Anyone who has a reaction to a vampire sticking his neck out, the Ministry consorting with unpredictable undead forces, or anyone who wishes to be a subject of their teamwork.
While Kurby is on patrol in Camden during the full moon, he is approached by a vampire called Lazarus Blackburn who has a cryptic tip about a werewolf on the loose. Blackburn leads him on an eerie chase that ends up in a dark abandoned train tunnel. There they encounter a Direwolf. Their pairing ends up being an effective match. Turns out Lazarus can smell a difference in Direwolf blood. They go their separate ways.
Kurby Bagnold, Fauna Blake, Charlie Harris, Fauna Blake, and Tessa Fenneken respond to Moira McBoid's report of a werewolf in Regents Park. When they arrive, they are met apparently by chance by Lazarus Blackburn. Together they investigate the London Zoo where they are ambushed by Cinead Tawse and Aviad Cohen, who have loosed a werewolf and a Direwolf.
The result of the night is four muggle security guards dead, Tawse and Cohen escaped, and the Ministry agents aware of Tawse's grand return. The entire ambush was just a test for Tawse, to gauge Ministry's response time and intervention strategy.
Kurby Bagnold finds out his old mentor Bruce Ballentyne is his new boss. The two have it out, and Kurby makes two needs known: he needs more Auror support from Level Two, and to get clearance to hire Lazarus Blackburn as a consultant. She informs him that she's already got them Athena Marrowbone to do field healing. Kurby then fully briefs Bruce on the Direwolves thus far.
Kurby approaches Vampire Liaison Tristan Vaillancourt for advice on how he would approach the Camden Town Hookers to ask Lazarus Blackburn if he'd want to work for the Ministry in a more official fashion. Tristan provides context on the culture of the coven and the possible pitfalls. He also offers to write a letter of introduction.
Lazarus Blackburn intercepts Kurby Bagnold in Knockturn Alley and gently redirects him by inviting him along to visit the Hag's Market, an underground market frequented by all sorts of dark and magical creatures. While Laz searches for a vampire relic stolen by the Hollowreds, they stumble onto a stall called Grimshaw Tailoring and Abominations, which appears to be a dark sister to the tailor shop in Knockturn Alley.
Kurby paused a few paces back, attempting to look nonchalant as he examined the objects scattered across the table. A small, dusty book, no bigger than his palm but twice as thick, caught his eye. On the cover, under gold-leafed words that read 'Hymns, Rytes, & Maledyctions,' a tiny woman wearing a medieval-looking headdress puffed out her cheeks as she blew on a flute outlined in silver. Next to her, an eerie-looking man clapped his hands to his face in a silent scream, as he seemingly rose from the chest of a bone-white skeleton lying prone before the flautist.Kurby Bagnold
![[[Kurby Bagnold]]](/wiki/images/7/75/Kurby_Bagnold.jpg)
![[[Lazarus Blackburn]]](/wiki/images/thumb/6/63/Lazarus_Blackburn.png/154px-Lazarus_Blackburn.png)
![[[Iona Ballentyne]]](/wiki/images/thumb/7/72/Wiki_2.jpg/144px-Wiki_2.jpg)
![[[Tristan Vaillancourt]]](/wiki/images/thumb/7/7b/Tristan_Vaillancourt.jpg/180px-Tristan_Vaillancourt.jpg)
