Bab 152: Wanted.
The wait through the week passed as Loki progressively worried if he'd really get the two ingredients so soon when Klein always seemed to have a hard time coming across them.
During the week, not only had Sunny advanced to the next sequence and became a Soul Asurer since Walburga had most if not all of the Darkness Pathway ingredients. But Loki had also improved upon the use of his elemental spell, Velox Acus, by incorporating it within his practised spell chains.
And although he hadn't been able to bring the speed of casting it under a few hundred milliseconds, he had managed to use other charms in a chain to give him enough time to cast the spell since others would be busy trying to defend themselves.
The next day when Loki woke up, it was already a week and it was time for him to attend the Beyonder Gathering once again.
Walking to the meeting sight under the same get-up as last time, Loki entered the uninviting house that had all its windows and doors shut before seeking out his position from last time and sitting on his corner seat.
Watching the gathering begin, Loki patiently waited for his turn as people voiced out their needs and wants some similar to the last time while others mostly asked for something new.
"Ghost butterflies and Frozen Boggarts anyone? I'm willing to pay thirty Galleons, negotiable?" A man asked and Loki immediately raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"I have frozen boggarts. I ask for twenty galleons for them."
"Could I use a room?" The man turned towards Mr. X and spoke in a calm manner.
The robed Mr. X only nodded a little while the butler who was standing at the mouth of the corridor leading out of the room moved to direct Loki and the man who had requested a separate room to their room for further discussions.
Loki followed the man and the butler without delay as they came to a stop in front of a dark room whose only source of light was a single lantern hung from the ceiling like a chandelier.
"Can you find me a ghost butterfly? I can provide you the entrapment device that would help you trap the butterfly." The man immediately opened as soon as Loki sat down.
Loki however took his time absorbing all the details around the room before speaking, "I could, but then I'd ask for twenty more galleons since it is a little inconvenient for me to do so."
"If I may ask, what about it is troubling you?" The man questioned.
"I have a way of getting the information, but that requires me to pay extra, which is why I'll need to charge you extra.", Loki said cooly as he thought of R.O.B's Warehouse.
"I see. Is it alright if I wait for a week before taking you up on your offer?"
"Yes, that is fine by me."
"I understand. Thank you." The man said pulling out twenty galleons and handing them over to Loki who gave the man a boggart that was trapped in a stasis charm that had frozen its movements or any changes it would undergo when it was in front of a person.
The Boggwart itself was a dark mass of slowly fluctuating light as it spun around on an axis that passed vertically through its centre.
It looked remarkably like a spinning nebula except it was all black instead of colourful.
The man took the Boggart and inspected it with a relieved expression as he thanked Loki and then turned towards the butler to let him know that they could return.
As Loki stepped into the gathering hall he realised that the gathering had been put on a pause with their disappearance from it.
'Makes sense.' Loki nodded inwardly.
'I just hope Sunny does his best.'
The gathering moved on like before with the man from last time making the same request once again about requiring mercenaries for hire and when a few more people volunteered he went into the special room to discuss the terms.
Eventually, it was Loki's turn and he got the Sphinx eyeball and the Runespoor scales from the woman who'd told him she would bring it the next time.
Soon the gathering was out of people to make requests, but before the gathering could end, Mr. X spoke to everyone.
"A new mission has been posted on the board, make sure to look at it on your way out." The man spoke with a cold bland, detached tone.
Like everyone else, Loki moved towards the board that Mr.X had pointed at and studied the mission paper on it religiously.
Peddler for hire.
Only if you can still move around Hogwarts.
Needs to relay information from inside Hogwarts about students and teachers.
Pay will be given out on an information quality basis.
Loki felt his heart beat faster as he read the pamphlet.
'They're planning something for Hogwarts?'
'...no, that might not be it. They could just as well be hiring new spies since their old ones graduated.'
Loki could see several people interested in the offer that were hanging back to learn more about the situation and moved aside himself, waiting to see whatever was going to happen.
It wasn't a long wait since it was time to leave and all the extra people began to leave the hall one by one through different exits.
Eventually, Loki found himself remaining along with three other participants, each having their own quirks as one of them had several potion bottles tied to his waist, while another constantly fiddled with a ring on her finger and the last one did absolutely nothing, it was as if he'd fallen asleep while standing still.
Under the stuffy silence that had occupied the room, Loki noticed the butler walk in their direction and grab their attention simply by his presence.
"Please follow me."
Mr. X was nowhere to be seen and Loki expected him to be waiting for them in whatever room they were being taken to so he diligently followed.
Arriving in front of a room in a minute, Loki entered as the butler stood with the door open.
Inside as expected was Mr. X leaning on a table with a hunched back as he casually observed everyone entering the room from under his dark hood.
For a few minutes, a stiff silence took the room as every movement the participants made became clearly audible, the floors creaked and clothes rustled but Mr. X did not speak to anyone in particular.
What unsettled everyone in the room however was not the sounds that were naturally produced, it was the constant murmurings that Mr. X spat out.
It was like he was talking to someone, except there was no one there who could listen to him or even understand what he was saying.
"Could you let us know why we're here?" A woman asked politely breaking the silence, as if that were the cue Mr. X began speaking.
"Find any information about him." Mr. X said throwing a knife he was holding at the table in the center of the room.
Everyone leaned in to see what it was that Mr. X wanted and Loki's blood chilled.
It was a wanted poster, and it was for someone who he knew intimately.
It was for Gehrman Sparrow.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N : Join my Patreon (p@treon.com/hooin_kyoma_au) to read 20 chapters ahead for just $3.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone