The Monster Hunt for Monsters (GreenFire)

[firejay1]

@Greenie

​

Jae-Hyeong was sitting on the bed in the middle of the day. The room he had stayed at for the past week was not particularly large or well-furnished. Some parts of it were covered in dust, the sink dripped, and the heavy curtains currently closed against the hot, Egyptian sun were most definitely a little moth-eaten. Comfort hadn't been his top priority when looking for places, though, and he didn't notice any of those things now, as he carefully looked into a mirror. This was not his narcissism at work. Reflected in the mirror was not his face, but a room full of Canadian aurors. He had been watching them carefully for the past week. He had caught wind of them as soon a they had arrived. There were only five of them, but it had been hard not to notice five white wizards setting up shop right across his target: the Egyptian No-Mag tycoon trying to buy what he believed to be an illegally imported regular white tiger. If only he knew what he really was paying for.

The sacred White Tiger of Korea had always roamed free through the mountains. It showed itself only to Ma-Eop-Sa that it deemed to be strong in heart, and represented the very spirit of both North and South Korea. Neither side had ever dared fight over it or claim it, because it was thought that just touching it meant risking their identity as Koreans. Its freedom was their freedom, not physically, but in mind. Through all the invasions, they had come out of it as their own people, unshaken because it was free. One of the duties Jae's organization had been built upon was to keep track of its whereabouts, and one day it had simply disappeared. It had taken ancient magic to rediscover it, and it was to the collective horror of the entire organization to discover that it had been taken by wizard poachers. They had sent Jae to retrieve it. They should have sent an army. Though usually one to work alone, the warehouse Jae had tracked the beast to had been heavily fortified by magics that had clearly been constructed for other purposes. So instead of attacking the warehouse head-on, he had placed one under the Imperius Curse, procuring the buyer and buy date after weeks of work getting the man to snoop around and report to him. The man had been... "retired" from the poacher's ring immediately afterwards, as Jae forced him to attempt to free one of the other creatures.

Attacking the White Tiger en route to the next warehouse before it got sold had been an option, but he had watched them transport others. The group was careful and constantly on the look out for adversaries. They were nearly as paranoid as his organization, and there were two wizards of the bunch Jae knew he would not stand a chance against. His best opportunity would be to nab the beast as soon as it was transported to the No-Mag. Magic simply could not be as explicit in the presence of No-Mag's. Even if the poachers did not care about being found out by the non-magical people, being too obvious would draw governments to their ring, and they did not want that. Jae didn't have to worry about that. The organization was older than Korea itself, it knew how to protect itself from paltry things like governments. He had gone to Egypt and laid in wait, only now to be confronted by an unwanted distraction. Clearly, these pale government rats had caught wind of the exchange, bumbling around clumsily trying to get more information about when it would occur. They were problematic because they were extra variables. He had no doubt they would get in his way if he left them to their own devices, so he had enchanted one of their mirrors to act as a two-way with one he had bought. He had had to improvise heavily, making their already-foggy mirror even foggier so they wouldn't see him and making sure the mirrors were always working, rather than only working when a name was called, but it had served him well enough.

Unfortunately, making the mirror very foggy meant he could hardly see anything himself, and had had to rely on their speech to gather information. The exchange was happening today, and the fools didn't have the least idea. In the week since their arrival, he had attempted to spread rumors about the date of the white tiger's arrival and how it would be transported, rumors practically served on a platter to their door. So far it seemed they had taken it. He just had to hope they didn't find out when the real thing arrived a week earlier than they had anticipated.

He put the mirror down and quietly picked up his travel pack, patting his pocket to make sure he had several scrolls on his purpose. They were scrolls written in elaborate Chinese calligraphy, undetectable by most Western magic, but serving to disguise him as a local wherever he went. He had just reached a door, when a loud crash thundered from the mirror he had just set down. Rushing back to it, he realized something must have broken the mirror on the other side. Rapid English was being shouted in the other room, and flashes of light that were unmistakably spells could be seen even through the fog of the mirror. Biting back a curse in Korean, Jae stashed the mirror under his bed and apparated out of his room. He was too late. By the time he popped into the room the aurors had been staying at, all five of them were dead. The assailant had clearly just rushed from the room, as the door was swinging open. More ominously, a note was pinned to the place the mirror had been. It was handwritten in English. "Back Off."

The door creaked loudly and Jae whirled around to see a stunned Egyptian woman staring at him in the middle of the wreckage, two others in tow. He had heard the Canadians saying they had sent their guide to pick up a "Kirn" from somewhere. Stupid him. He stared back at them and slowly lifted both his hands to show he was unarmed. Oh boy....

 

[Greenie]

Egypt was a place that had always been on Kirn's bucket-list to visit. He had always known he would, one way or the other, but not quite in the fashion he had been asked to come. His work with magical beasts had taken him quite a few places around the world, but the Middle East was somewhere he had stayed clear of due to Non-Mag politics. He knew very well that he could keep himself and his little sister safe, but why tempt fate in more ways than he already had? There had been plenty of safe places in Europe and Asia and of course his homeland of North America, Canada specifically. Still, when the government came calling, and specifically to a fellow like him who could indeed use the financial help as well as already had a desire to visit that ancient land... well who was he to say no? Kirn had pretty much agreed to come to Egypt even before he knew what was at stake.

In his mind, of course. Despite the excitement bubbling that had been bubbling inside him like a potion on boil in a cauldron, his face had been quite calm and passive aside from the small smile that was usually present on his lips.

And so he found himself in Egypt, sitting outside an old dusty bus station on a rather rickety metal bench that seemed as if it would break any moment. He wasn't alone, his little sister Nyla was sitting next to him. The two looked as opposite the other as was possible, and it was always a surprise to those who met them for the first time that they were actually siblings related by blood. Nevertheless they were very close and Kirn had been very against leaving her alone whilst he travelled so far away. Nyla had always been a little weak in health, which had been no surprise to Kirn seeing how their mother had not been the most careful with what she put into her body. By the time Nyla had received her letter from Ilvermony, their mother had passed and she was in no state to be sent to school. Thankfully by that time Kirn had come of age and was more than capable of taking care of her himself.

He wiped at his gleaming forehead, pushing away strands of golden hair that had stuck themselves to his face. The weather had been something he had heard of and thought capable of handling. Boy was he wrong. When they had arrived, the heat has struck them both like a stunning spell... without the pain and bodily damage, of course. Kirn had quickly tied his hair up and away from his neck, though as usual quite a few hanks had escaped. Eventually he had simply given up. Nyla on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the heat. They were both dressed in no-mag clothing, not wanting to invite any suspicion by donning robes or hats. Wands were at the ready even in this attire; it was easy enough to buy clothes with invisible pockets, though one was quite enough for him. Nyla had simply decided to carry a handbag, and whilst Kirn could have simply stowed his wand in his backpack, the chances of it getting lost in there were high. He always felt safer with it on his person anyway.

"Isn't it lovely here?" Nyla looked up at her big brother with grey eyes that screamed doe-eyed. "There's so much to see and learn... I bet we could find different potion books here... we could buy them and take them home when you're done with your-" she leaned close and whispered the last bit "-mission."

Kirn chuckled a little, reaching over and patting her head. "Mhm, we'll do that," he promised. "No sense coming here and not taking advantage of the place. It may take a while though, Nyla." His blue eyes gazed into hers, hoping she knew that he was indeed on a very important piece of business here. "I received permission to bring you here, but you have to stay at the inn. They will have someone there with you... probably one of the Aurors, so you will be safe."

Nyla nodded, though it seemed a little half-hearted. Kirn took note of that immediately. He chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment before smiling. "I've an idea," he told her. He stood up and shrugged his backpack off his shoulder, setting it down on the bench. Nyla looked at him curiously but he kept quiet, unzipping the top of the backpack and peering through its lips. Inside where many different zippered compartments, each with a different coloured zipper. He lifted his head and looked around; everyone seemed rather involved in their own affairs. "Perfect..." He carefully pulled on an olive coloured zipped, opening it enough so that he could slip his hand in.

"Dundee, come on up." He spoke quietly, and for a few seconds he was unsure if his little friend had heard him. Little scratches told him the opposite however, and soon enough he could feel something rather twiggy and leafy on his hand. He grinned as he looked at the black beady eyed creature staring at him from a green and brown twiggy body.

"Oooh..." Nyla sounded excited as she peered at the bowtruckle named Dundee. "I can take care of him?"

"What do you say, little one?"

Dundee looked as if he was pondering over the question, the end of his 'arm' resting where his chin may have been. He then nodded his head and skittered over to Nyla's waiting hands. From there Dundee quickly made his way up her arm and settled on her shoulder close to her neck, mostly hidden by her long tresses of wavy black hair.

Kirn was a little relieved; he didn't like leaving her behind but it was necessary this time around. At least she would have a little friend to keep her company. Now they just had to wait for their guide to arrive. He presumed it would be easy enough to find them at the bus station, seeing how different they looked than the locals. Sighing, he zipped the compartment and then the backpack, replacing it on his back before settling down once more. He wasn't too worried, having dealt with dangerous magical creatures before.

It was humans, magical or otherwise, that made him wary.
​

 

[firejay1]

Nenet knew she was a little behind schedule. She had been sent to pick up the magical animal specialist and his sister from the old bus station, and along the way gotten sidetracked by an elderly woman who had been lost. Even with the magical vehicle slipping through traffic, she knew she might have left the two waiting. The buses were horribly irregular, though, so there was a chance they hadn't been waiting too long. Driving up near the bus station, the half-marid pulled herself out of the car and hastened towards the station, hoping her guests were not too angry with her. They were not difficult to find. Though Egypt had its fair share of tourists, most of those who used this local bus were not wandering tourists, and the two fair-skinned people sitting at the bench stuck out among the crowd. She hesitated, though. They did not look much like siblings. The man had glorious golden locks and eyes of striking blue, while the girl next to him had raven hair and wide, innocent grey eyes.

Taking a breath, Nenet approached and asked politely in her British-accented English, "Hello? Are you Kirn and Nyla? I was sent to pick you up. My name is Nenet Issa." Thankfully, she had not gotten the wrong people, and the three of them were in the car soon and heading back to the room the aurors had rented. Neither had brought a substantial amount of luggage to trouble them with, so once they arrived at the building, it was a simple matter to go up a flight of stairs to the room. Someone shoved past the three of them in a mighty hurry, dark head ducked so she didn't get a chance to see his face. She did, however, hear him cursing under his breath in some kind of foreign language. It wasn't French, English, or Arabic.... An odd person, but she didn't pay him much mind. "So the room should be coming up on your left." She told her two guests as they crested the stairs. To her relief, they had not been angry at the delay. Both had been rather sweet, actually, and she turned back to give them a brief smile.

Then, she saw it. The door was still swinging slightly, clearly having been thrust open with some force. Alarmed, Nenet rushed forward, forgetting about her guests as she reached the door, which was beginning to slip closed. Grabbing it by the edge, she tried to push it a little wider slowly. Unfortunately, that simply made it emit a high-pitched squeal, announcing her presence to the man in the room. Her bright blue eyes widened in shock as she surveyed the scene before her. The five aurors she had guided around in the past week were strewn across the floor. Only one, who had clearly slammed the back of his head against a mirror that was now in pieces, was bleeding. The others had to have been killed with magic. A man who looked like a local stood in the middle of the bloodless carnage, looking at the empty mirror frame upon which a note had been pinned. At the sound of the door, he whipped around to look at her, and Nenet felt her blood freeze in her veins. He looked equally shocked to see her and raised his hands slowly. Making a little start, Nenet fumbled with the small hobo sack she always kept slung around her shoulder. She nearly dropped it, making her feel slow and stupid, but finally she managed to pull out a short, thick little cylinder of metal known to the muggles as a "Wand of Ra," holding it out in front of her defensively, knuckles whitening.

"Wh-Who are you?" She asked, shakily.

This man also cursed in a language she was unfamiliar with, though it was a different one from the one the other man had used. Then, he spoke. When he spoke, however, it didn't match his appearance at all. His English was painfully accented, as if he was not terribly comfortable using it, but with no accent she was familiar with. "I am Jae-Hyeong Ryu. I did not kill these people. I just wanted to help free the White Tiger. Who are the three of you?" Three? Nenet turned her head to see the siblings had followed her to the room.

Swallowing, she turned back to the maybe-murderer and started, "I- I am- My name is Nenet." Pressing her lips together into a tiny little anxious line, she glanced at her charges, unable to find anything else to say, silently pleading for backup.

 

[Greenie]

Kirn had already taken his wand from his invisible pocket, making sure Nyla was behind him. Well, it was presumptuous to call it his wand, seeing it had actually belonged to his mother. Nine inches long maple with a core of unicorn hair, it was all he had left of his mother, willingly or unwillingly. By the time it had been his turn to head of to Ilvermorny, she had squandered all their money, being unable to buy most of his textbooks and equipment, including a most important wand. This was given to him out of necessity, and it had served him well. After all these years, he had kept it, not willing to waste money on a perfectly usable wand. It never really bothered him that another wand which actually chose him may serve him better.

Nyla, thankfully, had her own wand, and she had it out and pointed at the strange person, though unlike Kirn her hand was shaking, grey eyes widening further as they stared at the dead aurors strewn on the floor like dirty laundry. It took all she had to not back out of the room and find someplace to hide. Unlike her big brother, she wasn't calm and cool in the face of danger. She had enough trouble stay calm and cool in pleasant meetings! She did have the sense to hold her slim seven-inch wand with both hands so that it didn't fall. It looked quite different that her brother's, light poplar wood with a phoenix core.

The name sounded odd and most certainly not Egyptian to either of the siblings, as was the same with his accent. Having lived and grown up in a rather multicultural community in Canada, Kirn and Nyla were used to all sorts of different names and accents. That accent didn't have Middle-Eastern or even North-African in it... rather Asian.

Kirn stepped forward once more, now standing just a little ahead of Nenet. His brow was creased as he wondered whether to believe this man who was speaking to them. It wasn't a hard thing, feigning surprise and innocence. It could very well be this man had been forced to come here under the imperious curse and was only know coming back to his senses.

"You should probably take your disguise off if you want us to trust you." Kirn's wand remained steady, pointing at the man named Jae-Hyeong-Ryu. He was here to free the White Tiger? That had been classified information, at least that's what the authorities had told him. How did this person know what his mission was about, unless he was part of those wanting to sell magical beasts to no-mags?

He felt a tug at his sleeve. "What is it?" he asked, figuring it was his little sister; he didn't dare take his eyes off the man.

"Uhm..." It was indeed Nyla who spoke up. "There's a way... to find out if he's the..." she gulped, unable to say 'murderer'. "Priori Incantato... that way you'd know for sure whether..." Her eyes jerked up to look at Jae and then she fell silent, as if just realizing he could hear her too.

From within her locks of hair a little green head poked its way out, looking at the scene with beady black eyes before hiding once more.​

 

[firejay1]

Jae did not move to remove his disguise. First off, removing his scrolls would reveal them to the three others, and westerners did not need to know about their sacred, ancient magic. Secondly, he still wasn't quite sure he trusted these people, either. The two women certainly looked scared, but the guide still could have been convinced to spy on the Canadians, and who knew who the other two were. "I have told you my name, keun-dae, I don't know who you are. Why should I trust you, either? In order to take off my disguise." He asked tersely, addressing the man.

The girl's suggestion was a good one, though. "I will do so." He said in response. "I am reaching for my wand." He warned, hoping that wouldn't earn him a zap. Slowly, he pulled his thin black wand from inside his jacket. Showing it to them in what he hoped was a non-threatening way, Jae moved closer and offered to place his wand tip to tip with that of either sibling. The last thing he had done with his wand was pack his things, so when the spell was cast, a ghostly version of his backpack would pop out of his wand, random items quickly stowing themselves away into the appropriate pockets, quickly enough to conceal the precise nature of his things. In fact, moving things around had been most of what he had been doing for the past week, beyond a Confundus Charm or Concealment Charm here and there. Even if "Deletrius" wasn't said before the next few spells came out of his wand, it would be pretty clear that he hadn't done anything to the aurors.

He didn't let go of his wand, meeting the others' gazes levelly. "So. Who are you?"

~~

Nenet felt vaguely like she was about to pass out. The Wand of Ra she had held out was primarily protective, meant to ward off Curses and the like, but it had a radius of efficacy. A radius currently being invaded by the very threat she had hoped to ward off. The two she had picked up were showing incredible courage, at least, though. It was clear that Kirn was the most in charge between the three of them, so she allowed him to decide what to do next. All the same, she reached her left hand into her bag to grab an offensive wand, just in case.

 

[Greenie]

Next to her big brother and Nenet, Nyla seemed very much lost and a wallflower. What she lacked in confidence and presense, however, she made up for in instincts, and at this moment she didn't quite think that this person was inherently bad. In fact... she quite believed he was being truthful, that he only wished to help the White Tiger. Maybe they could work together? Wouldn't that be a lovely solution?

"I'm... uhm... Nyla..." she said, though her voice was more a whisper in the air. "Uhm..." She fiddled with her wand a little before deciding to keep mum. She didn't think her talking would help much in this situation, but she did feel it rude not giving her name when the fellow had given his and asked for theirs.

As for Kirn, before he replied, he had his wand touch Jae's. He was glad for Nyla's suggestion; concrete proof rather than assumptions were much better in a tense situation like this, or any situation for that matter. He watched the spells manifest themselves, and after the first few locomotion charms he moved his wand away. It was clear that murder hadn't been on this fellow's agenda. His wand was still in his hand as he stepped a little back, calmly letting his eyes roam the room before returning his glance to Jae.

"Kirn Fraser. These aurors were here to help me find the White Tiger... and now they're dead." He ground his teeth a moment, not in anger but in thought.Once he realized what he was doing he forced himself to stop, letting out a small sigh. What was there to do? This was supposed to be a covert mission. If they were to send an owl to the magical authorities in Egypt... well, he didn't know how they would take that. There was also the Canadian Magical Council to deal with... and they would certainly not be happy with so many dead aurors.

And in the meantime, the White Tiger would be lost to them if any of the above were notified due to red tape, wasted time and other such nonsense.

"I was sent here officially," Kirn started. His grip on his wand was still strong, though it was no longer pointed at the disguised wizard. There was no need to use spells if everyone decided to be somewhat open with their intentions. "These aurors were sent by the Canadian Magical Council to help me take the White Tiger somewhere safe. I am trained to take care of magical beast... somehow I'm willing to bet you already know that, seeing as you're here. So since you know who I am and who I work for, how about you tell me something about yourself... like who sent you here?"
​

 

[firejay1]

Jae considered the man before him coldly. He wasn't too sure who the white girl was, or what she was doing here, but he wasn't completely surprised at the man's purpose. They had been looking for someone with apparently some knowledge of magical creatures. What alarmed him was the fact that he sounded as if the Canadian government had been planning to keep it. Westerners planning to keep the White Tiger. Had this been the true destination of the White Tiger? Once sold to a No-Mag, it wouldn't be difficult to acquire the creature. This "Kirn" fellow could just as well represent a competing power. When he got the Tiger back and returned it to Korea, he would have to tell the organization about this. They would have to be on high-alert for more attempts later.

He kept ahold of his wand, but truthfully, he suspected that making any move to incapacitate the three would be a bad move. He couldn't afford more trouble. He needed to get started tracking the White Tiger again. If whoever had killed the aurors was part of the poaching ring, they likely would've changed their plans already. He looked at dark-skinned woman who had called herself Nenet. Actually, these three might prove useful after all. "I was sent by the caretakers of the White Tiger. We have been watching it through many dynasties and wars. I tracked men who took it from where its place is, and they were to sell it to an Egyptian man. Maybe you know this." He gestured at Nenet, but kept his eyes on Kirn. "She knows this place. I can track these men. If you give me your help with the White Tiger, I will help you find the animals with the poachers."

Turning his attention away from them, Jae began walking around the room, using his wand to repair things and pick up one man's briefcase of potions and some books that seemed of relevant note. He began repairing things in the room that got broken, and cleaned the little blood there was. He did not touch the shattered mirror, though he kept half an eye on it the whole time. "If you will help me," he continued, "we must find another place to talk. Here might be being watched." He explained, roughly. "If not, you should return to Canada."

Nenet looked to Kirn, considering this strange man's proposal. Technically, she had just been a hired guide. She wanted to help, but she wasn't sure she really could, especially if Kirn didn't want to. Mostly, she really didn't want to be left with the stranger with the odd accent who was stepping around dead bodies with a little too much composure for her taste.

 

[Greenie]

Kirn let out a small sigh. Well, this certainly complicated things for him. He worked for the Canadian Magical Council, yes, but that didn't mean he was their sworn servant. What he wanted most was for magical creatures to be where they belonged, safe in their homelands, away from both No-Mag and Magical folk alike, at least the ones who would hurt them. The poachers needed to get their just rewards, yes, but did that mean the White Tiger had to be snatched away from its homeland and shipped off to Canada?

Surely they would understand if I let the tiger return...No, you're being an idiot Kirn. All councils were always after one thing, power. He would bet this would simply end up as a winning point for the aspiring Ramona Shiller, who had been behind the 'Save Magical Creatures' campaign that finally funded enough galleons to open a sanctuary for abandoned and orphaned magical creatures. Whilst he did admire what had been done, it didn't seem to Kirn as if she actually did any aside from lending her name.

"We'll help him... won't we?" Nyla asked, big grey eyes shifting from Jae to look up at Kirn. She could tell her big brother was in deep thought, but they had to think quickly. What if those who had caused this... terrible tragedy returned? Or worse, what if their delaying caused the tiger to be gone for good?

"It's the right thing to do." Kirn finally spoke, looking back to Jae. "I'm not returning to Canada anytime soon. Governments ands councils aren't my first priority here. I want that tiger safe and sound where it actually belongs."

He looked away from Jae to Nenet, an apologetic smile on his face. "I'm sorry, I know this is not what you were hired for... but Jae's right, we need a safe place to talk. You know the city best, and... it'd be safer for you as well."​

 

[firejay1]

Jae liked what Kirn was saying. He wasn't completely sure if he could trust the man, yet, but at least it sounded as though he wasn't a devout government employee. With someone like this, he might actually be able to negotiate for the Tiger's freedom if it came to that. For now. One thing at a time.

The others turned to look at Nenet, and she sighed. "Yes, I know a place. Let me-" She dropped her Wands of Ra back into her pouch and reached out her hand for the other three, but flinched as Jae lifted his wand.

He didn't attack, though, just cast a small "Revelio" around the room, checking for any remaining enchantments. Nothing appeared, and he nodded at her. "Okay, yes. I am prepared."

Giving each of them a sideways glance in their turn, Nenet gently made contact with each of them and apparated them to a dark, unoccupied alley. There was a door in the wall next to them, but the alleyway otherwise led to a dead end. Knocking twice on the door with one of her Wands, she snapped her fingers and entered, revealing a cold, stone cavern, extending deep into the darkness. To one side was a small, but very clean little bed, and there was a door set in the right of the cavern that led to a little bathroom, but it was clear this wasn't meant to be a living space.

"This cavern is safe." Nenet said, nervously. Truthfully, these caverns weren't meant to be common knowledge, and she felt uncertain taking utter strangers to it, but desperate times. "There is a network of them underneath the city. If you truly have a way of tracking the White Tiger, this will take us far." She pulled the door shut behind them, blocking out all the light. They'd have to light their way magically. A draft blew through the caves, and Jae reached for the scrolls under his robes, taking advantage of the momentary darkness to deactivate their magic and stow them surreptitiously into his bag. By the time the rest of them moved forward, he'd be looking himself again.

 

[Greenie]

Apparating had never been Nyla's favourite way of travelling, even if she had done it countless times with her big brother. The feeling of being pushed from everywhere, your insides being twisted yet actually not, and then suddenly just arriving in a new place... well, it was all rather disconcerting. Still, with one hand keeping Dundee in place so he didn't end up somewhere he shouldn't, she allowed herself to feel that uncomfortable for the moment. Blinking, she wondered if they were in the right place, eyes taking a while to adjust to the dark alleyway.

Looking up at her brother, Nyla wasn't surprised to see he looked unfazed. It didn't take much to cause him surprise, and she supposed it was to be expected that Nenet would bring them someplace that wasn't brimming with others.

"Well this is lovely." If anyone else had said it, it may have sounded sarcastic, but Kirn was sincere as he stepped through the doorway and looked around the cavern, glancing over the little bed before looking over to Nenet, listening to her words. "Hm... that does sound rather useful for our little mission."

The sudden darkness caused him to quiet down, though it didn't remain that long as long as Nyla had raised her wand. "Lumos." Her quiet voice sounded rather loud in the silence.

"Thanks," Kirn told her, patting her head before intoning the lumos spell himself. He then looked the Jae, momentarily taken aback when he realized the young man looked different. "I see... Well, the sooner to go the better. Jae, you seem rather informed and you've been here longer than myself. Do you have any suspicion where they must have taken the White Tiger?"​

 

[firejay1]

((Sorry the post is short. You can describe the area they get to if you'd like, to push us along. It's okay if you'd rather leave it to me, too.))

The man adapted quickly. Jae let a small grin tug at the corner of his mouth at being instantly recognized for himself despite his change in appearance. He didn't bother to mutter a lumos spell himself. He didn't know how far these caves stretched or where they led to, but if other people were here, or even the smugglers, there was no reason to draw extra attention to themselves. He would simply have to trust the others for now. As for finding the tiger, the smugglers either would proceed as planned, or would move most of their "items" to a new warehouse. To some extent it depended on who had attacked the Canadian aurors, and how much the smugglers knew about them. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell any of these things just yet. He had wanted to take a piece of the broken mirror with him, to see if he could spot any enchantments that might give them some clues but it hadn't been worth the risk. Someone had probably been watching him from the other side. That thought bothered him, but he said nothing of it. These three strangers didn't need to know.

"I think it is they had a place where they keep the animals. It is outside the city a little. If they are not there still, they might have left some clues, though. You cannot apparate there if you don't want them to notice, so these tunnels are lucky, if they lead that far." He lifted his wand and muttered "Remetior." A spell to find a location you've been before from a new location. A line shot forward from his wand, painting the way forward in a dim glow. It wasn't the most subtle of spells, but it would lead them within walking distance of the area, where he had made his hideout previously. Hopefully they hadn't found it already. "Be on guard." He cautioned, without adding any extra explanation. He heard the dark-skinned woman mutter something under her breath and grab one of those odd metal tubes she'd been holding out before. He would have to ask what those were later.

 

[Greenie]

Once Jae's location finding spell was in place, Kirn let out a quiet "Nox," letting his wand darkened once more. There was no need for extra light seeing they had their way ahead. Nyla however kept a tight grip on her lit wand. She wasn't particularly fond of the darkness, despite often being compared to nighttime due to her rather dark hair; it was always a point of humour for people who knew them how one was so literally bright in comparison to the other sibling.

Unlike Kirn, who seemed to take Jae's disguise rather calmly, Nyla couldn't help but cast glances at the now young and clearly Asian young man. She wondered what spell he had used. Or maybe the polyjuice potion? She didn't think the latter; it seemed riskier to her... She shook her head, biting on her lip. Now was not the time for her to be distracted! It was the first time she'd ever come in contact with a dangerous situation, unlike Kirn whose whole profession was known to be as dangerous as fighting against fire, sometimes literally!

Kirn started forward, not really following anyone but the glowing light from the spell. A wisp of loose hair fell over his eyes, though he ignored it for the time being. He didn't know about the others, but the tunnels seemed quite comfortable to him. He was used to being in close and cramped places, and this was actually quite pleasant in comparison. There was enough breathing room and space that they needn't unnecessarily bump into one another, and thankfully not as hot as it had been above ground.

It was hard to tell how long the walk lasted, and no one seemed to wish to break the tense silence, which was probably for the best. Thankfully they all seemed to know the benefits of stealth, even Nyla, as clumsy as she normally was. At last the seemed to reach the area where the glow came to an end. Muttering a soft "Lumos", Kirn stepped forward, finding himself in a small cavern like the one they had entered in where Nenet apparated them. "Do you know this place then, Jae?"

​

(hope this is fine! ^_^)

 

[firejay1]

Jae was not fond of the dark, dank underground. It reminded him a bit too much of his childhood, and the other orphans down there with him, but he had learned that there was a lot you weren't going to like in life, and none of that mattered when you had a job to get done. They moved forward, continuing to follow the glow until they reached a small cave. He looked around. It didn't look familiar, but the trail had ended for sure. The woman, Nenet, stepped forward and began probing the walls, seeming to focus on a random stretch of cave. She pulled out one of her wands and muttered over it, before cracking it in half to reveal a liquid she poured over the stretch of wall, which melted away to reveal a small settlement in a sort of forest. It was covered with branches and well-hidden, though a small bed of sorts had been made in it. Otherwise, it appeared untouched.

Good. They hadn't found it. Jae warned softly, "Step carefully and quietly," and made strides to be the first out. The small hideout was not covered with a spell, but lots of layers of brush, and shifting one section away revealed something of a peephole looking out over a short cliff overlooking a valley. There didn't appear to be anything down there, but Jae fished out a pair of old-looking binoculars enchanted to detect signs of life through various types of hiding enchantments. Looking through them, however, would reveal nothing. As he had suspected, they must have moved warehouses. If anything was still alive down there, there was a lot more magic being expended to hide it. Only one way to find out. Holding his wand carefully, Jae apparated down to the valley, backpack and all.

Nothing attacked him. In fact, there was no sign that anything was around at all. He stared around him, pointed at where he knew the warehouse to have been and said quietly, "Revelio." Slowly, the structure came into view, a large building somewhat resembling a high school gymnasium. There were windows, but no lights came on, and no alarms blared at the spellwork. Jae looked up at his hideout to whoever was still up there, indicating it was safe to come down. The more eyes to search what was left of this, the better. Who knew what they were going to find, there, and what traps had been left behind. If he was right about what was going on, they had left in a hurry. The people and merchandise would be gone, as well as any REALLY important clues, but others would be left behind. Probably a couple bodies, too, of whoever they hadn't been terribly sure of. If he'd known this was going to happen, he could have snagged the White Tiger right then, in the midst of the hullabaloo, and wouldn't have had to deal with this whole mess now. Too bad he hadn't had any warning that someone was going to tip off the smugglers and kill a whole room of Canadian aurors.

He grimaced and marched for the building, setting up a few protective spells around his person and hoping the wards he couldn't detect in time weren't going to get him killed.

 

[Greenie]

Making a mental note to ask Nenet about the wand and what had been inside it, Kirn decided to remain silent and simply allow the Egyptian guide to do what she had to. He couldn't imagine what she might be feeling right now- this was certain not what she had been hired for and he doubted the payment would be sufficient to repay her for her troubles. It would have been easy for her to simply leave... then again, who knew if her life was in danger now simply by associating with them?

This also brought forth the niggling thought that maybe bringing Nyla along hadn't been the best of things to do...

Too late to think about that now. All he could do was make sure she remained safe.

He pushed away the forbidding thoughts for the time being; they would do him no good now and make him lose focus. Instead, he paid attention to the now revealed settlement. While he wasn't surprised with what was before them, he had to admit the concealment spell, or whatever it was, was rather useful. Nodding at Jae's warning, both he and Nyla did as they were told. He followed the Korean man with his eyes, wand at the ready just in case. Before he could ask anything further, however, Jae had disappeared.

"Where on-"

"Over here," Nyla called, beckoning at her brother before heading over to the peephole and looking out herself. Nodding, Kirn followed suit, a small frown creasing his forehead. Well, apparently Jae was fine and had made his way down in the valley... but why? It was hard to tell anything from this distance, but seeing that Jae was safe and calling them down- or at least that's what Kirn assumed- he decided it was probably best to head down there as well.

"We need to go down there as well," he muttered, looking away from the peephole to Nyla and Nenet, though he hesitated a little when he glanced at the latter. "My apologies, because of us you've been dragged into something you weren't expecting... to be honest, I wasn't expecting it either." A sigh escaped him before he continued. "I won't ask you to come along if you don't wish to."

With that said, he took hold of Nyla's hand; a brief nod later the two had apparated in the valley. "Let's catch up," Kirn said, sounding a little grim. Now that he was down in the valley he could see the large warehouse type building. "Keep your wand out and ready, Nyla."

Even as he muttered a protective spell around the both of them, he strode forward, easily catching up with Jae. His blue eyes flitted from the man to the warehouse, unsure what he was thinking. "Somehow I doubt this place would be left so unprotected if the White Tiger were still here..." He gritted his teeth before forcing himself to calm down; just because they were late this time didn't mean they would have to be the next. "Hopefully there are some clues in here as to where they're headed next."

Nyla, who was following after the two in a slightly slower pace, tried to offer a solution. "Maybe... maybe you could use a niffler? I mean... if there's anyone still in there with valuables... maybe it will be able to find it?"
​

 

[firejay1]

Nenet stared around the small encampment with a mixture of wonder and growing concern. Whoever this guy was, he was definitely scaring her. She poked one of the leaves. It certainly looked real, as if he'd camouflaged the entire place without the use of magic at all, which made no sense. She took a few cautious steps around, not noticing Jae disappearing. She did lookup as the siblings spoke, though, surprised somewhat to be addressed by the nice man. "Oh- uhm." No, this wasn't what she'd been expecting. In fact, she felt very out of her depth, and was pretty certain most of this was out of the purview of her agreement with the aurors. He hardly gave her any time to settle her thoughts, though. He just told her she didn't have to come, grabbed his sister and left with nothing more than a nod.

She scrambled to the edge, where Nyla had been looking and hastily apparated after them. She had definitely no idea what she was doing or what was going on, but she wasn't going to just leave like that. Some part of her felt maybe that it was a bit of a sting for such a slip of a girl to be expected to go along with this bizarre situation she hadn't signed up for either, while she was told she wasn't expected to have the courage? She found herself scooting closer to the three others, clutching her bag tightly, not even sure what wand to try and grab now. The olive-skinned woman swallowed and tried not to let the fear and uncertainty show, though she was not sure how well she succeeded.

Nenet wasn't particularly certain she liked this... Jae, whoever he was. His strange appearance, his story, and now the way he was scoffing at the two others made him a mixture of unlikable and untrustworthy that was rather rare for her to feel about someone. "No, of course there is no tiger, nor anything else, and a niffler is not useful." The scorn in his voice was evident. He cast both Nyla and Nenet a mild glance that she didn't like, and added, "The women could better stay back." It wasn't a nice thing to say, but then he muttered another Revelio at the door and an Alohomora and the warehouse opened.

It wasn't smelling yet, but give it a day, and Nenet could just imagine the stench of death that would have come whooshing out at them with the opening of the doors. The warehouse was like a large barn with fences instead of wood. Some enclosures gave an impression of what had inhabited them. Scorch marks on the floor, claw marks on the wall, closed spaces with spines embedded in the fences. A rare few still had some creatures in it. There was a whole tree of bowtruckles that had simply been left behind, no doubt because it would have been more of a pain to transport. But the most prominent features of the space were the bodies on the floor. There weren't a lot of them, and most of them looked like natives.

The strange boy was as impassive as ever, and his voice cut through her thoughts as he knelt down beside one, tilting the face upwards with his wand. "It does not look like they were very important people. The- hm- smugglers maybe even thought they have a traitor. Easier to kill them than take a risk." He stood up and kept going, inspecting the cages, poking at the ground to see what had been dropped, and taking particular interest in what appeared to be an empty stretch of wall to their left. He tapped on it with his wand experimentally, but Nenet had averted her eyes well before he got the secret door to reveal itself.

Earlier, with the aurors, too much had happened at once. It had felt like they were in danger, and the dead people hadn't fully registered. But knowing she would have to step over the bodies if she wanted to help search the warehouse for other clues, Nenet found herself overwhelmed. She covered her mouth and backed away, dry-heaving slightly.

 

[Greenie]

Nyla seemed rather subdued after her idea was shot down. She looked to the ground, feeling rather awkward and silly. He was right of course, it was a stupid idea, and she probably could have figured out something more useful than her idea. In fact, she had decided to think carefully and perhaps come up with something better when Jae cast Revelio.

Kirn wasn't too keen on leaving Nyla behind, and now that Nenet had decided to follow, he felt the same towards her. It didn't matter whether they were female or male, and even if he was one to think of genders, he didn't fancy leaving them behind anyway. What if there were wizards hidden, biding their chance. He wouldn't put it past them after the events of today. He looked to both Nyla and Nenet, waving them to follow before turning around.

What he saw naturally had him pause in his steps. His jaw clenched as he willed himself forward, looking at the bodies strewn on the floor. He could hear Jae speak, voice rather impassive as he spoke. Somehow that didn't surprise Kirn, though it didn't make the younger man any more amiable to him.

Lakri seemed to notice the bowtruckles on the tree even before Nyla and Kirn did. The little beastie climbed off Nyla as quickly as it could, running to Kirn and quickly crawling up Kirn, grabbing on to the man's hair and giving a loose hank of hair a noticeable pull. Kirn looked down, clearly perturbed. Lakri the proceeded to gesture impatiently toward the tree. "I see..." And of course, as he walked further inside, he realized the other rare creatures there as well, including a wampus who seemed very disgruntled to be so far away from home.

"We can't just leave the others here," he muttered. Maybe they weren't the white tiger, but they deserved the same respect as any other creature. He knew the white tiger was a priority, but there was no way he could simply ignore this. Just like the creature he had been sent to seek, these ones here did not deserve whatever fate was decided for them.

Meanwhile, having gotten over her awkwardness, Nyla looked over to Nenet, seeing the native woman had a had to her mouth. "Are... are you alright?" She quickly reached into her bag, pulling out a bottle of water. "Here... this might help."​

 

[firejay1]

Nenet gave the smaller woman a glance and gratefully took the bottle of water. "Thank you," she said, before uncapping the bottle and taking a draft. It didn't really make her feel better, but it did help her take a moment to get ahold of herself. She closed her eyes after having taken a sip, and returned it to the girl a little more composed, at least outwardly. "You are very strong." She told the other woman with a small smile. Stepping forward a little, Nenet knelt down in front of the first body. "So much death.... More than enough for one lifetime." She said, softly, mostly to herself. Never minding what the two men were doing, she gently began pulling the bodies to the side. For each one, she made sure their eyes were closed and they were laying peacefully on their backs. Folding each one's arms across his or her chest, she took one of her wands out of her pack and shook it to mix it, before sparing a little of the liquid to place on the foreheads of each corpse. Technically, the liquid was to help purify the environment or water of sickness or parasites and as such there wasn't much point using it on a corpse, but it was the best she felt she could do to at least symbolically grant these poor people peace.

Jae, for his part, had discovered a secret door. Taking a look at his companions revealed... well, not much good in his opinion. There was the native woman fussing about the dead bodies, of all things. Then the man, fussing about the other creatures. He suppose he should have expected as much. He didn't hear what Kirn muttered to himself, but he knew that the other man's main priority wasn't going to just be the Tiger. He clicked his tongue. This was why he was better off alone. He tapped on the wall with his wand three times and whispered, "Alohomora Duo." The door made a little click noise and slid back. He wasn't expecting much from a door locked with something simple enough for even a strong Alohomora. He was pleasantly surprised. Waiting just inside the door, paws crossed politely over one another, sat a sphinx. Whatever in here was going to be valuable. She did not look pleased to see him or anyone else.

She spoke in what Jae had come to recognize as Egyptian, but far too complex and quickly spoken for him to understand with his limited knowledge of the language. Taking a couple steps back, he called for the others. "Kirn, Nyla, Nenet. There is something to see. Nenet needs to translate."

 

[Greenie]

Nyla was surprised to hear such a compliment coming her way. Her, strong? The opposite had been said to her most of her life, Kirn being the exception who would always encourage her instead. "Oh... um thank you," she replied, returning the small smile with a shy one of her own. The truth was she was feeling just as rattled by the dead bodies, but she really didn't want to be seen as something of a burden. Seeing Nenet pulling the bodies to the side, she decided to help as well. It was a slight struggle, but she would do as she could.

She watched Nenet curiously as the other wizard did... well she wasn't quite sure what. It seemed those wands she carried were becoming even more curious objects than she had thought before. She waited patiently and would have probably asked the wands and their properties if not for hearing her name, along with Kirn and Nenet's, called by Jae. Looking to the Egyptian girl with a 'I wonder what's the matter?' look on her face, she turned away from the dead bodies and tentatively headed in Jae's direction, rather relieved when Kirn left the cages and came to join them as well.

"A sphinx..." he breathed, blue eyes widening. Now this was a creature he had heard of a plenty, but he had never actually made acquaintance with one. They weren't exactly endangered like most of the beasts he aimed to protect, and frankly they were a little scary with their intelligence and riddles that could cause even a smart man to scratch his head for a while.

The sphinx seemed to remain patient for the time being, which he was sure all four of them would be grateful for. However, it could only remain so long, and he reckoned they would only have one chance to get the right answer.

It spoke again, its voice a little more insistent, repeating its previous query.

"I have cities, but no houses.
I have mountains, but no trees.
I have water, but no fish.
What am I?"​

 

[firejay1]

Nenet translated the riddle for the company, leaving out the warning the Sphinx gave that they would be eaten if they got it wrong. Judging by the looks on the two boys' faces, there was no chance they were going to back down from this challenge. The riddle made not the slightest sense to her. Cities and mountains and water? What could it be? Her mind spiraled through a million abstract possibilities, some of them patently ridiculous. She never had been much good at riddles.

Just when she was getting panicked enough to want to blurt a random guess, Jae spoke. His voice was calm and clear, even with his heavy accent. "A map."

The instant he said it, it felt as though it had been the obvious answer, and Nenet was slightly disappointed she had not thought of it herself. It didn't even require a fluent knowledge of the language. She relayed the answer to the sphinx, and the great creature paused for just a moment, looking slightly disappointed, before getting up and stepping past them to leave the room. It seemed to accept that if one person in the group had access to it, so would the rest of them.

Behind it was a beaded curtain, glimmering slightly. It gave Jae a bad feeling. He was right to feel suspicious about it. He had held back long enough for Nenet to reach the curtain first, and when she touched it, she yelped. The beads were burning hot, and the second she touched them, they had started to rain down from the curtain in a constant stream, enchanted beads starting to scatter across the floor. Whatever was behind that curtain, it was going to be a challenge to get through to it.

 

[Greenie]

Kirn hadn't been too sure of the answer for the riddle, so he while in most normal circumstances he would have been happy to waste a little time figuring it out, he was grateful that Jae had solved that mystery easily enough. Even Nyla had that look of enlightenment on her face that one usually had when they realize they had been looking through all the wrong answers when the actual one was quite simple.​

​

Thankfully the sphinx left them to their own devices, but it seemed their troubles were far from over. Hearing the yelp from Nenet and the subsequent scattering beads, Kirn hurried over to Nenet, frowning as he looked at her hands. "You okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.​

​

Nyla had stayed back, but she too came forward, wand in hand. "Episkey." she murmured softly, tapping her wand against the Egyptian girl's hand. The last thing they needed was for one of their group to not be able to use their hands.​

​

"Good thinking." Kirn pulled out his own wand from where he had stuffed it under his belt, pointing it in the direction of the falling beads "Arresto Momentum!" For a moment it looked like the spell didn't work, but then the beads began to slow down until they were nearly still. "Let's get these beads somewhere else before they hurt anyone else. Depulso!" The banishing charm was successful on quite a few of the beads, sending them behind the group and out of their way. Still, there were more to contend with... and meanwhile, the sound of something could be heard from the other side of the destroyed curtain.​