Post by Julius Plutus on Nov 18, 2007 22:52:10 GMT -5
((This first part highlights how the Ministry of Magic locates Diadem Fortress; the second part <scroll down the post> shows what happens when they get there.))
Triangle Tunnel
Iberian Ministry of Magic Mansion
Detention Area
Several stories beneath the well-guarded mansion that was home to the 'interim' Iberian Ministry of Magic was an increasingly-full dungeon that held various prisoners. Prisoners that were not useful to the Ministry of Magic were shipped off to distant prisons such as the island of Azkaban. Those that were useful, however, remained trapped in the dungeons-- most of them ex-Shadows or members of other dangerous factions in Iberia. They were questioned constantly, many tortured, in an attempt to reveal any information that might be useful to the Ministry of Magic. Of all the prisoners in the detention area, one was worth the most, and at the same time the most stubborn....
The black haired witch hardly felt her bare feet scrape against the cold stone floor as she was dragged down the dark hallway once again. Dressed in rags and weakened due to a lack of an adequate diet and being surrounded by Dementors, the witch retained a regal look about her face, casting a menacing glare at a wizard guarding the door of the grim room she was being thrown into. With a loud thud she landed in the cage in the centre of the room, a magical field around it prohibiting her from being able to harm those outside of the cell. The Ministry realized that even without a wand the enchantress under their control was dangerous.
Her blue eyes flickered left and right; there were several others in this room. Some were in cages, others in chains. She recognized most of them; they were members of the same organization that she had attached herself to-- the Society of Shadows. They were being tortured as the Minister for Magic, a man they called the Iron Wand, searched for the former headquarters of the Society-- the so-called Diadem Fortress. The massive castle had been built by Count Scorpius to serve as the Society's strongest bastion in all of Europe. It's location remained a secret to most people who were not affiliated with the Society, and even those who were once affiliated with it were unable to provide the information-- most were tongue-tied, several took Unbreakable Vows, and a few still believed that Count Scorpius was alive and well and would be able to harm them if they did reveal the location of the Diadem. Then there was a select, stubborn group that just disliked the Ministry and what it stood for, and refused to be compliant at all.
Most of them, the dark haired witch now observed, were being charged with murder, conspiracy, endangering the wizarding world, and various other offences, and were subsequently being given the Dementor's Kiss. As her blue eyes moved across the room, they locked with a set of chilling blue eyes.
The man responsible for most of this had entered the room. Julius William Plutus, Minister Plenipotentiary of the International Confederation of Wizards to Spain. He walked down several stone steps, removing his frock coat and holding his cane in his hand as he glanced around the room. They was obviously some annoyance present in his face, but he put on an eery little grin anyways as he walked towards the black-haired witch in the cage.
"Come now, Madame Atreus... I will find the Diadem Fortress eventually," he said, removing his wand from his cane. "Make things easier and less painful, my dear... Tell me where it is."
Atra glared, not saying a word. She had proven to be very good at concealing the secret, giving in neither to veritaseum nor threats.
"You shall not break me, oh tyran," spat the French witch. "Je ne dirai rien."
"So be it... I do this in the interests of establishing peace and justice in Iberia. Crucio," hissed the Minister, his wand aimed at Atra. The witch fell to the floor of her little cage, writhing in pain as the Cruciatus Curse consumed her being. Plutus' face remained unphased and emotionless as he kept his wand on her, her screams echoing around the stone walls, blending in with similar screams from other prisoners. A moment or two later, he moved his wand and Atra stopped screaming, panting and shivering from the pain instead. "Ready to talk now, madame?"
Shakily, she gazed up at the Minister. "I will not break," she declared. "I will not betray him."
Plutus let out an exasperated sigh, turning and walking over to a desk. He sat down, rubbing his head as Atra returned to the floor, attempting to recover. He pulled a small item out of his pocket; a general badge of the Society of Shadows, the emblem of the Society on its face. He had hoped to obtain one of the badges of the so-called 'inner circle' of the society, which contained an eagle in the place of the scorpion. However, he had not acquired one... But this general badge would be his key, if he could get the damned criminals to speak. If he could get the code out of them--rumored to be some sort of poem or incantation--he could hold the key to Diadem Fortress in his hand...
Plutus sat like this for several minutes. They had mapped out all the forets of Iberia and still not managed to find the ruins of the fortress, which was reported to have been mysteriously destroyed during the War of Shadows. Today the Ministry had stepped up its efforts, rounding up any ex-Shadows they knew of and could obtain and starting to torture them, for the first time extensively using the Cruciatus Curse, and eliminating the more dangerous ones. Most of this was, of course, done secretly. It was better for the public to not have to deal with this sort of mess. Even if they did, though, only mass murderers--appendages of the organization that had committed crimes against wizardom in Triangle Tunnel, Drakborough, and Firefox University--were being removed.
As Plutus thought of all this, he suddenly felt the badge in his hand begin to grow warm. He looked at it, and it was rather purple. Glancing up, he saw one of his men running towards him. "Minister Plutus," shouted the man, "I think we've got something."
"Good," said Plutus, standing and walking over to a spot where two wizards in rags convulsed on the stone floor. Atra managed to look up, eyes narrowed in the direction as she realized what was happening.
They were chanting, almost as if in a Seer's trance, tortured to such extremities and threatened with the Dementor's Kiss. Weak-minded fools, to Atra Alveus. They had broken, and were beginning to recite an incantation to turn the badge that Plutus had into a portkey to the Ruins of Diadem Fortress... simultaneously trying to summon the leaders of the Society of Shadows to their aid. Atra hoped it would work.
"Cast the Shadow's Dark Mark high,
And heed the battle call.
Our loyalty our only law,
For now we're Shadows all."
Plutus grinned as the badge in his hand grew hotter. The ex-Shadows on the floor before him were still twitching, their eyes glowing and their voices distorted as they continued the incantation.
"When we converge and strike at last,
All are trapped-- there's no where to go,
For none can save them from the wrath
Of the Storm of the Shadows.
Diadem Fortress is our home,
Where we can grow strong.
Among the shadows, secrets, dark,
Is right where we belong.
So cast the Shadow's Dark Mark high,
And heed the battle call.
Open your gates and hear this oath:
We are shadows, all!"
"You fool," growled Atra, her eyes flashing dangerously as the panther within her let out a growl.
Julius Plutus grinned widely as he set the glowing badge down on the table. The ex-Shadows on the floor widened their eyes as if waking from a daze. "Throw them all back in their cells," said the Minister for Magic. "Assemble whoever you can. It's time to finally visit the ruins of Diadem Fortress."
Atra and the others were then returned to their prisons as a band of witches and wizards assembled to invade the former home of the Society of Shadows.....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beside the Black Rock
The Ruins of Diadem Fortress
Remember, mortal, as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, you soon shall be,
So prepare thyself, and follow me.
~Inscribed on the Black Rock
Mysteriously invaded and destroyed during the War of Shadows, Diadem Fortress was nothing but rubble and ruins, home only to hermits and dark creatures who managed to locate it. Some ex-Shadows also remained, hiding in the only place they could be completely safe from the Ministry-- those who were looking for Diadem Fortress were the least likely to ever find it. Most ex-Shadows did not revisit, though, for the land was cursed and dangerous, and sometimes deadly individuals assembled here, out-of-bounds from the Ministry of Magic.
Until now.
Dust and dirt began to fly around in front of the great Black Rock, left here after the fall of Diadem in the War of Shadows. A small ball of light appeared a few feet above the ground, the Dark Mark of the Shadow Society glowing in the dirt. Then, suddenly, a troop of witches and wizards appeared, all wearing the purple robes of the Ministry of Magic, wands in their hands and at the ready.
Julius Plutus, Minister for Magic, stood in the centre of this mass of people, the badge of the Society of Shadows falling from his gloved hand onto the dirt floor. He grinned some as he glanced around the ruins of the once-powerful fortress.
"Checkmate," he said as the Ministry officials spread out, beginning to cast jinxes and charms in efforts to weed out any traps or residents. Plutus turned towards a deputy. "I want Dementors here immediately. Set up more portkeys and get people on trying to remove some of the curses that make this place hard to find... Send an owl to Firefox informing Headmaster Windwaltz that we have discovered the ruins of the former headquarters of the Shadow Society, and send another owl to Chief Forbes informing him of this as well."
"Yes, sir."
The Iron Wand turned and looked around the ruins, scowling up at the giant black rock before him. It was Scorpius' way of trying to sound all-knowing, high, and mighty, attempting to scare those who might stumble upon the decadent remains of Diadem. Folly.
Within moments another portkey was set up to allow Ministry officials to travel to the ruins quickly to begin the exploration of the ruins and the round-up of whatever they found, and Dementors were already traveling to the area. In a place like this, Dementors would be most uesful. Only a Patronus could really block a dementor, and most dark wizards were incapable of casting one. They would lock up the seizure of Diadem Fortress to give the Ministry enough time to explore it and find if anything useful was around.
The Iron Wand's spell had been cast on the Shadows' Diadem.
Triangle Tunnel
Iberian Ministry of Magic Mansion
Detention Area
Several stories beneath the well-guarded mansion that was home to the 'interim' Iberian Ministry of Magic was an increasingly-full dungeon that held various prisoners. Prisoners that were not useful to the Ministry of Magic were shipped off to distant prisons such as the island of Azkaban. Those that were useful, however, remained trapped in the dungeons-- most of them ex-Shadows or members of other dangerous factions in Iberia. They were questioned constantly, many tortured, in an attempt to reveal any information that might be useful to the Ministry of Magic. Of all the prisoners in the detention area, one was worth the most, and at the same time the most stubborn....
The black haired witch hardly felt her bare feet scrape against the cold stone floor as she was dragged down the dark hallway once again. Dressed in rags and weakened due to a lack of an adequate diet and being surrounded by Dementors, the witch retained a regal look about her face, casting a menacing glare at a wizard guarding the door of the grim room she was being thrown into. With a loud thud she landed in the cage in the centre of the room, a magical field around it prohibiting her from being able to harm those outside of the cell. The Ministry realized that even without a wand the enchantress under their control was dangerous.
Her blue eyes flickered left and right; there were several others in this room. Some were in cages, others in chains. She recognized most of them; they were members of the same organization that she had attached herself to-- the Society of Shadows. They were being tortured as the Minister for Magic, a man they called the Iron Wand, searched for the former headquarters of the Society-- the so-called Diadem Fortress. The massive castle had been built by Count Scorpius to serve as the Society's strongest bastion in all of Europe. It's location remained a secret to most people who were not affiliated with the Society, and even those who were once affiliated with it were unable to provide the information-- most were tongue-tied, several took Unbreakable Vows, and a few still believed that Count Scorpius was alive and well and would be able to harm them if they did reveal the location of the Diadem. Then there was a select, stubborn group that just disliked the Ministry and what it stood for, and refused to be compliant at all.
Most of them, the dark haired witch now observed, were being charged with murder, conspiracy, endangering the wizarding world, and various other offences, and were subsequently being given the Dementor's Kiss. As her blue eyes moved across the room, they locked with a set of chilling blue eyes.
The man responsible for most of this had entered the room. Julius William Plutus, Minister Plenipotentiary of the International Confederation of Wizards to Spain. He walked down several stone steps, removing his frock coat and holding his cane in his hand as he glanced around the room. They was obviously some annoyance present in his face, but he put on an eery little grin anyways as he walked towards the black-haired witch in the cage.
"Come now, Madame Atreus... I will find the Diadem Fortress eventually," he said, removing his wand from his cane. "Make things easier and less painful, my dear... Tell me where it is."
Atra glared, not saying a word. She had proven to be very good at concealing the secret, giving in neither to veritaseum nor threats.
"You shall not break me, oh tyran," spat the French witch. "Je ne dirai rien."
"So be it... I do this in the interests of establishing peace and justice in Iberia. Crucio," hissed the Minister, his wand aimed at Atra. The witch fell to the floor of her little cage, writhing in pain as the Cruciatus Curse consumed her being. Plutus' face remained unphased and emotionless as he kept his wand on her, her screams echoing around the stone walls, blending in with similar screams from other prisoners. A moment or two later, he moved his wand and Atra stopped screaming, panting and shivering from the pain instead. "Ready to talk now, madame?"
Shakily, she gazed up at the Minister. "I will not break," she declared. "I will not betray him."
Plutus let out an exasperated sigh, turning and walking over to a desk. He sat down, rubbing his head as Atra returned to the floor, attempting to recover. He pulled a small item out of his pocket; a general badge of the Society of Shadows, the emblem of the Society on its face. He had hoped to obtain one of the badges of the so-called 'inner circle' of the society, which contained an eagle in the place of the scorpion. However, he had not acquired one... But this general badge would be his key, if he could get the damned criminals to speak. If he could get the code out of them--rumored to be some sort of poem or incantation--he could hold the key to Diadem Fortress in his hand...
Plutus sat like this for several minutes. They had mapped out all the forets of Iberia and still not managed to find the ruins of the fortress, which was reported to have been mysteriously destroyed during the War of Shadows. Today the Ministry had stepped up its efforts, rounding up any ex-Shadows they knew of and could obtain and starting to torture them, for the first time extensively using the Cruciatus Curse, and eliminating the more dangerous ones. Most of this was, of course, done secretly. It was better for the public to not have to deal with this sort of mess. Even if they did, though, only mass murderers--appendages of the organization that had committed crimes against wizardom in Triangle Tunnel, Drakborough, and Firefox University--were being removed.
As Plutus thought of all this, he suddenly felt the badge in his hand begin to grow warm. He looked at it, and it was rather purple. Glancing up, he saw one of his men running towards him. "Minister Plutus," shouted the man, "I think we've got something."
"Good," said Plutus, standing and walking over to a spot where two wizards in rags convulsed on the stone floor. Atra managed to look up, eyes narrowed in the direction as she realized what was happening.
They were chanting, almost as if in a Seer's trance, tortured to such extremities and threatened with the Dementor's Kiss. Weak-minded fools, to Atra Alveus. They had broken, and were beginning to recite an incantation to turn the badge that Plutus had into a portkey to the Ruins of Diadem Fortress... simultaneously trying to summon the leaders of the Society of Shadows to their aid. Atra hoped it would work.
"Cast the Shadow's Dark Mark high,
And heed the battle call.
Our loyalty our only law,
For now we're Shadows all."
Plutus grinned as the badge in his hand grew hotter. The ex-Shadows on the floor before him were still twitching, their eyes glowing and their voices distorted as they continued the incantation.
"When we converge and strike at last,
All are trapped-- there's no where to go,
For none can save them from the wrath
Of the Storm of the Shadows.
Diadem Fortress is our home,
Where we can grow strong.
Among the shadows, secrets, dark,
Is right where we belong.
So cast the Shadow's Dark Mark high,
And heed the battle call.
Open your gates and hear this oath:
We are shadows, all!"
"You fool," growled Atra, her eyes flashing dangerously as the panther within her let out a growl.
Julius Plutus grinned widely as he set the glowing badge down on the table. The ex-Shadows on the floor widened their eyes as if waking from a daze. "Throw them all back in their cells," said the Minister for Magic. "Assemble whoever you can. It's time to finally visit the ruins of Diadem Fortress."
Atra and the others were then returned to their prisons as a band of witches and wizards assembled to invade the former home of the Society of Shadows.....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beside the Black Rock
The Ruins of Diadem Fortress
Remember, mortal, as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, you soon shall be,
So prepare thyself, and follow me.
~Inscribed on the Black Rock
Mysteriously invaded and destroyed during the War of Shadows, Diadem Fortress was nothing but rubble and ruins, home only to hermits and dark creatures who managed to locate it. Some ex-Shadows also remained, hiding in the only place they could be completely safe from the Ministry-- those who were looking for Diadem Fortress were the least likely to ever find it. Most ex-Shadows did not revisit, though, for the land was cursed and dangerous, and sometimes deadly individuals assembled here, out-of-bounds from the Ministry of Magic.
Until now.
Dust and dirt began to fly around in front of the great Black Rock, left here after the fall of Diadem in the War of Shadows. A small ball of light appeared a few feet above the ground, the Dark Mark of the Shadow Society glowing in the dirt. Then, suddenly, a troop of witches and wizards appeared, all wearing the purple robes of the Ministry of Magic, wands in their hands and at the ready.
Julius Plutus, Minister for Magic, stood in the centre of this mass of people, the badge of the Society of Shadows falling from his gloved hand onto the dirt floor. He grinned some as he glanced around the ruins of the once-powerful fortress.
"Checkmate," he said as the Ministry officials spread out, beginning to cast jinxes and charms in efforts to weed out any traps or residents. Plutus turned towards a deputy. "I want Dementors here immediately. Set up more portkeys and get people on trying to remove some of the curses that make this place hard to find... Send an owl to Firefox informing Headmaster Windwaltz that we have discovered the ruins of the former headquarters of the Shadow Society, and send another owl to Chief Forbes informing him of this as well."
"Yes, sir."
The Iron Wand turned and looked around the ruins, scowling up at the giant black rock before him. It was Scorpius' way of trying to sound all-knowing, high, and mighty, attempting to scare those who might stumble upon the decadent remains of Diadem. Folly.
Within moments another portkey was set up to allow Ministry officials to travel to the ruins quickly to begin the exploration of the ruins and the round-up of whatever they found, and Dementors were already traveling to the area. In a place like this, Dementors would be most uesful. Only a Patronus could really block a dementor, and most dark wizards were incapable of casting one. They would lock up the seizure of Diadem Fortress to give the Ministry enough time to explore it and find if anything useful was around.
The Iron Wand's spell had been cast on the Shadows' Diadem.