paixaorpg | Off to See the Wizard [Active]

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Off to See the Wizard [Active]

Character(s): Belle, Harry Dresden, maybe Yuuko if she's interested
Content: Belle brings Harry some of Yuna's hair. Um.
Setting: Yuuko's Shop
Time: Evening, Week 7
Warnings: None.

Belle was hardly the most athletic woman in Paixao, but she was quick and agile as she ran through the dimly lit streets of the city. The muffled flapping of her dark blue cloak was the only sound that could be heard outside her hurried footsteps and that was unnerving enough. Ever since Yuna had gone missing, every shadow and every flicker outside her vision made Belle jump. She was spooked, needless to say.

She clutched Yuna's brush tightly to her chest as she jogged, narrowing her eyes. Knowing that Yuna was waiting for rescue, that Hades could be doing any number of horrific things to her...it was almost enough to break Belle, enough to be consumed by anxiety. But after seeing how the others had stood up for themselves at the message board, their determination to help...well. She'd gathered strength from that if nothing else.

There it was. Yuuko's shop. Well, if she'd read the map right. She pushed open the door of the unassuming gate and cried, a little too desperately, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

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Harry had been waiting outside right after he'd finished talking with Belle. Despite his casual words over the network, in truth he was on edge. A woman had been kidnapped, and that in itself was enough for him to get serious, his old hyperactive chivalry instinct flaring up once again. The fact that she was in the hands of a being that may or may not be the God of Death only made things more serious.

A young woman held captive by a possible god, people manipulating the darkness in others hearts, a mysterious group abducting others to do unseen experiments. Hell's bells when it rained it poured, and this time it looked like it would be raining locusts.

Hearing a woman's voice calling out from the other side of the gate, tone laced with a hint of desperation that was all too familiar, snapped the wizard out of his musings, and hefting his staff he made his way over and helped open the gate.

The woman standing outside the gate had a heart shaped and delicate face with bright intelligent eyes that Harry guessed would normally be full of curiosity and determination. Right now though, they mostly looked deeply worried.

"Hi, I'm Harry Dresden, we spoke over the network. Come on, let's get inside before we take care of this," Harry urged, gesturing for her to head towards the shop.

Belle hesitated, eyes dark in her pale face as she regarded the man called Harry. What if this was a trap? If even Yuna -- experienced, strong and wise Yuna -- could be deceived, who's to say a simple peasant girl with her head in the clouds couldn't?

Then again, what choice did she have?

She rushed forward, glancing behind her furtively as the gate's door swung closed behind her. "Y-yes," she could only reply in response, her nerves frayed and exhaustion wearing thin the edges of social etiquette; she didn't even think to introduce herself. Belle hurried up to the shop, eyeing the battered appearance of the Victorian-style building with mild curiosity before stepping inside completely.

Once inside, she whirled around to face him, holding out Yuna's brush. "Mr. Dresden, I'm not sure why you wanted this but please, do what you can to help Yuna! That horrible man Hades has her and she's hurting, I know it..."

Harry could see the worry flash across Belle's face as she studied him, and he gave her as assuring a smile as possible as he closed and relocked the gate. No matter what the danger, he'd do whatever he could to help.

Following the young woman inside, Harry barely had time to close the door before she rounded on him and began to talk a mile a minute, hairbrush thrust out like some protective charm.

Holing up his hands Harry tried to get a word in, "Whoa, whoa, slow down a second. Everything's going to be okay, we're going to get her back, but I'm going to need your help. The reason I asked for the hair is I'm a wizard, I can use the hair as part of a tracking spell to find where she's been taken. While I set it up, I want you to tell me everything you know about her disappearance."

While he spoke Harry reached out for the brush, taking it gently. Really, with luck Hades wouldn't have compensated for his tracking spell, and that was all they'd need, but at the same time time having more information rarely hurt, and it might help calm the poor girl down a bit.

Belle took a deep breath, visibly struggling to calm down. She pushed the hood of her cloak off, arranging the lock of hair that fell over her eyes back behind her ear. "There isn't much to tell..." she sighed, eyes glued to the brush as it changed hands. "We only just moved in to our apartment a few days before she vanished. She would often leave to explore or meet up with an acquaintance and I never though much about it because..." Her eyes welled up with tears. She pressed her lips together, furiously blinking them away.

"...because she said she was an adventurer and you could tell she was experienced in battle. She seemed like she knew what she was doing. I'd been so distracted by the library here that I rarely saw her anyway. If...if I'd been around when she left, maybe I would h-have noticed something, but..." Belle sniffled, putting her face in her hands to hide her crying.

For a moment it seemed like she'd crumble into despair, but she lifted her head suddenly, staring at Harry as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Wait...you're a wizard?"

If there was one thing Harry couldn't handle, it was a crying woman. Feeling suddenly very awkward and out of his depth, the wizard reached out and put a consoling hand on Belle's shoulder.

"Hey now, it's not your fault. No one, not even wizards can predict the future perfectly. If you'd been around then in all likelihood you'd have been taken to, and we'd be in even worse shape. Now don't worry, you've already brought us a long way towards getting her back."

At her question Harry smiled brightly and said, "Yep, got my wizard license, and cat, and everything. This staff isn't just for show and impressing ladies after all."

Leaning said staff against the wall and taking several strands of hair from the brush, Harry tied them together with a long length of string that he fished out of his pocket. When he was finished the hair was tied near one end of the string, while Harry held the other end, letting it dangle in the air.

Winking at Belle, Harry said, "Here comes the cool part," before bending down and pulling out a piece of chalk. Placing the hair on the floor, Harry drew a circle around it with the chalk, and once it was complete sent a whisper of power to seal the circle.

Once that was complete he reached out with his magic and began to slowly enchant the hairs to seek out the connection they still shared with the woman they had belonged to, chanting softly in nonsense Latin as he did. The hairs were a few days old, and the magic within them had faded slightly, but Harry poured more will into the spell and finally felt it take hold.

Leaning back Harry broke the circle with his foot, feeling the rush as the magical energy that had built within it was released. Picking up the string, Harry watched as the hair on the end bounced around once or twice, before finally lifting up in defiance of gravity and pointing resolutely in one direction.

"Haha, got it!"

Belle watched Harry's movements with subdued curiosity, one hand absently rubbing away the wetness on her cheeks. She was grateful for his awkward attempts at comforting her, relieved that he was much kinder than he seemed and that her instincts were apparently proven correct.

When he knelt, she joined him, entranced more and more. Unlike the magic she'd seen previously, his spell wasn't showy or flashy in the least. She didn't feel anything or see anything out of the ordinary, but...she trusted that he was doing something. After all, he was chanting magic words.

She gasped softly when the strand of hair lifted up. "And...and this is pointing to where Yuna is?"

"Bingo. You see, magic comes from life, and every person has their own unique magical signature, kind of like a finger print," Harry explained. "That magical signature lingers in all parts of our bodies, our hair, blood, fingernails, and a wizard can forge a connection between those smaller pieces and the person they came from. This particular spell uses that connection to allow me to find someone."

Grabbing back his staff, Harry turned to the door and said, "Why don't we see where this leads. I think the best plan for now is to scout out the area, then head back and gather whoever we can find to get her back. Just promise me if things get hairy you'll hightail it back to Yuuko's, okay?"

Belle stood slowly, brow furrowing. Promise to run away and leave someone else behind to face danger? What an unpleasant idea. But what could she do? She was smart enough to know that she'd only be in the way if things got bad. If she could get away, then she'd be able to find someone else to help.

Not for the first time, she felt the sting of her own limitations.

"Okay," she agreed softly, lowering her head and guiding the ample hood of her cloak back over her head. She squared her shoulders and smiled a weak, though genuine smile. "I'm right behind you."

Harry could guess what Belle was thinking, and pausing he reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "Hey, your quick thinking may have just saved Yuna, and if we get caught someone has to get her location to the others."

Leading the way outside, Harry began following the spell. The problem with the tracking spell was that it always pointed where the subject was, not necessarily the best possible route. They had to double back several times to take new routes and let the spell readjust.

Finally, though, after what felt like hours going through the city they arrived in a neighborhood made up of apartments and small houses to rent. There didn't appear to be any people around this late at night, but it was soon clear that the hair was pointing at one specific house.

Even once Harry noticed the house, he made sure to keep walking past it and noted how the hair kept pointed at it. Glancing back at Belle he whispered, "We'll keep walking around the block, then double back and sneak closer, okay?"

Flushed and out of breath from the element of danger as much as the physical exercise, Belle nodded in response. She stepped closer behind Harry, resisting the urge to hold on to the back of his shirt for comfort. She berated herself for her cowardice, for her fear of being separated.

Wordlessly, she followed the wizard, her wide eyed gaze flicking back to the house and then the strand of hair. What if they were being watched? What if that horrible Hades knew they were there and this was a trap? Her heart was pounding so loudly she could feel it in her fingertips.

Once they'd circled behind the house, Harry motioned that he and Belle should hide out behind some stone bushes.

Hunkering down behind the bushes, Harry glanced at the house the hair was currently pointing at and whispered, "Okay, here's the plan. I'll get close and check it out to make sure Yuna's inside. You keep a look out for anyone coming. If anything bad happens, I'll send a signal, and I want you to go find a woman named Karrin Murphy. You can trust her. Tell her what you saw and she'll know what to do."

Pausing to take one last look around, he grinned at Belle and asked, "Ready partner?"

Belle had to smile slightly; the wizard's grin was a little infectious. "Yes, I'm ready," she answered, pressing closer to the stone bush. "Be careful...!" The last thing she wanted was for Harry's worst case scenario to happen. She had faith in her ability to run, but not in finding Karrin Murphy.

Lips curved in a frown, eyes glinting with determination and more than a little worry, she watched Harry closely.

"Always."

With a final wink Harry set off, keeping low to the ground and moving surprisingly quietly for such a tall man. Years of having to get the drop on various supernatural monsters had trained him on how to stay out of sight when he needed to.

The closer he got to the house Harry noticed two things. The first was that the hair was definitely pointing right at it, angled slightly down. The second was a growing feeling of raw power pressing on his magical senses, something that felt of heat and sent a shiver up his spine like wind through a graveyard. Whatever was in that house, it was very old, and very very powerful.

Harry was no slouch in the magic department. He may have still been young, and had a lot to learn about magic, but he'd run with heavy hitters before and had the assurance that no matter what he faced he was almost always assured to at least have enough power to have at least some influence on how things worked out. There were only a few times when Harry had known he was utterly outclassed before, and he was beginning to suspect this was another of those times.

If there was one thing Harry hated, it was feeling helpless.

Once Harry had gotten close enough to get a quick visual survey of the house, and to confirm that was where his spell was leading him, he backtracked quickly to where Belle was standing. He didn't dare get close enough to the windows for a look inside yet, because if whatever was in there was as powerful as he thought it was, he couldn't assume there weren't magical protections around the place. He was self aware enough to know that he couldn't take what was inside alone, and even if they were discovered and escaped, Hades would probably just hightail it to a new location and they would have lost the element of surprise.

Getting back to Belle he asked, "Can you modify the network so that Hades can't read it, or should we find another way to communicate with people?"

As she waited for Harry, Belle twisted around slightly to keep him in her sight for as long as possible. It could have been the situation at hand or the worry and exhaustion, but she couldn't help but feel she was being watched. As if some presence were bearing down upon her like the point of Damocles' sword. She glanced over her shoulder behind her and could see only the oppressive dark shadows of buildings and fake trees. When Harry returned, she exhaled slowly.

Network? "Oh!" Belle said quietly, eyes widening. "The journals?" She reached under her white apron to withdraw the slim device she always carried around in one of the pockets. Flipping it open, she gently chewed her bottom lip. "I...I'm not sure. I can hide a post from him, but for all I know, he may be able to read it anyway." She sighed as her fingers absently pulled up the right page to write something. "He's a god after all." She glanced up at Harry, eyebrow arched. "I'll post something on the message board. Anything in specific you'd like?"

Pondering the situation for a moment, Harry glanced back and said, "Lock it as best you can, then tell everyone who wants to help rescue Yuna to meet us at Yuuko's shop."

Belle nodded and quickly typed a short, to-the-point entry in the message board. Since coming to Paixao, she'd been fascinated by the electronic device, it being quite ahead of her own time in terms of technology. She'd been practicing with it for so long now that she was quite comfortable with typing and the interface. She could only hope her skills proved good enough to keep Hades out. At least for a little while.

"It's done," she whispered, looking back up at Harry. "Should we go back now?"

Given Harry's past experiences with technology, which were rather...explosive, to say the least, he figured it would be hard for Belle to do a worse job locking it than him. Besides, her actions had shown her to be a bright and resourceful girl, he'd just have to trust her.

Nodding when Belle announced she was done, Harry replied, "Yeah, let's go. I know a few tricks along the way that will help keep us from being followed. Just keep an eye on the network."

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