Creature Chronicles: Elana

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Subject: Creature Chronicles: Elana Fri Jan 18 2008, 05:05

Quest Information

Name: Elana
House: Ravenclaw

Creature: Hippogriff
Quest Location: Switzerland
Quest Dates: 1st-31st July

Potential Problems:
The weather is changeable: one day it could be boiling hot and sunny, the next it could be raining
Is a Hippogriff easy to hide?
As you traverse the village of Grindelwald, you wonder if it's namesake has left any traces...

Your quest will take you the mountains and lakes of Switzerland. At some point, you head towards the town of Grindelwald, there have been rumours of a dark wizard following in the footsteps of that other Grindelwald...

You should make thirty-one entries spanning the month of your quest. This does not need to be in real-time (i.e. a post a day). You can take however long you need to complete your quest.

Good Luck!

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Sat Jan 19 2008, 10:58

July 1

Hoi! (That's "hello" in Swiss - thank you pocket-sized phrasebook!) As I'm writing this, I'm on my first ferry ride - I'm going to Switzerland! For some reason, I've been paired with one of the school's hippogriffs for this "quest" of mine. And no, I haven't an idea what it is yet, but the info is in my bag. Just waiting for some privacy before I get out confidential papers, heh. Tracy (my striking russet and cream colored hippogriff partner) isn't very happy about having to travel by ferry, but it wasn't like we could fit her into a seat on a flugzüg (plane)! But don't fool yourself into thinking that it was a walk in the park getting her on the ferry.

Fun Fact Number One About Hippogriffs: they are very stubborn creatures

Of course, I had gained her trust before we set off, for safety's sake, but she still doesn't like me that much. It was hard enough to get her to leave the school! We flew (I thought she'd like be more apt to being agreeable if we went that way) to the nearest port in the cloud cover that was in the sky ~~much too early~~ this morning until we were close, then landed in a cluster of trees nearby. Then came the tricky part.

You see, now that we had landed Tracy wasn't feeling so - oh, how shall I say - amiable. She wanted to go back home - sigh - and wouldn't stay still when I tried to put the Disallusionment Charm on her. (We nearly missed the ship because of that, by the way.) Finally it worked, and I gathered my backpack (compelte with sleeping bag and mini-tent clipped to the bottom) up from the ground, tossed it onto my back, and asked Tracy to follow me (in flight) to the ship in case we ran into any trouble. But nothing happened except for a little spill of my change as I hurried to get out my ticket.

I boarded the ferry for our shortish ride across the English Channel (map), knowing Tracy should already be stationed comfortably on top of the captain's cabin. The weather's behaving today: it's mostly sunny, just a few clouds in the otherwise blue sky, and only a slight breeze to make the July heat more bearable. I guess I'd better put this away and take a spot at the rail - don't want to miss the trip!

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Sat Jan 19 2008, 16:11

July 2

In Switzerland! It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful, though I wish the weather would stop changing. Earlier this morning, it was still warm and sunny like yesterday, and now, evening, it's about twenty degrees cooler and it looks like rain.

But let me explain what's going on before I get too caught up on the weather.

Last night when we got off of the ferry, I caught a drämmli (tram) and went to the hotel written on the first sheet of my notebook of instructions. (Doesn't look suspicious if I'm seen looking at a pretty notebook, eh? They sent two - one with instructions, and the blank one I'm writing in.) And I should probably explain who "they" are, right? "They" referrs to whoever it was who sent me an owl the other day telling me to pack for camping, go to school to make friends with a hippogriff, and make up an excuse to get away from my family for a month. (Told them I'm staying with Jenn. I just hope they don't call.) In the letter, it said that I would find out exactly who they are when I return, and that that wasn't the important thing. The important thing is finishing this "mission," "quest," what have you. But what is that quest? Well, I read the first section of the notebook (It's split into three parts. One's labled "BEGINNING," another "MIDDLE," and the last "END." Creative, huh?), which gave me just a bit of info about this whole dealio. It seems there is rumor about something going on in the Swiss town of Grindelwald. Grindelwald? Yeah, you read it right: Grindelwald as in THE Grindelwald, one of the darkest dark wizards ever. So I have to go to the town and lie low for a bit collecting info on the goings on there. There's also been suspicion about someone following in the footsteps of Grindelwald, so I get to keep an eye out for that too.

Fun stuff.

So this morning I met up with Tracy, who had gladly stayed out in the forest behind the hotel, to perform the Disallusionment Charm on her again. It stayed just long enough for us to get out of the city - oops, getting ahead of myself again. Anyway, I checked out of the hotel (they had put bargäld (money) in the stuff they sent me, so I should be okay for the trip), and we headed out into town. I rented a velo (bike) from the shop indicated in the instruction notebook, and pedaled my way out onto a trail leading out of the city (again, indicated by the notebook). Loving the velo so far, it's working great, and much easier than hiking. Today's not one for tourists to be hiking or biking on the trails, which is a good thing for Tracy and I. The Disallusionment Charm, as I said, lasted long enough for us to get out of the city, but that's about it. Once we were about half an hour along the trail, I looked up to see a happy hippogriff flying above me. I frantically looked around, but saw no one, but still gave a sharp whistle. She looked down and saw me motioning for her to fly down, and did so. She stayed on her feet, trotting along just off the trail after that. I didn't want to chance her being seen, you see.

So the day passed, me checking the map drawn in the notebook every once and a while to make sure we were going the right way and everything. The sun began to fall, and creepily enough, when I decided it was time to find a spot to camp, I took a look at the map and saw that I was exactly where it said I would find the camping spot for the night. Weird! So I dismounted my velo and went to the spot to find a cleared portion of ground and a ring of stones for a safe firepit already in place. Again, weird. So I set up my tent as Tracy got acquainted with our surroundings, and started a small fire so I could cook something for dinner. (Only had a power bar for lunch, so by then I was starved!)

Fun Fact Number Two About Hippogriffs: they can take care of themselves

Erm, yeah, about that...

Tracy's eating habits are just a little grotesque for vegetarian me, so I was glad that when I began hearing the ripping of meat that it was far behind me, out of sight. She returned as I was starting on my cheesy herdöpfel (potato) soup looking very pleased with herself. I rolled my eyes, finished dinner, cleaned up, bid her goodnight, and here I am in the tent writing this. It's been surreal, this trip so far, and I'm only on the second day! I'll look back over the BEGINNING part of the notebook to see what's on the agenda for tomorrow, and then go to bed. It's exhausting, biking up into the mountains of - squee - Switzerland!

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Sun Jan 20 2008, 12:32

July 3

It's been another exhausting day, but a fun one nonetheless. And, as all good things are explained, I'll start from the beginning.

Last night, I fell asleep wondering why they had had me rent a velo instead of just riding Tracy out to Grindelwald, and came up with a few ideas: äis (1). Having to be disguised as a Muggle until I get there, that ruse wouldn't work if I flew and was seen, zwöi (2). Hippogriffs are hard to control while they're in flight, so for everyone's safety, this is best, drü (3). They must've known that Tracy wouldn't trust me enough yet, and vier (4). It's much more scenic this way. The fourth I'm not so sure they would've taken into consideration, and maybe they just thought I needed the exercise.

Anyway, that's what I've come up with for that, and it seems to be working just fine. When I woke, the sun had already risen, and I panicked. Oversleeping on the first day? I thought. Wonderful. So I grabbed the instruction notebook and my watch, flipped to the first page labeled DAY TWO, and saw that again, I was right on schedule. I took a peek outside to see what the weather would be like for the start of my ride and to check on Tracy. It was sunny but windy, and Tracy was still sleeping. I dressed in a pair of denim capris, a tank with a light hoodie and a pair of sneakers, then packed up my things while I munched on a granola bar. Tracy must've heard me, and she woke. She appraised my progress with her eyes before trotting off to find herself some breakfast, and was back by the time I was ready. We set off on the trail that convienently connected a few Swiss towns, and for a while we saw no one.

But, of course, our good luck couldn't last forever. After we had seen this beautiful lake in the distance, Tracy heard the sound of humans approaching from the direction we were going, and took off into the sky. I soon heard them too, and as I rounded a bend in the trail, nearly ran them over. It was middle aged couple, clearly American tourists, so I decided to toy with their minds a bit and pretend to be Swiss rather than answer their questions. Here's the jist of our conversation (names have been made up...):

After steadying herself after I had almost run into her, Susan: Why hello, dear! Where are you headed?

Bill: You look a bit young to be out here all by yourself. Where's your family?

Pretending incomprehension, Me: Schade, ich spreche Englisch nicht. (Sorry, I don't speak English.)

Turning to Bill, Susan: Did you catch that, hon?

Bill: Eh...something about English.

Lightbulb turning on, Susan: Oh! She probably can't speak it!

Innocently smiling and nodding, Me: Ja, schade, aber ich muss auf die beine bringen. Auf Wiedersehen! (Yes, sorry, but I have to get going. Goodbye!)

..and so I rode off, smiling to myself. But how did I know that off of the top of my head? Well, though the scenery is beautiful, I need something to do during the day, and learning a some of the language seemed to be a good time-filler. So in the morning, I get out the phrasebook and find a few ones I want to work on until I have a rest stop. And there, a few more, etc. Back to the story: around five minutes later, Tracy had joined me, and we continued on. When we stopped for lunch, I took another look at the map drawn in the instruction notebook, and saw that we were just about a half hour's ride away from Grindelwald. Heartened by that, we left after just a short break, and were soon on the outskirts of Grindelwald. It being an entirely wizarding town, Tracy could stretch her wings, and flew ahead of me as we entered it. It's in a shallow valley that lies between a few good sized mountains, very well hidden. I dismounted my bike, and walked it down the tiny main street, looking around for...well, anything. It looked like a more quaint version of the hafen-stadt (port city) I had landed in, minus the port, of course. There didn't seem to be anything hinting towards the Dark Arts, at least, I haven't found anything yet. I caught sight of the town's one inn, and seeing the name to be the same as the one written in the instructions (The Hangman's Rope - charming, isn't it?), and parked my bike outside.

Fun Fact Number Three About Hippogriffs: they don't make making friends easy

Tracy stayed out to keep watch, and the few people on the street gave her a very wide berth as they passed. It was dark and dank, and I shuddered to think that this was where I would be sleeping for the next few weeks. I took a look around, and saw a few men and women spread out along the length of the bar, and a sour looking young barmaid emerging from the back with a tray of bottled drinks. The older man behind the bar raised his eyebrows as I walked in, probably curious about why someone as young and obviously foreign had chosen to come to his inn. Hoping he knew some English so I wouldn't be completely dependant on my phrasebook (though I pulled it out of my pocket anyway), I stepped up to the counter, and flipped the book open to the section on lodging. (Again, his name has been forged.)

Me: Avez-vous une pièce ouverte ? Je dois quelque part rester depuis quelques semaines. (Do you have an open room? I need somewhere to stay for a few weeks.)

Carl: Oui, je fais. Qu'est-ce qui vous apporte ici? (Yes, I do. What brings you here?)

Me: Un voyage pour l'école. Beaucoup d'entre nous restent dans les villages wizarding à travers le globe pour notre classe de Cultures Faisant des expériences. (A trip for school. Many of us are staying in wizarding villages across the globe for our Experimenting Cultures class.) (Luckily I had prepared that beforehand, hehe.)

Nodding, though I don't think he completely bought it, Carl: La pièce trois est ouverte. Voici votre clé. S'il y a n'importe quoi que vous avez besoin, descendez et nous verrons que nous pouvons faire pour vous. (Room three is open. Here's your key. If there's anything that you need, come down and we'll see what we can do for you.)

Taking the key, Me: Merci! (Thanks!)

So I headed upstairs, found my room, and here I am, writing. I think I'll go down and check on Tracy now...and see if I can find some dinner.

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Thu Jan 24 2008, 15:23

July 4

My first day in Grindelwald has been...well, all things considered, quite gewöhnlich (ordinary). This morning, I was finally able to take a shower - three days without was...painful, so I had to take advantage of the heated water. Anyhoo, I dressed and unpacked my backpack. I'm gulity of putting an Expansion Charm on it, so that took a while. That done, I took my camera, notebooks, and a pencil with me when I headed downstairs for some frühstück (breakfast). The counter was now nearly clear of people, and laid with what I suppose would equal a continental breakfast here. There was bürli (small breads), butter, milch (milk), water to be heated for tee (tea), and some käse (cheese). The owner, who I have nicknamed Carl, was there of course, and friendly as ever. We exchanged a few words about the weather, which was sunny again, by the way, while I ate. I then bid him goodbye and went outside to find Tracy.

Oh! I almost forgot: I have a new name - Abigail (Abbey) Rae Scott! Sounds Jane Doe enough, eh? Found that out as I was reading the instructions last night. Tracy does too - Flo. I swear, when I find out who "they" are, they're going to get a talking-to about naming! Gah! ...moving on, I found Flo out back, glowering at a few townsfolk who dared come within thirty feet of her menacing figure. Sigh. I gave them an apologetic smile and rushed over to her, glaring. She glared straight back, and I smiled - I think we're beginning to get each other.

We spent the day lounging around in the sun, watching the world go by...

Where's this supposed new Grindelwald, huh? Maybe I'll actually have to go hunting for this guy, odd as that seems. But the day wasn't totally wasted - I had a chat with a brother and sister (to protect their identities, Tony and Sophia):

Bravely coming up to Tracy and I, Tony: Hallo ist mein name Tony, und das ist meine schwester, Sophia. (Hello, my name is Tony, and this is my sister, Sophia.)

Me: Nett sie zu treffen! Ich bin Abbey, hier für die schule besuchend. (Nice to meet you! I'm Abbey, visiting here for school.)

Sophia: So ... was ist mit dem hippogriff? (So...what's with the hippogriff?)

Me: Flo? Sie soll gerade hier sicherstellen, dass ich nicht ablaufe, es ist alles. (Flo? She's just here to make sure I don't run off, that's all.)

Light laughter by all.

Tony: Wie lang sind sie hier? (How long are you here?)

Me: Paar-Wochen. (A couple weeks.)

And then I learned that the two were a year above (Tony) and a year below (Shophia) me. They had to go before long, but promised to visit more tomorrow - they want to learn about home and school for me! And have promised to answer my many questions about their town...

Oh, and happy Fourth! Woo!

Meh...doesn't have the same feel when not at home.

Fun Fact Number Four About Hippogriffs: they're content to sit for hours...but get restless and need to fly after a while

That said, I'm gonna run this up to my room and Tracy and I'll get out of here for a while.

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Fri Feb 22 2008, 10:09

July 5

Today was...interesting.

I met Tracy, Tony and Sophia at the front of The Hangman's Rope this morning, and they gave us the grand tour of Grindelwald. They're very self-sufficient, prefering that to having to go beyond the village and travel to another for supplies. Besides the inn, there are homes, mostly, that grow food, raise animals - basically, it's a self sufficient Wizarding farming community up in the mountains. Not what I'd expect from a village named after Grindelwald, but whatever works. As I mentioned earlier, it's secluded, surrounded by forest and mountains on every side, but the center has been cleared and turned into farmland and housing.

As we walked along one of the spuren (trails) into the forest (this led to a beautiful river that Tony was anxious to show me), I began asking them about the town's dynamics so I could get "a feel for the town and didn't do something stupid and 'out of my station.'" Tony laughed and took a look up at where Tracy-Flo was flying. He pointed up at her and said, "Sie haben bereits etwas um das Übliche betrogen, sie mit Ihnen habend." (You've already done something out of the ordinary, having her with you.)

Sophia added rather angrilly, "Sie haben bereits etwas um das Übliche betrogen, sie mit Ihnen habend?" (Out of your station? What, do you think we're some primitive community where the women have to keep covered and stay indoors and men run everything?)

- sigh - I don't think she likes me much.

Anyway, that answered my question, though indirectly, and we soon arrived at the river. Tracy was already there with her back to us, taking a long drink. I popped off the hiking shoes I was glad to have had (it's not like that trail was flat!) and took a few quick steps into the river before jumping back in shock. This was the first time I heard dear Sophia laugh - and it was mocking! Even Tracy seemed to be chorltling in her own way. Tony was much more understanding after he recovered from his own laughing spell.

"Unser Wasser kommt aus dem geschmolzenen Schnee, Abbey, und dieser Fluss ist unten von den Bergen gerade!" (Our water comes from melted snow, Abbey, and this river is straight from the mountains!)

I stayed out of the river after that, prefering to sit in the sun rather than freeze my feet off.

Fun Fact Number Five About Hippogriffs: they love water. Tracy was content to trot about in the river all afternoon!

Sophia left quickly, langweilig (bored), I think, with my questions. I was recording the answers in here, but Tony didn't seem fazed about that at all, which was nice. In return for his answers about his home, I told him about my own home - my home at school, and where I am at the rare times school isn't in session. He couldn't have been more excited when I mentioned Hogwarts. Apparently, there they think it only legend, but just a word and he was convinced that it is indeed a real place. Their school is called Die Grendel Akademie der Instruktion von Jungen Hexen Und Zauberern (The Grendel Academy Of Instruction Of Young Witches And Wizards - Die Akademie for short.)

There was one thing in particular that I learned today that's made my journey here necessary - kids have been disappearing. Tony appeared to trust me as the afternoon wore on, and mentioned something about that in passing, and eagerly launched into the story when I prompted him. He told me that kids our age have gone out into the forest and don't return. The townspeople have gone on searches too numerous to count, he said, and none of the kids (eight so far) have appeared. He had turned meloncholy by this time, and said in the saddest voice I have ever heard that his childhood friend, Nico, had gone missing last week.

I then, of course, swore to him that we would find Nico and the others, so now I have a plan of what to do during my time here at least. Tomorrow we're going on a little randonnée (hike) under the premise that he's showing me more of the surrounding area so I can have a more complete report when I return to school.

I'm getting worried. Kids disappearing when there's been word of another Dark Wizard rising? Is this his sick way of recruiting?! Stealing kids from a town where they can't be reported missing? I'm going to have a chat with Carl downstairs; maybe he knows something.

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Sat Mar 15 2008, 14:35

July 6

I don't think Carl likes me anymore - pout - Said last night that I was too neugierig (nosy)! Can you believe it?! I had only asked if he knew anything about the disappearances, and he sent me off to my room. Humph! But Tony's assured me that it's not just me Carl's like that to - apparently, he doesn't like any ausländers (foreigners). Well, he's going to have to at some point, because I'm not going anywhere, so he'd better at least get used to having me around. Anyway, since I couldn't get any information out of Carl, I consulted the instruction notebook after being sent to my room (GAH!). And would you like to know something odd? THE 'MIDDLE' SECTION IS EMPTY!

Fifteen entirely blank pages.

EMPTY. BLANK. TOTALLY UNHELPFUL.

So now I'm really on my own, except for Tracy and Tony. The 'END' part has instructions for getting home, but until then it's all up to - gulp - me. No pressure, no pressure at all. And so now I need a plan, and am sticking to the saving the vanished kids one. That's a good goal, don't you think? As he had promised, Tony took us out for a randonnée (hike) up onto the eastern berg (mountain). Since Tracy and I still aren't used to the altitude, it proved tough going for me at least. Thank goodness Tony's patient. I still can't believe the beauty up here, it's breathtaking. From the bergs to blumens (flowers) to flüsse (rivers) and seen (lakes), and just the himmel (sky)!

Fun Fact Number Six About Hippogryffs: they easily adapt well to their surroundings

Seriously, I wish I had Tracy's balance. The rocky terrain up the base of the mountain was enough to make me fall many a time, and whenever I did she'd just turn and chuckle. Not fair. Ahem. Besides the falling, the randonnée was pretty fun. Tony told me all about Nico, and the other kids. Let's see if I can remember...there's Nico and his younger sister, Nina; Joël, Sarinia, Sven and Zoé, classmates of Tony's; and Chiara and Simon, two other older kids. Unfortunately, our short excursion led to no sudden finding of the disappeared. I'm sure Tony could've gone farther up the mountain, but, gracious as ever, he let us go back once I was obviously exhausted. I've just got to get used to this whole high altitude hiking thing - I won't be the cause of an early turnaround after the end of this week (throughout which we'll be hiking every day)!

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Sun Nov 30 2008, 18:48

July 7

Today was a good day.

Kinda the norm for most that start out with a healthy helping of Tony.

I'd just gotten showered and dressed when there was a knock at my door. I was sorta confused, since I hadn't told anyone what room I was staying in. But I opened the door and there was Tony, frühstück in hand. Well, tray, but you get the point.

"Heiße schokolade?" (Hot chocolate?)

"Mein liebling! Danke, Tony. Gehen sie an an." (My favorite! Thanks, Tony. Come on in.)

He walked on in, comfortable as could be. Under the tray of food he held a black photo album and, hanging from his fingers, an old polaroid camera. Seeing my raised eyebrows, he said, " " (We have another, but Dad only trusts me with this one.) Having similar trust issues with my parents (they let me take out the car, but not use my mom's work computer), I didn't press the matter. We sat cross legged on the floor, our backs to my bed, to eat and drink, the photo album and polaroid between us. Once we finished the eier (eggs) and bürli, Tony pulled the album towards him and flipped it open.

"Ich dass dachte, es nützlich für sein würde sie, sie zu sehen, wissen sie, also wissen sie, was sie aussehen wie, falls sie sie sehen," he explained. (I thought it would be useful for you to see them, you know, so you know what they look like in case you see them.)

"Gute idee." (Good idea.)

First, there was a picture of Nico and Joël. "Wir waren auf einer reise für schule. Sie überprüften heraus einige mädchen," said Tony, shaking his head. (We were on a trip for school. They were checking out some girls.)

"Das erklärt es," I said, laughing. (That explains it.)

Next was Nina, Nico's younger sister. "Sie liebte diesen hut," said Tony fondly. (She loved that hat.) Then the couple, Chiara and Simon. The best friends, Sarinia and Zoé. Lastly, the loner, Sven. Tony gazed solemnly at the pictures, the reality of our mission hitting him.

"Wir finden sie," I said, getting up. (We'll find them.) I gathered up our dishes and was just about to set them down when there was a bright flash. Blinking back the bright spots that interrupted my vision, I scowled in Tony's direction, not actually able to see him. Once I could see again, I put down the dishes and scooped up the camera. Tony had already gotten the picture out, though, and was shaking it. The picture showed up and he held it out to me, saying, "Sie benötigen ihre eigenen abbildungen, sich an dieses vorbei zu erinnern." (You need your own pictures to remember this by.)

"Sie erwarben sich einen feind gerade, herrn. Ich hasse abbildungen! Verbessern sie uhr ihre fückseite!" I said, wagging the polaroid threateningly. (You just earned yourself an enemy, mister. I hate pictures! Better watch your back!) All he did was laugh. I've really gotta work on my scary face, I guess. Surprisingly, the picture isn't that bad, although the lighting is horrible. - sigh -

Fun Fact Number Seven About Hippogryffs: they don't like being neglected all morning

I have to admit that I'd totally forgotten about Tracy, but when we came outside a little while later, she made that impossible.

"Einfach, Flo!" I yelled, shielding my face from her beating wings with my arms. (Easy, Flo!)

She settled down in a humph, feathers still ruffled. I cautiously walked over to smooth them, saying, "Keine notwendigkeit, heraus auszuflippen, mädchen." (No need to freak out, girl.) "[i]Wir gehen, später in ordnung zu wandern?" (We'll go hiking later, all right?)

And we did.

But that's for later.

Firstly, we went to Tony and Sophia's house. I still held the polaroid and had grabbed my backpack full of hiking stuff, and he needed to grab his things and wanted to try and persuade Sophia into coming with us. She was, apparently, an avid hiker and knew the trails as well as he did, maybe even better. But when we got to their house, the girl was nowhere to be found. But I liked that taking pictures of people idea, as long as it wasn't me, so Tony let me into her room where I found a picture of her to take a picture of. He found his backpack and then we were off, Tracy eagerly leading the way.

I'll spare you the details of the randonnée. Pretty much, the only good thing about it was snapping a shot of Tony during a break. So now I have one of each of us to go in my album, whenever I get it. Photogenic bunch, don't you think? (Oh, yeah, that's not Emmy Rossum. I get that a lot, don't feel bad.) Taking another look at it, I don't really want to leave Switzerland...

Ahem.

Anyway, we haven't found any clues on the whereabouts of the missing kids or new evil doer. I haven't told Tony, but I'm thinking of taking Tracy out tonight and flying farther up the berg to see what I can see. Secret meetings are usually held at night, right?

Subject: Re: Creature Chronicles: Elana Sun Nov 30 2008, 20:01

July 8

I've been waiting for an excuse to practice swearing in symbols, and here's my chance.

$#*%! &@$*^#$&$@$%*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Multiply that by like a bajillion and you've got my mood right now.

The best - least frightening, scaring - thing that's happened in the past twenty four hours was getting a snapshot of Carl at dinner. Besides that, it's been pretty much hellish. And that wasn't even an enjoyable experience, and now I'm cold, wet, and hungry enough to eat up Tracy's leftovers and throw away being a vegetarian for the past eight years. But I won't, because whatever she nabbed she so busy eating that I don't think there'll be leftovers.

But I suppose this isn't making too much sense right now.

Let's go back a couple hours and I'll see what I can bear writing down.

So, yeah, after dinner I went up to my room as usual. Tony had long gone to his own house and Carl wasn't paying any attention to me, avoiding me actually since I had taken his picture, so there wasn't anybody keeping track of me. They really, really, really should've been. After pulling on a loose cardigan (it's been getting cool at night), I stuffed this notebook and the other one in the backpack along with another bottle of H2O, and went back downstairs, James Bond-esque. Y'know, sticking close to the wall, stepping on the outsides of steps so they won't creak, all that. I wasn't singing the theme, though, spared everyone on that front.

I managed to sneak out through the back, clinging to the walls without being spotted. I found Tracy munching on God only knows what, and after she finished we went down the street towards the trailhead. Nobody stopped us, which I'm surprised about, because I wasn't looking nonchalant at all. Sure, fake names I can handle, but sneaking out? I don't even do that at home! The dark forest loomed before us, and I almost decided to go back and drop it, wait for tomorrow and have Tony come with us.

Let me spell this out for you. Ahem.

Ich. Morgens. Verrückt.

(I. Am. Crazy.)

And an idiot.

This explains why I didn't head back to the inn to wait out the night, and instead climbed aboard Tracy's back. She spread her wings and we were off, flying high above the trail, just above the treetops. We climbed higher and higher, much higher than we'd hiked. After more than an hour, I debated going back again, since we hadn't found anything. That, of course, was when I saw the blue flickering of a magical fire.

Fun Fact Number Eight About Hippogryffs: they have great nightvision

Tracy saw it too, probably before I did, and swooped down. We landed in a small clearing close by. I dismounted, cursing every leaf that crunched under my feet. We crept closer, again, very James Bond, until even my poor eyes could make out figures silhouetted against the bright blue of the fire. They varied in shapes and sizes, but seemed to fit the pictures, all but one. There was Nina, drastically smaller than the others, sitting opposite the larger figures. Chiara, her wild blonde hair glowing blue in the light of the fire, was sitting beside Nina. These two were the only ones facing my direction, for which I was thankful. To have - I dared even think it - survived this long, they'd have to have had good sense. They wouldn't give me away. The rest had their backs to me. I picked out Nico by his profile, same as in the picture. I couldn't tell the others, but they were all there, plus one.

Yeah, plus one. The one.

Whoever it was who had taken them was within spell's reach. My grip tightened on my wand, the urge to hex the dark wizard nearly outweighing my reasoning. It seemed I was just in time, though, for a nightly ritual.

"Verdienen sie diese energie? Ich sie ihnen leicht geben, aber können sie verdienen sie? Kein hat sich zu mir geprüft. Warum sollte ich vertrauen?" asked the one standing figure. It was a she, her voice low and hard, malice oozing from every syllable. (Do they deserve this power? I can give it to them easily, but do they deserve it? Neither has proved herself to me. Why should I trust?)

Apparently the question was rhetorical. I bent my knees, easing myself into a crouch - an easy enough position to hold, and easy enough to get up and make a run for it. She waltzed over to the girls and the fire illuminated her clothing if not her face. She was dressed like your average hiker; the normality of it frightened me.

"Möglicherweise würde eine anzeige am besten sein," she said, twirling her wand between her fingers. "Nur dann ist Ich näeher an dem kennen ihrer hingabe." (Perhaps a display would be best. Only then will I be closer to knowing your devotion.)

Nico and the man I take to be Simon struggled to rise, and only then did I realize that they were bound, and the condemned were freed. She raised her wand and pointed it at Chiara, and some unspeakable curse caused the woman's beautiful face to turn to one of agony. Somehow she kept in the scream that must have been pounding against her lips. I know I was not the only one thankful for that. The woman stepped over Chiara's twitching body and moved closer to Nina. Stone-like, the girl faced her, expression blank.

No, I thought. She couldn't be about to do that to a child!

I had a choice to make. I could either sit back and watch a child get tortured, or do something about it. Interfere. What do you think anybody with a conscience did?

"Mobilicorpus," I whispered, training my wand on Chiara. I slowly moved her closer to the others. Luckily, they were absorbed in what was about to happen to Nina, Nico not the only one struggling against his bonds. However, as I lowered her to the ground there was a slight crunch as she landed on the leaves. The woman turned jerkily, the flickering flames distorting her features as she turned her cold gaze on me. Basically, all that was going through my mind then was, $#^%#$@#!@#! and GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT NOW.

And so I did.

Tracy was just as freaked as I was, but when I pulled myself together enough to jump on her back she was ready to fly. The woman shrieked, the most ungodly sound I've ever heard, and sent spells after us, but somehow Tracy was able to avoid them. We shakily flew down the burg, landing in a heap in front of The Hangman's Rope. The sky was still dark, which surprised me. It felt like we had been flying for hours, but I was glad for the extra time. I went directly inside and climbed up the stairs, twitching at every sound my light footsteps made. I tried to sleep, honest, but I'm tired as can be now.

Once it got light I got up and pretty much sprinted over to Tony's in this godforsaken rain, Tracy at my heels. So now I'm sitting on Tony's porch, waiting for him to get up. Tracy's in the back munching on some animal. I don't think I slept a wink tonight, but that doesn't matter. We've got to get back out there. Now.

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