Frozen in Time || Gruvia Fanfiction ✓

Chapter 5

~~~ Gray ~~~  

Magnolia was a city full of life.  Everywhere you looked there were stands of fresh fruit, people conversing with old friends, and magic shops all around.  But to a group of hurrying wizards, the streets of Magnolia were nothing short of a nightmare.

  Gray had to constantly shove through the crowds to make his way down the avenues.  He had lost sight of his friends awhile ago; the only reason he knew where they were was because Happy and Carla were flying above their companion's heads.  Gray silently prayed that the others knew where they were going, and that he wouldn't have to go look for them among the masses of people.

  After what seemed like ages, the crowds started to thin and the team was able to regroup.  Everyone seemed exhausted, which was no surprise seeing as they had basically battled their way through the city.

  Lucy sunk to the ground, panting.

  "It was like a war zone in there," she complained.  "I was thinking about calling out a Spirit just so I could get through."

  After recovering from that truly traumatic experience, the wizards managed to pick themselves up and continue.  Before long they were exiting Magnolia and starting on a dirt road leading to the mountainous region.  Gray looked around at the calming scenery, and for the first time in days he felt a relaxing sensation.  Beautiful flowers spouted at the edge of the road.  Small creatures could be heard rustling in the tall grass.  As the climb got steeper, Gray could see the entire city of Magnolia, as well as the ocean that lay beyond it.  No matter how many times Gray traveled this route, he was always left in a state of awe.

  His calmed mood must have shown on his face because Wendy came up next to him and asked," You look happy Gray.  What are you thinking about?"

  Gray looked at the bluenette beside him and simply replied" I'm just relaxed that's all.  It feels nice to go on a job."

  Erza, who had been leading the way, looked over her shoulder at them.

  "While I agree, don't get too comfortable.  We still don't know what this job has in store for us."

  "What did the job request say anyway?" Lucy asked.

  "It was very discreet.  The person who wrote the request just said that travelers had reported being attacked by a group of wizards that stole all their valuable belongings."

  "That doesn't sound any different from our other jobs, this will be a piece of cake!" Natsu exclaimed.

  Gray didn't say anything, but instead took note of how the greenery beside the trail was soon replaced by gravel and rock.  He looked up and realized that they were in fact very close to the mountains. 

  As the group entered the shadow of one of the peaks, Erza said," We should be arriving at our destination soon.  Just through the village up ahead, where we will have to talk to the person who filed the job request, then we'll have to climb a little more to reach the spot where the bandits have been known to attack."

  As promised, a small village came into view after a couple minutes.  There were only a handful of worn down houses and a single shop.  The village was also in the shadow of a massive mountain, giving it an eerie feeling even though the sun was still high in the sky.  Gray found it hard to believe that such a place existed this close to the grand city of Magnolia.

  The village was completely silent, the only thing Gray could hear was the sound of his comrades' footsteps and the whistle of the wind as it carried through the pass.

  "Hey, look," Natsu suddenly said, and pointed straight ahead.

  Standing in the middle of the road leading through the village was an elderly man, who Gray could have sworn wasn't there before.  He was looking right at the group.  The man was dressed in traditional clothing and was hunched over a wooden cane.  He waved to the wizards who hesitantly waved back.