Whether Eisenberg and Golden Snidget are the same person or not, or if one of them is just a fake, Alex knew better than to make any reckless moves. If the guy really had a Time-Turner, this wouldn't just be a one-on-one fight, he might end up getting swarmed and beaten down before he could even react. It wasn't worth the risk.
So for now, he decided to stick with the original plan. There would be time later to dig deeper into Golden Snidget's background and figure out what was really going on.
With his thoughts sorted, Alex turned to the two people standing beside him. "We're not done yet. Fang, stay here and keep an eye on the house. Watch the surveillance feeds too. Shalltear, you're coming with me. We've still got some work to do tonight."
"Yes! Finally, it's showtime for yours truly. I've been bored out of my mind these past few days," Shalltear replied with a wide grin, clearly thrilled. She was always eager for action and chaos.
Fang didn't mind the arrangement. Based on his understanding of Alex, he could already tell his lord was planning something. "Do you have a new plan, Master?"
"Yeah, I'll fill you in later. For now, just keep an eye on the surveillance. I've successfully planted spider cams at the Silver Wand's headquarters today, they should be recording everything, from movements to conversations."
This was a key step. Now that the most critical surveillance point was in place, long-term monitoring could begin. The more data they gathered, the more precise their next move would be.
"No problem. Leave it to me," Fang said confidently, patting his chest. "I'm a pro when it comes to surveillance. Don't forget, I used to be called the 'monitoring dog' back in the day."
Alex couldn't help but chuckle at that. He still remembered Fang's legendary surveillance skills from two years ago, it had been something to see.
After a bit more light conversation, Alex didn't waste any more time. He grabbed Shalltear, and with a sharp crack, the two vanished into thin air via Apparition.
When they reappeared, they were deep in a forest located northeast of Cologne, in West Germany. The area was officially a Muggle nature reserve, but hidden within it was one of the Silver Wand's magical beast breeding bases.
"Master, are you sure there's really a breeding base tucked away in this rundown forest?" Shalltear asked, hovering slightly above the ground. "I've been flying around for ages and haven't seen a thing."
After transforming back into her human form from a bat mid-air, Shalltear landed lightly on the ground, a look of dissatisfaction etched on her face. She had just flown several laps around the mountainous area, scouring the landscape from above.
Yet, there was nothing, no trees, no rocks, not even the faintest sign of a campfire. "There's absolutely nothing out there," she muttered, clearly annoyed.
Alex, crouched nearby with a map spread out on the ground, one he'd bought from a Muggle, didn't even look up as he replied. "That's pretty normal. No one's going to leave their territory out in the open for anyone to find. If it's hidden, it's probably protected by magic."
Shalltear huffed and crossed her arms. "Then why did you even send me out to scout? If you knew everything would be hidden, wasn't that just a waste of time?"
Alex glanced at her, a bit exasperated. "I didn't send you out expecting you to find the exact location. I just needed you to get a lay of the land."
He pointed at a spot on the map. "According to this, if nothing's changed, there should be a big dip not far to the east of here. Did you see anything like that?"
Shalltear paused, thinking for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, there was something like that about twenty kilometers from here. Why? You think that's where we're supposed to go?"
"Exactly. That's our destination," Alex confirmed with a nod. "It's also in the same direction where I've been sensing the little Thunderbird."
Ever since he'd created Desolation and gone through that intense storm of thunder and lightning, Alex's spiritual connection with the Thunderbird species had deepened. Since arriving in Germany, he'd been faintly aware of a presence, something familiar, almost like the creature was calling out to him. But the connection wasn't as clear or reliable as Newt had once described. It wasn't like some magical compass pointing the way.
In fact, the bond felt unstable, as if something was interfering with it. The closer he got, the more he realized how faint the link actually was.
Back in Berlin, he could only sense a vague pull toward the west. Even now, being relatively close, the connection hadn't grown much stronger.
It was still weaker than what he had felt back in England with the adult Thunderbird. Clearly, something, or someone, was dampening the signal.
Based on what he had learned so far, Alex figured that the security around this breeding base was probably going to be tight, and that made perfect sense. After all, these kinds of facilities were the backbone of the club, so it was only natural they'd take every precaution to protect them.
The location had actually been given to him by Thunderbird, though it wasn't a written address. Thunderbird had only described it verbally at the time, which made it difficult to pinpoint right away. Fortunately, by combining what Thunderbird had told him with the subtle connection he still shared with the creature, Alex was able to zero in on the target location fairly quickly.
Even though they were now only about 20 kilometers away, Alex didn't risk using Apparition or flying there with Shalltear. The connection with the little Thunderbird was unstable, cutting in and out, which made him feel it was better to proceed carefully.
If it were him setting up a base like this, he'd definitely place a wide security perimeter around it. For such an important site, that buffer zone could easily stretch five to ten kilometers out. So rather than rushing in, he decided to approach on foot, slowly making their way toward the destination.
To help with navigation and surveillance, Shalltear was tasked with carrying the tactical map launcher on her back, while Alex held a map in his hand, using the 'Echo charm' to constantly scan their surroundings.
Both of them wore Invisible Cloak, specialized gear designed to prevent detection by certain magical surveillance spells. It was a bit like wearing anti-radar paint, making them harder to spot. Even better, the cloaks would subtly react when exposed to detection magic, giving Alex a better sense of how far out the enemy's warning systems extended.