Some of the Aurors exchanged glances. His caution seemed excessive, but after witnessing his earlier assessment, no one voiced an objection. Once the jammer was in place, Alex unrolled his map again and re-checked the tracker. Satisfied that the enemy hadn't moved, he reached into his coat and pulled out another device.
At first glance, it resembled the shielding jammer, but upon closer inspection, it had a singular protruding antenna with a small metallic sphere attached at the top. Alongside it, he retrieved a square piece of soft, carefully cut leather. "I haven't been idle these past six months," Alex said with a small smirk. "This is my latest alchemical tracking tool, an Echo Topographic Map."
He held it up briefly before driving the metal rod into the ground with a firm thunk. "Echo Topographic Map?" One of the Aurors repeated, intrigued.
Alex's smirk widened. "Watch and learn." He placed his hand on the metal rod and channeled his magic into it. After activating the metal rod, Alex ignored it entirely and instead turned his attention to the soft leather cloth he had laid on the ground. With deliberate precision, he spread it out flat and tapped it with his wand. What happened next caused the Aurors to widen their eyes in astonishment.
A pattern of glowing dots emerged across the surface of the leather, densely packed at first, before shifting and forming into a fully three-dimensional topographical representation of the surrounding terrain. Then, to the Aurors' further amazement, 15 small figures appeared on the map, each one corresponding to a person in their group. It took them only a moment to realize what they were looking at. "This Echo Map can detect and identify terrain within a three-kilometer radius," Alex explained, his tone calm and matter-of-fact. "The map can be rotated, resized, and adjusted as needed."
To demonstrate, he tapped the map again with his wand, causing the display to shrink. Instantly, the Aurors' representations became minuscule, barely larger than ants. Moody let out an approving grunt. "Now that's useful," he muttered, eyes fixated on the map. "With this, we can scan the smuggling site before making our move."
Satisfied that he had their attention, Alex wasted no time. He zoomed the map outward, sweeping the display inch by inch in a northern direction, following the trajectory of his previous tracking results. It wasn't long before he found something.
Near the very edge of the detection range, just before the land met the sea, two figures stood motionless on a low seaside cliff. Alex immediately honed in, enlarging their forms for closer inspection.
Due to the nature of the Echo Map's detection spell, the scanned images weren't highly detailed, but the essential outlines were clear enough. Both figures were roughly the same height, standing about 1.8 meters tall. More importantly, each wore the unmistakable faceless mask of the Silver Wands. "Two Silver Wands," Moody muttered, narrowing his eyes. "That's all? Where's the rest of the operation? These guys usually have a whole crew backing them up."
"Something's off," Alex noted, eyes flicking between the map and the distant coastline. "Don't you see? They're just standing there. They're not moving supplies, casting wards, or even scouting the area. It looks more like… they're waiting for someone."
Moody's expression darkened as realization settled in. "You think the smugglers haven't arrived yet."
Alex nodded. "When was the last time you intercepted one of their operations?" he asked the Aurors, still focused on the map.
Medea tilted her head, thinking back. "Last time was around 10 p.m.," she recalled. "We caught them setting up a camp with a Vipertooth crate. We'd been tracking smuggling routes when one of our teams stumbled upon them by chance. The fight started fast, and since we were already carrying communication amulets, backup arrived quickly. We overwhelmed them before they could escape."
"The time is 9:30 p.m. now," Alex mused. "If they're following the same schedule, the smugglers aren't here yet." He turned toward Moody. "So? Do we take these two down now, or wait until their contacts arrive and wipe out everyone at once?"
Moody barely hesitated. "We move in now," he decided. "Those two might be tough, but between the two of us, keeping them pinned down won't be a problem. Once they're out of the way, we'll set a trap for the rest."
Alex, however, barely reacted. He had already intended to take down the Silver Wands, but since this was a joint operation with the Ministry of Magic, he had chosen to confirm their approach first. "Alright," he nodded. "Before we engage, we need to assess the terrain and confirm enemy numbers and their configuration."
With that, Alex zoomed out the tactical map again, studying the landscape surrounding the Silver Wands' position. The cliff where the two masked wizards stood was a narrow protrusion extending over the coastline at a steep 60-degree angle. It was surrounded on three sides by the sea, with only a narrow stretch of land connecting it to a dense forest behind them. The area was completely uninhabited, no signs of any settlements, roads, or landmarks nearby.
Alex quickly formulated a siege strategy in his mind, but before he could finalize it, something unexpected happened. A shift appeared on the surface of the sea in front of the Silver Wands One of the masked wizards stepped to the cliff's edge and raised his wand. He cast a spell, but Alex's Echo Map could only scan solid objects, not magical energy, leaving them unable to discern the exact incantation.
Moments later, the ocean responded. The water stirred, rippling outward before parting as two massive, horse-headed creatures emerged from beneath the waves. Each was connected to a chain that trailed into the depths, and as they rose, they brought something with them. Linked between the creatures was an unusual vessel. It had no sails or masts, its structure was elongated, almost like an oversized Quidditch ball that had been flattened at the top to form a deck with a protective railing.
Medea let out a breath of disbelief. "Hippocampi," she murmured. "They've been using them to transport cargo underwater. No wonder we could never trace how they were moving across continents!"
Alex didn't respond, his focus was locked on the Echo Map. "Look," Moody interrupted, pointing to the display. "Someone's coming out of that ship."
The Aurors leaned in as a large hatch opened on the ship's deck. Several wizards in exotic robes emerged, their wands raised as they cast spells over the hatch. Moments later, a massive cage rose from below. As soon as the Silver Wands on the cliff took control of it, more cages began to follow. "Damn," one of the Aurors muttered, eyes widening. "This is way more than last time."
The cages kept coming, one after another, until the entire cliffside was lined with them. Some were massive, large enough to house fully grown magical creatures, while others were small enough to be lifted by hand. Alex counted silently before speaking. "Nine total. Three giant, four medium, two small." He frowned. "They're smuggling big this time. Can you identify the creatures?" he asked, glancing at the Aurors.