Chapter 94. Magical Jungle. Part 1. Strangeness.
The sky was bright and nearly cloudless, but beneath the enormous canopy of vegetation it was almost impossible to see it. In a small clearing that seemed untouched by the jungle's oppressive atmosphere, three wizards appeared.
"This is one of the entrances. Walk straight from here and you will definitely find that flower." Brew lifted his green hat slightly and gazed with nostalgia at the impenetrable thickets ahead.
"Amazing." Severus could not tear his eyes from the enormous barrier enclosing part of the jungle. This was the work of wizards from the past. It was definitely the work of an Archimagus, and not just one, because even a hundred Masters could not create a barrier this stable and powerful simultaneously. It seemed he had severely underestimated the level of wizardry in this world. He stepped closer and tried to touch it, but his hand passed straight through. Still, it was possible the ambient magic had been stronger in the past. If those creatures truly existed, people might have dealt with them, provided their numbers were small, but those were only guesses. He would need to study this once he returned, because he still had to live in this world and couldn't leave such threats unattended.
"I was also very surprised the first time I saw this barrier."
"And who created it?"
"Unknown, though there are many theories. Some believe the gods themselves raised it to protect humanity from the creatures inside, while others think it is the work of wizards from the past who were far stronger than our generation. There are no written records of it, so it remains a theory to this day." Brew answered calmly, smiling at Severus, who only nodded and turned back to him.
"I see. Mr. Brew, thank you for your help." A pouch appeared in Severus's hand and he held it out.
"Keep it. I already received..." Brew started, but Severus did not let him finish, pressing the pouch into his hands.
"I know about your troubles at home, and you helped me greatly by sharing all of this. And if you try to give it back, I will destroy the Galleons."
"Sir." The words came out rough, but Brew was genuinely touched. "Thank you."
Severus smiled at him, then glanced toward the nervous José, who could not keep still. He had even caught José that morning praying before an icon for a safe return.
"You will stay here until I come back."
"Ah. R-really?" José lunged forward, grabbed Severus's hands, and stared up with wide eyes, as if he could not quite believe what he had heard.
"Yes. I never planned to take you with me," Severus added calmly, pulling his hands free.
"Th-thank you, Sir! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Snorting, Severus turned away and fixed his attention on the barrier once more.
"All right, I am going. Keep an eye on Mr Brew until he leaves."
"Yes!"
Without another word, Severus stepped through the barrier and vanished.
"I hope you find what you are looking for and return safely," Brew murmured sincerely, folding his hands and closing his eyes.
"He will not croak that easily," José grumbled. With Severus gone, his old manner returned at once. "Let's get out of here. I am going to get properly drunk when we get back, after all these frayed nerves," he added cheerfully, smacking his lips as if he could already taste it.
Brew gave him a strange look, though he was not particularly surprised by the sudden shift. One evening had been enough to understand what José was really like, and he did not much care for him. So Brew only nodded and Disapparated, leaving José alone.
"What a bore, and we're apparently the same age," José muttered with contempt, staring at the spot where Brew had stood. He raised his wand to Disapparate straight to a bar, but the moment he did, some force wrapped around his body. What is this?! Why can't I move?!
"You will stay here until I come back." Severus's calm voice sounded in his head.
After that, José could move again, but the former joy was gone, replaced by despair. He had no idea when Severus would return, or whether he might not return for days.
"Damn! Damn! Damn! Bastard! How could you?! I will kill you!" As he snarled the words, clouds rolled in overhead, but José paid them no attention. He kept cursing until a crack of thunder forced him to look up. His face went deathly pale. A moment later, lightning tore from the dark clouds and plunged straight toward him. "Noooooo!"
At the same time, Severus moved calmly through the jungle and glanced indifferently at the dark clouds visible through the dense canopy above.
"Idiot."
"What is it?"
"Nothing. I just remembered a fool." Severus waved it off lazily. His gaze dropped to a tree bearing strange fruits that resembled apples, a pleasant aroma drifting from them. "Still, it is an interesting place. It does not differ much from an ordinary jungle, but the ambient magic here is the same as on Hogwarts grounds." His eyes caught a spider creeping along a branch. It looked ordinary at first glance, except for the fact that it was the size of a football and had green legs that made it clear it was best left alone.
"M-master." Nelly pointed nervously at a small mushroom whose cap bore a red V-shaped pattern.
"Good girl." Severus stroked the pleased house-elf's head, then went to the fruit tree and bent down, reaching for the nearest fruit.
"Severus."
At that moment, spiders poured from the tree. They were much smaller than the earlier one and their venom was weaker, but if they all bit one person, even the most poison-resistant wizard would not survive.
"Spider tree, or sweet trap, as Brew called it." Then a cocoon of flame wrapped around Severus. A pitiful squeak followed, and an acrid burnt stench spread through the forest. "Their weakness is fire. It makes them scatter like startled cats." Severus added calmly, watching the frantic spiders scramble back up the trunk and disappear into the leaves while he cut the mushroom unhurriedly. "And the fruits themselves are completely useless. They smell wonderful and taste wonderful, but the aftereffects of weakness, indigestion, and diarrhea for a couple of hours cancel out every benefit. Nelly."
"Yes, master?"
"Collect a couple dozen."
"You are acting like a child," Nagini said at once. She understood exactly who he intended to feed them to, while keeping a wary eye on the large spider that, unlike the others, had not fled and was watching them calmly.
Catching Nagini's eye, Severus smiled and produced a small jar of honey. He opened it and tossed it to the spider. The spider shot out webbing, reeled the jar in quickly, then turned and crawled back up the tree.
"That is the spider queen of the spider tree. If you want to collect fruit without being attacked, you can bribe her with honey and she will retreat." Severus glanced at Nelly, who had already gathered a whole crate of apples. "Good. Let us go further." He checked the map he'd memorized and led them on.
They had barely gone thirty meters when their path was blocked by more than a dozen monsters the size of a car: huge lizards with dark scales and jaws full of razor teeth.
"Not very lucky. We ran into them straight away, even on the safest route." A long sword in a dark scabbard appeared at Severus's belt. "Although, if you consider that their favorite food happens to be those very spiders, and I just roasted a couple hundred of them, then..." There was rustling to the right, and a few seconds later snakes as thick as an adult man's arm, and thicker, crawled out of the bushes. "Snakes."
"You do not need to worry about the snakes." Nagini slid out from under the cloak and fixed her gaze on them. The reptiles froze the instant they saw her. "Get lost!"
A remarkable thing happened. At Nagini's command, the snakes spun around and hurried away. Even the lizards ahead froze, unwilling to come closer, their instincts screaming that a terrifying opponent stood before them.
"How long have you been able to do that?" Severus asked Nagini with a smile. She held her head high.
"When we were at the zoo and walked past the snake enclosure, I looked one of them in the eye, told it to go back to its shelter, and it did immediately. After that, while you were away, I experimented with Nelly's help and realized I could control snakes."
It was more likely fear, fear of a creature that closely resembled the king of all snakes, Severus thought, watching the lizards retreat as well, refusing a pointless fight. With Nagini here, at least most of the jungle wildlife would not be a problem. That was for the better, but he still needed to avoid fire magic. He should have guessed it could actually attract other creatures. This was not child's play. He could not afford to be careless. And even if this world was weak in terms of magic, he did not have his former strength either. Severus stroked Nagini's head and looked ahead. "Clever girl. Let us continue. I think by morning we should cross the outer part of the Magical Jungle." But he kept the sword, because he had no idea what might be waiting further on.
Sharpening his senses, Severus pressed on, avoiding monsters where he could and never losing sight of herbs. Nelly handled most of the gathering, having memorized every relevant book in his collection from cover to cover. They did not limit themselves to plants. Some monsters were ingredients too. Snake and spider venom, the blood of black crocodiles, lizard teeth, and much more made excellent potion components, and they kept at it almost until evening. Yet something was wrong. They had not seen a single person the entire way, even though Brew had said you could easily run into ingredient hunters during daylight hours. That put Severus on edge, and he grew more cautious. When it began to get dark, he changed the plan: make camp and wait for morning. By his estimate, the next evening should bring them to the safe zone, right on the border between the outer and inner parts of the Magical Jungle.