A/N And... I'm done with the rough draft! Fifty chapters altogether, expect a chapter every other day until they're out. And now, here's some background to get you prepared for the expedition! ~DQ

Chapter Forty-Five

Plans and Preparations

Attempting to figure out who was going to get stuck in the same cabin as Roy caused an intense round of deliberations that resulted in Nova bunking in the same room as Charles and Rhett getting the top bunk in Roy's cabin. All four of them eyed the single cabin that Emil had with envy (Bob had offered to sleep in the Wheel House.) After they had somewhere to put their bags, they gathered in the saloon to hear what Emil had to say.

"I'm certain you've all heard the basic theories of the evolution of Magic among humans in this region, but I will start with a brief summary to add some context to our expedition," Emil Trench began. He paused to get a cup of tea from the tray that Nova had put out before taking up a position in the center of the cabin. "The earliest known accounts of wizard magic developed out of shamanism; ritualistic acts performed to try to appease the gods or appease the forces of nature... warding off misfortune while attempting to influence more positive effects. The rituals performed had mixed results, due to the fact everyone in these religious sects performed the rituals whether they had magic or not. At that time, there was no distinction between humans who had magical talent and those who didn't; however, the ones that had magical power tended to rise up the ranks to become high priests and oracles. It was dangerous position to be in, because it made them targets for opposing sects and fearful governments. Even so, human magic at that stage was rudimentary until it was exposed to more sophisticated magic. Just like the Otherworld invasions influenced the development of magic in Britain, the development of magic in Greece was influenced by the presence of Titans and Centaurs. They had so much power that it worked its way into their Mythology, and many stories were based on past encounters. The word Titans is just another name for Fomorians; the race is one and the same. The fact that Titans were supposedly defeated by new gods was a tale told by the city states to express human authority over other races, but many of the common stories about their god pantheon were passed down from the other two races. Just like the Romans' mythos borrowed heavily from the Greeks, the Greek mythos borrowed heavily from the Centaurs and Titans. Many of the humans that were labeled as 'heroes' in those tales were based on actually humans with wizard powers. Many of the heroes in those stories helped defeat various magical beasts in the area that were snacking on other humans. The clement and lush region was once home to a great variety of magical species that considered humans lower on the food chain, and they had to work together at times to push civilization out to a point where those Magical Beasts no longer were a constant threat. Wizards earned a place in society, which led to the development of some of the first houses of magic, such as Astrology and Symbolism... the foundations on skills we still use today.

"Through trade with other civilizations, those ancient wizards were able to pass on their knowledge and gain knowledge from other civilizations, including the exchange of magic. Greece was in the perfect location for it; a goldilocks position, as the expression goes. They had access to the east through Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and even further to India, opening them to Arithmanics and more sophisticated charms that helped them craft items such as idols and divination devices. They learned weaving, jewelry making, and other essential skills. They established trade with Egypt, benefiting not only from their knowledge item making, but from a library of spells revolving around blessings and curses. Last but not least, the Romans were once powerful friends of the City States... until they weren't," Emil added wryly.

"And where does Pandora's Box fit into this timeline?" Roy asked. "I assume that it must have been early considering how often the myth appears in their art."

"Not as early as all of that. The first record of the tale is around 700 B.C.," Emil explained.

"Practically modern," Rhett said with a hint of sarcasm that Emil decidedly didn't like.

"The poet, named Hesiod, was a bit of an egotistical bastard; he equated himself to kings of the time, and professed that the Muses of the Gods blessed him with the sacred right of inscribing how the universe was created and relay details about the gods themselves. But his poetry style hints that he was influenced by other civilizations of the era, borrowing from them just like any author borrows material. But tangible evidence makes for a good entry point, and it was from his poetry that I realized that the myth of Pandora was actually based on a political event that occurred in the City State of Eretria. She was to marry someone who would strengthen their alliance with Chalcis, a neighboring City State. The Eretrians even helped Chalcis establish the city of Cumae near Naples, and they founded one of the oldest Greek trading posts on an island off Italy's west coast. But alliances don't last forever, and a century later, they were at war with each other. Chalcis grew in power as Eretria's power waned; wars involving both its neighbors and Rome, so many that it's a marvel how many city states have a modern equivalent.

"Thankfully, they left enough information behind for me to pinpoint the real Pandora; she was the daughter of an important city leader and merchant. She had been given a gift from an eastern trade partner... a magical box so powerful that it startled everyone who witnessed its opening. Whether the box had been intentionally cursed, it's hard to say; it could have simply construed as evil by the witnesses because of its power. The records of magical sects of the time give conflicting, often confusing accounts of the incident and all of them were based on hearsay, since only elite merchants had attended the wedding. Many believed that the incident was a bad omen the predicted Eretria's eventual defeat, and a warning about the dangers of magic. Some of that fear worked its way into Hesiod's retelling of the story. He also proclaimed her 'a creation of the gods'; that elevated her Pandora to hero status so that he could justify retelling the tale and preserving it in their mythology."

"It is quite common for the stories about magical Artifacts to get tied to gods by common folk attempting to understand their power," Rhett commented, and Emil nodded. "Was it Hesiod, then, who spoke of the container being a Pythos? Did the arcane sects of the time leave behind a more accurate description of the vessel?"

"They did not. They simply knew it was a container and assumed it was a Pythos since they were not there for themselves," Emil explained impatiently. "I am certain that the box stayed with the family until they fled the war with Chalcis. Whether they left for another City State in Greece or it came to Italy directly, I don't know; eventually, it found its way to Republic of Florence during the early fifteenth century, and was acquired by the Magistri Family. I assume you've heard of them."

"Of course. The Magistri were one of the most influential magical families of that time period," Rhett replied. "The family had been singled out by the Medici, who were patrons of several members skilled with magical paintings, sculpture, and enchanting boats to give them more speed and keep their hulls in tact during storms. But when the Medici began to lose power, the Magistri family found themselves open to persecution by a Catholic Church that was unwilling to accept their magic as 'scientific exploration' any longer. The Magistri were forced to go underground, and all of their accumulated wealth, including a horde of ancient artifacts, disappeared with them. Many have tried to find their horde over the years; during World War II, it was rumored that Dark Wizards sent Cursebreakers to search for it, but they never discovered it."

"I see! So we are now going to find it! That sounds like a worthy challenge," Roy said with a smile of approval.

"Hang on... I don't mean to sound skeptical, Trench, but if wizards have been looking for this vault for hundreds of years, how it is that you're so sure that we're going to find it now?" Charles asked.

"Because of this," Emil said, holding up the Medallion. "By every account I could find about the Magistri's hidden vault, this key was mentioned in relation to Pandora's Box, labeled by the family protecting it as 'Cassone di Giada.' While I was in India preparing my next trip to the Yeti Preserve, a friend of mine brought me this Medallion, which matched the description of one on an old property ledger thought to have belong to the Magistri family from their stately residence in Florence. But someone had managed to move the vault's contents to keep it from falling into the wrong hands during the war. Since it would have been impossible for so many magical items to cross the border without wizard detection, they couldn't have gotten all of it past without being discovered. Therefore, they chose to move it a more secure location instead, and separated out several keys as a precaution. When the original keeper felt that it was no longer safe in his hands, he passed the Medallion on to me... not only because of my interest in the box itself, but because I was known to be an honorable man, who spoke out often against the misappropriation of Artifacts for monetary gain."

"Times change," Charles said evenly.

"As do motivations," Rhett said, but solemn. "We have no room to criticism, at least I certainly don't, since I've been in that position myself."

"Yes, but surely you have your motivation back now, Emil. To find Pandora's Box, what could be more motivating than that?" Roy said with a thin smile. "Did your friend give you any clues to where the box itself was?"

"If he had, I would already gotten it by now. Perhaps I might have gone after it before I went to the Himalayas and ran into you," Emil said evenly.

"Touche, my friend, I know that I got in the way. But recently you have been doing a great deal of research on the subject, and we wouldn't be here unless you had a plan," Roy coaxed. Charles held up a hand.

"Wait... before we do this, I have to ask... does this expedition have the proper licensing for this sort of item retrieval, or is that something I can help you obtain?" Charles inquired.

"My "i"s are all dotted, Willowby, I was able to renew all of my licenses based on my past reputation. I only hope the rest of you can say the same. I hold no responsibility for you if you get caught and don't have the same credentials."

"Fortunately, I have an International Cursebreaker license. What about you, Rhett?" Charles asked.

"Items Expert licenses in both the European Council and the Asia Minor Council," Rhett reported.

"I'm just here in case something goes wrong and you need a backup plan," Nova admitted with a shrug. "But I'm sure someone back home will bail me out if someone official decides my credentials don't hold up."

"As for me, my reputation will serve as my credentials... five times on the Italian best seller's list," Roy said, not impressing anyone. "I am here to chronicle the adventure rather than participate, I'm sure my status as an author is good enough."

"Okay," Charles said expressionlessly. "So back to Roy's point, because I'm wondering about the plan as well. You said something about the vault being moved to a more secure location due to the war. Since you have the one of the keys, will it be enough proof that we belong there that it'll prevent whatever security measures they took from going off?"

"I have no idea," Emil replied. "One of the safety measures taken was that the vault was Secret Kept. The Secret Keeper was not only responsible for keeping the vault's location hidden, but was the only one who knew what security measures were taken to protect the vault."

"I take it from your use of the past tense that whoever the Secret Keeper was is dead," Rhett ventured.

"The Secret Keeper's name was Jacques Favreau," Emil said.

"Ah," Roy said, his smile becoming more forced as the color drained from his face.

"I take it you knew him," Charles said, noticing Roy's reaction at once.

"You remember, don't you, Charles? Well, maybe you don't, since he was in the wrong search column," Roy said distractedly.

"I see now, he was one of the wizards you wronged. And he was not on your search list because you knew he was dead already," Charles concluded. "Which book was his accounts?"

"Voyages with Vampires, ironically enough," Roy admitted, lifting his chin slightly when he realized he had lowered it. "Jacques had a talent that made vampires crave other foods other than blood, basically starving them to death. Quite the vampire hunter in his day. Now that I think back on it, he may have mentioned that he was descended from the Magistri line once while we chatted in a tavern. He really did have some fascinating stories."

"Which you stole," Emil said coldly.

"Yes, I already confessed that part, did I not? As much as I regret never having the chance at righting what happened, there's nothing I can do about it now, is there? I am trying my best," Roy protested evenly.

"What happened to him?" Rhett asked with a frown, already suspecting the answer.

"I can only tell you the story as it was told to me when I made my own inquiries," Emil said as a caveat, lacing his fingers together and focusing on Rhett.

"It was during the period just before the Second Terrors, when no one had realized that Voldemort had been regaining strength and was already plotting a way to return. At that time, the Order of the Equinox had already been tainted by his touch, and the leader along with several of its members were interested in any items that might help speed up his renewal. Rumors of the Magistri Vault were wide spread after the war, and many in Equinox knew that Jacques had connections in Italy and might have had some idea where the Magistri Vault was. But when they finally tracked him down, he barely remembered who he was; he certainly didn't recall anything about his obligations. No matter how much pressure they put on him, it was pointless. He didn't remember it, nor did he remember anything about his former job hunting dangerous vampires for the European Council. Frustrated with the situation, they left him with the vampires he had been hunting," Emil explained.

"No chance of still living a half-life, I take it?" Rhett asked, breaking the silence.

"The clan that Voldemort had ties to was the Clan of Sunset Dawn, and I have been told that the clan has been utterly destroyed," Emil said.

"It's true, they have been," Charles confirmed.

"So, thanks to our friend Roy, we may have to go through security the hard way," Emil said dryly.

"If we must, we must!" Roy said with determination. "While I am personally not responsible for those wizards deciding to turn over Jacques to the vampires, I hold myself partially responsible for him going into the situation at a disadvantage. As horrible as that event was, it could have been worse had he remembered everything. His memory loss was probably instrumental in keeping Voldemort from getting his hands on the box. Who knows how bad things would have gotten?"

"I have to admit that Roy has a point," Charles said, parrying the disapproving looks. "We may not know what is in the vault yet, but it's obvious they were worried enough about its contents to go to extraordinary lengths to protect it. Like it or not, the memory loss meant there was no way for them to get that information."

"Exactly so," Roy agreed. "But as determined as they were, they cannot be as determined as we are right now. Not to mention that you have the key," he added when Emil didn't seem impressed with Roy's attempt at encouragement. "Perhaps it will provide a clue of some kind."

"As a matter of fact, it does help us in one respect," Emil admitted, glancing over at Rhett. "As Heron already pointed out, a charm has been placed on it involving detection; it glows if it gets within a certain range of the box."

"What sort of range does it have?" Charles asked curiously.

"I can't be certain of the specifics, but Jacques assured me that we should be able to pinpoint the vault precisely once we're in the vicinity."

"If you were told you can pinpoint it from that distance, it probably glows brighter the closer you get to it," Charles conjectured. "How many possible locations have you gotten it narrowed down to?"

"About a dozen," Emil replied. "Half of which are in Genoa, since any smuggler moving that amount of Artifacts had to have had smuggled it in by boat or train. In many respects, I hope it is not in Genoa and is in one of the outliers instead. Not only are Wizard communities sandwiched between Muggle communities even tighter than London, but the majority of buildings is nothing compared to what is underneath it; civilization upon civilization has built on every square inch; Ligures, Eretians, and Roman constructions are often foundations for the medieval and modern buildings you see above ground. Underneath there are ancient aqueducts, natural aquifers and caverns, vast tunnels chipped away to connect chapels and castles both in the city and in the mountains. Some tunnels were modernized into bomb shelters during the war and others used by both the French Resistance and Italian Partisans for intelligence operations. And, of course, a fair amount of tunnels had been taken over by wizard factions, disguising them as unsuitable by playing around with the water table levels or hiding them behind dark narrow cracks that only a wizard with magic could feasibly find and open. In short... narrowing it down be a headache."

"But wouldn't that mean that Genoa is probably the more likely location?" Nova asked. Emil glared at her. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, stepping back over to the galley area with her tray.

"I agree with Nova, especially if those tunnels are as expansive as you say. It sounds like a more practical location than attempting to move it out of the city once it arrived there," Rhett defended her. "Tell me, Mr. Trench, do you know the exact date when it was smuggled to Genoa?"

"Of course not! If I did, I would have narrowed the list down even further," Emil informed him.

"Does the exact date matter that much?" Charles asked curiously.

"Yes, because the Italian resistance gained more and more of a presence in Genoa as the war went on, making it a much friendlier port for those wanting to protect anything from the Nazis," Rhett explained. "In fact, the resistance in Genoa was so strong that they were actually able to liberate it before the Allied forces even arrived. Because of that fact, when chose to move it becomes important. If it was earlier in the war, they may not have wanted to keep it in the city."

"So the later they moved it, the more likely it is that it stayed in Genoa," Charles concluded. "Even if moving the Vault was orchestrated by the French Resistence?"

"The French Resistance was operating in Genoa in before the Italian Resistance had properly organized, after that they often worked together," Rhett explained. "If it was early on, it is possible that they moved it further west and somewhere more remote in hopes of smuggling it to France when given a viable opportunity."

"I see. How do you want us to narrow it down, Emil, my friend?" Roy asked.

"Cautiously," Emil replied evenly. "I highly doubt we will find it the moment we set shore, so plan accordingly. We need to get our bearings and compare what we see to the maps I have made. We need to establish information and find out what the locals might know that we don't, and we need to begin exploring the most likely locations and work our way down the list. It may take a few days to locate the correct location."

"Hopefully not as long as all of that. I can only stay a week... ten days at the most," Rhett said.

"If you leave, make sure you take that witch with you," Emil said disdainfully.

"Does that mean I can be in Rhett's group when we search for the Vault?" Nova asked with interest.

"Don't you have food to buy and a galley to set up?" Emil snapped at her.

"Oh, right. Shopping. Any special requests?" Nova inquired.

"I'm sure you know what I like already," Rhett said.

Emil moaned in disgust and disapproval.

"Anything's fine," Charles said quickly. "You're paying, after all."

"Good point," Nova replied with a grin. "I'll head to the town center and find the Wizard Market and get some idea of what the local wizard culture is like."

"You do that," Emil said with distaste, glad she was going to be out of the way. Pulling out his notes, he began writing something down. "Let us split into two groups. Lockhart and Willowby, I want you to begin going to the outer regions, beginning with Cogoleto. I will give you a list of possible locations and you will assess whether any of them are likely. We can save time by eliminating those with no potential."

"In the footsteps of Columbus we go," Roy said with a confident smile, accepting the list and a drawn map.

"We should probably get some Muggle clothes on until we've gotten oriented to the area, and buy some local maps to compare them to ours," Charles suggested.

"Good idea. I'm sure I've packed some clothes that will work," Roy said.

"Heron, you're with me... but don't offer your opinions on my life's work unless I ask for it," Emil said.

"Understood. Where shall we be going?" Rhett inquired.

"First to Genoa and to a wizard bookstore on an alley called Vico Nebbia, near Piazza Mago. Wizardday has sent along an message to the owner there to supply us with period maps and other local information to help us. Once I have that, I will work out which Genoan site we'll investigate first. We will meet up at the boat at sundown to and go over our findings and have dinner," Emil said.

"Sundown, got it," Nova replied with a casual salute.

Forcing himself to refrain from comment, Emil turned his back to the troublesome tagalong. "Let's get unpacked and ready to port," Emil said, going to his room.

Nova shrugged and went up on deck, deciding that removing her cloak would be enough to pass for a tourist. The others went to their cabins to find some Muggle clothes to change into.