Kage stared at the paper in Gajeel's hand. They took turns choosing missions and this time it was Gajeel's turn.
"Investigate the ruins of Tamworth? I've heard of that place. It was a pretty popular mining village but it mysteriously went up in flames a couple years ago. Could be interesting!" Gajeel said.
Lily nodded. "Nobody that's been there has been able to figure out what happened. Seems kinda sketchy doesn't it? How does a fire spread so quickly that there were no survivors? There's no way it was natural."
Kage didn't need to say anything. He knew they made up their minds.
~~~
The forest was barren. The trees were black and burnt and the ground was still covered in ashes. The incident wasn't that long ago. The surrounding area hadn't healed yet.
When they finally reached the town, they saw what left of the mining town. The houses were black and falling apart, most were already caved in. They could see a destroyed mansion further down the path hidden in the dead trees.
"What the hell kind of fire was it?" Gajeel asked as he looked around. "A forest fire? They spread pretty fast."
"Forest fires are caused when dry plants get to hot because of a dry heat. This was no forest fire. From what I hear, it wasn't a hot day at all when the fire started." Lily stated as they started walking down the deserted road that went right through the middle of the town.
"Excuse me!" A man yelled as he ran down the path towards them. Kage noted he had black hair a brown eyes. "Are you the wizards to came to help me look around?"
Kage was staring this man down as his mates talked to him. Why the hell was so curious about this place anyway? There obviously wasn't an thing here of value.
Apparently, Gajeel had asked the man that same question.
"This town was run by the Pendragons. They were nobles." A sad look grew on his face. "I'm the remaining member of the family, you see. I was gone when the fire started and I want to know what happened to them. But so far, I haven't been able to find any clues."
Kage glared at him.
Bullshit.
"We'll try to help anyway we ca-"
"You're not a Pendragon." Kage cut Lily off. They all turned to look at him.
"Wh-What?" The man stuttered.
"You're not a Pendragon. There are holes in you're story." Kage's observant eyes saw the man shift slightly. "For one, the Pendragons were blonds."
"My father had dark hair." The man answered quickly. "I got it from him."
"Also," Kage continued. "Only the main family had kids. The other members didn't marry long enough to have kids because their partners always died after a year of marraige. So you being born outside of the main family is impossible."
Gajeel and Pantherlily stared at Kage. How did he know all this.
"Even if you were a remaining Pendragon, then you would have known where the family fortune was and would have claimed it by know." Kage eyed the man's attire. "But you do not have the appearance of someone with a lot of money."
"I know where safe is but I've forgotten the code to open it." The man stated.
There was a gleam in Kage's eyes and a wicked smirk spread across his face. Bingo. "The safe doesn't have a code."
The man froze.
"That safe is sealed with a blood seal. Only the blood of a Pendragon can open it....and haven't been able to open it, have you?" Kage was teasing him at this point. Gajeel and Lily could see it in his eyes.
