Felix traveled north and arrived at Rosecap Village, a small town north of Magnolia. It is a small town that was bigger than a village but not by much. The streets were decently maintained, but very few left their homes and those that did were bundled up and wary of those around them.
When he saw this, Felix looked at the client of the mission and went towards the Guards Barracks. The one who published the mission is the Guard Captain of this town for the mayor was kidnapped not long ago. So the Guard Captain not only increased patrol and sent out scouts in hopes of tracking the culprit, but also needed to manage the chaos in the town.
"Are you Captain Crunch?"
After walking up to a middle aged man whose facial hair was turning grey, but still held a robust physique. Felix looked at him asking politely and a bit slow. While he is more fluent with this world language, he wasn't much of a talker. In the world of Legend of Legendary Heroes, the training camp taught him speaking more than needed earns a beating.
"Why are you out kid?"
A gruff voice replied as the sun shone on his metallic armor. The pieces showed a bit of wear from long uses, but the shine told it to be well cared for. All while his small eyes peered down full of stress about this situation.
"I am a mage from Fairy Tail." Felix replied as if it explained everything.
The man's small eyes scanned him from head to toe at least twice as he clicked his tongue. Felix just stood there waiting for the details, while the man just stared clearly dismissing him. Neither spoke for a long moment, until the man lost his patience.
"What do you want?" The man's gruff voice broke the silence.
"Information and confirmation of mission details." Felix replied a bit monotone.
"Starting a few years ago a few villagers would vanish from time to time. At first we thought they just silently moved away, then it began to happen almost monthly then half a month and now almost weekly. There have barely been any tracks or witnesses until a few days ago. A resident saw the Mayor being carried off by human skeletons."
Captain Crunch explained before pointing towards the forest on the outskirts. Felix nodded as a few ideas came to mind on what could be happening, but since he didn't know the area well, he needed information. Since he is unfamiliar with the surroundings and there may be hidden or quiet areas in the forest known to the locals but not travelers.
"For final confirmation, I just need to find the Mayor and potentially the rest of the missing people." Felix asked.
"Also take out whose kidnapping if possible." Captain Crunch added.
After asking a few more targeted questions such as possible mages or legends of this area, Felix began to organize how to approach and eliminate the target. Since he guessed that the target should have a base or spot to hold his supposed skeleton army and kidnapped victims for a period of time. He decided to start checking areas few will go or not often visited.
Felix soon arrived at the outskirts of the forest, where an old hunter lives. Since he and his family have been hunting in this area for generations, he should know the forest pretty well. They are also some that Captain Crunch recommended to him.
Knock! Knock!
Felix knocked on the door a few times and the door swung open with an irritated young woman holding an infant. She seemed to look above him before looking down and calming down a bit.
"What do you want? I finally got him asleep before your knocking woke him up." She snapped.
"Is Hunter Geo here?"
"No, he is helping his friend on a fishing boat and won't be back for a couple days."
"Is his father Hunter Zen here then?" Felix asked.
The woman frowned, but turned her head and shouted. Thanks to this shout, the infant in her arms also began to cry loudly.
"Hey Old Man, you got a visitor."
"Who?" An old man said from behind the door.
Soon a man who seemed around fifty appeared. He had more gray hair than brown and had slightly hunched shoulders. Thanks to facing the element for years he looked weathered and weary. Yet, this man appeared quite energetic and moved with quiet and swift movements.
"What can I help you with, kid?"
"Captain Crunch said you could help me with information about the forest." Felix asked.
Hunter Zen was about to refuse before he saw the Fairy Tail guild mark on Felix's forearm. He seemed to think for a moment before realizing what was going on. So his mind swiftly changed from refusing to agreeing.
"Sure, what do you need to know?" Hunter Zen asked.
Felix then asked about small caves or old buildings in the forest. He then asks about spots few rarely go that travelers might not know about. Then after thinking that the guards might check these spots, he added spots very few locals may know.
"Let me grab my coat and I can show you. Otherwise, you might never find them as a couple are well hidden." Hunter Zen said.
Felix watched as the woman looked displeased, but didn't say anything. If anything, it looked like the man was using this chance to run away then actually show him.
--
Inside the forest, Felix walked beside the Hunter Zen and as his eyes searched the surroundings. He kept an eye out for any irregularities since the target may have set up a barrier to conceal themselves.
"My daughter-in-law is usually very kind. It's just the infant can't tell day from night and leading to her having little sleep for the last few weeks." Hunter Zen said.
Felix stayed silent as he didn't really care since it doesn't interfere with his mission. He didn't care if they were the happiest person on the planet or grumpy if it didn't interfere.
"Alright, this is one of the caves ahead close to town but often overlooked by others." Hunter Zen whispered.
Felix moved with near silent steps much like Hunter Zen as they approached. His eyes scanned the ground as he looked for traces of magic spells. In theory, thanks to his Alpha Stigma that allows him to analyze and copy magic seen used, he could see traces of trap spells.
'No traps.' Felix thought.
Upon arriving at the cave, Felix checked the cave and surroundings to shake his head. The cave was empty and didn't look like anything had been in it any time recently. So, he moved on with Hunter Zen.
One spot after another, they checked such spots and upon arriving at the fifth one, Felix found traces. He found signs of a series of footprints from skeleton feet in the dirt. From adult size to child size, there were a few footprints like this.
'I am almost sure it is a necromance causing this. The question now is why is he kidnapping from the village?' Felix thought to himself. 'Usually necromancers grave rob from the cemetery or battlefields.'
Following the footprints, he and Hunter Zen continued forward. While Felix was fine, Hunter Zen became increasingly worried as they moved forward.
"You can turn back now if you want." Felix said.
"Thank you." Hunter Zen said.
Almost like a blink, Felix saw Hunter Zen disappear from his sight as he was that quick and quiet. Afterwards, he began to track once more, and continued moving forward where only the rustling of leaves remained. The sounds of life in the forest faded away giving the forest before him a silent and eerie feeling to it.
After traveling a bit further, Felix soon found a small clearing of skeletons.