Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2021 12:11:14 GMT -7
March 18, 2026
Compared to, say, vanished limbs or cursed objects, reports of arson weren't typically something with which Magical Interpol dealt. A large incident involving a magical fire on a remote island in the Hebrides came upon their radar, however, based on suspicions that it was tied to a known member of the terrorist organization Kraken, the same group that had claimed responsibility for the explosions of the Durmstrang ship and Beauxbatons carriage. Ezekiel Walker, being a mere trainee, wasn't expecting to be assigned to anything of that nature yet, although he supposed that it would make for some good experience, and he felt fortunate to have been paired with Anastasia Karkaroff, a member of the International Crime Task Force, whose judgment he trusted.
Zeke looked over as Karkaroff knelt near a portion of the ground that was a solid black color, and almost overwhelming them was the general smell of something particularly burnt. The building that once stood there was hardly recognizable, and all that was left were its charred remains. Karkaroff, the more experienced of the two of them, didn't seem to be too fazed by it.
Normally, Zeke knew, the Aurors would have covered something as "simple" as a case of arson. Since there was suspicion of terrorist behavior, namely that of Kraken, it had been reassigned, and Zeke was thankful that Karkaroff had decided to give him some real experience in the field.
"Have you ever walked through a building that's been burnt to the ground, Walker?" Karkaroff asked as she stood, glancing at a few other agents and officials that were farther into the scene. Word was that a body had been found.
Being asked outright if he had ever walked through a building that had been burnt to the ground, Zeke shook his head. "No, ma'am," he answered Karkaroff. He had not, nor had he ever had any particular desire to, but he knew that Interpol work wasn't exactly about "desire" to do something. At least it wasn't heights, he thought, not that he wanted to jinx his luck there, either. Really, from what he could see, that wouldn't be a problem, but it was charred, and the lingering smell of it all wasn't particularly pleasant. It could have been worse, he told himself, looking around at the scene and trying to recall everything that he had learned in training till that point.
Karkaroff merely nodded to his answer. "What kind of magic can cause this?" she asked, and Zeke knew that the question was intended for his benefit.
Still, Karkaroff's question about what kind of magic could have caused what had happened gave Zeke pause. There was plenty of Dark magic that could cause destruction very quickly—Fiendfyre, for instance—and the fact that it had been determined to be an act of arson already likely ruled out any accidents. Not only that, but Zeke was surprised by just how much had burned. From what he had heard from the others at the site, it likely had been burning for multiple hours before it had been discovered and extinguished at midday. "There's, uh, a dragon reserve not far from here, right?" Zeke considered, glancing around at everything again. Then again, he was no Dragonologist. "But man…" The dragons wouldn't have made their way out to this place—or at least he didn't think that they would have.
He watched carefully as Karkaroff made her way around the perimeter. "Walker—you have the file? Have the notes been updated with any witness statements?"
Zeke noticed that Karkaroff didn't so much as look in his direction as she addressed him then, but he nevertheless nodded and responded quickly. "Yeah. It's in my bag," he assured her, yet he was already in the process of fishing it out to check it as he spoke. As soon as he had gotten it, he looked through it carefully, checking to see if there was any information about witnesses already.
"It doesn't look like there were any, not besides the confirmation that this place wasn't burning last night…" he explained, hoping that he hadn't made a blunder. "I mean, there's no other witness statements in here…" and he was sure that none had fallen out. "They said they found a body, right?" he checked. That was probably their only witness, he supposed, unless there had been more victims than just the one.
"They're still questioning people, or looking for people to question," noted Karkaroff. Zeke could tell that she was looking at more of the debris that remained. Whatever it was seemed to have burnt for a long time—more than just the average forest fire, and most of the damage was farther in, towards the center.
As for that dead body? "They did," said Karkaroff. There had been at least one casualty in the fire, though Zeke wondered how long it would take to get a positive identification on the body. From his experience in the No-Maj world, at least, he didn't think that there would be any DNA or anything like that left to test.
Staying put where he was, Zeke watched as Karkaroff glanced back in his direction and then moved towards the center, where the damage was and where the other agents had been previously. Looking then, Zeke could see the outline of a humanoid shape and knew that Karkaroff must have been able to get a better look at it from her vantage point. What looked like it might have been a second body—or possibly part of the first—was nearby.
"Have they identified what kind of structure was here?" Karkaroff wondered, and Zeke looked through the file for an answer for her. Identifying what had been there in the first place would make it easier to identify the victims, naturally, but this place was awfully remote.
"Doesn't say," Zeke muttered. Any chance of identifying the structure was limited to whatever they could find in the remains of what hadn't managed to burn in its entirety. After carefully putting the file back into his bag and zipping it up, Zeke walked around in their immediate vicinity. "Looks like something wooden," and that also explained why very little of it was left. Beyond that, though, he couldn't say. Maybe they would be able to find out before the day's end.
OOC: Co-written by mod vanessa and mod audrey !
Zeke looked over as Karkaroff knelt near a portion of the ground that was a solid black color, and almost overwhelming them was the general smell of something particularly burnt. The building that once stood there was hardly recognizable, and all that was left were its charred remains. Karkaroff, the more experienced of the two of them, didn't seem to be too fazed by it.
Normally, Zeke knew, the Aurors would have covered something as "simple" as a case of arson. Since there was suspicion of terrorist behavior, namely that of Kraken, it had been reassigned, and Zeke was thankful that Karkaroff had decided to give him some real experience in the field.
"Have you ever walked through a building that's been burnt to the ground, Walker?" Karkaroff asked as she stood, glancing at a few other agents and officials that were farther into the scene. Word was that a body had been found.
Being asked outright if he had ever walked through a building that had been burnt to the ground, Zeke shook his head. "No, ma'am," he answered Karkaroff. He had not, nor had he ever had any particular desire to, but he knew that Interpol work wasn't exactly about "desire" to do something. At least it wasn't heights, he thought, not that he wanted to jinx his luck there, either. Really, from what he could see, that wouldn't be a problem, but it was charred, and the lingering smell of it all wasn't particularly pleasant. It could have been worse, he told himself, looking around at the scene and trying to recall everything that he had learned in training till that point.
Karkaroff merely nodded to his answer. "What kind of magic can cause this?" she asked, and Zeke knew that the question was intended for his benefit.
Still, Karkaroff's question about what kind of magic could have caused what had happened gave Zeke pause. There was plenty of Dark magic that could cause destruction very quickly—Fiendfyre, for instance—and the fact that it had been determined to be an act of arson already likely ruled out any accidents. Not only that, but Zeke was surprised by just how much had burned. From what he had heard from the others at the site, it likely had been burning for multiple hours before it had been discovered and extinguished at midday. "There's, uh, a dragon reserve not far from here, right?" Zeke considered, glancing around at everything again. Then again, he was no Dragonologist. "But man…" The dragons wouldn't have made their way out to this place—or at least he didn't think that they would have.
He watched carefully as Karkaroff made her way around the perimeter. "Walker—you have the file? Have the notes been updated with any witness statements?"
Zeke noticed that Karkaroff didn't so much as look in his direction as she addressed him then, but he nevertheless nodded and responded quickly. "Yeah. It's in my bag," he assured her, yet he was already in the process of fishing it out to check it as he spoke. As soon as he had gotten it, he looked through it carefully, checking to see if there was any information about witnesses already.
"It doesn't look like there were any, not besides the confirmation that this place wasn't burning last night…" he explained, hoping that he hadn't made a blunder. "I mean, there's no other witness statements in here…" and he was sure that none had fallen out. "They said they found a body, right?" he checked. That was probably their only witness, he supposed, unless there had been more victims than just the one.
"They're still questioning people, or looking for people to question," noted Karkaroff. Zeke could tell that she was looking at more of the debris that remained. Whatever it was seemed to have burnt for a long time—more than just the average forest fire, and most of the damage was farther in, towards the center.
As for that dead body? "They did," said Karkaroff. There had been at least one casualty in the fire, though Zeke wondered how long it would take to get a positive identification on the body. From his experience in the No-Maj world, at least, he didn't think that there would be any DNA or anything like that left to test.
Staying put where he was, Zeke watched as Karkaroff glanced back in his direction and then moved towards the center, where the damage was and where the other agents had been previously. Looking then, Zeke could see the outline of a humanoid shape and knew that Karkaroff must have been able to get a better look at it from her vantage point. What looked like it might have been a second body—or possibly part of the first—was nearby.
"Have they identified what kind of structure was here?" Karkaroff wondered, and Zeke looked through the file for an answer for her. Identifying what had been there in the first place would make it easier to identify the victims, naturally, but this place was awfully remote.
"Doesn't say," Zeke muttered. Any chance of identifying the structure was limited to whatever they could find in the remains of what hadn't managed to burn in its entirety. After carefully putting the file back into his bag and zipping it up, Zeke walked around in their immediate vicinity. "Looks like something wooden," and that also explained why very little of it was left. Beyond that, though, he couldn't say. Maybe they would be able to find out before the day's end.
OOC: Co-written by mod vanessa and mod audrey !
