Plot:Egyptian Dagger
In the summer of 2008, Aileen Reid headed an excavation in Egypt. It was rumored that an ancient Egyptian cult, called the Cult of the Phoenix, had buried their secrets in some newly discovered tombs. Though the excavation was cut short because a few of the crew members fell ill and died of mysterious causes, Aileen managed to secure some of the items she'd found within the tombs. Among them, a cursed Egyptian dagger. She brought these artifacts back with her to England and hid them away at home and in her office at Hogwarts.
Unfortunately for Aileen, word got around that she was hiding some very powerful (and very expensive) items. On September 20th, a thief by the name of Demelza Boskonovitch broke into Aileen's home and stole the cursed dagger. Aileen was furious, but she couldn't go to the authorities for help, because she technically wasn't supposed to have the artifacts either. So, she sought out private investigator Jonas Trevelyan, who after several months of futile searching, finally got a hint from Cináed Tawse. Jonas procured the dagger from Demelza and returned it to Aileen on November 12.
Little do they know that the dagger has infected many victims with an ancient curse! The curse affects wizarding folk in two ways: making a person's magic volatile and unpredictable, or diminishing a person's magical ability (or potential). The curse also makes squibs and muggles violently ill. Those affected have flocked to St. Mungo's, seeking answers and a cure.
As the curse spreads, those involved begin to slowly put the pieces together and look for a solution. But the situation will surely grow darker before it begins to ebb. With rumors of froggy plagues at Hogwarts and mummies lurching about Muggle museums, it is slowly becoming clear that something wicked has been awakened...
How to Get Involved
Who?
This plot has ended.
Plotting Resources
- Plot Development Topics: Something Wicked..., Mummies, why does it have to be mummies?
- Tags: Dagger Theft, Egyptian Curse
- Primary Contact: Fauna Blake, Jonas Trevelyan
Characters
Involved
![[[Demelza Boskonovitch]]](/wiki/images/a/af/Demelza_Boskonovitch.png)
![[[Kit Branwell]]](/wiki/images/thumb/e/e3/Kit_Branwell.jpg/232px-Kit_Branwell.jpg)
![[[Cillian Cuthbert]]](/wiki/images/e/e6/Cillian_Cuthbert.png)
![[[Lexus Dale]]](/wiki/images/4/42/Lexus_Dale.png)
![[[Adon Eleor]]](/wiki/images/thumb/3/31/Adon_Eleor.jpg/196px-Adon_Eleor.jpg)
![[[João Encantado]]](/wiki/images/6/6f/Joao_Encantado.jpg)
![[[Delilah Foley]]](/wiki/images/5/54/Delilah_Foley.jpg)
![[[Torquil Foley]]](/wiki/images/b/b4/Torquil_Foley.jpg)
![[[Moira Randall]]](/wiki/images/5/54/Moira_Randall.jpg)
![[[Abigail Reid]]](/wiki/images/d/d6/Abigail_Reid.jpg)
![[[Cináed Tawse]]](/wiki/images/3/37/Cinaed_Tawse.jpg)
![[[Jonas Trevelyan]]](/wiki/images/d/d4/Jonas_Trevelyan.jpg)
![[[Tapendra Trishna]]](/wiki/images/a/a1/Tapendra_Trishna.png)
The Events Unfold
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“Not many people have heard of the Phoenix cult, except a small group of Ancient Egyptian scholars,” she told him, shrugging her shoulders lightly. “However, the Cult of the Phoenix actually had a similar belief system to other Egyptian wizards… they worshipped gods and goddesses, believed in the afterlife, practiced divine kingship and mummification. The difference is, well, because of their location they had a close relationship with phoenixes, and over time, thought of the birds as gods. They became obsessed with healing magic, youth potions, perfecting and preserving the body. But then, as a result of this…”.Aileen Reid
- With:
- Aileen Reid
- Cináed Tawse
She was a cute thing, there was no denying that. And, they'd already established, not without spunk and perhaps a small degree of foolish courage. Of course, her actual worth as a witch had yet to be determined. But, standing in this dark, dusty shop, she did bare some resemblance to a regal, elegant swan striding along in a flock of gobbling turkeys. And, Knockturn Alley had its share of trophy hunters.Cináed Tawse
On August 5th, one of the crew members dies and the project was immediately cut off. Aileen was sent home, taking these items with her.
Aileen's Research Log with Aileen Reid- With:
- Aileen Reid
I should be happier about our accomplishments, yet there's this... feeling I get. A hunch that something is wrong. The very air we breathe in the tomb is thick and cloying with dark magic. It's making our hearts heavy, makes it hard to even smile. Fights and arguments break out more often. Sometimes I think the crew resents me. I don't know why. I've been as careful as I can about every chamber, every warning and curse, every artifact we've come across. Even with pressure from news reporters and my project manager, I've proceeded carefully and kept the integrity of the site and its discoveries.Aileen Reid
- Quoting:
- Margaret Groust
Despite discontented mutterings, Miss Reid did get the job done. The crew discovered rooms containing mummified servants, pets, old time keepers, and most impressive- the Pharaoh’s inner chamber. There, they found what appears to be the best preserved mummy in history. Plus, what every discoverer likes to find: treasure. Loads of it.Margaret Groust
- With:
- Aileen Reid
- Jason Marren
“You must be very busy and I don’t want to burden you. But if something doesn’t change, if the healers don’t find out what’s wrong with them…” She trailed off, imagining the possibilities. Her job and reputation were at stake. Analiza would be happy to find any reason to fire her from her new position at Hogwarts, and she might never be asked to head an excavation again. Also, there was the grim matter of people dying.Aileen Reid
Finally, she ignored Simon and turned towards Cin to address his earlier question. “Remember when I told you I was going to Egypt?” Aileen waited a beat. She couldn’t really blame him if he’d forgotten. “I had to leave early…” her tone took on a slight edge. “But I was able to bring back a few things with me from the excavation. My only issue is that the items are quite stubborn. Old magic,” she explained, failing to mention that the magic had already killed off a few of her crewmates and was the reason she was forced to come home. If they didn’t already know, she wasn’t about to enlighten them. Simon would become insufferably smug and she didn’t need to see that.Aileen Reid
"Serpensortia" Demelza bellowed, and gracefully waved her wand around in a circular motion, her ballerina-esque form sending a magenta serpent from her wand into the library, hissing menacingly as it slithered across the floor. "Deal with that, missy."Demelza Boskonovitch
So a thief had stolen a cursed dagger and his visitor wanted it back. In Jonas's mind, that put her closer to the second category of visitor rather than the first, although she appeared nowhere near panicked. Finding a stolen artifact was a lot more interesting than tailing an untrustworthy spouse or sorting through endless case files, and he ought to jump at the chance to take on employment from a witch, if only to get his name out there.Jonas Trevelyan
Liadán Ó Móráin was a challenging one, with her icy expression and her thin, linear mouth, but there was something right and well about the challenge. When he was shivering in an automobile waiting for the poor sap he was tailing to start off, or when he was up until five reading through so many boxes of records that he thought that his eyes might well bleed out of his skull, the thought of these moments kept him going. The match of wits made it fun. It was what he missed most about being an Auror, mainly because no one tried to kill you when you were face to face and questioning them. Most had the wit to wait until you'd turned to leave, at the least.Jonas Trevelyan
Taking a sip of coffee he leaned back in the chair a moment thinking over what Jonas had said. That wasn't the sort of information one found in books, at least not the sort you could buy in Diagon Alley. Usually that sort of information required venturing to stores known for a slightly twisted view of morality. Setting the coffee down again he tried not to appear totally annoyed that the other man seemed incapable to keeping his voice down.Dante Ward
"Boskonovitch?" Cináed asked, lifting an eyebrow in the older man's direction. Mannie nodded but shrugged his shoulders. The woman certainly fit Jonas' description. It also didn't seem unreasonable. With a shrug, Cináed looked back to Jonas. "Demelza Boskonovitch. She seems likely - she may have some information at least. However, I demand some credit," he added with a smirk. "That Aileen's a charming woman."Cináed Tawse
"So let's keep 'em out of it. You give me the dagger, I'll return it to the proper owner, and we all go on our merry ways," he said, quirking an eyebrow at her. "No reports, no Aurors, no one gets in trouble. Fair all around, yeah?"Jonas Trevelyan
At least the object in question looked the part, he thought as he picked it up and turned it over in his hands. He could see why a thief would put effort into obtaining it, although any notion of an ancient curse still struck him as complete and utter bullocks. It was the sort of thing that his wife would have come up with when she was in the middle of one of her mystical kicks, not something that a reasoning wizard would actually believe. Thoughtfully, he drew the dagger from its sheath, tilting it so that the gold blade glinted in the lighting.Jonas Trevelyan
"Maybe you should consider it, Aileen. He has a fun, exciting job. He seems like he'd be willing to face undead mummies. He has the redhead thing going on. And unlike your other suitors, he doesn't have a stick up his-"Abigail Reid
This is what makes the disease so terrifying. None of the victims suffer from horns, boils, or dragon pox. No one can tell, just by looking at someone, who has it and who doesn’t. But it makes us lose control over what many witches and wizards take for granted, what comes as naturally to us as breathing: our magic.Margaret Groust
"You ever heard of anything like this happening before? Can magic just dry up like that?"Jonas Trevelyan
"It's been all my magic. Even the simplest of spells turn sour. I've been living completely like a muggle for weeks now. I don't think my landlord would like it very much if I set my place on fire."Lexus Dale
"Merlin. Are you sure it's not a coincidence? Because that's - that's a really huge deal. Major. To think a dagger could cause... such... Aileen's going to flip."Abigail Reid
"I write to you not seeking condolences but in need of your assistance. In going through my father's notes and the work that he was preparing before his passing, I have happened across something that I think may be dearly relevant to your interests. I find that I would like nothing more than to lay his soul to rest by completing this one last puzzle of his life's work. It is my hope that you will be able to aide me in this noblest of tasks."João Encantado
Something in the pit of Analiza's stomach growled and she took a taste of the tea in hopes to quell it, her golden eyes locked on João. It didn't escape her that, perhaps, what his father was studying involved a cure to the curse they shared. He had, after all, gotten the brunt of it. Before she had simply been being nice, offering to assist him in what she had assumed at the time was a silly endeavor or a simple request, but now she was filled with a different emotion. A need, if you will, to help him if for nothing but to help herself. If there was a cure for this curse, Miguel Encantado would be the one man she would trust to find it. She had to help him now, her life depended on it.Analiza Snark
"Yes, I literally break curses, and goblins aren’t even the usual culprits when it comes to cursing items. Ancient wizards and witches, usually upon receiving Goblin crafted goods curse the objects so no one else can take them and the Goblins can’t get them back. I am not a particular fan of the Goblins, but it’s a challenge." She shrugged, "Those are usually only domestic goods though. International is usually ancient civilizations, gold to be had, cursed by priests and priestesses." She looked around the museum at the items, some of which she was intimately familiar with, though perhaps not on the most legal terms. "Egypt is a particular treasure trove."Josephine St. Just
- With:
- Analiza Snark
- Aileen Reid
"... I mean... if I discovered an untouched ancient wizards tomb filled to the brim with such powerful things... I don't think I could help myself from perhaps taking just... one tiny... little... trinket. Something small they probably wouldn't even miss amongst all those other riches... Maybe a powerfully enchanted amulet... or some ancient pottery filled with exotic potion ingredients...Or..." She was behind Aileen now and placed a manicured hand on each side of the back of the chair, leaning down so the weight of her words could be fully realized. Her breath ruffled a few strands of the blondes hair as she added, "...Perhaps a jewel encrusted dagger..."Analiza Snark
- With:
- Megan Ruiz
- João Encantado
"You were in the newspaper, were you not?" he asked, smiling broadly as he looked her over. He was certain that his expression looked friendly and amazed; perhaps he should add 'method actor' to his considerable list of skills. "The other day. Something about a Muggle...it was a museum, yes? I think I saw the article. You look much younger when you are not on camera."João Encantado
"If I don't print this, someone else will put it together eventually," Maggie paused. She didn't want to bully Lexus, but at the same time this would be huge for her career. "But... I don't have to print it right away," she let out a little sigh. "You say they're close to finding a cure. I can wait a little while until they do, and then spin it so you look... noble and helpful." Rather than irresponsible. Right. "But you have to keep me updated. Help me find Jonas. Get him to talk to me. When it goes public, I can make it a positive thing. It's all in how things are worded."Margaret Groust
- With:
- Aileen Reid
- Adon Eleor
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