Chapter 51 - 51: 51: Members Of The Guild

Night fell, and the stars were hidden behind thick, dark clouds. In the dense forest, Sagres, clad in a black cloak, carefully made his way through the thorny undergrowth. His hood obscured most of his face, revealing only a pair of deep, sharp eyes. This was his first time here; the path was overgrown with thick vines and poisonous mushrooms. He even saw a few Muggles who had mistakenly eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms, animatedly chatting with tree stumps. They looked like campers—how they had even found this place was a mystery. With some reluctance, he led them out of the forest and still managed to arrive at his destination almost exactly on time. An ancient manor stood alone deep within the forest, and a nauseating stench permeated the air. Sagres passed through the fence and arrived at the manor's entrance, where two silent wax guards stood, stiffly scrutinizing him. He slightly raised his chin, revealing a badge engraved with a raven. Upon seeing it, the wax guards respectfully opened the large door. Inside the hall, candlelight flickered, illuminating numerous figures, most of whom had cleverly concealed their faces. Some wore grotesque masks, while others, like Sagres, were completely enveloped in heavy cloaks. Sagres glanced around and realized he seemed to be the last one to arrive. "Oh? Look who's here?" A cold, hoarse voice came from the hall. The speaker was a wicked Dark Wizard, wanted by the International Confederation of Wizards for fifteen years, known by the codename "Shrike" within the Bronze Feather guild. He was leisurely seated on a floating Persian rug, continuously tossing and catching a gold coin in his hand. "I heard you've become a Professor at Hogwarts?" Shrike asked playfully. Sagres gave him a cold glance and said nothing. The members of the Bronze Feather were a mixed bag, and some represented nothing but trouble; he had no intention of wasting his breath. In the hall, Kestrel and Thunderbird wore masks, Nightingale wore a cloak, while Snowy Owl was dressed in a white fur coat, standing out brightly in the crowd. She had not concealed her face at all; in her words, how could a businesswoman conduct business if she hid her face? Sagres's gaze swept over these familiar figures one by one, then he gave a slight nod from a distance, signaling his arrival. "Alright, now that everyone has arrived..." An old man with white hair clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Please take your seats; we have new members joining us this time..." Everyone sat down at a large oval table, and the old man smiled as he introduced an unfamiliar middle-aged woman to them. "This is our new member, codenamed Wren. She has extremely high attainments in Magical locks and is especially skilled at breaking various complex sealing spells." The middle-aged woman was clearly a bit nervous, as she hadn't made any adjustments to her attire. At the old man's urging, she awkwardly stood up and greeted everyone, but received few responses. Seeing this, the old man stood up again, smiling kindly. "Raven, since you were the last to arrive, why don't you introduce the new member?" Sagres did not refuse, but he also did not stand up. He merely leaned casually in his chair, expressionlessly pointing to the man who had just spoken to him and said in a cold tone, "Shrike—a wanted criminal, a Dark Wizard, with a large bounty on his head." Ignoring the other man's angry gaze, he continued to point to the next person. "Swift, a curse-breaker, skilled at finding magical ruins." The young man he pointed to quickly stood up and nodded to the new member. "Wren." "Kingfisher, a Goblin craftsman, skilled in some forging techniques." That was a greedy-eyed Goblin; he also hadn't done anything to his appearance. After all, his height was a given, making any disguise superfluous—like a "chicken among cranes." "Snowy Owl, a black market merchant. You can find her for buying and selling anything; she's very fair." Snowy Owl smiled at these words. "Nightingale, a Potion Master. You can buy any kind of potion from her at a reasonable price." Nightingale's silver-gray cloak subtly shifted, as if she was nodding slightly under her hood. "Kestrel, a Diviner, but she hasn't taken commissions in the last two years." The red-haired young girl wore a beautiful mask and immediately pouted when she heard Sagres's words. "Thunderbird, a Wandmaker—highly skilled, specializing in the North American style." Thunderbird smiled gently at these words, nodding to the new member in a friendly gesture. "Stork, an informant. You can go to him for inquiring about or spreading information." He pointed to a man in a black robe. Although the man wore a cloak, everyone could see his emaciated body through the loose garment. "Bird-of-Paradise, an Alchemist, who enjoys conducting Alchemical experiments on Squibs, and is skilled in mechanical modifications." The new member, Wren, immediately swallowed hard at these words. He vaguely saw half of a mechanical face beneath the other's hood but couldn't discern the gender. "Hummingbird, a Healer—skilled at treating damage caused by the Dark Arts, with proficient techniques." A young woman quickly stood up after Sagres's introduction and bowed to the new member. "Robin, a defense expert—skilled at constructing barriers and safe houses." A woman wearing a feathered mask pursed her lips and nodded, appearing quite serious. "Falcon, a Dark Wizard—skilled in tracking and assassination." "Pelican, a Dark Wizard—skilled in poaching." "Lark, a Dark Wizard—skilled in stealing." "Hoopoe, a Dark Wizard—skilled in transplanting magical creature organs." "And finally, Albatross, a scholar. You were recommended by him, so I won't introduce him further." Sagres finally pointed to the white-haired old man who had spoken first, his tone carrying a hint of perfunctoriness. "Ah… haha, what about yourself, Raven?" Albatross wore an embarrassed smile, secretly regretting his decision. He now felt incredibly foolish for letting the ill-tempered Raven introduce the new member. "Didn't you already say it? My codename is Raven."Sagres remained seated in his chair, not moving. The faces of the few individuals he had bluntly labeled as "Dark Wizards" quickly became extremely unpleasant. Their eyes flashed with anger, yet no one stood up to refute him. Sagres did not care in the slightest. In his view, these people were a motley crew. If he were to use stronger words, they were "rotten fish and shrimp"—the dregs of humanity, not worth mentioning. If it weren't for the Bronze Feather's rule against internal strife, he would have long since thrown these eyesores into Azkaban. [Um... lots of new characters are introduced in this chapter, but don't worry. You don't need to remember every single one; I'll remind you when their role comes up later in the story. Just keep them vaguely in mind ◖⚆ᴥ⚆◗.] ????Support & read up to 12+ chapters ahead on P@treon/DarkDevil1???? Join to get early access and exclusive content!✨