Everyone knew how fast a Cloud Dragon could fly.
Rhodes had been just a little slow putting up the wind-barrier, and as a result everyone's hair was a total disaster.
Fortunately, no one got blown clean off the saddle.
Once they felt they were nearing their destination, Rhodes had the Cloud Dragon slow down. From high above the clouds they tried to make out the terrain below, but much of the land was veiled in thick fog, most of it impossible to see clearly.
In the end, Rhodes descended alone to ask for directions. After a brief conversation with a local, he confirmed that the mist-shrouded mountain range they had just passed over was indeed Saint Topia Mountain.
The middle-aged villager, carrying a sickle and a woven back basket, shuffled off while muttering, "Why is everyone asking about that place today?"
"Wait a second." Rhodes called him back, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and handed it over with a polite smile. "Have a smoke. Tell me, have a lot of people been asking about Saint Topia today?"
The man glanced down at the unfamiliar foreign brand in his hand, and his attitude immediately brightened.
"Yes, yes! Not just today, people came the day before yesterday and yesterday too. At least three groups stopped me to ask for directions. Locals and outsiders both, all Magicians by the look of them.
"I heard there are plenty of monsters in those mountains. Are they planning to wipe them out? Did the kingdom issue a monster-slaying quest or something?"
Rhodes waved a hand to reassure him. "Nothing like that. The area's too far out for those beasts to bother any villages."
He also asked whether anything unusual had happened lately, or if there were any ancient legends about the mountains.
The man thought for a moment. The strangest thing, he said, was just the number of Magicians he'd run into recently. As for legends..
"When I was a kid," he began, "my grandpa said that his grandpa's grandpa saw a god in those mountains when he was little.
"Something about a being taller than the peaks themselves, stars falling from the sky, a meteor shower that turned into Saint Topia Mountain, that sort of thing… hah! As if! If stars really fell, they'd flatten the whole mountain, wouldn't they?"
"Perhaps," Rhodes said with an amused smile. "Any more details?"
But the man couldn't recall anything further. Considering it was a story from centuries ago, it was a miracle any of it had survived. Rhodes wasn't even sure how many generations the villager had listed.
After thanking him, Rhodes took off again and directed the Cloud Dragon to fly about a hundred kilometers north before bringing the group down just outside the mountain range.
"Head back for now," he told the Dragon. "If there's a fight, I'll summon you."
"Understood. Be careful, all of you." The Dragon's figure dissolved into the mist.
It was nearing noon, normally the brightest part of the day, yet everyone felt a strange chill. The air was thick with moisture; the very atmosphere seemed heavy.
From where they stood at the foot of the range, they could barely make out the outline of the nearest peak. Beyond that, everything was swallowed by an endless expanse of white.
Looking up, even the sky was indistinguishable from the fog. There was no horizon, no sun, only blinding, colorless haze.
As was his habit, Rhodes first released a few scouting familiars, a crab and several small monsters, to explore ahead and patrol the perimeter. Only then did he start forward with the others.
"It feels so beautiful here~!" Lucy exclaimed. She jogged a few steps and twirled around, her laughter echoing faintly through the mist. The sensation of being wrapped in white clouds was dreamlike.
And this was the birthplace of Celestial Spirit Magic itself, how could she not feel excited?
"It's annoyingly damp," Natsu grumbled. The dense fog clung to his clothes and hair; in just a few minutes he was soaked.
He shook his head hard, then burst into flame to dry himself off in an instant.
Gray ran a hand through his dripping hair but didn't bother using magic. "Unless you plan to burn away all the fog in the whole mountain, it's pointless."
Natsu's eyes lit up. "I could! I'll burn the whole mountain dry and prove it!"
Erza smacked him on the head. "Don't be ridiculous!"
"There are plenty of people up here already. You'd cause a disaster," she scolded.
Overhead, Happy tried flying higher for a better view, but the visibility up there was no better than below. By the time he returned, he was completely soaked.
He fluttered back toward Natsu and asked, "Dry me off, please! But seriously, didn't the guild say hundreds of people have already come here? How come we haven't seen a single one?"
Rhodes glanced around the fog-bound forest. "In a mountain range this vast, even a thousand people would be hard to spot," he said.
That was the optimistic take. The pessimistic one, the one he didn't voice aloud, was that those who had arrived earlier might already be dead.
Wendy tugged lightly on his sleeve.
Rhodes looked down at the girl, puzzled.
Wendy's small hands clutched his sleeve. "I just… feel like Big Brother Rhodes was thinking about something scary just now," she whispered.
Rhodes smiled faintly and patted her head. "I am worried about something scary happening," he admitted.
They continued along the misty mountain trail. The air was cold and damp, muffling their footsteps.
Suddenly, Erza crouched down and brushed aside a patch of flattened weeds by the roadside. "It looks like someone stepped here," she said.
She looked ahead and quickly spotted several more areas where the grass was pressed down in similar shapes. Her sharp eyes traced the faint trail and she pinched a wet blade of grass between her fingers. "They came from that direction," she concluded. "But it's been a while."
Gray nudged Natsu with his elbow. "You catch any scent?"
Natsu crouched, sniffing deeply, but shook his head. "No. The smell's too faint. With this fog and moisture, I can't track anything."
Lucy tilted her head. "Carla, did you sense anything?"
The white Exceed blinked. "Since earlier, all I've seen is us wandering in fog," she said dryly. "But since you asked…"
Carla's form shimmered, and in a flash of magic light she transformed into her humanoid form, cat ears twitching. She closed her eyes, focusing as a ripple of magic spread outward.
Moments later, she opened them again. "I saw something different this time," she murmured. "Lucy was running… being chased by something."
Lucy froze. "Why is it me again?!" she wailed.
Carla smirked, arms crossed. "Well, you did ask. Maybe someone's going to use you as bait again."
Lucy's shoulders slumped. She turned to Rhodes with teary puppy eyes.
He chuckled. "Ah, that reminds me. Lucy, you go first later."
"No way!"
"Then last?"
"Not that either! I'm staying in the middle!"
Rhodes didn't press her further, he'd only been teasing. When there was a real reason, Lucy always stepped up.
"Alright," he said, his tone growing serious again. "Let's follow these footprints and find that temple mentioned in the intel. Whatever's going on, everyone's goal seems to be the same place. We'll figure out what this 'puzzle' really is once we get there."
The group moved along the faint trail, following the scattered prints. About twenty minutes later, they spotted two figures emerging from the base of a nearby slope.
At first the fog distorted everything, reducing the strangers to shadowy silhouettes. The two groups halted briefly, studying each other from a distance, before slowly closing the gap.
As they drew nearer, Rhodes could make out a woman dressed in fiery red and a man clutching a silver key. They looked oddly familiar. After a moment's thought, he said, "Miss Phil… and Mr. Doru?"
He wasn't completely sure, the last time he'd seen Doru, the poor man's face had been so swollen it was nearly unrecognizable.
The pair blinked in surprise before Phil suddenly brightened. "Mr. Rhodes! Miss Lucy! Miss Wendy!"
Her face lit up as she rushed forward, practically dragging Doru behind her. "I can't believe we ran into you all here!"
She promptly kicked Doru in the shin. "Well? Hurry up and thank her! If it weren't for Miss Wendy, you'd still be stuck in the hospital!"
"Ah-ah! Miss Wendy," Doru stammered, bowing awkwardly. "Thank you again for your help last time."
...
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