Entering the Pyramid
They didn't go too far; the two browsed around a few shops near Gringotts.
The streets were nearly deserted in the early morning, and the shop assistants seemed to have just woken up. The shop assistant at this magical goods store only greeted the two of them when they entered, then lazily hid behind the counter, showing no intention of coming out to help them.
Loren approached the shelf, examining the various gold bracelets and earrings displayed there... Two items caught his attention. "A gold mask that allows one to breathe underwater, and a gold scepter that can regulate the temperature around you?"
Hermione glanced at the price tags and exclaimed in surprise, "So cheap! Only one Galleon for everything!"
Loren picked up the golden scepter and examined it closely. He was now somewhat of an Alchemy, so he could discern some clues about Alchemy creations of this caliber.
"It's not gold, it's brass. The magic circle on it was carved with the bodily fluids of Fantastic Beasts. It will lose its Magic Power after three to five years." Loren put down the scepter and looked at the mask again. "This one is about the same."
"No wonder it's so cheap." Hermione hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What kind of bodily fluid are you talking about?"
"Blood, sweat, saliva, even urine," Loren exclaimed in admiration. "What an innovative idea! Using bodily fluids to inscribe Alchemy Array greatly reduces material costs."
Hermione looked at Loren seriously. "You don't have to learn this, at least don't use urine."
Loren paused for a moment, then chuckled.
In the end, they bought both items, and also a few Egypt- style crucibles, which were larger than Britain crucibles, bulging and shaped like earthenware jars.
An hour later.
The two returned to the entrance of Gringotts and met up with Professor Babbling.
Professor Babbling was still wearing a fitted black robe that accentuated her curves, with the robe's large hood covering her head, making her look mature and elegant.
"Have you kept you waiting?" Professor Babbling greeted them with a smile, followed by a goblin and a wizard, both dressed in Gringotts uniforms.
The fairy wore a small suit, was short, had a pair of long, pointed ears, a nose that protruded from her face like a cone, and thick, pointed nails on her fingers.
Loren and Hermione's gazes were unconsciously drawn to the wizard. He had long, fiery red hair tied into a long ponytail, was tall, wore an earring with a small fan-like object hanging from it, and wore boots made of Dragon Hide.
He wouldn't look out of place attending a rock concert; even the trendiest hippies in Muggle society wouldn't be any different.
Loren's gaze lingered on his red hair, a vague guess forming in his mind.
Before anyone could speak, they heard the goblin, even smaller than a child, shout in a gruff voice, "Why are there two more children, Babbling? That's a dangerous Pyramid tomb, not a wooden house for little wizards to explore!"
"This is my assistant. Don't forget our agreement: if any disagreements arise inside the Pyramid, I can leave at any time," Babbling said casually, then turned to Loren and Hermione with a bright smile. "Let me introduce you. This is your senior, Bill Weasley, who is now Curse-Breaker at Gringotts. And this is Loren Morgan and Hermione Granger."
Bill stepped forward, smiled, and shook hands with the two of them. "Hello, it seems you've already recognized my hair."
"Yes, Ron always talks about his older brother who got 12 certificates in the OWLs exams," Loren said with a smile.
"Professor Babbling said you two are both first in your class, and I reckon you'll achieve that as well. You'll see then, years after graduation, people will still be talking about it, as if this is the only thing in your life worth bragging about." Bill shrugged.
"Is this some kind of blessing?" Hermione was pleased with the compliment.
Bill paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. "That's right, it's a blessing!"
He laughed for a while before stopping, "You are exactly as Ron described, Loren and Hermione, I'll remember you."
"By the way, Ron— " Loren was interrupted before he could finish speaking.
"Enough!" The fairy seemed to have been holding back for a long time before letting out a sharp, piercing roar. "If you want to hold a class reunion here, my suggestion is, not now!"
"Be patient, Mr. Lockhart," Babbling reassured the fairy, though her tone probably only fueled its anger. "The Pyramid are there; they're not going to suddenly grow legs and run away. Besides, so many people haven't been able to uncover the Pyramid ' secrets, so it's no use if we go any earlier."
Loren then learned the fairy's name... Lockhart, the Lockhart of the treasure vault door?
"I don't need the secrets of the Pyramid." The fairy Lockhart, who had just been refuting Babbling's words with a ferocious expression, suddenly revealed a greedy grin on her face. "I just want you to take me up to the Pyramid and retrieve the pure gold spire from Gringotts Pyramid."
Bill explained to the two who were unfamiliar with the situation, "This Pyramid suddenly appeared from a folded and hidden space, and it still retains the original appearance when it was completed thousands of years ago. The spire is made of pure gold and is estimated to weigh tens of thousands of pounds. Those greedy guys in Gringotts are dreaming about that spire and they're almost going crazy."
Professor Babbling nodded and said sarcastically, "Let's go so that Mr. Lockhart and the other goblins of Gringotts can get a good night's sleep."
"For the sake of gold!" Fairy Lockhart snorted a few times and took out a Silver Key from her bosom. "Portkey, you know how to use it."
Several people gathered around the fairy, squatted down, and placed their index fingers on the Silver Key.
The Silver Key in the early morning carried a chilly feel. Hermione suddenly thought, "At such a close distance, wouldn't it be better to Apparition? Why do we have to use the Portkey?"
Before I could even ask a question, the Portkey was activated instantly.
Unlike the feeling of being squeezed by a rubber tube when Apparition, it felt as if a hook behind the navel suddenly and forcefully pulled forward, dragging the whole person into the air, flying forward like the wind. A powerful suction force held the fingers tightly, preventing them from falling out.
After an unknown amount of time, Loren and Hermione felt their feet hit the ground, and they had to lean on each other to keep from falling. Babbling and Bill, on the other hand, seemed more experienced and landed steadily on the ground.
The fairy named Lockhart fell to the ground with a thud, letting out a wretched cry of pain, "I knew it! This always happens when I use Portkey with you tall guys!"
Loren looked up and glanced around. The white tarpaulin was supported by a wooden frame, and they seemed to be in a simple tent.
Bill lifted the fairy up by the back of his collar and began to explain, "The interior of the Pyramid is protected by powerful spatial magic. Apparition will be affected. The Portkey can only teleport you this far. If you use any flight-related magic, the Pyramid will detect it and may even attack you. So we'll have to walk the rest of the way ourselves."
"The Portkey made by the fairy is the best. Its landing point is closest to the Pyramid, much better than those old wizards at the Alchemy Research Center! They have to walk two more hours!" The fairy patted the sand off its bottom and shouted loudly.
"But they were the first to explore the Second Burial Chamber. If we hadn't spent a lot of money to acquire clues, you would still be wandering around in the abandoned underground burial chamber." Professor Babbling ruthlessly exposed its boasting, stepped forward and lifted the tent flap. "Let's go, the rest of the way is not short."
Stepping out of the tent, I was greeted by an endless sea of sand. The dunes, each with a different shape, stretched out like waves, seemingly identical yet all the same.
The fairies' short arms and legs made things even more difficult in the desert. Lockhart struggled to keep up with them, barely having the energy to speak.
The sun was already high in the sky, and billowing heat was slowly building up.
"Are Ron and the others still in Egypt?" Bored traveling in the desert, Loren continued the topic from earlier.
"They're experiencing Muggle life in Cairo. After I finish today's work, I plan to take a long vacation to have some fun with them." Bill wiped the sweat from his brow, pulled out his wand, and waved it vigorously, summoning a gust of wind.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying away the moisture from their skin and making them feel a little more comfortable, but the wind in the desert was hot, and the feeling was still not very pleasant.
Babbling added a few more spells to the wind, keeping the cool air enveloping the group.
After walking a short distance, the group emerged from a series of rolling sand dunes, and their view suddenly opened up.
The snow-white Pyramid stands amidst layers of sand dunes, its pure gold spire gleaming dazzlingly in the sunlight.
Hermione subconsciously recalled the information she had gathered about the Pyramid: "Actually, most Pyramid are covered with white limestone, but the original color of the stone is revealed by the wind and sand over the years."
"It seems that choosing you as my assistant was the right decision!" Babbling praised with a smile. "This Pyramid has been hidden in another dimension until recently, when the magic on the outer shell failed and it was revealed."
After some time, Loren and the others arrived at the foot of the Pyramid. Looking up, they immediately felt their own insignificance.
The entire Pyramid is out of sight; a massive, four-sided pyramid sits before them, about 500 feet tall, pure white, with a golden gleam at its top.
"The entrance is over there!" Babbling pointed to the opening on the slope, 30 feet above the ground. She solemnly instructed Loren and Hermione, "We can only climb up the stone steps one by one. Don't use any flying magic, or it will cause big trouble."
Bill nodded. "The golden light flashing at the top of the tower will shoot down all flying objects."
Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow away the sand on the ground, revealing the shapes of tiny bones, which would then be covered by the sand again. This confirmed the two men's words.
After some effort, I climbed the slope and entered the Pyramid entrance. The sunlight and heat seemed to be blocked out, and ahead lay a long, downward slope, mostly shrouded in dark shadow, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The fairy Lockhart leaned against the wall, panting heavily; the journey it had just taken had almost cost it half its life.
"Fairies aren't suited for this kind of work. Why don't you just stay in Gringotts and pay other adventurers to come in?" Professor Babbling said gloatingly.
The Lockhart didn't refute, but murmured repeatedly, "The gold at the top of the tower belongs to the fairies, belongs to the fairies..."
Hermione suddenly asked, "Doesn't Gringotts have enough gold already?"
"You can never have too much gold!" Lockhart caught his breath, got up, and nimbly headed towards the gold.
Bill glanced at its retreating figure, then at Professor Babbling behind him, shook his head, and followed.
The goblin and Bill walked at the front, Loren and Hermione in the middle, and Professor Babbling brought up the rear. The group carefully made their way up the slope.
After a distance, the sunlight disappeared completely, and the tunnel was plunged into endless darkness.
"Mr. Lockhart, if you slip right now, you'll fall all the way to the bottom!" Bill teased with a smile, pulling out his wand and whispering, "[Lumos]"
A soft, silvery-white light shone from the tip of the staff, illuminating the dark tunnel.
"Bill Weasley, I'm your boss!" The goblin Lockhart's voice echoed through the tunnel. Hearing its own echo, the goblin lock's expression tensed up, and it glared at Bill.
"This downward-sloping tunnel leads to an abandoned underground burial chamber. The Alchemy Research Center discovered an entrance in the middle of the tunnel that leads to the Second Burial Chamber inside the Pyramid," Babbling explained. "They speculate that there is also a First Burial Chamber, located roughly below the top of the Pyramid."
"Besides the burial chamber, there are other rooms inside the Pyramid." Bill, using the light to probe the way, added thoughtfully, "There are some magical mechanisms hidden in the tunnels. Triggering the magic will randomly teleport you to other rooms. Don't worry, most rooms are safe except for the burial chamber. As long as you answer the Sphinx Mummy's questions correctly, it will give you some treasures and teleport you out."
The Egypt Sphinx is a creature with a human head and the body of a lion. For thousands of years, it has been used by sorcerers to guard their precious possessions and secret places. The Sphinx is a very intelligent animal and enjoys riddles and crosswords. It usually only becomes dangerous when what it is guarding is threatened.
"What if you can't answer?" Loren asked.
"If you can't answer, you'll be turned into a mummy!" the fairy threatened in a shrill voice.
Even though she knew it was scary, Hermione instinctively moved closer to Loren, and as she moved, a strange Magic Power enveloped the two of them.
A familiar sensation came from his navel, like being hooked by a hook... Loren looked at Hermione and blinked.
"You felt it, didn't you?"
Hermione looked at Loren, and a certain unspoken understanding compelled them to quickly grasp each other's hands and interlock their fingers.
Babbling sensed the Magic Power emanating from the two and shouted before they were teleported away, "Don't answer questions you can't answer! Just leave until you find a room where you can answer the questions..."