Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 128 Heading to Salem (Second Update! Please Subscribe!)

In a clearing in the woods, devoid of bushes and trees, whether deliberately cleared or naturally formed, a small campfire burned on the dark soil, casting distorted shadows that danced wildly to the accompaniment of a clear, melodious song. Salomon slowed his pace and approached, gripping his wand tightly, peeking cautiously from the bushes. There were several little girls, dressed in extremely old-fashioned clothes; the singing had come from them. They sang and waved branches, as if performing some kind of ritual.

The sorcerer looked around, and after repeatedly confirming that no one else was in this strange place, he pushed aside the bushes and walked to the spot illuminated by the firelight. Salomon's appearance startled the little girls; they stopped singing and quickly huddled together like quails.

"Don't be afraid." Salomon tucked his wand into his sleeve, ready to draw it at any moment and launch a magical missile at any strange person appearing in this eerie place. He softened his voice, spreading his arms to indicate that he was unarmed. "I won't hurt you... In fact, I'm a student from London, studying in London. Do you know Eton College? It's near Windsor Castle in west London."

Faced with Salomon's explanation, the little girls remained silent, exchanging glances and waiting for him to continue. Eton College had been founded by Henry VI long before the Age of Exploration, so Salomon's explanation had few flaws.

"Listen, I..."

"I've heard of London. You're from a big city!" a slightly bolder girl asked first. "Have you been to Boston?"

"An!" Another girl quickly tugged at her sleeve, seemingly displeased with her recklessness.

"Mary, don't worry, he doesn't look scary at all."

"But he's from out of town..."

"I haven't been to many places, but New York and London are where I go most often," Salomon slowly moved closer to the campfire. He pondered how to weave a lie to create a suitable identity. Since he didn't know the exact year, he certainly couldn't reveal any place-specific dates in his words. But the little girl's words still revealed some key information—the homeland. This was New England, but only before America gained independence would the colonists refer to England as such. If he wasn't mistaken, these little girls were all Puritans.

"I'm just a student... I got separated from my companions," he said. "This is my assignment, to observe the folklore and ecology of the New World, which is a very arduous task."

"Your clothes are strange!" the bold girl named Ann asked again. "Is this the new style in London?"

"It's just my attire for adventures," Salomon shrugged. "After all, you can't dress like a gentleman when you're trekking through mountains, can you? I just want to know how to get to the nearest settlement. My tent and luggage are gone, and I'll starve if I don't find a place to eat soon."

Perhaps because Salomon was young and not fierce-looking, his rosy cheeks, a product of his privileged life, contrasted sharply with the village boys and the sailors at the docks. Coupled with his educated demeanor, the girls gradually lowered their guard. Naïve and inexperienced, they were completely oblivious to the flaws in Salomon's lies. They gradually regained their liveliness and began chattering about their village, Salem. Salomon, smiling, took some candy from his dimensional bag, unwrapped it, and handed it to the girls, while simultaneously sifting through their conversation for useful information.

Under the onslaught of candy, these malnourished, thin girls quickly revealed what the sorcerer wanted to know. First, there was a priest in town; the white church spire Salomon had seen on the hill belonged to a priest named Paris, and one of the four little girls was Priest Paris's daughter.

"Hello, Elizabeth." Salomon patted the little girl's head.

Elizabeth bit into the candy shyly, letting Salomon stroke her head.

"It's a shame Abigail didn't come; her uncle locked her up again," Anne said, licking the candy. "Otherwise, she could have enjoyed all this delicious candy."

"Abigail?" Salomon stopped. "You have companions?"

"She's from the Williams family," Ann said. "Her uncle is taking care of her."

"What...what's her uncle's name?" Salomon asked eagerly, having already roughly grasped the era he lived in.

"Mr. Carter, his full name is Randolph Carter, I think."

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"Coulson, hurry! Don't look back, don't look at those monsters! Run towards the gunfire!" Natasha Romanoff ran ahead, being chased by a group of humanoid monsters with dog-like faces and sharp claws. They had mutilated human appearances and barked loudly in a rapid, crying sound during the chase.

Coulson and she fired at the monsters, but their rubbery skin greatly reduced the bullets' drag, and even after emptying their magazines, they couldn't kill them all. The monsters swarmed in larger numbers, forcing her to flee with Coulson.

Natasha Romanoff nimbly leaped over bushes and rocks, running towards the sound of gunfire. After reaching that terrible conclusion, she had a general idea: she and Coulson had likely encountered the same situation as Salomon—to outsiders, they had vanished into thin air. Natasha wasn't sure if these monsters were created by magic, but she hoped Salomon was here too. If her guess was correct, they had been caught up in some magical event, and Salomon was the expert on magical events.

Agent Coulson, also a field agent, quickly followed Natasha Romanov's movements. A faint firelight flickered in the distant woods. Natasha Romanov quickened her pace, leaping over low bushes and into a clearing. She saw the people she wanted to see, and also Salomon with his pistol pointed at them, followed by several little girls. Agent Coulson rushed in, stopping breathlessly as Salomon pointed his gun at them.

"What are you doing here?" the sorcerer asked, frowning. He hadn't noticed any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on a mission when he went to Salem.

"You're missing," Natasha Romanoff said simply. "Chief Fury ordered us to find you. But this isn't the time to talk about that. Did you encounter a monster too?"

"We only saw some stray dogs!" Elizabeth said timidly. "If it weren't for Mr. Damonette..."

"It was probably attracted by the campfire." Even the usually bold Ann was frightened. "Abigail told me that the ceremony couldn't be held tonight..."

"Wild dogs? That's..." Agent Coulson was about to speak when he noticed Salomon giving him a wink. Although he didn't know what was going on, Agent Coulson seemed to sense the strange atmosphere and stopped himself from speaking further.

“Yes, we also encountered some dangerous ‘wild dogs,’ but I shot them away.” Salomon emphasized the noun; he knew, of course, that what he had seen were not wild dogs, but monsters. But the little girls said they were often chased by wild dogs in the forest, a claim that greatly alarmed Salomon—despite seeing the monster's appearance, these little girls still mistook it for wild dogs; this seemed to be a cognitive distortion. Salomon was unwilling to break this distortion until he fully understood the situation, because suddenly mentioning monsters would only provoke the hostility of the conservative Puritans, even if these Puritans were just a few little girls.

Ever since learning the era he was in, Salomon had decided to refrain from using magic in front of these Puritans for the time being. Only in this way could he get these little girls to lead him into Salem, allowing him to successfully approach Abigail Williams and kill that dangerous target in one fell swoop.

"Do you have any bullets left?" Salomon asked. "Let us escort these little girls back to Salem... Don't worry, they're my companions. We're Catholics, not Quakers, but we won't tell anyone what you've done."

Salomon glanced at Agent Coulson, "After all, it's around 1692..."

Coulson, a history major, immediately recalled what he had learned, and with the help of the sorcerer's earlier hint, he suddenly realized the time he was in—on the eve of the Salem witch trials.

"I understand." He forced a smile, bent down, and said to the little girls, "We'll ensure your safety. Please ask around and see where we can find lodging."

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This instance is a modified version of the Forbidden Courtyard + Devil's Child mod.

Also, Abby is so cute.

(End of this chapter)