There, they saw Claremont sitting with his head bowed, looking drained and lifeless, his eyes dull and empty. "It really is Mr. Claremont! You were kidnapped to this cursed place too?" some of the workers who had once respected and admired the leader asked anxiously.
"Sir Claremont, could it be the Silver Wand? Aren't we all connected to them?" the patrol members from place asked nervously, desperate for answers so they could figure out how to escape.
But Claremont seemed like a shell of a man, just sitting silently in the corner, muttering to himself and ignoring the voices around him. One wizard from place, who shared the cell with Claremont, thought he might be mentally unstable.
He gently nudged Claremont and softly called his name, hoping to get a response. When that failed, the wizard leaned closer to hear what Claremont was muttering, and his expression suddenly changed.
"What's wrong? What happened to Claremont? Was he hurt by the attackers?" some people asked, still worried about the old man.
"No..." the wizard replied grimly. "He keeps saying, 'It's over, it's over... I've been abandoned by the club.'"
"What?" The crowd gasped in shock.
Hearing Claremont's words confirmed what many feared: they were indeed tied to the Silver Wand and involved in a smuggling ring. The reality of their situation hit them hard.
The patrol members from each place were stunned by what they had just heard. Claremont was abandoned? Did that mean they had been left behind too?
Could it really be the Silver Wand who had trapped them here? It just didn't add up, they had been working hard all along and never stirred up trouble with the club.
For a brief moment, the hundreds of people around fell silent, processing the shocking news. Then, the area erupted into even louder chatter.
Some rushed to confirm the details with patrol members, others argued among themselves, and many vented their frustration in panic. Suddenly, a wizard's loud voice cut through the chaos, silencing everyone instantly.
All eyes turned to him as he spoke firmly, "Stop arguing. It doesn't matter who put us here or who we work for, right now, we're all prisoners. What we need to focus on is how to escape."
Despite his large and imposing build, this wizard showed a sharp mind. His words snapped the crowd back to reality, and everyone around him seemed to wake up from their panic.
"That's right, we're all wizards here. This is just a regular cell, how hard can it be for us to get out?" one of them said confidently.
"But our wands have been taken away," another reminded him.
"If you don't have a wand, don't you know how to cast spells without one?" a third asked.
"Can you really cast spells without a wand? I can't," someone admitted.
"Uh... neither can I, but there are so many of us here, surely someone knows how to do it," another suggested.
Hearing this, the group started to discuss among themselves. After all, they were all wizards, and some must have the skill to cast spells without a wand.
Suddenly, a strong wizard stepped forward excitedly. "Let me try. My transfiguration skills are pretty good, and I can manage to do it without a wand. Watch me turn these iron bars into paper."
He focused and pointed at one of the iron railings. Sure enough, under his control, the iron bar instantly transformed into a bundle of paper tubes. Everyone cheered, thrilled by this success.
But then, boom!
"What?!" Before the celebratory mood could settle, a fast, urgent spell hit the wizard in the chest, sending him flying backward through the air. He crashed into a few others nearby as he fell.
Everyone quickly turned to see where the attack had come from. They spotted a figure dressed in silver armor standing just outside the prison cell corridor, where no one had been before. The man held a straight, white wand aimed at the fallen wizard.
"Who are you?" someone shouted. "
Are you the one who brought us here? Why did you do that?" another demanded.
"Are you crazy? Do you know what crime it is to trap so many of us? The Ministry of Magic won't let you get away with this!"
The sudden appearance of the silver-armored figure shocked everyone, and their voices rose in anger.
But he silenced them with a sharp, deep shout, enhanced by magic. "Shut up, all of you!" he commanded. "Calm down, I'm tired of listening to your nonsense."
The Silver Wand snorted coldly and spoke in a deadly tone, "And don't even think about running away. That's just foolish, you'll only make things worse for yourself."
With that, he recast a spell on the twisted railing, restoring it to its original steel form. Seeing how fierce and unyielding this wizard was, many of the others shrank back nervously.
The wizard who had been knocked into the air struggled to his feet and glared at him. "Who are you? Why are we locked up here?"
The Silver Wand glanced at the wizard who stepped forward with mild interest. "You haven't guessed who we are yet? Why ask such pointless questions? As for why we're here..."
He paused thoughtfully, then smiled softly. "Since you're so brave, I'll explain, but just this once."
At once, the others fell silent, listening closely. They were all confused about why they had been dragged to this eerie place, and how so many people had been captured at once.
The Silver Wand spoke deeply, "I know most of you did your best when you worked for the club. Normally, we shouldn't be treating you like this."
He hesitated, then continued, "But there are serious problems in several breeding places run by the club. It's too dangerous to stay there now, so I've brought you here for your own safety."
"Refuge?"
The word didn't sit right with them. They were clearly being held prisoner, not sheltered. Many guessed they had been caught by the Ministry of Magic.
One of the wizards, struggling to keep his anger in check, cleared his throat and asked, "So, what are you planning to do with us? Are you going to keep us locked up forever?"
"Don't worry about that," the Silver Wand said with a sinister sneer. "Once this mess is sorted out, we'll release you to continue 'working.'" Hearing this, the others finally relaxed a little, the heavy weight of uncertainty lifting from their chests.
They were terrified that the members of these criminal gangs might snap and kill them outright. Still, quite a few frowned when the Silver Wand spoke.
What did he mean? Did the Silver Wand actually expect these imprisoned wizards to keep working for the club?
One injured wizard wasn't fooled and immediately called him out, asking, "What do you mean by that?"
The Silver Wand Lance sneered, "If we want to keep building the breeding place, we're going to need you. Recruiting local people is going to be tough for a while."
He went on coldly, "From now on, you're the club's 'property.' We deal in more than just magical creatures. Honestly, we should have done this ages ago, it'll save us a lot of money."