Nancy in the Altar

The first note was blank.

This was within Dr. Morgan's expectations.

The person in the room is most likely unable to leave and retrieve the thrown note, so the note was probably just a test to gauge his reaction.

If Dr. Morgan hadn't seen the note, or had ignored it, Hope Love wouldn't have left a second note to prevent others from seeing what was written on it.

The other note contained only one word written in pencil, and the handwriting was messy.

Dr. Morgan quickly figured out the reason:

Hope Love initially couldn't determine who was outside, so she finally decided to leave a message just before Dr. Morgan left.

Oliver

There's a big X on top.

Dr. Morgan Oliver indeed know a man named Oliver, but that man should be...

He finally remembered what the name might mean: something that Love and he had visited together.

The skull in the Skull Museum, Oliver, has no surname.

The cross means either to move away from the skull or to smash the skull.

The road became increasingly bumpy and steep; the road ahead was no longer suitable for small trucks.

Dr. Morgan jumped down, stuffed the two notes under his seat, and relaxed his muscles.

He recalled the folklore question he wanted to ask.

Then, Dr. Morgan walked up the hillside like a ibex, as if on flat ground, running at high speed. Gravel rolled under his feet, scattering down the hillside, but he himself felt as if he were walking on concrete.

Sentinel Hill wasn't high, and the small truck had already carried Dr. Morgan through the longest stretch of the road, so Dr. Morgan was soon approaching his destination.

As they approached the summit, Dr. Morgan slowed down and began to breathe steadily.

He didn't pretend to be exhausted, because Nancy probably knew he wasn't an ordinary person.

Seeing the enormous rocks beginning to appear around him, Dr. Morgan slowed down once more, observing cautiously as he continued his slow advance.

Because the sun had already set, the darkness greatly impaired his vision.

"Wilbur?" he tried to call out in a low voice.

There was no response.

As the number of stones increased, the regularity in their arrangement began to make Dr. Morgan somewhat uneasy.

He stood still and waited for a moment, and after finding nothing amiss, he called out again, this time louder. "Wilbur?"

A faint echo reverberated across Sentinel Hill.

Several seconds later, Dr. Morgan still had not received any response.

Nobody here?

Dr. Morgan, suspicious, took out a yellow rubber glove, put it on, and reached out to touch the nearest stone.

There was nothing unusual about it—it just looked like an ordinary stone.

He soon realized that he was not in the center of Sentinel Hill.

These enormous stones formed a circle, and he was clearly on the arc, not at the center.

Following the general direction, Dr. Morgan continued walking forward, and began to see some broken bones at his feet.

The doctor squatted down and picked up a piece of bone.

He frowned, quickly realizing that it was human bone, and the brittle material proved that the bone had been there for quite some time.

Not fresh bones----

This reassured Dr. Morgan somewhat.

He passed through another layer of stone circles and finally saw the huge stone disc that represented the center.

A person was lying on the stone disc.

Wilbur?

There was no response.

Dr. Morgan changed his angle and finally saw the blond hair of the person on the disc.

Nancy ----

Out of caution, Dr. Morgan did not run over, but continued to approach slowly, little by little.

Even though he could clearly see Nancy's face, he didn't speed up.

Nothing unusual happened, everything went smoothly, and Nancy's chest continued to rise and fall.

She is still alive.

And it seems to be waking up.

"Are you alright?" Dr. Morgan asked when she opened her eyes.

He crouched down slightly behind Nancy and helped Nancy up, so that Nancy could turn her head and see him, but not so much the small bulge inside the large pocket of his shirt.

It was a revolver, the muzzle aimed at Nancy's thigh, ready to move upwards at any moment. Beneath the revolver, half-concealed in Dr. Morgan's sleeve, was a specially made dagger already drawn.

He didn't have time to prepare beforehand; otherwise, a syringe containing anesthetic would have replaced the dagger.

"I—" Nancy hesitated for a moment, and Dr. Morgan waited patiently.

Nancy said, "Why am I here?"

Dr. Morgan did not respond; he continued to wait.

"Hmm." Nancy rubbed her head, and Dr. Morgan then noticed that she was holding a round, flat stone with a key-like pattern engraved on it.

"It seems—" Nancy said, "I seem to be with Wilbur— "

She didn't say what they were going to do together, and Dr. Morgan didn't ask.

"Do you remember who I am?" Dr. Morgan asked.

"Dr. Morgan"

What's your name?

Nancy Wagner.

"A sophomore in the School of Arts?"

"Yes."

Dr. Morgan nodded. "Can you still stand up?"

Nancy tried it, and it wasn't too difficult.

"Professor Armitage is a little worried about you," Dr. Morgan said. "Come with me."

He held a gun in one hand and supported Nancy with the other. Nancy hardly needed his support, but he insisted on doing so.

It took the two of them longer to get back to the small truck than it did for Dr. Morgan to climb the hill.

Once Nancy was seated in the passenger seat, she asked Dr. Morgan where they were going.

"Miskatonic University," Dr. Morgan replied.

He then asked, "Do you know where Wilbur went?"

Nancy shook her head.

Dr. Morgan asked Nancy if she could bring up the two bottles under the chair.

Nancy handed it to Dr. Morgan, but the doctor only took one, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"That bottle is for you," Dr. Morgan said. "Try it; it's tea I brewed myself with some calming herbs. It tastes pretty good."

Nancy obediently took a few sips; she actually didn't like the taste, but considering the herbal flavor, she—

She felt a wave of dizziness.

Dr. Morgan reached out and caught the glass bottle from Nancy's hand, preventing the liquid inside from spilling.

He wasn't lying; some calming herbs were indeed added.

They were originally intended for Robert Aoun, but later they decided not to give Robert any time to wake up and switched to an injectable drug, so those two vials were kept.

Dr. Morgan spat the liquid from his mouth onto the grass outside and then put the two bottles of medicine back in their place.

He reached out and pried the flat, round stone from Nancy's hand.

He couldn't see anything special about the stone, so he put it inside a rubber glove, tied a knot in the glove, and secured it to the side frame.