers betray us?" Asked Naestra, not wanting to believe that. "Did they conspire with you to capture mages from legal guilds?"
"The villagers?" Asked the leader incredulously. "Please, those fools will never amount to anything but being a money and food maker for us. Plus, that old coot is too weak to do something like we're doing. He cares too much about his village to ever defy us."
"So you forced him to cooperate?" Said Naestra, needing more information. If the village elder is truly innocent and a mere victim, then she needed proof of this.
"Of course I did." Said the leader. "The old coot is probably wallowing in regret for putting you all in danger. Just like those he did before." Naestra narrowed her eyes at that. She then noticed a glint coming from one of the stained windows in the church.
"Others?" Asked Wakaba. "You mean you lured others to here before us?"
"Oh yes." Said the leader with a satisfied smirk. "A few independent mages, some traders, and even a few women. They've all been lured here quite nicely by the village."
"Where are they now?" Demanded Macao, disgust clear in his voice. "What the heck did you do to them?"
"I suspect they're with their new masters at the moment." Said the leader. "They all gave us a pretty coin and you all would do the same as well. Perhaps even more so since you're all from Fairy Tail. I know some people who just love to get their hands on Fairy Tail members, especially females. But enough talk. Ko!" With that, a green-haired girl summoned forth vines from everywhere and tangled up both Wakaba and Macao, preventing them from doing anything. Only Naestra was able to escape the vines and continued to dodge them as they came for her. "*Laughs* You're just delaying the inevitable girly! Soon, you're going to be a slave for some rich folk somewhere. Don't feel bad, though. Your pretty face will get you a good home, no doubt. Even with that chest of yours."
"Why do I have the feeling that the Men of this world place more emphasis on a female's mammalian glands than the ones in my old world?" Thought Naestra as she continued to dodge the vines. Eventually, though, she was forced into a corner, surrounded by vines.
"You put up a good show, girl, but this is the end." Said the thug leader as he summoned forth a couple of stones around him. "Don't worry though, I won't hurt you much. Damaged goods are never a good thing." With that, he launched them directly at Naestra. Just as he did, Naestra smiled as they came directly towards her.
So, quick question. Are legal guilds in Fairy Tail allowed to actually kill? I know the main characters of the franchise heavily disapprove of killing, but is there any sort of lore that states that legal guilds are not allowed to kill because, as most people know, the Twilight Sisters are fine with killing, which may make or break their relations with Fiore as a whole.