Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 168 Merlin's Travel Diary
"After entering the grasslands on the eastern border of the Timurid Empire, in order to avoid trouble, I had to transform into a hawk and fly about two ticks toward the fourth star of the Big Dipper. After crossing a wilderness and a forest of stones, I saw in the distance a mountain range that undulated like a blue dragon..."

"...I stopped at the nearest human settlement to the mountains. It was a desolate wasteland overgrown with weeds, with only a tribe of no more than fifty people. I landed on the edge of the tribe, pretending to be a traveler from afar, and asked the local herders if they had seen merchants with strange long noses, wearing turbans, thick robes, and odd boots while herding their livestock. They would trade fragrant bird eggs for lambs, ores, or commission wool felt with strange patterns from us..."

"...Unfortunately, the herders here have never seen the inhabitants of the Cold Plains. I had to ask them about the whereabouts of other tribes and exchange some gold coins for some clean water and cured mutton..."

"...Following their directions, I flew westward and finally encountered a second tribe two days later. This tribe was slightly larger than the first one, but I still found nothing. They hadn't seen the inhabitants of the Cold Plains as I had described, so I had no choice but to continue westward..."

"Finally, when I visited the fourth tribe, Lady Luck smiled upon me—"

"...Perhaps I should follow the current custom of British wizards and shout 'Merlin's Beard!'..."

"...The herders of this tribe didn't seem very friendly. When I appeared on the edge of their village, they raised pitchforks and torches at me. Even the women and children in the tribe threw stones and sheep dung at me, as if I were some kind of demon..."

"...It suddenly dawned on me how much my current attire resembled the description of the inhabitants of the Cold Plains I had described..."

"...Apart from not having a strange long nose and fragrant bird eggs, I dress almost exactly like the residents of the Cold Source..."

"...In order to lower their guard, I had no choice but to remove my headscarf and mask, revealing my face, which had been disguised with Timurian features through transfiguration..."

"...The herders seemed to have lowered their guard a little, but they still didn't invite me to their campfire dinner. So I stood in the wilderness, on the edge illuminated by the firelight, and asked them if they had seen any of the inhabitants of the cold plains..."

"...The atmosphere suddenly seemed to tense up, and the man and woman raised their pitchforks, torches, and sheep dung again..."

"...I had no choice but to take out a few gold coins and some glittering gems, put them in a sheepskin bag, and then push it over..."

"...The leading man picked up the sheepskin bag, bit the gold coins with his teeth, examined the gems in the firelight, whispered a few words to the man beside him, then beckoned to me, signaling me to follow him..."

"...During my conversation with him, I learned that his name was Abdul Alim, the son of the tribal chief, and that five days ago they found a girl in the wilderness near the mountains to the east..."

"...That girl's name is Alina. She's the most beautiful girl in the Ashat tribe. We often trade wool with the Ashat tribe for salt..."

"...That day was the agreed-upon day for exchanging salt, but when we arrived at the Ashat tribe's location, we only saw Alina sitting dejectedly in the empty center of the tribe..."

"...All the felt huts and thatched huts were intact, but apart from Alina, they couldn't see a single person in the tribe..."

"...all the herdsmen and livestock have disappeared..."

"...Only Alina, who missed mealtime while playing outside, stayed behind..."

"...The campfire in the center of the tribe has gone out, and the food on it has dried out..."

"...The villagers' food and stored grain are still safely in the barn..."

"...They went inside the felt huts to check. There were no signs of disturbance; everything was intact. In many houses, there were still half-eaten meals left..."

"...Just like the people of the Ashat tribe who were having lunch, suddenly put down their utensils and food, drove their livestock, and, by some unknown force, headed out of the village..."

"...Abdul Alim said Alita saw the attackers..."

...She, returning home late from playing, hid behind a huge rock and saw a tall, ugly, demon-like creature wearing the clothes I just described walking at the front... "...while Alina's parents, brothers, clansmen, and livestock followed behind the demon like puppets, their eyes glazed over, and an unbearable stench filled the air..."

"...I know, I've found what I've been looking for..."

“…That must be the inhabitants of the Cold Plains and their masters, the Moon Beasts…”

"...I saw that girl, Alina. I saw that scene in her memory, the scene that plunged her into an eternal nightmare..."

At this point, Gilderoy Lockhart turned the parchment over, picked up the teacup on his desk, took a sip of water, and continued reading:
"...Based on the girl's memories, I found the now-empty tribe..."

"...Without the herders' care, this once human settlement quickly turned into ruins. I believe that if I had come a few days later, it would have been completely overrun by desert sands and wild grasses, and all traces of human activity would have disappeared..."

"...Using the Tracking Spell, I reconstructed the footprints of the Ashat tribe herders and all the traces they left in the wilderness as they passed by..."

"...I followed the footprints and traces eastward, and after three days I came to a forest covered with pine trees. From there, the footprints of the Ashat tribe herders led up a narrow mountain path..."

"...I followed the footprints up the mountain along the narrow path..."

"...After walking for another day, I entered a snow-covered mountainside area..."

"...after rounding a huge rock that protruded like a unicorn's horn..."

"...I saw a narrow, vertically downward cave..."

"...all the footprints disappeared in front of this cave."

"Gidrolockhart" put down the parchment in his hand and pushed it to the archaeologist Judy Wilson sitting opposite him.

“A truly fascinating story,” Judy Wilson said, taking the parchment and examining it closely once more.

“This should be part of a fantasy travelogue from the 13th or 14th century…” Judy said. “Fantasy novels were quite rare in that era… No, this should be the first non-religious mythological fantasy novel in England… Do you want us to study the development and background of fantasy novels in England during the Timurid Empire?”

“No, I want you to use the information on this paper and your knowledge of geography, archaeology, and computers to help me find that cave,” Tierra said.

? ? ? ——

In that instant, Tiera saw three big question marks appear in everyone's mind—

"Excuse me?"

Thank you Chi Shenluo for the 1500 Qidian coins.

Thank you Korsi for the 100 Qidian Coins reward.

Thank you death233 for your February vote.
Thank you Chi Shen Luoba for casting your January vote.
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(End of this chapter)