Bronze Feather's Gathering

Night had fallen, and the stars were hidden behind heavy clouds.

In the dense forest, Sagreles, dressed in a black cloak, carefully made his way through the thorn-choked woods. His hood concealed most of his face, revealing only a pair of deep, sharp eyes.

This was his first time here. The path was filled with thick vines and poisonous mushrooms, and he had even seen several Muggles who had accidentally eaten hallucinogenic fungi, energetically chatting with tree stumps.

They looked like campers. He had no idea how they had found this place.

With no choice, he sent them out of the forest, and in the end, he arrived at his destination just in time.

An ancient manor stood alone in the depths of the forest, and the air was permeated by a nauseating stench.

Sagreles passed through the fence and arrived at the manor entrance, where two silent wax guards stood stiffly at the door, examining him.

He lifted his chin slightly, revealing a badge engraved with a Raven. At once, the wax guards respectfully opened the gates.

Candlelight flickered in the hall, illuminating numerous figures. Most had cleverly concealed their faces. Some wore hideous masks, while others, like Sagreles, had wrapped themselves tightly in heavy cloaks.

Sagreles swept his gaze around and realized that he seemed to be the last one to arrive.

"Look who's here?" A cold, hoarse voice rang out from the hall.

The speaker was an evil Dark wizard who had been wanted by the International Confederation of Wizards for fifteen years, known within Bronze Feather by the codename Shrike.

He was currently lounging on a floating Persian carpet, continuously tossing and catching a gold coin.

"I heard you became a professor at Hogwarts?" Shrike asked mockingly.

Sagreles shot him a cold glance but did not answer.

Bronze Feather's members were a mixed bunch, and some of them represented endless trouble. He had no desire to waste words on them.

In the hall, Red Kestrel and Thunderbird both wore masks, Nightingale wore a cloak, while Snowy Owl stood out sharply among the crowd in a white fur coat.

She had not concealed her face at all. In her words, how was a businesswoman supposed to conduct business if she hid her head and showed only her tail?

Sagreles's gaze passed over each of those familiar figures before he gave a slight nod through the air, indicating that he had arrived.

"All right, since everyone is here..." A gray-haired old man clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Let's take our seats. We have a new member joining us this time..."

Everyone sat down around a huge oval table as the old man smilingly introduced an unfamiliar middle-aged woman.

"This is our new member, codenamed Wren. If you don't know it, just recognize half of it. She is highly accomplished in magical locks and is especially skilled at breaking all kinds of complex sealing spells."

The middle-aged woman was clearly nervous, since she had not altered her appearance in any way. Urged on by the old man, she awkwardly stood and greeted everyone, but received only scant responses.

Seeing this, the old man stood again and said with a kindly smile, "Raven, since you arrived last, why don't you introduce the newcomer?"

Sagreles did not refuse, but neither did he stand.

He merely leaned back casually in his chair, expressionless, and pointed at the man who had spoken to him earlier. In an indifferent tone, he said, "Shrike—wanted criminal, Dark wizard, hefty bounty on his head."

Ignoring the other man's furious glare, he pointed to the next person.

"Swift, curse-breaker, skilled at finding magical ruins."

The young man Sagreles pointed at hurriedly rose to his feet and nodded in greeting to the newcomer, Wren.

"Kingfisher, Goblin craftsman, skilled in certain forging techniques."

He was a Goblin with greedy eyes. He had not altered his appearance either. After all, his height was right there for all to see; any disguise would have been pointless. He stood out like a chicken among cranes.

"Snowy Owl, black-market merchant. You can go to her for buying or selling. Her prices are very fair." Snowy Owl smiled at that.

"Nightingale, potions master. You can buy any kind of potion from her, at reasonable prices." Nightingale's silver-gray cloak shifted slightly, as though she had lightly nodded beneath her hood.

"Red Kestrel, diviner. Though she hasn't accepted commissions for the past two years." The red-haired young girl wore a beautiful mask, and the moment she heard Sagreles's words, she stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

"Thunderbird, wandmaker. Highly skilled, specializes in the North American school." Thunderbird also smiled gently and nodded to the newcomer in greeting.

"Stork, information broker. You can go to him to gather or spread information." He pointed at a man in black robes. Though the man wore a cloak, everyone could see his emaciated body through the hollow drape of his garments.

"Bird-of-Paradise, alchemist. Likes using Squibs for alchemical experiments, specializes in mechanical modifications." Upon hearing that, the newcomer Wren immediately swallowed. She could vaguely make out half a mechanical face beneath the other person's hood, but could not tell whether they were male or female.

"Hummingbird, healer. Skilled at treating injuries caused by the Dark Arts, with practiced hands." A young woman hurriedly stood after hearing Sagreles's introduction and bowed to the newcomer.

"Robin, defense expert. Skilled at constructing barriers and Safe Houses." A woman wearing a feathered mask pressed her lips together and nodded, looking rather serious.

"Falcon, Dark wizard, skilled at tracking and assassination."

"Pelican, Dark wizard, skilled at poaching."

"Lark, Dark wizard, skilled at stealing."

"Hoopoe, Dark wizard, skilled at transplanting magical creature organs."

"And finally, Albatross, a scholar. He recommended you, so I won't say much more." At last, Sagreles pointed at the white-haired old man who had spoken at the beginning, with a trace of perfunctoriness in his tone.

"Ah... haha, what about you, Raven?"

Albatross wore an awkward smile, secretly regretting his decision. He truly felt like an idiot for asking this ill-tempered Raven to introduce the newcomer.

"Didn't you already say it? My codename is Raven." Sagreles remained steadily reclined in his chair without moving.

The few people whom he had bluntly labeled as "Dark wizards" all turned extremely unpleasant.

Anger flickered in their eyes, yet not one of them stepped forward to argue.

Sagreles did not care in the slightest.

In his eyes, these people were nothing but a rabble. Put more harshly, they were trash—scum among scum, not worth mentioning.

If Bronze Feather did not have a rule forbidding internal conflict, he would have thrown those few eyesores into Azkaban long ago.