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Chapter 826: The Goblin's Invitation
🕑 Added 2023-07-27 14:47:15 +0000 UTC"This girl possesses a very special kind of magic,” said Evan, looking at her back.
"Obviously, that's witchcraft!" Bill replied. Fleur, Hermione, and Gabrielle all looked at him in astonishment.
In their minds, witchcraft was just as bad as Dark magic, and Rawya was nothing like a Dark wizard.
"In Africa, witchcraft is a very common magic, not as mysterious as you think, and not all evil magic. In fact, witchcraft has the same effect as the magic we’re familiar with, but the casting method is different and more complex and secretive,” said Bill, leading everyone forward. "Because of her family heritage, Rawya has a natural talent for witchcraft, which is why she was noticed by Zoser..."
"You mean that scary-looking goblin?!"
“Yeah, he's the one you really have to be careful of," said Bill solemnly. "If you work in Gringotts in Egypt, the first thing I want to warn you is not to get close to that goblin. There are many bad rumors about him."
There was a moment of silence, it could be seen that Bill was not pleased with that goblin.
"Bad rumors, such as?" asked Fleur with interest.
"I'm not used to speaking ill of my colleagues behind their backs, but you should know that many ancient relics involve curses that need the blood, limbs and even lives and souls of living people to break. Generally, when we encounter these curses, we give up digging," said Bill. "But Zoser is different. In the goblin's eyes, there is only wealth, and he doesn't care about other people's lives. His excavation team can always find more treasures, but members often go missing."
"Oh my goodness, Bill, you don't mean..." Everyone looked at him in shock.
The meaning in Bill's words was obvious. Those who were missing were sacrificed to break the curses.
Behind the scenes, planning all this was the goblin they had just seen.
Thinking about it, it was really chilling.
"There’s no evidence, as long as treasures or ancient magical items can be found, the living people can always get generous rewards, and no one will care about the missing team members," Bill sighed. "You know, Gringotts Curse-Breaker or explorer is a very dangerous job, and people often die. Some of the wizards who want to work here, like me, are very passionate about this line of business, while others are solely driven by money. They don’t care about the danger."
Whenever wealth and power were involved, beneath the seemingly calm surface, there often lurked unknown evil.
This was an unchanging truth, and one shouldn’t be fooled by peaceful appearances.
"Isn’t it very dangerous for Rawya?" said Hermione worriedly. "We should tell her about it."
"I told her about it, but she didn't take it to heart," said Bill. "You don't have to worry too much. There should be no big problem. She’s a sixth-year at Karnak Egyptian School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She only comes to Gringotts for an internship during the summer vacation, so she will only follow Zoser’s excavation team in the next two months. I heard that they are going to dig in the ruins of Amun Ra."
"The ruins left by Pharaoh Ramses II you told me about yesterday?!"
"Yeah, according to the style of Ramses II, he will not leave a curse in the ruins that requires human life to break," Bill continued. "That kind of thing happened during earlier dynasties, such as the Scorpion King. ..."
"Not exactly, Mr. Weasley!" A sharp voice came from behind them. "Cleopatra in the desert likes blood. We need to use blood to appease her, but only when it comes to the curse of Isis and Nephthys, we use human blood, because the blood of other creatures is ineffective."
Evan looked back and saw that the fierce-looking, white-haired goblin Zoser was approaching them.
"It's not evil, it's just a little blood, but when entering the temple of Anubis, we need to be extra careful because it needs a soul, and it’s a good practice to keep a few animals in the excavation team. I usually carry a snake, mouse or rabbit with me. They can save your life at a critical moment,” Zoser continued, and walked to Evan’s front. “If you encounter Horus, it will be much more troublesome. He governs order, which is a very troublesome point."
"What does he require?" Evan asked.
"If you have visited the museum, you will know that there are usually four canopic jars with internal organs next to the mummy, which correspond to Horus’s four sons, symbolizing kingship. The jar with a human head holds the liver, and the jar with a baboon head is used for the lungs, the one with the head of a jackal is used to hold the stomach, and the jar with the head of a falcon contains the intestines," said Zoser, revealing his sharp teeth. "It's quite clear, isn’t it? The gods of ancient Egypt have clearly told future generations everything they need. We can know their preferences from many clues, as long as we follow them. These are the top curses, and breaking them will reveal the treasure of Pharaoh."
"That sounds great!" said Bill in a sarcastic tone, taking a step forward in front of Evan. "This is the main reason you can always break those curses, because you know what they require."
"This is the simplest way, Mr. Weasley. We have to pay attention to efficiency!" Zoser turned to Evan, his eyes flashing with dangerous light. "You must be Evan Mason, the young wizard who applied to view the Emerald Tablet?"
"That’s me," Evan nodded.
"You should already know who I am. I heard you’d learned Alchemy with Nicolas Flamel. I assume you're not too bad,” Zoser continued, bypassing Bill in front of him. "There is no need to hide it. During the excavation of the relics of Amun Ra, we encountered a small problem that needs to be solved using Alchemy..."
Hearing this, Evan understood why he came to find him. The goblin needed him to help solve the so-called small problem.
Alchemy was very rare. Most alchemists were only involved in superficial matters, and those who got the full inheritance like Evan were in the minority.
"Sorry, but I don't have time..."
"Don't rush to refuse, human. Without my help, you will never see the Emerald Tablet," said Zoser, looking at Evan. "Help my excavation team solve that problem, I can let you view the Emerald Tablet now, and you will have a share of the treasure found in the relics of Amun Ra."
"I don't seem to have a choice," said Evan, looking at the unpleasant goblin.
"This is a matter of mutual benefit, not coercion, Mr. Mason!" The goblin continued, showing an ugly smile. "I'll be staying here for the next few days. If you're willing to join my excavation team, you can come find me anytime..."
