Chapter 132: Nundu, The Stele's Record
Inside Newt's case.
The Nundu padded toward them in smooth, graceful strides. For all its bulk, its movement held not a hint of clumsiness; each step landed without a sound.
As it approached, Leonardo kept himself at full alert.
This was a XXXXX‑class creature, one of the most dangerous magical beasts in the world. Its very breath could trigger lethal plagues and wipe out a village. It was said that it took a hundred skilled wizards working in concert to subdue a Nundu.
Aurelius did not sense malice from it, but still drifted closer to Leonardo and Newt, ready to Apparate them away the instant anything went wrong.
The great beast did not come all the way up to them. It stopped at a certain distance, and the sacs around its neck stilled, no longer inflating or deflating, sealing its poisonous breath inside.
"Human, you smell delicious."
The odd words resonated in Leonardo's mind.
He understood at once. The Nundu was speaking to him.
Thanks to the unicorns' blessing, he could now converse directly with animals.
The line itself was still strange. He smelled delicious?
He thought back to the Nundu's diet.
Reaching into his pocket, Leonardo drew out a small phial of potion, a highly toxic brew. He pulled the stopper and gave the contents a swirl.
"This, you mean?"
"Yes. That, and something else as well."
Understanding clicked. The Nundu fed on poisons. It must be that it is smelling the toxin on him.
In other words, it was the smell of food.
Leonardo produced several more bottles and jars, uncorking them for the Nundu to sniff.
"Yes, yes. Those scents," it said.
"Human, give me that food, and I will give you something good."
Leonardo's brows rose. The leopard's temperament was very direct. It said what it wanted.
Given that all of these were his own brews, he began tossing them over one by one.
The Nundu snapped each phial from the air, swallowed the contents, then spat the empty vessel aside.
Watching Leonardo feed such a creature in such an orderly fashion, Newt nodded to himself and let his guard ease a fraction.
He had not expected someone so young, facing a Nundu for the first time, to stay this calm, without any rash move. To approach such beasts, one needed a steady heart. Animals were more sensitive than humans. If a wizard blundered, they would react in kind.
Leonardo's quick offer of poison showed both his grasp of the Nundu and his speed of thought. Newt had no doubt the boy had spoken with it. The unicorns' Tongue of Beasts blessing let him communicate directly.
For working with magical creatures, there was no gift more useful.
When the last dose was gone, the Nundu licked its lips, still wanting more. Then it paced in a small circle, sank down with elegant ease, and produced a long, purple‑brown coil, rough with barbs.
Dung.
"Human, I give you something good. Take it quickly."
Leonardo fell silent. He did not so much as glance at the "good thing", fixing his eyes on the Nundu instead.
The dark vortices in his pupils spun on. One hand, hidden in his pocket, curled around a small tablet of stone.
The smooth surface of the tablet now bore the image of a leopard, every detail vivid. Within the carved body, complex lines mapped out a circuit, glowing faintly with magical light as they were filled in. A few strokes more and the pattern would be complete.
After several seconds, he felt a faint tremor from the Pathway Expansion Stele.
Leonardo let out a slow breath and blinked.
Done. The Nundu's magical pathways were fully recorded.
That alone made the visit to Newt's case worth it. A Nundu was both dangerous and rare. Under normal circumstances, he would never even see one, let alone observe it at this range.
The Stele could record magical pathways in two ways. The first was direct: touch the target with the tablet and maintain contact for five seconds.
The second was to hold the Stele while using the Peeking Fiend's Eye to track the target's pathways until the record was complete. Depending on the complexity of the pattern, this process could take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.
The Nundu was on the complex end, and Leonardo had no desire to bring the Stele into close contact with a creature whose very aura dealt area‑effect poison. He had chosen the second method from the start.
When he did not move, the Nundu's puzzled voice brushed his mind. "Human, you do not want it?
"But that other one, the one who feeds me things, he always sneaks back to collect what I bury. I thought you all liked it."
Leonardo's silence grew heavier.
Because, in truth, Nundu dung was extremely precious. They lived on poisons, and their droppings made the finest base for an antidote known.
Of course, Newt would collect it.
From the Nundu's point of view, though, or from any magical creature's, that meant there was someone sneaking in to steal its droppings.
Leonardo suddenly felt that this ability to speak with magical beasts had opened an entirely new door.
It was fascinating.
They left the Nundu's range, and Newt led Leonardo and Aurelius on.
Every step of the way, Leonardo marvelled at the handiness of Newt's case. A simple curtain or screen could mark off a whole new space. Entirely different environments lie side by side without interfering with each other.
So this was the Scamander family's secret lore.
Impressive. And very convenient.
Following Newt, he saw creature after creature: Kelpies, Bowtruckles, Occamies, Demiguises, Horned Serpents… Almost every kind of magical beast seemed to have a home in this small world, most of them nowhere to be found in the Forbidden Forest.
Leonardo's horizons widened with every pen and pasture. At the same time, the Stele's library of records swelled.
With so many new samples, his work on magical‑creature Transfiguration had taken another clear step forward.
Rumble.
Thunder cracked across the sky. Leonardo looked up. A huge golden bird flickered in and out of the dark clouds overhead.
"A Thunderbird?" he asked.
Newt nodded. "Yes. A wounded Thunderbird. Once I have healed, I plan to send it home to Arizona.
"And by then, you should be on your summer break. Leonardo, would you care to come along?"
Leonardo saw no reason to refuse. Reading a thousand books and walking a thousand miles went hand in hand. Travel and seeing the world were ways of learning, too.
Then, abruptly, a prickle of wrongness ran through him.
He slipped a hand into his pocket for the Pathway Expansion Stele.
His fingers did not find cool stone. Instead, they closed on something warm and soft, a little ball of fur.
He gently pinched and lifted it out.
A small, fluffy creature dangled from his hand, long snout twitching.
"A Niffler?"