Marrakesh, Morocco


Was this a mistake? Rosier wasn't sure yet, but he felt uneasy walking down these streets after sundown once again. His safety wasn't even that important now - he was also responsible for the young blond cursebreaker he dragged along with him. He knew Cohen could take of herself, but one never knew what they could end up facing. Rosier had been lucky with his escapes and adventures so far, but that was him - other people weren't so skilled at slithering away from impossible situations. Bitterly, he remembered the disaster with Tawse, the ambush in Knockturn Alley and finally his last visit to this hell pit called Marrakesh.

He held onto a crude map of the bazaar he acquired from their informant at the hotel. Like a paranoid lunatic, he kept on checking over his shoulder if someone was following them. However, he knew that was useless, these narrow, dusty streets were always full and they could easily be tracked by someone on the roofs above or though hidden passages. He frowned, already missing London and the miserable, cold weather. "I swear, when all this is finished I'm going to smoke all the tobacco in this bloody city. Actually, forget about that - I'm going to find something a lot more... formidable," he muttered, glancing at the tattered map again. They tried to dress like muggle tourists which was a skill Rosier thought he mastered by now. He gathered that a pair of safari khakis with a white shirt and the blackest sunglasses he could find was a safe combination.

Rosier really hoped this trip was not in vain. He tried very hard to just disappear for the weekend without informing anyone at work, including the Minister. She will find out all the details in due time...and if they fail, well she will find out as well. He contemplated taking Trevelyan with them, but later decided against it. An Auror always attracts trouble, especially a ginger one. No, Cohen and Rosier looked like typical tourists from England - staying undercover was key. He just hoped they'll be able to locate the antique shop where he saw the mask last time. There were so many unanswered questions and Rosier was sure they will find something of value here. He was rarely wrong when it came to things like this, but he usually ended up paying a huge price for his discoveries.

"These streets all look the same to me," Rosier sighed, thinking that they were only walking around in circles, but refusing to verbalize the thought. Instead, the stared at the map and took a left. "It doesn't really help that last time I was here I was dehydrated and quite possibly delirious..."

It was strange how Morocco could feel so foreign and so much more like home all at once.  She had been to the Maghreb country once before, and then, like now, had left her much regretting that she hadn't put more time into practicing her Arabic.  The version of the language that had been spoken back home came off sounding far more formal than the colloquial dialect here, and the blonde Cursebreaker often felt so conspicuous trying to speak it that it often felt safer to simply pretend she was an English-speaking tourist who didn't understand.

Rosier was definitely helping with that image.  The former head of Magical Law Enforcement had lost much of his sunburn, but there was no mistaking the British wizard for anything but a sightseer.  The brightly colored slippers that he'd bought on his last adventure here would certainly never have been present on the feet of any native Moroccan.

"I thought you weren't drinking?" she asked politely, with only a hint of acidic judgement in the words.  Something formidable would not be very hard to find here in Marrakesh, but even so, if they'd come all this way, Raizel was going to make certain that Rosier found what they were looking for first.

The map that they'd been given was almost useless.  Raizel huffed a sigh as Rosier took another random turn, leading them down another random alley.  They would have been better off using a locating spell, but considering her current companion's last run in with the magical law here, it had been deemed safer to refrain from using magic for as long as possible. 

"If we keep wandering, it will not take very long until you return to that state," she pointed out, with stern impatience.  Following behind anyone tested her nerves, and it felt as if she and Rosier had been on the streets for hours.  "Why don't we try something else?  Here," she said, trying to make a grab for the piece of printed paper that he'd been guarding with the possessiveness that he usually reserved for his Moroccan sandals, "let me see the map.  The spell will only take a second."

Silly girl! He wasn't talking about drinking, of course. "I'm not," he said truthfully, but with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Drinking isn't formidable at all! Well, maybe it is the way I do it..." he mused, however thinking that his old habits always brought him more trouble than enjoyment. He could live without it all for now, however if this mission (or whatever they decided to call it) proves successful, he decided he might as well reward himself. Cohen could judge him all she wanted, but it wasn't like she was his mother! He already got used to her constant need to be in control of everything, which wasn't a bad trait, but it made him feel like he was a bit irresponsible sometimes. But she was a good companion - not as annoying as any Auror would doubtlessly be and as quick as Rosier when it came to rule-breaking. Not to mention she was young and quite easy on the eyes, which instantly made him look better (and less suspicious).

She was also impatient. There was some truth in her words, but Rosier wasn't the one to tell her that. He looked at the map in his hands intently and gave her request a thought. He wanted this part of the operation to go without magic, but they were running out of time. He sighed, lifting his gaze from the tattered parchment. "Alright," he said, as if defeated, giving her the map she was apparently so eager to hold. "One spell," he said sternly, as if she was one of his subordinates and didn't know this herself. It was his time now to open his eyes and watch if they were being followed. He hated wandering around here recklessly, but it was an infinitely better prospect than being ambushed.

He leaned against the wall and felt the wand hidden inside his sleeve. He really hoped there would be no need of it now, he wasn't in the mood for any more international incidents. "You done? Listen, Cohen, if you just..." he stopped abruptly. For a second, he saw a shadow pass in front of him. Someone...something was on the rooftops above. Without a warning, he snatched the map from the young witch's hands and grabbed her arm, as if to indicate to start moving quickly. Giving her a serious look, he pointed above them.