"Now that you've got your advance, you need to behave and stay put. No causing trouble outside. well handle the rest of the arrangements with the others," Thunderbird said firmly.
This time, Thunderbird's main role was to provide the money needed to hire these people, who could be considered quite ruthless.
'Since the funds are secured, well give it our all,' Otis thought, starting to see Thunderbird in a new light, not so annoying after all.
For the sake of these Galleons, he decided not to complain.
Fenrir, standing nearby with a grim expression, noticeably relaxed after receiving his share of the payment.
"Augurey, I'm leaving the next steps to you. You'll be in charge of all the operations. I'll escort you, but I won't follow openly. If anything goes wrong, contact me immediately."
With that, he gave his orders and apparated away.
Hearing Thunderbird's words, Augurey felt a wave of relief.
She understood that this was a sign of trust.
Usually, members of their group avoid staying in one spot for too long, especially during their vulnerable molting period.
Since Thunderbird promised to escort her after the transfer, it implied that he wasn't molting right now, a rare and comforting assurance.
Augurey hadn't expected Thunderbird to personally escort her at the start; the distance was long and the journey risky, especially for someone still hiding their molt.
That's why few wardings choose to accompany smuggled goods themselves.
But Augurey, having the time to use an elixir, was able to handle this responsibility.
Two days flew by.
Alex, once again transformed into Thunderbird, arrived swiftly at the agreed meeting spot, an isolated coast outside Trondheim, Norway.
Though it wasn't frozen at this northern tip, the temperature was still bitterly cold, and light snowflakes drifted down from the gray sky.
More than a dozen people were already quietly waiting on the shore.
Most were wizards and werewolves, spread out to keep watch.
Augurey, Otis, and Fenrir stood quietly in the shadows.
When Thunderbird suddenly apparated, all eyes turned to him, but once they recognized him, everyone returned to their positions, maintaining a professional air.
To Alex, everything seemed riddled with holes.
'At least find some cover, like a bunker, to hide behind.'
He mentally grumbled about their carelessness, but quickly pushed the thought aside.
The more relaxed they were, the easier his upcoming plans would be.
"Old... Master, it's almost time," Augurey whispered, instinctively about to alert his master but then realizing they weren't alone.
"I know," Thunderbird replied calmly.
"The black dragon has already confirmed they'll arrive on time. But this place isn't ideal, some delay is normal given the harsh environment."
Seeing Diricawl's nerves, Thunderbird softened his tone.
"That's good. If we had better options, we wouldn't have to receive these goods in such a freezing spot."
Augurey sighed, helpless.
Suddenly, a splash broke the quiet as eight horse-shaped water creatures emerged from the distant sea, each towing a strange square-shaped boat behind them.
Alex recognized the sight, he'd seen something similar in Ireland before, but this time, there were two ships instead of one.
"We're here!" Augurey called out excitedly to Thunderbird.
"Alright, let's send a signal. There should be a good number of escorts with them," Thunderbird said, remembering that the last shipment in England came on a single ship guarded by over twenty wizards.
Augurey nodded eagerly, drew his wand, and stepped forward.
A faint dark blue light extended from its tip, reaching toward the approaching water creatures.
Immediately, they followed the signal, swimming steadily toward the shore where Thunderbird and the others waited.
As the two ships neared the shore, a large square hatch suddenly swung open with a bang.
A wizard poked his head out, grinning.
"Good guy, the spot you chose for pickup sure is cold."
A masked man dressed in a silver wand costume was the first to jump out of the cabin.
He immediately rubbed his body, shivering as if the cold might freeze him solid any second.
"Sweet Sound Bird, I didn't expect you to show up here by boat," Thunderbird said, pointing at him.
Then, casting a waterproof and moisture-proof spell on Sound Bird, he added with surprise,
"It's been a long time since I last saw you."
Protected by the spell, Sound Bird finally relaxed and quickly moved to Thunderbird's side.
"I couldn't help it. This shipment is huge, almost emptied the American branch's inventory from the past two years. I wasn't comfortable leaving the escort to those partners alone, so Black Dragon asked me to come along for backup, to make sure nothing goes wrong. But seriously, why choose such a creepy route to transport goods? On the way here, we nearly hit underwater icebergs several times. The weather's terrible, and honestly, I'm scared of those magical creatures out here. It's too much," Sound Bird complained as soon as he got closer, clearly worn out from the journey.
"Don't complain so much," Augurey snapped.
"Let's get the goods unloaded. I've prepared clothes and potions to keep you warm, plus plenty of diluted potions for the magical creatures."
She pulled out two large boxes, one packed with potions, the other full of thick, warm clothes.
She explained that these were to help the American wizards and magical creatures fight off the biting cold.
After all, the journey was long, and they couldn't rely on magic alone to keep warm the whole time.
As the newbie stood quietly beside Black Dragon, Sound Bird had no idea what was happening at Silver Wand headquarters.
He thought the only difference this time was the massive amount of cargo, so he was more relaxed than Augurey, but also a bit resentful.
"So many potions? Are we supposed to keep taking them the whole way? You guys don't know how to be thoughtful," he grumbled.
Sound Bird sighed in frustration.
"Alright, alright, why do I always end up with the boring tasks like handling the newbie?"
Soundbird pulled out his wand and carefully guided two large boxes onto the boat.
He then rubbed his head, took out a piece of parchment, and handed it to Thunderbird.
"Look, my brain's still frozen."
From the cold.
"Here's the delivery list, check if anything's off."
Thunderbird took the parchment, but Sound Bird barely glanced at him before turning back to shout orders to the rest of the crew, telling them to prepare medicine and start loading and unloading the goods.
Alex studied the list more closely and realized the shipment included a surprising number of magical creatures: four long-horned water snakes, three nundus, one manticore, four Peruvian Vipertooths, seven balloons, two horns, one ornith, five Thestrals, nine Tebo warthogs, six Hippogriffs, thirteen Grindyllos, three Murtlaps, six Billywigs, and four Mooncalfs.
When he reached the end of the list, his eyebrows shot up.
"You actually have a phoenix?"