Who's They?

briar half watched the shop when minoas had gone to get food however most of her attentin was on seaching the crowed. she heard Elbio tell her that theise preformers preformed every year and watched them for a few minutes. "they are good" she said although she thought it was a bit of a waste of time and magic the illusion that they put on was nothing short of amazing. when they finished with the growth of rocks from the ground she cheered. like everyone else until the comentator started talking and a hush fell on the audience. it was then that minoas arrived back in his seat. "a light snack, you are developing an appitite like mine" she said laughing and taking some og the nachos. when he offered them. she hadnt thought she was hungry until there was food. she placed her eyes to the omnioclars again and looked at the stnds, it seemed like all the staff were prepairing for something big about to happen. it was then that the comentator announced that the duel trophies were about to be announced. maybe if she came again next year she would enter a duel. not that she wanted to win the competition but just the prospect of a duel sounded ike fun.
she watched as two men and a lady got an award cheering for each of them in turn. once the final deafening cheer had stopped and briar had helped herself to some cheesy chips from minoas her attention had been all but taken up by the arena. as the man said something about master duelists, pagrons, and world class duellists.
just as the two first duelers were squaring themselves off against each other briar felt a prickle on the back of ehr neck the cind of prockle you get when someone is watching you. she quickly turned around expecting to see someone standing a tow or two behind her looking at her. however she didnt see anything odd. she looked back at the center and a few minutes later it came again. "do eith of you feel like someone is watching you?" she asked. as she felt the prickle for the third time.
the uel started and she watched the spells fey. it was clear that both people had skill, but ut looked like the lady had better practice and at the moment she did seem to be using the upper hand. able to freeze the mans shield until it looked like a ball of ice around him. then all of a sudden fire came stripping out and the ladies wand towards the sphere until it as momentarily on flames. "i don't know who he is but he looks like her will be a good dueller" she said as the ice had cone and the spells were bring fired rapidly so almost anyone could keep up, even s with the omunocularss on slow where was not much t wee other than colured flashes of light. "do you think that he can be who you are looking for?" she said. talking though her eyes remained fixed on the game.
 
There was so much going in the arena that it was hard to shift your attention from the show and search in the crowd. While Minoas was away, he slackened a bit and decided to enjoy for a while the show. When his friend returned with his hands full of snacks, he started looking again at the opposite stands.
"We'll have to roll you out of the building if you eat all these on your own. Let me help you." he teased with a straigh face and went straight for the fries and the melted cheddar.
"Oh yeah! I was waiting for this!" he sat up when the awards for the best duelist was announced by the booming voice of the commentator. Undeniably it was the best moment of the award ceremony, just because he knew what it was going to follow right after it.
"Hwaldarkarsh! What? You don't know him?" he stopped his cheers, surprised that both of them seemed unfamiliar with him.
"He's the best of the best! A walking legend! There's no better duelist to ever been to this competition! He had never lost, not once!" he tried to sum up a few fact about Hwaldarkarsh. The words were coming out of his mouth like golden dust. Like he was talking about someone holy. Elbio didn't cease applauding through out the time Hwaldarkarsh was giving the awards to the new duelists, who had little significance in front of that man.

Alarmed from Briar's statement, he looked around him.
"Nothing out of ordinary. Why? Do you think is someone's watching us?" he asked conspiratorially, lowering his voice. Not that anyone could hear them when the cheering was so loud. He soon gave up looking around them for suspicious faces when the commentator announced the duel between the new winner and one of the Paragons.
"Those people down there are the Paragons." he pointed at the lower, opposite stands where the old man returned to hava a seat. There were six of them, all dressed in maroon colors but we different accessories depending on their age and their personal taste.
"They have proved their skills as veteran duelists and they travel the world participating at a variety of events. They also offer lessons on how to become a better duelist. I'm planning to do that after school and challenge them in the end. Who knows, maybe I could become one of them." he started waffling again, his starry eyes fixed on the Paragons through his omnioculars.

"Awesomesauce! Wavelyn is up against him!" he shouted and joined the crowd calling her name. It was hard to hide he had developed a crush on her.
"If you don't mind, I would like to have an autograph from her when the ceremony is finished." he informed them as the duel begin. He zoomed his omnioculars at Wavelyn as a beam of ice was darted out of her wand to collide with the protego shield of her opponent. He used the different functions of the omnioculars to record the moment the ice hit the other dueller and started freezing his wand hand.
"Oh yeah! This is how she's doing it!" he said and replayed the moment with his omnioculars to rewatch that moment. Her opponent managed to repel her offensive spell and responded back with some fire charms.
At the edge of his seat, he kept rooting for his idol, cheering every time a spell of hers was successfully finding its target.
"Well I told you most about him." he said as he watched Wavelyn blocking another fire spell with a water one.
"He must be around the age of ninety. Actually now that I think of it, no one knows about his accurate age or his real name." he took his eyes off the omnioculars for a moment, frowned now that he had came to think of it.

He turned his attention back at the duel. Now this year's winner was struggling aganst the series of spells Wavelyn was casting at him.
"Someone is having a hard time." he smirked as he was waiting for the inevitable. The new champion launched three jets of fire to his opponent. Wavelyn didn't lose her cool and her next spell striked the ground in front of her. A wall of water rised in front of her from the fissure on the ground to extinguish the fiery jets. Then she commanded the aquatic wall with a swish of he wand to cascade on her opponent and trap him inside a mass of water. The man was holding his breath, struggling to release himself from his water prison. Wavelyn swished her wand again and the body of water raised into the air with the man in it still trying to counter the water spell. With a huge plop, the torrent was guided by gravity back to the ground and released the man, exhausted on the now flooded part of the arena. The man made an attempt to stand up and keep on with the battle but he collapsed on the ground. Wavelyn was announced the winner of the duel as she along with a team of healers rushed at her opponent to see if he was alright. The defeated man soon was able to stand up and walked again with just his ego wounded a little bit.

"That's how she's doing it!" he said and joined the stands at a new round of applause as Wavelyn took the hand of her opponent and raised it along with hers to thank the crowd, in terms of good sportmanship.
"She's using ice spells, making her opponents use fire-based spells to counter her. She's doing that on purpose because her strength is in water spells. Of course she changes her strategy but this one always works on cocky first time winners." he stated. He had been studying the strategy of each one of the paragons. Nothing better than knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents.
"Shame we won't have the opportunity to see Hwaldarkarsh dueling." he said and used again his omnioculars to focus at the duelists' stands. Watching Hwaldarkarsh applauding his fellow Paragon, the memory came as a jolt.
"Hang on! Hwaldarkarsh is usually holding a staff!" he stated and tried to distinguish if he was having it with him and it was just not visible from there. He reached the maximum zoom that the omnioculars were offering but he seemed to not have it with him today.
"I'm sure about it. He doesn't have it right now but he does all the time. He's even holding it in the poster I have in my room!" he insisted, knowing he was right and they could have possibly bumped into the one they were looking for.
"It might be him!" he said, excited they could be talking to him soon.
 
In any other occassion, Minoas would be thrilled with the duel that was taking part in the arena. However, the possibility of this man being the one he was looking for, had fixed his attention at him, watching every single move of the old man through his omnioculars. He looked old enough to be a world famous duelist but his grey eyes were full of wisdom and experience. Minoas had focused on them as they were following the flashes of light exchanged between the duelists in the arena. Suddenly, the old man switched his attention from the action and looked straight at Minoas, as if his gaze had pierced through the omnioculars' lenses and could see his stalker. Minoas baffled and automatically turned his attention at the duel, pretending he was focused there all the time.
He was listening to what Elbio and Briar were saying about the duel but his heart was pounding so fast in his head that he couldn't make out what exactly they were saying.

As his heartbeat slowed down, he made an attempt to relocate that Hwaldarkarsh in the crowd. Minoas almost stood up when he found the man's seat empty. "He's gone!" he shouted in the cheers of the crowd. "He's not there anymore!" he turned panicked to his friends. Elbio's information about Hwaldarkarsh holding a staff. came too late. "Great. Just great." he mumbled, cursing under his breath as he made a second attempt to find the old man. He was either moving very fast or he had just disapparated from the stands because there was no signs of him leaving the scene. Minoas wanted to throw his omnioculars on the floor and smash them. When they had finally figured out that this man could be the one they were looking for all day, he just disappeared like he was an illusion all the time. He was ready to grab his backpack and leave the colloseum with the hope he was going to bump into that man while exiting but his fingers didn't reach for it.

His eyes widened with surprise when he realized that his backpack was no longer next to him. This time he stood up panic stricked and looked around him. His back was on the empty seat behind him but it wasn't there alone. A house-elf had almost shoved its entire head inside the backpack, fumbling for something. "Hey, you! Give it back!" he shouted furious at the house elf that took finally out of the backpack what it was searching for. "I'm sorry sir but Tooji has to take this." said the creature with a throaty voice. A mischievous expression stretched across its big-like characteristic as it took out of the backpack the scroll case. Minoas reacted automatically and pounced on the house elf to take from it what it was intending to steal. The house elf was quick enough and jumped out of his grip, hopped on Minoas head and made its way behind him. As the house elf hopped off his head, Minoas' face fell against his seatback and blood oozed out of his nostrils. They had managed to attract the attention of the people around him but Minoas didn't even noticed that as he clenched his nose to see blood in his palm. He turned around to see the house elf provoking him by showing him the scroll case it had stolen in a taunting way. Then it started running between the row of seats, heading for the exit of the colloseum.

"It took the scroll case." he coughed as the blood rolled down to his lips. He used the back of his hand to wipe away most of it and grabbed his backpack. He didn't know what his friends were going to do but his already chasing that house elf. He started shoving people out of his way, trying not to lose from his eyes the mischievous creature that had managed to steal from him, his most precious possession. He followed the house elf down the stairs away from the stands. "Give it back you or you're going regret it." he shouted, damn serious as he was running behind the elf in the long corridor leading to the exit. "Now, now Mr Stratis shouldn't threaten Tooji. Tooji has now what's really important for Mr. Stratis." squeaked the house elf as it made it to the building's foyer and apparated on an antique chandelier, out of reach. "How do you know my name, thief?" gasped Minoas, as he stood there watching the elf swinging on the chandelier. "Thief? THIEF?" shrieked the house elf highly offended. "Mr Stratis is the thief. This is not Mr Stratis' possession. This belongs to MY master!" yelled the elf and disapparated, leaving behind it the chandelier swinging alone. The creature reappeared at the exit of the colloseum and got out.

Minoas had no idea what that mad elf was saying but he couldn't let escaped with the scroll case. He kept chasing it down the marketplace with the creature apparating and disapparating randomly on tends and benches causing chaos and making Minoas' job even more difficult. It was so bad that he couldn't use magic ut of school. If only he could use his wand, he would have slowed down that elf. However, what the elf was holding currently in its hands was what Minoas wanted to get back with every fabric of his being so he was driven by determination to not stop. "Mr Stratis is getting closer. Perhaps Tooji should give him something to play with." screeched the house elf as it paused on a bench full of pottery. With a snap of its finger, vessels and other utensils made of clay raised in the air to zoom towards Minoas. They were dozens of them and Minoas couldn't use his wand to protect himself.
 
Elbio had no idea how Hwaldarkarsh could be connected with the scroll case that Minoas had in his possession. He was a huge fan of Paragons, the world-class duelists and knew an array of details about their lifestyle, their habits and other personal information. With Hwaldarkarsh being his favorite out of the five duelists, he knew the most about him but he had never heard of this old man being associated with scroll cases or something similar.
The truth was that this man was somewhat mysterious on the first place. No one exactly knew how old he was. Even his biography that Elbio got as his birthday present last year, didn't refer to his age or from which country he was coming from. He got alerted when Minoas next to him told them he had lost Hwaldarkarsh from his sight.
Elbio looked through his omnioculars as well using the maximum focus on the officials' stands. Indeed the seat that was previously occupied by Hwaldarkarsh was now empty and he was nowhere to be found.
"He's a crafty old man. He knows how to make an appearance and...a disappearance as you can see." he said amused unlike Minoas who looked rather worried.
"No big deal mate. We can find him at his tend. I know where the Paragons' camp is." he reassured him. He had visited their camp while the three of them had split up and searched on their own.

He had just finished talking when he looked baffled at Minoas who had suddenly stood up as if he had been electrocuted.
"What's wrong?" he asked and looked behind them as Minoas did. A house elf had snatched Minoas' backpack and was searching for something that turned out to be the scroll case. Minoas made an attempt to stop it but the house elf was too agile for this. Elbio flourished his wand, ignoring the people around them who had turned their attention from the arena to them. Half way to cast a spell he remembered he wasn't allowed to do so outside school. He saw his friend chasing after it and with no second thoughts he picked up his own backpack to follow him.

"C'mon, let's go." he called Briar before they were going to lose the house elf and Minoas. Elbio hadn't took the whole situation too seriously as maybe the other two had. It probably was his best time at the festival. They weren't static. They were in constant move and he enjoyed how this had turned into an unexpected adventure. He was trailing Minoas who was ahead of them possibly following the house elf. He left the colloseum and entered the market. There he lost Minoas for a few moments in the crowd between the benches but he found him again standing in front of a bench.
"Did we lost it?" he asked out of breath only to see the house elf on the bench before them, bewitching pots and other pieces of pottery and unleashing them towards their direction.
 
Briar was half watching the duel and half watching the man as the boys talked about him, she over heard things about the current fuelers technique, it was very impressive. she took her eyes out of the omniocilars to say that is was an impressive duel. and that she thought she should enter next time. not that she wanted to be a world famous duellist but because it looked like fun and she not had much opportunity to really play with spells since she had graduated. maybe she should join a duelling club or magic gym or something. as she looked back through the binoculars she heard minoas say that the man had vanished. she scouted the aisle to see where he had gone but couldn't see him anywhere. next she started turning the dials on the omniocilars trying to figure out which one rewound. she stopped it, managed to make it mirror image. she had just got it to go backwards (still mirror image) when she heard a shout next to her. "he just van..." she said a little later she looked across at the boys just in time to see minoas chasing after what looked like a house elf and Elbio following them. what was going on now?
deciding that they wouldn't be returning quickly she picked up the bags that had been left and headed after them. she was a little way behind the boys but that didn't matter, running was what she was made for. it didn't take long for her to catch up. she wasn't a fan of crowds but running through them was not much different than running through dense forrest. trying to find the clearest path through. she had just about caught up with minoas when the elf tried to slow them down with some flying pots. yeah like that was going to slow her. she was about to reach for her wand when she realised that with her hands full it would have been pointless. instead she waved her left arm in front of her silently casting impedamenta on them stopping them in their tracks hovering for the store owner to collect. "sorry" she called to them as she passed.
speeding up in an area that was slightly quieter she over took her brother and lead the persuit of the elf. now she could see the elf. it had the scroll minoas had been guarding for a year now. and no matter how fast she ran the elf just kept a little faster than her. she slowed down a little to make sure that the boys didn't got left behind. instead she kept an eye on the elf trying to shoot a summoning charm at the scroll, but every time she tried the elf moved and she missed. "come back here right now and return the scroll or be warned I am from the department for control of magical creatures and will give you clothes" she threatened the elf. although she doubted he would listen to her threats.
 
Minoas' pupils dilated watching so many pots coming his way. Briar was there at the right time to stop them down as the closest one was just a few inches away from Minoas' face. Now that they were slowed down, he could just move away and Briar just let their owner to collect them.
He watched the house elf hopping amused on the awning of the bench, despite the failure of its attempt to distract them and slow them down. Briar threatened the creature but it seemed unaffected by her words.
Instead, it replied rudely by blowing a raspberry. "Stupid Mrs Rowan. Tooji is not afraid of your threats. Tooji is a free elf already." said the house elf, pointing at the clothes it was wearing. Just then Minoas noticed that the elf was wearing clothes along with a hood and a peculiar belt with a big button on it. The house elf hopped excited one last time before it disapparated with a snap of its small fingers. It reappeared back on the road, surrounded by startled people looking at it. "What are you waiting for twits?" it called and waved at the three humans.
"Tooji still has the scroll case."it let a throaty giggle before started running again, jumping from bench to bench and then back on the road.

Minoas followed Briar who took the lead after the pesky creature. He just wanted to catch this house elf named Tooji and get back the scroll case. He had no idea who was his master and how he knew that this scroll case was so important for him but all that mattered was the safety of the particular artefact, although he still had no idea what secrets it was holding. The house elf was too agile. Even Briar had a hard time to keep up with it, imagine Minoas and Elbio breathless following behind them. Minoas soon got the impression that the house elf was luring them to a specific location as they left behind them the market and arrived at an isolated location, away from the events of the festival. The house elf was leading them straight into a cluster of trees, a wood in the middle of nowhere. "Guys, it might be a trap." he decided to warn his friends in case they hadn't realize that the house elf was luring them somewhere. If it just wanted to steal the scroll case it would have already disappeared.

The house elf heard the boy finding out about its plan and slowed down as it entered the woods.
"Tired already?" squeaked Tooji with a long smirk. "Tooji can't believe that these loafers were protecting the scroll case." it apparated on the branch of a tree and shook its head with its pointy, long ears flapping around it.
"How do you intend to save your father when you're even more worthless than a stupefied gnome." sneered the house elf with a devious smile. Something got activated inside Minoas when he heard the house elf referring to his father. It knew something about the abduction. "You - You're dead!" he barked furious. He ran faster than before and overtook Briar, meandering among the trees after the house elf that squealed frightened. It was the combined work of adrenaline and anger but without realizing it, he caught up with the house elf and his fingers locked around its lilliputian collar. Minoas snapped the scroll case from its grip and while still holding it from the collar, he held it against the trunk of a tree. "Who's your master? What do you know about my father? Talk!" he shouted enraged as he raised the house elf off the ground, shaking it violently. Terrified, the house elf tried to escape but the boy's grip was too tight that it couldn't disapparate.
"Let go of me! Help! Help me!" it yelped desperate to release itself. "If you want to live, start talking. What do you know about my father?" he repeated infuriated. His once soulful, grey eyes were now like clouded skies striked by a chain of lightnings. Just another provocation of the house elf and he was going to lose control.
 
Hwaldarkarsh was rushing through the artificial woods he had conjured earlier this morning to surround his tent just for aesthetic reasons and to feel like home. A few minutes ago he was enjoying himself at the Colloseum where the Award Ceremony was taking place. He knew before entering the building earlier this afternoon that he wasn't going to enjoy the whole ceremony as he was expecting some visitors to come and see him. More precisely, he was aware that two boys and a young woman were looking for him the whole day around the facilities. He knew very well that what they were wanting to ask him about was of great significance to one of them. Hwaldarkarsh was considering to help them even before the three of them had set a foot at the Festival of Innovative Magic but as always, this old man wasn't going to give advices without making their lives a little bit difficult. After all what they wanted was far from the usual requests he was getting from young wizards to be accepted in the clique of the best duelist of the world. Everything seemed to have gone as planned so far and he had heading back to his tend, where he had requested the house elf to bring them.

He entered his striped teal and lilac tent with the hem of his long maroon cloak muffling the sound of his footsteps. He passed by the armchair and the fluffy cushions on the floor arranged in a circle and went for his staff leaning against an old bookcase. His staff was made out of oak from a Norwegian forest he used to dwell for a few months and although the piece of meteor on the top of it was providing the perfect conductor to channel magic, he didn't really need it in order to cast. It was mostly a comfort to have it with him because even with all those years he was carrying on his shoulders, he didn't need it neither to support his walking. The commotion that disrupted the eerie silence of his forest announced the arrival of the young ones. His surprised grey eyes widened when he distinguished the yells of the boy and the shrieks of the house elf. He rushed to get out of his tent, foreseeing this could get out of control.

Emerging out of the tent he saw the boy grasping and threatening the house elf. The other boy and the young woman were just coming out of the trees into the clearing. "ENOUGH!" rumbled Hwaldarkarsh's voice and stroke his staff on the ground. An invisible force jerked the boy away from the house elf, releasing it from his grip. The old man's eyes were like storm clouds ready to bring on the three of them a biblical catastrophe. "Could any of you explain to me why you are trying to strangle my house elf, please?" he demanded. There was sarcasm hinted somewhere in his deep voice but it was almost extinguished by the austerity shot like acid rain from his gaze. He was aware what was going on as he had orchestrated all this in order to bring them to his own territory and away from unwanted attention. He was also familiar with what the house elf was holding. He couldn't believe that the day he was going to see this artifact again had arrived. He decided to ignore for now the scroll case and hear from the young trio before him what was all this about.
 
Elbio had never expected a house elf be so fast. Minoas was leading the way. He and Briar were right behind not able to do much to prevent the house elf from escaping with the scroll case. In particularly, Elbio could do nothing as he wasn't allowed to use magic outside Hogwarts and in addition, he wasn't fast enough to catch up.
While his heartbeat was pounding in his ears, he still managed to hear Minoas pointing out that this could be a well set trap. As the chase was moved on in a forest all of a sudden, Elbio sensed that something was out of place. The sudden change of scenery seemed abnormal and combined with Minoas' warning, it just didn't feel right. He had no more time to process what was out of ordinary as he heard Minoas shouting in the distance. He had managed to catch the house elf in the end.

Before he was able to get closer to his friend, Elbio halted when he noticed someone else coming at the scene. It was Hwaldarkarsh who stabbed his staff on the ground and sent Minoas flying backwards.
"Are you alright?" he helped Minoas to stand up, giving him his hand. He looked at Hwaldarkarsh and the house elf which took back the scroll case. It seemed to be the old wizard's house elf after all. It had taken refuge next to the intimidating old man, knowing that no one was going to harm it while its master was around.
"This is not our purpose sir." he decided to talk first, knowing already to much about the man they were facing. Hwaldarkarsh was the man he was looking up since he was five years old. His room back in New Zealand was decorated with posters of him and the other famous duelists.
"Can I call you Hwaldarkarsh? I mean, you are my favourite out of the Paragons and I have bought your biography twice, I also have a replica of your staff and...can I have an autograph please? That will make me the happiest fan ever." Elbio kept babbling, excitement building with each word he was adding.

It might be sounding like a delirium to Minoas and Briar but Elbio had a plan. He knew pretty well that Hwaldarkarsh was receiving less love from fans because the rest of the Paragons were much younger and therefore easier for young children to relate to them. He was just trying to swell his ego and flatter him, making him more cooperative. "The only reason why we are after your house elf is because we thought it stole what belongs to my friend." he decided to stop complimenting him excessively and not overdo it.
"Now it is clear to me that you ordered your house elf to bring us to you." he let him know they had figured out by now what was going.
"We were also looking for you. It seems you know a couple more things about this scroll case than us and we would really like you to share your knowledge." he concluded, hoping he wasn't trying in vain to gain his trust.
 
Briar kept running after the pesky elf not thinking how close the boys were behind her. she was so focused on the elf that she hardly noticed the scenery change around her from the festival to a woodland. she just seamlessly adapted her running to it. if the wolf had known her he would not have brought her into the forest. this woodland had always been her home. where most people saw trees, she saw opportunities for food and shelter, and when people saw rough terrain she saw paths. it wasn't until she heard minoas close behind her say it may be a trap. "trap or not. the elf is there with your scroll and i will be going to get it back." she went even faster she half wished she had the bow from the centaur. if it came to it she knew she would be able to slow down the elf with it if if not she would be able to catch a nice rabbit or something else for dinner. it wasn't long until they reached the clearing where the elf was standing alone. she drew her wand and pointed it at the elf. she didn't want to hurt it. but if it made any sudden move she would be ready. all of a sudden Minoas was flying past her towards the elf colliding with it hard, and tackling it to the ground shouting at it. however briar was distracted by the sound of movement behind the trees on the other side as she looked she saw what seemed like a figure heading towards them. "Min" she called in warning but it was too late. the man she had seen came into view casting some sort repelling spell strong enough to toss minoas across the clearing. "I Don't know who you are. but if you mess with my brother you have me to face" she said. standing between the old man and minoas. eyes sparking as she looked at the man before deciding he wasn't going to do anything in the moment and turning to check on minoas. "are you okay? min. she asked seeing Elbio was there giving him a hand. when she saw that he was uninjured (or if he was only very minority) she looked back at the man. opening her mouth to speak Elbio got there first. he seemed to recognise the man, the man they had been looking for at the stadium, the world famous dueller. she still didn't trust him and that was clear as her wand was still ready in case he did anything. as elbio spoke though she felt her left arm ncolentry lower though not fully and she was still watching him with the eyes of the hunter she was (or was it the eyes of a brave rabbit who was watching a fox). when Elbio had finished she stepped towers the man. she didn't care if he was a world famous dueler. she wasn't going to show fear. she hardly knew the definition of the word. "I am afraid this Elf stole the scroll from my brother. He is rather attached to it you see and he was trying to get it back. If he doesn't return it i am afraid i will have to record it at the ministry. house elves aren't allowed to take other peoples belongings, and believe me i will make sure the report gets seen by all the right, or in your case wrong people. also there is a lot of press around at the moment too, i am sure they would be happy to report on the famous duellist who cant even control his own house elf" she said, threatening him slightly. she didn't want to sat how attached to it he was as the man could use it to his advantage if he didn't already know. and she had always found attack the best form of defence. when it came to everything. people finding out she was a werewolf was the prime example.
 
For once, Minoas wanted someone else to feel the pain he felt that day when his father was taken in front of his own eyes. This house elf could easily become a scapegoat now that anger was boiling in his veins. It wasn't in his nature to harm other but he really wanted to see it suffer. He was so blinded he didn't realize someone else was there until something stroke him forcefully on his chest. The rags the house elf was wearing slipped through his fingers and he was sent flying backwards until he ended up hard on the ground.
"I'm good." he replied to his friends who made it to the scene but his attention was all on the old man with the maroon cloak and the staff. It was the man who he have been spying on through his omnioculars at the colloseum. The elf named Tooji had claimed earlier to be a free elf but it rushed to hide behind the man, cocking its head from behind the wizard's hem to shoot a malevolent gaze. He wanted to say so much but his friends took over. At first he wanted to interupt Elbio and tell him, it was not the right time for worshipping but he figured out what they sly Slytherin was trying to do. Briar on the other hand, had a more straightforward approach. She didn't even flinch to threaten the man who was older and obviously wiser than her by many years.

"I have no interest of your house elf." Minoas took a few steps towards the man to confront him.
"The scroll case is mine. It was given to me by my father and I'm going to take it back whether you like it or not." he let him know, his words laced with seriousness. Minoas got to the festival in order to get answers however now, he was fearing he was going to lose his only clue. He wished he could take it back instantly and leave right on. He could find another way around but only with the scroll case in his hands. In a moment of clear thinking, he looked around him and realized they were all alone in the woods with this man. Minoas had no idea what his intentions were and although Briar had her wand on the ready, he could guess she couldn't match up with this man. He was awarding for a reason the new duelists.

Minoas was loosing patience. He didn't know if Briar's and Elbio's different approaches were having an effect on the old man in order to cooperate with them but the Gryffindor couldn't simply wait any longer. "Now give us what your elf took from us and we will leave you alone." he said and another step brought him closer to the old wizard, shortening the distance between them.
 
Hwaldarkarsh stood silent and still as the three youths started explaining what was going on. All three of them chose a different approach to address him and give a reason for this turmoil. The boy with the camera had the most amusing one. Hwaldarkarsh let a soft smile crack on his wrinkled face but not for long. It was nice to see he had fans of such young age. It was flattering that people were still remembering the deeds of his past. However, the girl's and the other boy's attitude made him take back his intimidating look. His grey eyes were the only part of his face that could have betrayed something of what he was thinking but probably weren't enough for the three of them to figure out. After they all finished, Hwaldarkarsh let a moment of silence, letting the summer breeze whisper through the leaves of the trees around them.
"What is yours will always find its way back to you. And this is no different case." his voice was laced with tranquility. The scroll case darted from the elf's hands to his own free own with a blink of his eyes. He examined the copper artifact for a moment. There was no doubt. It was the scroll case. "I have no idea young lad how this object ended up in your possession but it is certainly not yours." he said and focused at the boy with the grey eyes. "You see, I was the protector of this scroll case." he said, expecting to see surprised faces.

Hwaldarkarsh didn't offer them enough time to recover from this revelation. Instead, he let the scroll case fly back to the boy in order to give it back to him. "You can have it though. I'm no longer its rightful owner. No matter how it ended up in your hands, you are responsible for its safety." he pointed at him. He sounded like placing the weight of the world over his shoulders. "It's a shame." he continued slightly disappointed. "You came all the way here to learn about your father and you are eager to give up at the first obstacle." he said, knowing why they were there long before they had set a foot at the premises of the festival. He was expecting the grey eyed to insist not to hear him saying they were going to leave. "You are free to go now. You have back what you believe is yours. Farewell." he concluded and remained still at the same spot, waiting to see what would be their next move.
 
It was hard to say what the old man was thinking while they were explaining why they were there. The man was even harder to read than Professor Styx. For this reason, Minoas was alerted to draw his wand and defend himself and his friends. Didn't matter if he wasn't allowed to use magic outside Hogwarts. This man could be dangerous and react in any possible way. Better have his wand snapped rather than lie dead on the ground.
When the man finally spoke again, his intentions seemed anything but hostile. Yet again, Minoas was careful for any sudden reaction of the duelist. That until he revealed something about the scroll case. It was the same feeling like being hit by a disarming charm. "What?" he gasped, taken aback. Jaw dropped, he grabbed the scroll case returned back to him. "The scroll was yours?" he asked surprised. "But how? I mean, my father gave it to me. He told me to protect it." he continued while thoughts were racing in his head of how his father had it in the first place. The old man could be lying, this thought had also crossed his mind but in this case, why he gave him back the scroll case. He could have easily disapparated with it already if he wanted.

Another statement of the man, came like a slap on Minoas' face. "Hold on! You know about my father?" he inquired, his surprise slowly clouded by composure. The divination professor was right. This man could help him or at least, he knew something about the missing link between his father and the scroll case in his hand. The thought of being lured into a trap never slipped his mind but he couldn't resist asking more when there were possible more to learn. "I'm not going anywhere. You'll tell me what you know or I'll stay here forever. You're going to tell one way..." he said and searched for something in his pocket. "...or the other." he ended and flourished his wand to point it straight at the old man. He regretted this action a few seconds later but it was too late. He could have incensed the man with his rash move of threatening him but he was feeling it. He was too close to think properly and he was determined not to leave empty handed.
 
Hwaldarkarsh was glad to see the boy getting his swagger back. There was a smirk back on his face. A smirk hard to read under his grey beard. "Ah! Finally the lion woke from its sopor I see. It was about time." he commented right after the boy made it clear he wasn't going to leave. When Hwaldarkarsh saw the wand pointed at him, his smirk turned into a laugh. "Hold your horses young lad." he said. "You got guts, I give you that. You should know though when you can point your wand at someone and shoot threats at them." he said and focused his gaze on the boy's wand. "And when to just keep your mouth shut and control yourself." he concluded as his non-verbal spell made the boy's wand radiate heat, eventually urging him to drop it down. The grey-eyed had some serious discipline issues. He wasn't going to last a day against the people who were craving the object in his hands.

"For your information, I would really like to help you my children." he began saying, his eyes darting from the boys to the girl. He liked the spark in their eyes, but he couldn't just help them without proving they were worth his time and his knowledge. "But, if you knew me better, you would know I don't offer my assistance to everyone without proving themselves first." he said, feeling sorry for what he was going to say next. He knew they couldn't do much. They were too young. "Unfortunately, you are too young to challenge me in a duel. You can't use your wands outside your school and I'm not interested in dueling children." he stated, expecting them to react to this, especially the younger looking boys. "I'm sorry that you wasted your time by coming here. Perhaps you'll find another way to find what you seek." he added and his knowledgeable grey eyes shot a piercing look straight into the boy's sparkling ones.
 
Briar listened as Minoas and the man had a conversation or rather the man taunted minoas who was reacting a lot better than she would have done if she was in his shoes. she kept her wand trained on the man ready to fire a barrage of spells at even the slightest provocation. thankfully minoas's tactic seemed to be working as the man handed the scroll back. she still didnt trust the man entirely, well he didn't trust him much at all, there was something he wasn't telling them she was sure. she didn't lower her wand she glanced at minoas every now and then making she he was okay and didnt need her to help him at all. however he seemed to be doing well as he was "you said 'i was the gardien'. this to me sounds you are not any more and you should then return the case to its current guardian minoas"she said however it seemed like the boys didn't hear here as they continued talking. they seemed to be doing things well and she knew from her prior experience that her hot headedness was often one to make things worse, but she couldn't help it. however when the man dd something to minoas's wand she took a step towards him. "finite" she did waving her wand at min hoping that would be an easy fix. it was then like she felt like a real part of their conversation and thus started to take more of an active part in listening to him and minos talk.
when the man said that he would only give information if they beat him in a duel and he wasnt going to duel kids she had had enough. stepping in front of minoas she tossed her head back flicking her mess of ginger hair as she did. "children? how old do you think we are?" she said a chuckle in her voice "I challenge you to a duel mister. right here right now." she said her eyes sparking as she reached a level of annoyance that if one was able to spark would have mini lightening cracking through her hair. she had never been one to react well to people telling her she couldnt do something. and if dueling this man meant her brother would get answers so be it. she didnt give two tosses about her own safety. what fun was safe? and she didn't even think about what could happen to her if she lost or how she could possibly take on a world class duelist. he had as good as asked for a gauntlet and she had thrown hers down without even a moments hesitation.
 
Hwaldarkarsh waited for them to leave. He didn't want them to but still what he was expecting hadn't took place yet. He found interesting the way the girl was looking over the boys, especially the one who had claimed the scroll case to be his own. He remained silent, standing imposing and composed looking at them. A hint of contentedness spread across his wrinkled face. He finally had heard what he was anticipating to hear from the girl. "Oh right. You are a woman now Ms. Rowan." he nodded a couple of times with a soft smile. "Fair enough then. I accept your challenge as a duelist and member of the Paragons." he said and clapped his hands together. The ground quaked underneath their feet as the grass sneaked back into the earth. The terrain around them changed drastically as trees and rocks started vanishing. The ground ceased shaking only when they were no longer standing on the grassy clearing but on the dirt of a dueling arena. A couple of benches at the left side of the arena were the final touches and the torches at each corner got lit with blue flames. "You can use this bench to leave your bags or anything else that might slow you down while dueling. You also have five minutes to strategize. I'm sure this lad knows even what kind of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean I prefer." he smiled as he looked at the other boy who seemed to be a fan of him.
 
As a true fan of Hwaldarkarsh, Elbio knew almost everything about his life. His favourite musicians, how many times per day he was enjoying a cup of tea, how many wands or staffs he had changed throughout his career along with details about their woods and cores and so many more. The man's duelling strategy was just another thing that Elbio had studied extensionally. Like most of Hwadlarkarsh's fans, he was aspiring one day to challenge him in a duel. It was quite a challenge but knowing his strengths and weaknesses was a good start. The man was almost always in the mood for a duel and this time was no different. He was known for even challenging the reporters who were asking him for an interview. Despite Hwaldarkarsh's eagernes, Elbio and Minoas couldn't use magic outside school. However, this wasn't the case for Briar who took a bold step forwards and challenged herself the man in a duel. As Elbio had no doubt that Hwadlarkarsh was going to accept her challenge and suddenly the clearing turned with an earth tremor into a duelling arena. The old man really enjoyed this kind of tricks. Elbio glanced towards Briar thinking she had low chances against a veteran duellist but from his part she was going to get as much help he could provide.

He walked over to the bench and waited for his companions to do the same. Five minutes to come up with a strategy were enough. At least for those couple of things he wanted to tell her.
"I'm assuming you haven't come up with a plan yet. Let me tell you a few things you should know if you don't want to be knocked out with just a cast." He got straight to the point.
"Don't be fooled by his appearance. His spell-casting is extremely fast and he can move quite fast as well." He warned her. It sounded ridiculous for someone of his age to be swift with his movements but she maybe was going to witness this pretty soon.
"Now, beware of wide range spells." He emphasized the last three words. "He uses them a lot and he's really good at them. Don't think that the distance between you and him it's safe enough. He expects you to think in this way and uses it against you. He's also used to duel many challengers at the same time and he uses his surroundings to his advantage." He almost whispered, making sure that the man wasn't hearing them strategizing. "The most important thing you must have in mind, whatever he'll do try not to cast defensive spells." He continued and glanced over at Hwaldarkarsh who was waiting them. "Better dodge his spells because he's really good at turning someone's defense into his offense." He went on. He hoped he hadn't provided her with too much information. She needed a clear mind if she wanted to have any chance beating him. "Any questions?" He waited to hear her queries.
 
Briar let out a tut of humour wen the man said that she was a woman now. "of course i am a woman. I always have been" she said not quite getting what he was saying. but there was one thing she knew. one ideal that she lived by and that was that if someone said she couldn't do something, or thought she was inferior for whatever reason she would go out of her way to the ends of her capabilities to prove them wrong. it was then that she felt the world shake and a moment later the forest had morphed into an arena like a smaller version of the one in the festival. she looked at the bench where the man said she could leave her things and followed his advice leaving her bags there. before looking ad Elbio who would be her best aide in this. "any tips" she asked and almost instantly the boy started giving information about the mans duelling technique. she took it in. "right, don't underestimate him, he is quick, and fight fire with fire. got it, good job that it my technique." she said summing up what she had been told. "good job that its my normal approach to things" she said. smiling and trying to be confident. she took a drink of water from her bag and had a mouth full in the hope it would calm down the unusual churning in her stomach, something she hadn't felt before but she guessed it was trepidation as the red head was a gryffindor at heart and thus was hardly ever unsure or nervous. "let the firework display commence" she said turning and making her way to her part of the field a little early wand in her hand and jaw set. she certainly didn't want to keep the man waiting. when he was ready she stood her ground and bowed before sending out a jelly legs jinx at him.
OOCOut of Character:
please note this duel is approved and the outcome predetermined thus there is no need for a ref and we will not be following the usual duel points, and using multiple songs in order to save time. (and also as i can see both duelists sending out multiple spells in quick succession)
 
It was gratitude that flooded Minoas inside him. When it seemed he could do nothing else to make this man speak about the artifact, Briar took the initiative and challenged him in a duel. Both his sister and Elbio were not obliged to get through this, yet their commitment was touching for him and he was fully appreciating it. From what Elbio had said, the man was really experienced but Minoas was believing in Briar and her determination. His grey eyes widened when he felt the ground underneath his feet shaking. Before he was able to realize it he was standing on a duelling arena and Hwaldarkarsh had took his place at one end. He offered them five minutes to strategize and Minoas followed Briar and Elbio to a bench. He wasn't sure of what to advise his sister so he let Elbio tell her of what she should look out. He really seemed to have studied the man's duelling style. Minoas looked over at Hwaldarkarsh when Elbio implied that he was faster than he looked like. He quirked an eyebrow in disbelief before focusing back at Elbio's tips. "You'll do great Briar. Show him!" he patted her on the shoulder before marching to the other end of the arena. He sat down on the bench and his fingers clenched at the edge of his wooden seat causing splinters sink in his skin. He was probably feeling the same churning in his stomach as she did. His eyes locked on the jet of light bursting out of Briar's wand, expecting it to find its target.
 
Hwaldarkarsh let his staff magically balance on the ground while he cracked his knuckles. He was dying to have a duel for a long time and although his opponent seemed to be quite inexperienced and young, he was going to release all his power. "Tooji, you better go and sit to the other bench." He advised his house elf as the impact of spells could hurt it if it was going to stay around him. "Don't worry." He smiled when he noticed fear on the elf's face. "They won't hurt you. Trust me." He reassured his elf and watched it walk towards the other empty bench while casting a nasty look at the three youngsters conspiring over his strategy. They didn't let him wait long as the redhead girl took her place at the other end of the arena. Holding his staff, he bowed back in respect of his opponent and let her have the first cast. She didn't hesitated and soon enough a jet of light was coming his way. Hwaldarkarsh raised his staff and her spell got absorbed by the staff's meteor stone on its top. "I thought you mentioned something about fireworks." He commented and casted the trapped energy in the meteor into the air.

A colorful magical projectile launched above the arena. Upon reaching a certain altitude, the projectile erupted like a firework. Like an enormous jellyfish, the firework's tentacles targeted the girl and started dropping towards her zooming in a single, powerful jet of light. Hwaldarkarsh didn't let her deal with just this spell. He pointed his staff towards her and chanted under his breath. The meteor flashed with a fiery aura and right after three fireballs were hurled towards her. Then Hwaldarkarsh hit with his staff the ground and chanted once more in whispers. A transparent wall of hexagonal shapes appeared in front of him and gleamed golden before dissolving completely. He glanced towards his opponent to see how she was dealing with his spells, ready to cast again or to block her counter-spells.
 
Briar watched as the elf seemed scared as he went towards the seat at the edge of the arena. Although she had threatened him earlyer she would never intentionally hurt the elf. She didn't have time to get that message to him (or the inclination) as soon the fight was starting. She watched the other duelist as he prepared and watched his style. Although she hadn't dulled that much in the past she had played quidditch and hunted both of those gave her a few skills which were useful for the fights. Basically they enabled her to anticipate the actions of the oppenent or prey and act on them before they know she knew. However that didn't help her much against this old man as he seemed to have taken dulling and made it into an art form. All she knew was that she hadn't seen the last of her spell when the staff seemed to swallow it.
Sure enough a moment later it seemed to erupt out of the top of the stick like a firework before coming back to her in a single jet of light. Remembering what elbio had sold her about defence she gathered protago wasn't a smart way to go. Also she figured it would be too early to dodge as that was the kind of move that had no finess and she thought that was what the man would appreciate. All that went through her mind in a split second so fact it wasn't a conscious thought what she pointed her wand at the fet and contoured a rock which took the full brunt of the spell causing it to shatter at the exact time she cast depulso on it causing all of the shards to be forced towards the man. She smiled slightly enjoying herself not really thinking about minoas and elbio other than a thought in the back of her head hoping they were enjoying the show. Almost instantly after sending the rock shards to e man she cast another spell. expeliarmous she said though to be honest deep down she didn't know how effective the disarming spell would be on the man, she was sort of hoping that he would mirror it back on her.
 
"Interesting approach..." He mused as both his counter spell and his fireballs clashed with the boulder she set as her shield between her body and the blast. He watched amused the shards of the shattered rock coming his way but he didn't twitch a muscle in an attempt to block them. The hexagonal wall of light reappeared in front of Hwaldarkarsh as the rain of rocks pounded on it and disappeared again when all rocks were deflected on the ground. Hwaldarkarsh waved his staff and a turbulent whirlwind whipped up from behind him and whistled menacingly. The young woman's spell never reached him as the strong whirlwind swept it back to her. Hwaldarkarsh's cloak flapped around him as he breathed out and with a wave of his free hand he created a howling vortex. The vortex picked up the rocks from the ground and added them in its fierce swirls. It dashed towards Briar as the whirlwind blowing from behind him boosted its speed.
 
Briar was rather glad that her plan had somewhat worked her own spell was reflected back at her she had only a few seconds to send some form of attack before loosing her wand she didn't have time to think. One thing she had said before came to mind. Fight fire with fire. That was what caused her to say the first spell that popped into her head and send a fireball towards the man before she was out of time. she pretended to try and dodge whilst letting it hit her. oh flip she said when her own wand flew out of her hand towards the man and she was tossed back a few feet. She hoped that the boys understood what she was doing and played along. She was sure Minoas had seen her fake moves enough time of the quidditch pitch and really this was no different. She was not sure in the exact rules of the duel as it had been about seven years since she had last had one but she knew that although she was a fairly skilled witch the man standing opposite her had far more experience, her only hope was managing to give a essence of surprise.
What she didn't expect was the tornado of rocks that soon started to come towards her. Knowing it would be hard to dodge as it would likely follow her like a heat seaming missile, and knowing what she had been advised by elbio dodge don't use a defence spell. Deciding on a plan which she hoped would work she let the wind come towards her a look of shock on her face. When it was nearly upon her and it was sure to block the mans view of her she cast a bubblehead charm on herself to act like a helmet to protect her head and also to prevent her getting sand and dust in her eyes. The rest of the body would have to face the rocks. She did have quite an advantage here, one couldn't be a werewolf and transform each month without developing a high pain tollerence this was in addition to her already high tollerence meaning that as the shards of gravel hit her they weren't too painful, and although they hurt she wasn't in agony like maybe she should be, she curled up trying to protect herself as best as she cou,d and when she felt the wind start to subside she silently undid the bubblehead and covered her face the way one would do in a dust storm.
She sat like that for over a minute pretending to be in pain and unable to defend herself whilst looking at her opponent sneakily through her hands which were clenched over her face to ensure he wasn't up to any funny business.
OOCOut of Character:
like many things in life I think briars approach to duelling is slightly unconventional :p
 
And the duel began with Briar's first spell soaring towards Hwaldarkarsh. He expected to see a protective charm but instead the old man neutrilized the power of her spell and sent it back to her, maybe more powerful than before. "Damn, he's good." he cursed under his breath as three fireballs were hurled towards Briar, feeling on his face their hostile fervour as they were flying from the one side of the arena to the other. Thankfully Briar took into consideration Elbio's advice and summoned a rock in front of her to block the barrage of his spells. "Yes! Good job Briar!" he bursted, almost jumping off his seat. A smirk cracked on his face when he watched the pieces of rock launching towards Hwaldarkarsh. The spell he hadn't understood why was casted before by the old man played this time its role. A wall of light appeared to prevent the rocks from hurting its caster and disappear as soon as all the rocks were defused. Minoas watched curiously as the man casted another spell and a whirlwind blew away Briar's next jet of light. "He's making good use of the elements." he notified to Elbio. He then watched dumbfounded the man creating out of his breath a vortex which picked up the fallen rocks and with the aid of the whirlwind howling from behind him, sent the vortex rapidly towards Briar. The vortex swept Briar away and in the storm of ruthless wind and hard stones, Minoas lost sight of her. He stood up worried in order to interfere and stop the duel before she was hurt badly but when the vortex subsided he saw her still standing, relatively unharmed with her hands protecting her face. A smirk returned on his face when he realized she was bluffing and she was up to something. His sister never shown signs of fatigue even when she was indeed in pain. This reaction of her hinted him she was bound to counter back.
 
Hwaldarkarsh watched the vortex he had summoned striking the girl with force as the turbulent winds blowing from behind him were boosting its speed. This was a pivotal moment. It was going to prove if his opponent was really worthy or not. He was impressed to see the girl only slightly affected by the vortex. Whatever she had done in the turmoil of dust and stones had worked effectively but Hwaldarkarsh couldn't figure out what she was doing now. Puzzled he watched her still defending herself and he suspecting she was preparing something. Not really wanting to give her the advantage he waved his staff and the whirlwind ceased blowing from behind him. He then started murmuring in an ancient tongue and his staff levitated above his ground and between his hands as his old body was cloaked with a yellow aura, waving like golden flames around his frame. Then the ground quaked violently and gigantic stone spikes pierced the earth perimetrically to the girl. The stone spears starting towering around her intending to trap her in a stone, dome grave.
 
Briar wondered what was happening when Hwaldarkarsh's staff took off and he started glowing yellow. although she maintained the pose of someone who was nearly given up she readied herself for action. suddenly the world started rumbling. she was too distracted by what was happening to realise that the earth around her was starting to ride in giant shards like teeth swallowing her. no way was she going to let that happen. being trapped was one thing she feared. she was better in confined spaces now but when she had first got to the school she found it hard to even sleep in a dormitory and often spent the night out on the lawn or in the garden. as the light started to dim around her and the heat of the sun was slowly replaced by welcome shade she moved to the edge of the dome and jumped managing to grab hold of an edge and hoist herself onto the outside before it closed up. "I must admit it is pretty impressive." she said standing on the top of the dome. before firing a wrath of wand less spells down to him, some verbal, some non verbal, some with a different incantation being said than the spell she was casting. including the body bind curse, the jelly legs jinx, bat bogies hex, disarming spell, the tickling hex, trip jinx, Incarcerous, Levicorpus, and several more. the air between them suddenly becoming alight with different coloured sparks, bolts and flecks f light. Briar kept going not stopping to catch her breath. she was ready to dodge if anything came back to her but she hoped that she was putting up enough of an offence to not need a defence.
suddenly she felt her stomach turn. an odd feeling coming over her. she had never been one to be sick before growing up she could eat anything and had developed a digestive system of iron. she could feel it heading up her throat. she switched to just non verbal spells as she tried to swallow. trying not to let this sign of weekness show.
 
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