translating_wizard
patreon
Chapter 833: The Emerald Tablet
🕑 Added 2023-08-12 09:16:11 +0000 UTCThey both climbed into the cart, but the goblin did not rush to start. He seemed to have something to say to Evan.
"We have to hurry up, Mr. Mason," said Zoser, his voice sharp and shrill. "I am different from you. My time is very precious. There are many things waiting for me to do..."
"Alright!" Evan looked at the old goblin and didn't understand what he meant.
"I don't know what you want to gain, but you won't make it." Zoser continued in an angry tone, drawing a pocket watch from his pocket and looking at it. "I even doubt whether you can read the early hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt."
Indeed, Evan did not know hieroglyphs. He only knew the meaning of a few specific symbols.
"Sorry, I don't understand what you mean..." he asked directly.
"I mean, watching the translated version and the original version of the Emerald Tablet does not mean much to you. I have seen too many arrogant human wizards like you who came here to fantasize about the real secrets contained in the Emerald Tablet, but they got nothing," said Zoser, putting away his pocket watch, and turning to look at Evan. "Those rumors from the outside world are simply nonsense. Apart from the knowledge written on it, that legendary magical item is just an ordinary slate, without any magical power you wish to gain."
"Knowledge itself is priceless, and the early hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt may give me some inspiration," said Evan.
He understood what Zoser meant. This goblin looked down on him, thinking it was useless for him to read the original version of the Emerald Tablet.
"What a hassle, a waste of time..." Zoser whispered.
Next, neither of the two spoke, and the cart hurtled through a maze of twisting passages.
Soon, Evan was confused. The terrain here was much more complex than the underground in London. There were many places full of gravel, and a narrow passage was maintained by magic for them to pass through. After the cart passed, it turned into a pile of quicksand.
The cold air whizzed by, and ten minutes later, they rushed to the depths of the earth.
Among the yellow gravel and rocks, Evan saw many ancient relics of different ages, which were arranged in different strata according to time. This was probably the characteristics of Egypt, and only this country and this city would have so many relics.
As time went by, they went down deeper and deeper, speeding up.
At a sharp turn, the air became colder and more bone-chilling, and the cart rattled and came to a mountain stream.
"Here we are!" Zoser pointed, and the light of countless torches dispelled the darkness around him from far and near.
Evan saw that there was a huge stone in front of them, without the complex and heavy iron gate like the Gringotts vault in London.
Before reaching the stone, Zoser solemnly said, "Open Sesame!"
He stretched out a long finger and tapped on the huge rock, and a wide doorway suddenly appeared in front of the big rock.
Evan looked at him speechlessly. The goblins of Gringotts had definitely not read the book Arabian Nights, or the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves originated from here, and the cave of the thieves had been designed with the help of goblins.
His attention quickly shifted to the room behind the rock, and in the light of the torches, a green stone glowed softly.
It was a huge green stone tablet made of emerald and engraved with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
The edges of the tablet were irregular, with a huge crack at the upper left, as though it had been abruptly knocked down from somewhere.
"This is the Emerald Tablet you wanted to see, Mr. Mason!" said Zoser, with a sinister smile on his face. "Thousands of years ago, the wizards of ancient Egypt recovered this priceless treasure from tomb raiders. It was originally treasured in the Chamber of Secrets of the Pharaoh Hermes Pyramid, which is now in ruins. It is a pity that the text on it is incomplete, and vital information has been lost.”
"It is indeed a pity," said Evan, carefully looking at the Emerald Tablet in the middle of the room.
"The Egyptian Ministry of Magic asked Gringotts to keep this valuable Alchemy book. The temperature and humidity in this place are strictly controlled. No one has entered this place for decades, because excessive watching will damage the Emerald Tablet itself."
"Well, I see, Mr. Zoser, can I go in and have a look?" said Evan, "It’s not clear from here."
He didn't venture into this room, he could feel the traces of magic inside, and there were dozens of protective magic and curses.
The goblin was not at all well intentioned. He stood beside the rock and looked at Evan without warning.
If he couldn't help but walk into this room, he might suffer.
"Certainly," said Zoser, the smile on his face gradually abated, and he pointed again, "Please, Mr. Mason."
Evan walked in. Behind him, the goblin stared at him closely, to make one feel bad.
As Zoser said, Evan couldn’t understand what was written on the Emerald Tablet, which were the most primitive ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
He turned around the tablet twice, and then went back to his original place to make sure there was no magic on it.
The goblin sneered because of Evan's behavior.
"Do you want to continue watching?" Zoser asked softly, and took out the pocket watch again, “I said it; you are wasting my time."
Evan ignored him. He had read the translated version of the Emerald Tablet before and compared his memory with the hieroglyphs above.
The existing Emerald Tablet included thirteen concise and essential maxims, instructing readers how to come into contact with the profound and divine spiritual level, which was the basis of Alchemy.
But that was not all of it. Nicolas Flamel had told him before that the Emerald Tablet didn't just hide the secret of extracting the Philosopher's Stone from everything in the world.
Only the Alchemist who had the key could know the real secret contained therein.
This key was Evan’s Book of Abraham, which was the most orthodox inheritance of the Emerald Tablet.
Evan took a deep breath, concentrated, and gently chanted the first incantation of The Book of Abraham.
As he did, the words on the tablet gradually started to change.
As though sensing, they began to emit a faint green light, which became more and more pronounced.
In the green light, there was a trace of smoke in the words above the Emerald Tablet, which slowly floated from the stone tablet and gradually emerged around Evan, surrounding him...
Behind Evan, the goblin Zoser looked at this scene in surprise, with his mouth wide open, staring at him in disbelief.
