Brave The Elements

[Jesiah Howell]

With an almost inaudible pop, Jesiah appeared on the side of a winding dirt road, just on the outskirts of a rather mundane and unassuming looking farmhouse, albeit perhaps somewhat unkempt by the surrounding nature, overgrown and wild through lack of human presence in the area, or indeed most other animal life for that matter. The only evidence of recent disturbances to the land were a few minor holes burrowed out underneath the fencing, no doubt by a local family of rabbits eager to sink their teeth into the vegetation growing on the other side. Upon closer inspection, some of the crops in the field had been partially eaten, dangling limply from wooden stakes, held up only by thin coils of wire, while others were uprooted entirely. All in all, it looked quite boring. Not exactly what a person would have expected a Scitorari hideout to look like, but a criminal's lair was never quite so obvious. That would have made the auror's jobs too easy.

Pressing his hand firmly against the gate in front of him caused it to swing open with a loud creak, its metal hinges rusted from years of neglect. But Jesiah went no further than the gate, not until the arrival of the rest of his team. Sara and Samual had already done a search of the immediate area during one of their cases, and uncovered a concealed entrance to something much further underground, as well as the presence of some dark magic. Exactly what was being hidden they had yet to find out, but the situation called for some of the more experienced members of the auror department. Howell was the first to apparate to the scene, and he expected the other three to be only seconds behind. It had been some time since their last tangle with anything Scitorari related, which was frustrating for the Ministry. They had to keep their wits about them and be as careful as possible. There was no telling what or who they'd find. He just hoped it wasn't a waste of their time. They needed some sort of progress, something to prove they weren't sitting idly by while the Scitorari did as they pleased.​

 

[Blaise Masters]

With a pop, Blaise Masters appeared behind Jesiah at the farmhouse that the other Aurors, Sara and Samuel, had recently cased and determined that there was a certain amount of dark magic inside. This could be a fairly large break for the Aurors in their battle against the Scitorari, but they all had known that they would have to move quickly as even though the place seemed to be abandoned the Scitorari could have detection charms or other methods around. He and Jesiah were first on the scene, with the other two not too far behind. There was likely a lot of booby traps around, so they would have to be cautious, and he had been against bringing a younger Auror in on this, but he had been outvoted and he would have to trust that they knew what they were doing and they would behave themselves. With a sigh, he walked over to Jesiah and awaited the others before they could get underway.

 

[Ariana Halliwell]

Pop. Ariana appeared on the outskirts of what to most people would look like an abandoned farm house. The young auror and her colleagues knew better. There had been some objections to her accompanying the more experienced aurors on the mission but they had been quashed. Ariana may have been viewed as the young and inexperienced member of the team but she was no rookie. She had her fair share of experience from her time with MCUSA, she knew how to conduct herself on an operation, no matter what some of the old heads thought. Ariana fell in behind Blaise and Jesiah and waited for the final member of their group to join. Looking up at the farmhouse she began to imagine all that could be waiting for them. Though it didn't look like much there was no doubt the Scitorari would have taken precautions to make sure that anyone who managed to get inside, weren't in a position to tell anyone about it. She, and her colleagues, would need to have their wits about them.

 

[Jesiah Howell]

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<COLOR color="black">As the others arrived, Jesiah lead the way onward, pushing open the gate and striding up toward the dilapidated farm house, his wand raised in the air to cast a swift Homenum Revelio. The only revealed human presences were their own, which the man had expected. It wouldn't have made sense for anyone to come back now, not since Sara and Sam had scouted the area. As was described to them, on one side of the house was an angled door, small and slanted into the ground, leading beneath the foundations of the building. The auror's wand moved again, unlocking the metal latch with a creaky click, and he reached down to tug on its handle, pulling the door wide open to reveal the small store inside. It was roughly two meters in width, with rows of shelves around the edge, but none of the mundane trinkets and tins stacked atop it were of any interest. Rather, it was the floor his eyes were focused on. At first glance, it was somewhat unassuming, but at closer inspection an observer would find it was actually a large trapdoor, previously uncovered by Sara. Jesiah proceeded to open this, also, while igniting his wand tip to illuminate the darkness inside. The steps that lead into the storeroom to begin with continued down into the hole, but his light only showed them so much. "Someone will need to stay by the entrance." The man stated, looking at the three with him. They had no idea where the passage would take them, or what was inside, and they couldn't risk someone blocking off their path back. He looked at Alexia in particular. With her ability to shapeshift, she could blend in better than the others, and he trusted her experience over the rest. If anyone happened to get the jump on them from behind, he felt safer having her defending the entrance over the others he didn't know quite as well.

With a decision made, the rest continued on, descending into a bare stone corridor that eventually opened up into a large, ornate antechamber. From behind the walls could be heard the sound of running water, and deeper into the underground labyrinth came the distinct whistling of wind. Raising his wand into the air, Howell muttered an incantation. Immediately, rows of wall sconces lit up with a bright orange flame, bathing the chambers in a warm glow that revealed each dark corner of the room. It was only then that the man's eyes fell to the concrete ground beneath them, where a large coiled serpent lay etched into its surface. "Scitorari." He said aloud, informing the others with a gesture of his wand. It was just as they thought. This had to be one of their locations, but judging by the thick film of dust on everything, and the few cobwebs across the ceiling, it was definitely not one they'd visited for a long time. That didn't make it any less dangerous.
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[Blaise Masters]

Even though Blaise had done missions like this before it was still a rush as they walked through towards the entrance. He would hardly call himself a dumb kid but he still enjoyed these kinds of things, he knew when to act his age though and he maintained that composure as Jesiah cast a charm to check if they were alone, and he was unsurprised that they were. It wouldn't make sense for them to come back after it had been scouted and discovered by the others. He certainly wasn't going to stay behind to watch the entrance, so he reaffirmed what Jesiah had said and gestured to Alexia to stay behind. With her legilimency & ability to shift her appearance she'd be the best suited to detect and deter any wanderers.

He followed the others inside, and upon a quick look around he easily deduced that it was a Scitorari HQ, but the question still stood about how long they had been away for. "How long do you think it's been abandoned for?" He asked, wondering if there was any chance of them coming back while they were here. He didn't want to be involved in a fight today, but he knew if the situation arose they would all do what they had to do. "Look out for traps." He said, knowing that they would still be active even if this was a defunct hideout.

 

[Alexia Mckenna]

Alexia was no stranger to these missions and being the put and out heroic member of the small group hadn't appaealed to her since her inexperienced years when she'd often wanted to be nothing but the adventurous type. Her years in the field had taught her a lot and her recent successes had shown her she was able to be both the auror and the mother. Being in the field didn't only mean she had to work in the team but also realise when to go solo. Nodding to both Jesiah her occassional partner and Blaise, Alexia turned her eye to the less experienced member of the team, she reminded Alexia a lot of herself, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. "Don't hesitate if you need backup." She didn't want to be hanging out at the entrance if they needed her. Slowly she backed into the forest and shifted her form. She would be monitoring the entrance as well as the minds of anyone who happened by. If she could see their intentions before she saw them physically she had a better chance of concealing the entrance rather than having to risk being seen to send them away.
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[Jesiah Howell]

Jesiah and the remaining two continued with caution, unsure of exactly what they might find lurking at the end of the various corridors, though the place was a labyrinth. Even without the numerous amount of wards, traps and curses usually placed on locations criminals wanted to keep hidden, or creatures such as acromantula and sphinxes, both very popular guard choices, it was still easy for them to get lost in the seemingly endless chambers and passageways. In response to Blaise's question, Howell trailed a gloved finger across the beak of a marble hippogryff, collecting a thick pile of dust at the end of his stroke. "At least a year, if not longer." He could only guess, but it was the likeliest time frame. The other man's next statement was unnecessary, too obvious to even mention for the more experienced auror, though he couldn't speak for Halliwell.

Progress was slow, as every so often it was necessary to cast a revealing spell to detect for dormant magic. The rooms Jesiah passed were almost military in style, various dormitories consisting of moth-eaten bunk beds, or training chambers with singed target dummies. For the most part, it had been cleared out. There were no personal effects in the dorms and much of the furniture was bare. The wizard searched through empty drawers and wardrobes, finding little more than cobwebs and a few blank scraps of paper, which aparecium failed to reveal anything on, but he pocketed just in case. The team at the Ministry could do a more thorough job of looking over anything they found, given the right time.
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[Blaise Masters]

Blaise nodded as Jesiah told him his best guess at a timeframe. It made sense to him, and he wondered why they hadn't destroyed the place if they had been planning on vacating for so long, but he wasn't complaining since this might yield a solid lead for them. With a smile on his face, he continued his walkthrough of the place being careful not to trigger any traps and stopping every now and then to cast a spell to ensure that he did just that. He stopped in his tracks as he approached a strange look tile. "Jesiah, come look at this." He said, and knowing that it certainly looked like a trap he made sure to be careful not to step on it.

 

[Jesiah Howell]

Hearing his name, Howell exited the dormitory he'd been searching, with very little yield, and entered the corridor Blaise was situated in. His eyes followed the other man's to the floor, where one of the stone tiles appeared out of place compared to the others. The outline around it was darker, lacking the usual simple indentation. There was a definite space separating it from the rest, looking as if it could be pulled up, or pushed down, if enough pressure was applied to it. A worn out symbol covered its surface, at first glance appearing to be just a simple triangular shape, pointing them forward. It could have meant just about anything, but the auror had his suspicions. Giving the tile some space, he flicked his wand in its direction, conjuring a wooden barrel in the air. It landed heavily directly over the triangle, obscuring it for a second as the tile itself dipped under the weight. Immediately, the conjured item combusted, engulfed in a blazing fireball. The man threw up a quick shield against any debris, fiery splinters bouncing harmlessly against the transparent wall until there was little left of the original barrel. The triangular symbol, now partially revealed and blackened by ash, was outlined by a burning light, which faded while they looked on, as if it was cooling back down. With the danger passed, Jesiah dropped his shield and lowered his wand back down to his side. "It's an alchemical symbol for fire. Keep an eye out for any similar icons." Howell had been mediocre at the subject at best, but he'd learned enough to recognise elemental symbols. Stepping around the tile, he pressed forward, keeping his eyes peeled for further traps.
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[Blaise Masters]

Blaise nodded to Jesiah when he told him what the symbol meant and to keep an eye out. He knew there must be some important things here if there was also traps to guard them with, so he continued his walkthrough of the facility with a keen eye. He didn't have to search for long, though, before he eventually made his through a small-ish back room and was face-to-face with a big door that held the symbol he had just seen as well as a few more. "Jesiah, come quick." He called out to his superior so that he could come and examine the door and hopefully be able to unlock its secret so that they could find out what was inside.

 

[Jesiah Howell]

At Blaise's call, Howell joined his companion in the small chamber he'd found, met by a large stone door decorated with more of the alchemical symbols they'd already encountered. There appeared to be no obvious handle or method to open it, but to the left of the door were a series of runes, inscribed onto slightly indented tiles, similar to what they had encountered before, only this time, he wasn't so sure there were a trap. Or, more accurately, they seemed to be more a code, or combination, and he had no doubt that a trap would be activated if they got it wrong.

Studying both the door and the runes for a minute, Jesiah resolved that simply attempting to blast the door open would be either ineffective or detrimental. Turning his attention to the runes, he focused on them for a few minutes, unwilling to push one until he thought he understood the puzzle. He could identify some of the symbols immediately, fire, water, earth, but air was strangely absent from the equation. Instead, there were two other symbols that were vaguely familiar, and after wracking his brain, he recalled they stood for some of the less popular elements of wood and metal. "I believe it's an elemental puzzle, much like the rest of these chambers. I should be able to solve it. Step back." The auror cautioned, his own wand at the ready to cast a shield if need be. He recalled his alchemy classes and their elemental components, specifically a lecture on a chinese doctrine relating to generation and destruction, or more correctly, "overcoming". Each element could be defeated or victorious over another, much like a game of rock, paper, scissors.

Preparing himself, Jesiah pushed on the first indentation, the symbol for wood. It glowed with a pale light, and nothing more. Slowly, he moved his hand to a symbol further down, signifying earth, which corresponded with what the stone door consisted over. Wood splits earth. Immediately, both runes lit up with a vivid green light and the stone doorway cracked, crumbling to dust as a new wooden door sprouted into its place. Still, this door lacked any form of handle, too, and practically buzzed with protective magic. The man moved his hand toward the symbol for fire with the idea to burn the wood down, but stopped. That wasn't right. While it was logical, fire didn't correlate with the element of wood. Instead, he pushed the symbol for metal, mentally recalling what he'd learned. Metal chops wood. Again, the runes lit up, and the wooden door splintered as jagged metal pillars rose in its place, yet still they were barred entry. Fire melts metal. Water quenches fire. Howell pushed two more runes in order, watching as the metal pillars melted under a sudden, intense heat, dissolving into a roaring wall of flames, only for that, too, to be snuffed out by falling water, extinguishing it all in a thick cloud of smoke. Flicking his wand, the man cleared the room with a blast of air, revealing, finally, an open entryway leading into a grand room, full of mostly empty shelves that seemed to have once contained a library of books and information. It was the first room with anything substantial, yet the man guessed that the few remaining scrolls and books were worthless. Still, he moved to start inspecting them, gesturing for Blaise to check out the large desk on the far side.
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[Blaise Masters]

Blaise nodded to Jesiah as he explained what it was that he had found, and stood back as he began to solve it. He didn't know if he'd be able to do something like this, so he was glad that Jesiah was here and he knew what he was doing. When the door opened, he grinned. This was obviously a pretty important spot for them to have found and he was quite excited to hopefully find something important. He approached the desk on the far side as he had been told to and upon opening one of the draws he came across a ring. He held it up to Jesiah, "What do you make of this?" He asked with a grin. He knew that this was an important find.

 

[Jesiah Howell]

The fact that one of the rooms was sealed led the auror to believe that, perhaps, there was something worth their time hidden away, something the former residents may have intended to return to retrieve. Jesiah spent a moment rifling through the nigh-desolate shelves and searching the walls for any further latches or indentations that could have led them still further inside. Once Blaise announced his find, the man looked over at the artefact he'd found, frowning slightly. At first glance it was just a ring, yet inspecting it further, he realised it was more than just a band of silver. It had been modeled after a serpent, biting down onto its own tail - the tell tale signature of the Scitorari, an item a few of the public speakers had been wearing. "Judging by the fact you aren't dead, I would wager it isn't cursed by mere touch. I wouldn't risk trying it on. Here." He withdrew a mokeskin pouch, and with his wand levitated the ring in the air so they could all see it clearly. "This could be a decent lead in taking them down. If we figure out what kind of magic, if any, is inside of it, we may just get ahead." He stated, pleased to have encountered something substantial. Dropping the ring into the pouch to keep both it protected and them safe from any effects it might have, now contained within the protective enchantments of the bag, Jesiah and the other two continued to scour what was left in the room - books, scrolls, visibly worthless or otherwise, anything they found would be thoroughly looked over for concealed enchantments or writings. They wouldn't know the extent of what they found until they returned to the Ministry. With the last room cleared, the aurors carefully departed, meeting up with Alexia to return to their offices and finally look over their findings.
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