Legends of the Hidden Temple [LILITH]

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina was beyond excited for this particular mission; Lilith was taking her to Mexico to investigate disturbances in some of the old Mayan temples deep in the jungles. It was February, and the weather in London was cold, dreary and wet. Irina knew it was for work, but she couldn’t wait to soak up the hot sunny days. When she had asked her Cursebreaking partner if they’d have any downtime, Lilith only smiled and said maybe, so Irina took that as an almost definite yes. She packed well for the trip, mostly comfortable cotton tank tops, durable khaki shorts, and her favorite hiking boots, but she threw in some bathing suits and a wrap she had gotten while she and Dan had been in Spain, just in case.

They arrived in Tulum on the last day of February. London had been pouring rain, and Irina had been soaked by the time she made her way into the hallowed halls of Gringotts. With a pinch of Floo Powder however, she was transported to a bright, sunny, tropical atmosphere that was the complete opposite. Their hut was simple and modest, but judging from the lapping of waves, very near the beach. Beaming, Irina tossed off her rain sodden jacket and stepped out on the porch to take in the sunshine. “How long until we have to leave for the temples?” she called to Lilith, closing her eyes and tilting her face towards the sun, enjoying every moment.

@lilith

[Deleted]

The goblins had assigned Lilith to take her protege to Mexico to uncover the cause of disturbances in an ancient Mayan temple, and of course also uncover gold. After all, that's what the goblins really cared about. Though sometimes, for good press, they investigated further. Irina seemed completely thrilled about her first real field mission, and Lilith didn't blame her. The girl had gotten exceptionally lucky. Lilith's first mission had been to the Scottish Highlands, not quite as dramatic or exotic as Mexico. The more crucial thing however was that Lilith could actually stand Irina's company. They had spent many hours briefing for this mission, and Lilith found herself begrudgingly agreeing with many of Irina's ideas, and grinning at her infectious laughter.

Lilith arrived a few hours before the assigned time to gather herself and prepare their small hut for habitation. The place was sweltering, and Lilith wiped her brow of sweat before performing a charm to make the place more comfortable. Lilith sat on her bed, listening to the sounds of the waves whilst checking through her kit bag to make sure everything was in order. With time still to spare, Lilith boiled enough water for two cups of tea and made one for herself before stepping out into the strong sunshine of the porch.

Squinting into the near distance, Lilith took in their surroundings. They were close to the water, only a short stretch of beach between the hut and the shore. To the left and right, a jungle stretched out for miles. They had their own secluded beach, conveniently located. Lilith harrumphed. Irina was so lucky. Just as that thought crossed her mind, Irina herself emerged from the hut, shaking out a rain jacket. She tilted her head towards the sunshine, soaking up the rays. "Roundabouts half an hour," said Lilith. "And make sure you wear sun cream. You will burn otherwise," she added, ducking inside to apply some herself. "Journey not bad?" called Lilith from within, more out of courtesy than caring.

tag: Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina chuckled at Lilith’s reminder to put on sunscreen; it was something her mother would constantly remind her on day trips to the beach. Of course, when she had been stubborn and not listened, she had paid dearly for it; she could still remember the brilliant red hue her skin had turned, and the terrible itching and pain for days afterwards. She pulled out a bottle of sunscreen from her bag and lathered it on, making sure not to miss a single spot. Lilith mentioned the had a half hour until they had to be at the location, and she stepped out of her sandals onto the sand in front of the hut. She wiggled her toes, feeling each inch of sand between her toes and sighed happily. “Journey wasn’t bad no, never been a fan of the Floo Network in particular, but I suppose we don’t have much choice,” she called back, taking a few more steps forward. “What do we know about this mission so far?” she asked, trying not to be too loud, but speaking clearly enough so Lilith heard her.

@lilith

[Irina Rose Krum]

Briefed on their mission, Irina followed Lilith as she guided the pair into the jungle towards the ancient Mayan temples. She used her wand to push back the lush greenery instead of chopping it down; Irina was by no means perfectly environmental, but she didn’t see how killing a bunch of plants would do her any good. They finally reached the ruins of what appeared to be an extremely large temple...at least it had been in its’ prime. It had been reduced to a pile of stones with no entry point in sight. Irina waited expectantly for Lilith, who obviously knew this was the right place to be. Sure enough, the older girl walked up to one of the larger stones and promptly took out a knife. Irina’s breath caught in her throat as she sliced into the palm of her hand, the blood weeping out of the cut. Blood magic, she thought to herself as Lilith wiped her hand on the rock and it vanished. Whatever was in there, the owner certainly didn’t want it to get out. It must be worth a fortune if the goblins back at Gringotts wanted it so badly though, and Irina was kidding herself if she said she wasn’t excited to see what it was.

Wands lit, the pair entered the cave carefully, trying to avoid any booby traps that the previous occupant may have set up. While Irina was a pureblood, she had seen a movie about a man who had journeyed into a temple quite similar to this one, and the vast amount of traps that had been set. It seemed though that no such traps were in this particular cavern, and as they turned a corner the glimmer of something gold caught their attention. “Is that…pure gold?” she whispered, her eyes round as saucers. She started to step closer, but Lilith threw out an arm to stop her, pointing to the ground. Just visible were bronze spikes, threatening to shoot out should they get too close. “What now?” she asked; they couldn’t very well go home empty handed, but Irina was not of a mind to be impaled by the spikes. She walked slowly around the circle, looking for an entry point. The person who owned this giant golden...thing had to have a way to get to it somehow. Finally, on a third go around, she spotted a slight gap. “Here,” she exclaimed. “I can get to it,” she determined, a focused look on her face. She took a deep breath, and slid slowly, carefully through the gap so she was right in front of the artifact. Upon closer inspection, it looked very similar to a gorilla with a crown, which was very odd to her. She imagined the solid gold factor was the reasoning for Gringotts’ desire. “Reducio,” she said, and the statue shrunk down to a more reasonable size. Grunting slightly, she lifted it off the podium and slid it into her bag.

Feeling very confident, Irina did something very stupid; she stepped back through the gap, but a little too close to one side. Immediately, the spikes in the floor shot up, and though Irina dodged, one grazed the side of her arm and she hissed angrily. “Damn,” she said, holding her injured arm with one hand. The cavern began to rumble and she looked at Lilith, a glimmer of fear in her eyes. “Time to go?” she asked quickly, and the pair darted back towards the temple entrance. The rumbling grew louder as stones began to tumble from the ceiling, making Irina pick up her pace. There were a few very close calls, and Irina stumbled once or twice, making her heart rate go up significantly, but soon they burst out of the temple and backed away, watching as a cloud of green smoke rose into the air before disappearing, leaving the temple entrance blocked as it had been an hour ago. “Wow,” Irina said, trying to take some deep breaths to lower her heart rate. She passed the bag over to Lilith for her to inspect, then sank down to her knees on the ground.

“Something’s...wrong,” she said, her eyes frantic as she looked down at the graze on her arm from the spike. Her heart rate wasn’t leveling out like it should, and she could see why: a nasty, black-green tinge had come from the graze and was slowly creeping down the length of her arm. “Please…” she managed to say, before her eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she hit the ground, feeling and hearing no more.

END THREAD
@daniel , @edrik , @iliana , @viktor o nooooo

ooc: no, she's not dead folks don't worry