Chapter 107. Negotiations.
An hour later, Severus lay on the bed looking rather thoughtful. He was surprised by the serpent's story. The serpent had embellished it somewhat, but separating truth from fiction was not difficult, especially when he could read its surface thoughts simply by meeting its gaze.
The story was an entertaining one. The serpent had not been born in the outer part of the Magical Jungle, but in the forbidden part. While it was still a baby, people had kidnapped it, planning to sell it. During the journey, crossing the outer part of the forest, they were attacked by other wizards, the artifact holding the serpent broke, and it was thrown free. Without much thought, it crawled away.
Thanks to its strength, its poisonous breath, and the weak beasts living in that area, it survived. Eventually it stumbled upon the very cave where it lived for about ten years, constantly eating fruit from the trees there. When it had finally grown strong enough to become nearly the most powerful creature in the forest, it left the cave and began trying to breach the barrier and return home, only to learn it was impossible. The barrier was too strong. It could not leave even a scratch on it.
After another five years of fruitless attempts, the serpent gave up. It never even considered asking people for help, because it understood that if it let itself be shoved into another artifact, it would never be free again.
It had seized control of the entire forest out of simple boredom, and because it needed nutrients. Several months ago it had sensed evolution coming on, and the turtles that refused to obey became its first victims.
The reason for that evolution was the blood of the ancestor of all snakes, who, at the end of his life, had managed to become a true dragon. To grant such an opportunity to his descendants, he had created a pool where water was replaced by his blood, and as the legend claimed, a huge dragon skeleton lay at the bottom.
The serpent did not know much. When it had been kidnapped, it was only a year old, and with time it had forgotten almost everything except the most vivid moments from childhood. When you are thrown into a pool of blood, it is hard to forget, and the legend of the ancestor of snakes was told almost every day, like a bedtime story.
There was one problem, however. On the map Brew had given him, there was no mark for snake territory. On other similar maps Severus had found in shops, there was no mention of that place either. He did not fully trust those maps, because they differed from Brew's map, which he did trust. That could mean they were forgeries, or, in the worst case, a trap.
He wanted to leave this safe zone quietly and without complications, but apparently not this time. He needed the most accurate and complete map possible, and such a thing could only be obtained from the leaders of the local factions.
Ten minutes later, with a heavy sigh, Severus got up and threw a cloak over his shoulders.
He would have to put in a bit more work today, and a more complete map would definitely help. He touched his chest, and the dark leather armor shifted into simple clothes in gray tones. He grew long blond hair and put on a white mask. The cloak shortened slightly and became a few shades lighter. "Today you are staying here," he said in a much more mature voice when he noticed Nagini crawling toward him, and a potion vial appeared in his hand. "Nelly, today you will impersonate me if someone suddenly comes here."
"Yes, master," Nelly said cheerfully, appearing nearby and taking the vial.
"And you will be there for credibility," Severus added with a smile, looking at Nagini. "Toby is not with us, so there is no one to replace you."
"Fine."
After stroking Nagini's head one last time, Severus vanished. A few seconds later, another Severus appeared beside Nagini, completely naked. At the sight, Nagini covered her eyes with her tail, entirely forgetting that Polyjuice Potion changes only appearance, not clothes.
A few seconds later, having left the tent, Severus was already standing by another one, many times larger and round, guarded by five wizards. Their uniform differed noticeably from those standing at the entrance to the safe zone. They wore light gray leather armor, with sabers on the left side of their belts and wands on the right. On their foreheads, they wore bandanas tied with a symbol shaped like a diving eagle.
Getting past them was not difficult. With a small mental nudge, Severus made one guard step aside slightly, creating a gap, and he slipped through without trouble.
As soon as he was inside, he nearly walked into a guard standing by the exit, but managed to step aside. Taking in the view that opened up, he saw three doors a few meters ahead. The room itself was more like a small hall, with two sofas, a table, and even a counter behind which an elderly wizard sat writing something.
Besides the guards, there were all kinds of charms at the entrance and throughout the room. They would have reported an intrusion immediately, but Severus could see them clearly, so getting past them was straightforward.
Then, rummaging through the elderly wizard's mind, he quickly found the correct path to the leader and pieced together the tent's layout. The largest door, decorated with gold, led straight into a trap: guards ready at any second to pelt an unlucky assassin or spy with spells, if they did not know the password. The right door led to a dining room and sleeping quarters. The left door, through two rooms, led to the leader, but you also had to pass two guard posts along the way.
Something bothered him, though. It was all too easy. The elderly wizard was only an ordinary member of the faction, yet he knew far too much, so Severus chose a different approach. He suggested to each guard that he needed to report to the boss, sending them through different doors, and then watched.
It would, of course, expose him immediately, but he could not pass through those doors unnoticed anyway, and he was not going to wait a year for someone to come along and open them.
As soon as three of the five approached, knocked in the correct sequence, and pulled the handles, they were hit with an electric shock and thrown back. From the two far rooms, other guards came flying out and in a few seconds had the three wizards bundled up.
Severus, meanwhile, calmly slipped through the slightly open gold-decorated door. A middle-aged wizard in a black cloak peered out, with plain features but a Magister-level core. That alone told him Oliver was not the last significant person in the faction.
As soon as Severus was inside, the door almost immediately closed. The room was dim, but he could still detect every hidden wizard without difficulty.
"Go check what happened out there," Oliver ordered in an expressionless voice. Several wizards under Invisibility Cloaks quickly left the room, and Oliver waved his wand toward a wall covered in paintings. A few seconds later, a door appeared at its center.
His instinct had not failed him, after all, Severus thought with a smirk as he followed Oliver, without relaxing even slightly.
Beyond the door was a fairly spacious office without any particular luxuries. Aside from two wizards sitting opposite each other over drinks, there was no one else.
"Oliver, what is going on out there?" asked a short-haired man in black sunglasses, smiling. In one hand he held a glass of cognac, in the other hand, a cigar.
"Three guards tried to enter those rooms using passwords, but I have already sent owls to check everything."
"Is that so... then he may already be here," the bearded wizard said slowly, baring his teeth in a grin as he stroked his beard. He did not even reach for the wand lying on the table. "And who sent you?" he added calmly, looking toward an empty part of the room.
Perceptive. Now I understand why they are so calm. From across the room, Severus looked at their hands, more specifically at the silver rings on their fingers. Wand substitutes. Interesting. Instead of cores, they used a strange alloy he didn't recognize, with silver as the base since it conducts magic well. You couldn't conjure anything too powerful with that, but it was enough to catch someone off guard. Then his gaze traveled higher and landed on a necklace. That wasn't simple either. I should be careful.
The next moment, one of them let out a surprised breath as he felt the artifact vanish, and then he noticed a sword that had appeared right at the throat of the man in sunglasses.
"Since you are willing to talk, I have nothing against it either," Severus said. The two wizards immediately focused on the unexpected guest. One leveled a wand. The other barely moved, resting his elbows on the back of the sofa and aiming his ringed hands straight at him.
"Calm down, Oliver. Can't you see he wants to talk?" the bearded wizard laughed, as if he hadn't noticed the blade pressed to his own throat. "Would you like a drink?"
"I'm quite busy today."
"A pity. So what brought you to us?"
They looked cheerful on the outside, but inside all three were tense, ready to strike at any second. They hadn't expected someone this skilled, and the speed with which he'd destroyed their means of communication rattled them.
"I need a map of the forbidden section of the jungle, nothing more. If you give it to me, I will leave immediately and cause no trouble." At his words, their smiles disappeared.
"Do you understand how valuable that is? Hundreds of my people died to draw it, and you are suggesting..."
"Not for free. I am not a thief. If you give it to me, I am ready to return later with a more complete version. I doubt you could find what I am looking for yourself. I am also willing to sign a magical contract." Only after the last phrase did they relax slightly and smile again.
"That is what you should have started with. With your skills, you can go far. But perhaps first you will remove it."
"Contract first," Severus said evenly, "or I will lower the sword now and you will attack immediately. It will get messy."
A nervous chuckle escaped the bearded wizard, though inside he was barely containing his fury. The man in sunglasses pulled out a piece of black parchment and handed it to Oliver, who nodded silently and left the office.
"Oliver handles that sort of work most of the time, so we will have to wait while he writes it up. Perhaps..."
"I am in no hurry."
"Good. Then we will wait."
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1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 192
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 123
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 183
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 50
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