History of Runespoor Smuggling

Note: For more information on events related to Runespoor Smuggling that have taken place in Absit Omen, visit the Runespoor Smuggling and the Runespoors Revisited plot chapters.

Because of their utility in dark potions (see uses for Runespoor venom), a rise in Runespoor smuggling has often directly corresponded to an increase in suspected dark wizard activity. In the past, Runespoor smuggling has consisted only of Runespoor parts. Even in the 1970s and 1990s, live Runespoors were an extreme rarity. Morning Coffee and Tea

"Yes I distinctly remember them being part of the main trade in the Black Market back in 1994. It was part of a report after one of the Aurors managed to put a stop to it."

—Alexander Belisario, Morning Coffee and Tea

The Ministry's Runespoor case file dates back at least to the 1970s, when the first rise of Voldemort set off a firestorm of illegal trading in ingredients needed for dark potions. After abating for a number of years following Voldemort's disappearance in 1981, Level Two officials noticed another increase in the amount of confiscated Runespoor parts in the early 1990s. Though they did not know it at the time, this was a precursor to Voldemort's return and second rise.

1970s

During Voldemort's first rise to power, Runespoor Venom was sought out by many dark wizards seeking to experiment with potions -- but it secretly sought out by the Ministry. Several Unspeakables on Level Nine sought to use the anti-magical properties of the venom to create an ultimate weapon that could be used against the Dark Lord's supporters. When word got out about the experiments, some of these Unspeakables were targeted by Death Eaters and killed.

In the end, it was not a secret weapon that defeated Voldemort, but the power of something greater.

1990s

In the early 1990s, the Head of the Department of Mysteries again secretly authorized the importation of Runespoor venom to further investigate its magical impervious nature as a part of one of the Department's projects. Richard Burke was their contractor for bringing the Runespoors in.

Even with his under-the-table contract with the DoM, Burke began selling Runespoor venom to the black market on the side. The sudden influx of Runespoor venom caught the attention of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but with everything else going on in 1994 (the attack at the Quidditch World Cup, the TriWizard Tournament, the stirs among the remaining DEs, the on-going search for Sirius Black, and so on), complaints about Dark Creatures and Class-A-Nontradable Goods in the black market wasn't high on the MLE's priorities. As a result, the investigation into the Runespoor smuggling trade landed in the hands of a rookie on his First Real assignment.

While investigating the case, Tait Aldridge began to notice some trends that just didn't make sense. And the deeper he got into it, the more alarmed he became -- and so did the DoM. When they realized the MLE had ignorantly jumped on the case and that Aldridge was hot on the trail to discovering a scandal that, if released to the public, could result in ruin, the DoM Head of the time shut down the project and bid Richard Burke adieu with one last commission of silencing Aldridge.

Burke murdered Aldridge on 21 December, 1994, while the young Auror was walking his fiancee Tamis Raynor home from a late shift at St. Mungo's. The leads for Aldridge's MLE investigation became cold very quickly, and his murder was never solved, though it served as a catalyst to Raynor entering law enforcement.

2000s

After lying low for a decade, Runespoor smuggling again became an issue in the late 2000s. When the British end of the ring was crushed in 1994, the smugglers shifted their focus to Jordan, where Burke had taken refuge. New smuggling routes were established from Africa (where the Runespoors are often raised) and into the Middle East. Corruption of various Ministries also continued, and governmental officials are known to have been compromised in at least both Jordan and India.

“Recent developments in our investigations suggest that there may be Ministry Corruption involved in the upper circuits of the Runespoor Smuggling rings. The Indian Ministry is almost positively involved – the United Kingdom is suspected. At this point it is speculation from one man's eye witness report. If it is there, in any of the Ministries, it may have been there for a couple of decades.”

—Tamis Raynor, The Adventure of the Illustrious Client

The investigation has continued since then, spanning several nations. Adon Eleor encountered the illegal Runespoor trade while serving as an officer with the Muggle Israeli Defense Force in 2004. This spurred his own move into Magical Law Enforcement.

Jordanian official Salwa Bernier (a close associate of Adon's brother Dreogan Eleor) was tortured and murdered in 2007 after apparently refusing a bribe. The focus has shifted back to Great Britain, where a serious increase in the number of Runespoor-related injuries and reportedly sighted Runespoors since early 2008 imply that the smuggling ring has experienced a resurgence once more.

In Game

Visit Runespoor Smuggling and Runespoors Revisited for more information on in-game developments.