Then I suggest we go arm ourselves," Robert said. "And, actually, Jen, I am hoping that your Paris friends have a lead for us. Weapons first, though."
Robert slipped off his cloak, laid it on the kitchen chair, and then led the way through the farmhouse with its maze of numerous rooms to his study. Few people had ever been invited even this far. The study was a slivered glance into the endless workings of Robert’s logical mind. Floor to ceiling oaken bookshelves extended from the attic, through the 2nd and 1st floors, clear into the basement, with winding circular wooden staircases connecting all four floors. The room was circular with a massive oaken desk, oak and leather furniture, oaken cabinetry, and a potions table that looked like it was out of a muggle mad scientist film. A set of shelves held a few of the little jars that Khaat had always found a bit creepy. She had never found out from Robert which insects had actually begun their lives as humans and which had not. Robert would never reveal it. His only response was always, “I like bugs.” The room was organized, well thought out, meticulous---strategic in its approach, and always pristinely clean.
He paused and looked back at them. “No one other than my brother, Khaat, and myself has ever even seen where you are about to go. I haven’t shown anyone my collection—until now.” He led them down the circular oak stairs into the basement, which held a full potions lab with what seemed to be endless shelves of more weird little jars. He moved past the lab table to the other side of the room and nonverbally removed a number of protective charms over a rather worn out looking game table set between two straight back leather chairs. The game table was set with a chess board. At the removal of the protective charms, the white pieces began to glow bright purple and the black pieces began to glow bright green. He exchanged the two kings on the board, and one bookcase slid behind another to reveal a huge, heavy wooden door with no handle and no apparent lock. He leveled his wand at the door and cast another nonverbal spell and the door opened, the hinges groaning on its massive weight. “Lumos Maxima!” Robert lit his wand and entered.
The room inside was octagonal, made of hewn stone. It was filled with all sorts of cases, chests, cabinets with door and drawers, and no space on any wall was without a weapon of some sort. Guns, knives, clubs, bows, longbows, and arrows and quivers, swords, staffs, shields, armor, ammunition, battle ready explosives, and more from every feasible country in the world, and from every known weapon category, every age and dynasty. It had taken Robert and Remus their entire lives to collect this amount. It was the thing that the brothers had enjoyed doing together and represented of a fascination with muggle weaponry than any intent on ever using any of it. The room stayed secured for years and years, except for adding to the collection, because Robert felt the muggle weapons were so primitive compared to a good wand. However, all of the pieces were very authentic, and no doubt would help serve their purposes.
“Take the weapons that you know best. The ones you have mastered,” Robert told them. “You will find all the ammunition is organized and easy to find. Make sure you get what you think you need.” He had no doubt that his companions already knew how to arm themselves well, but they did also to travel light and fast. That would limit their choices.
Robert cast his eyes over the room, considering if he wanted anything else. He finally chose a very recent acquisition of a new automatic ordinary muggle handgun. He hadn’t fired this particular pistol before, and he much preferred his wand. This was as good a time as any to see how well it would respond if he needed it. He picked up a deerskin leather shoulder holster and went to a labeled cabinet, opened a drawer, and loaded a full clip into the pistol. He took several more clips and packed them well into his clothing for easy access. He put on the shoulder holster and loaded the pistol into it. Lupins did not often go to war, and they did not choose to do so easily or rashly. When they did make a choice, though, they never went anywhere unprepared. But for loved ones? Lupins threw themselves under the proverbial bus perhaps a bit too easily for loved ones. The supreme sacrifice was easy to give for a loved one, and they always prepared for every fight like it was going to be the one that took them out. It just came as part of the family DNA. He looked around once more, thinking, considering. Well--gun, a couple of blades, some clips, two wands, and his staff—if it got the babies back, it was well worth taking the risk of perhaps being a little over prepared, even if most of the stuff was nonsense in Robert’s book. Would one of these muggle collectables finally take Thomas Gelding out forever and stop all the madness? That was, perhaps, too much to hope for. His family, his children and their safe return—that was never too much to hope for.
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