The Elemental Sorceress

Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER — TWELVE

Mission (1)

The group traveled to the largest forest in Fiore— The Northern Woods. It spans across dozens of miles near the capital city. Most people avoid the area due to various dark guilds inhabiting the land. In order to draw as little attention as possible, the group discards their regular attire.

Plain ragged cloaks, loose-fitting shirts, and pants, as well as clunky boots, were given to each person. Makarov gave Nova a special magical ointment to hide their guild marks so no one could trace them back to Fairy Tail. The mission relied heavily on stealth, if someone recognized them from a Light Guild, it would jeopardize everything.

Nova already knew where a good deal of the shady guilds were located from her long term mission, as well as nearby towns where they operated. With the Magic Council funding their endeavor, they found a local house to rent in the first town. It was a decent-sized cottage with two floors, there weren't enough rooms for everyone though so sharing was required.

Evergreen claimed a room for herself and the young Wendy before anyone could so much as a glimpse at the house. There wasn't much surprise when Bickslow decided to room with his green-haired best friend, Freed. That left two rooms between Laxus, Gajeel, and Nova.

"Alright, I'll bunk with the Princess. I'm sure you want a room to yourself, Lightning-Rod." Gajeel grunts crossing his arms, giving the blonde a small nod.

A flash of annoyance crosses Laxus's features as the black-haired man stares him down. "Shouldn't that be up to her?" He growls out clenching his jaw, a vein starting to throb against his temple.

Nova looks between the two not noticing the heavy tension. "If he's willing to share, I don't mind. You always complain about me being a bed hog anyway." She shrugs and leaves the men behind to unpack her belongings.

Bickslow who had just entered the room again coughs awkwardly. "Shouldn't you guys get settled in? Nova said she wanted to start strategizing once we got settled in."

"Whatever." Laxus turns on his heel, letting his fur coat smack his fellow dragon slayer.

Gajeel narrows his eyes but doesn't retaliate. "Guess so, don't want to piss her off more than usual." He mutters to himself and trails after where the brunette had scurried off to.

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Nova hunches over the wooden dining table, strands of loose hair framing her face as she concentrates. "It'll be most effective if we split up, so we'll start out in pairs. I've already figured out who will be going where, based on how each of us works."

She takes a green pen and circles a chunk on the map of the town. "Freed, you and Ever will pose as a high-class couple. You're going to ask around for 'Rosewell's finer entertainment.' This is typically how the rich subtly ask about the fighting rings in Dark Guilds. Your job is to get inside one and gossip. People tend to be loose-lipped at those things."

Evergreen smirks nudging Freed with her elbow. "I knew I would get an excuse to dress one of you boys up during the mission."

Freed rolls his eyes and nods. "As you wish, Captain."

The elemental witch taps her fingers against her thigh as she selects another marker, this time purple. "Bix, you will be taking Wendy towards the east of town. From my intel, there is a group that lurks around there trying to recruit people for their guild. They particularly go after younger targets."