Chapter 134: Gringotts
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Before heading to Gringotts, Cyrus decided to buy a few things.
He changed into another face, went into a shop, and spent some gold Galleons to buy a trunk. Like most wizarding trunks, this one was also enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, making its interior space surprisingly large.
However, in Cyrus's opinion, it still wasn't large enough.
He needed a vast wilderness, mountains, even the sunrises and sunsets.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to store the dragon he had captured earlier in the trunk. In fact, up to now, he still had the dragon confined in a mountain range.
"I'll have to modify it myself," Cyrus sighed.
This is not difficult for him, but it is very troublesome. He put this matter aside, and there were obviously more important things for him to do at the moment.
He went to the Leaky Cauldron and found the old wizard named Tom, rented a room, placed the trunk inside, and grabbed a bite to eat. Then he returned to Diagon Alley through the brick wall and headed toward Gringotts.
Gringotts was the most prominent building in Diagon Alley.
Evidently, the goblins believed they needed to use gold to showcase their wealth.
Among all the shops in Diagon Alley, it was the tallest, gleaming white with its walls seemingly made of white marble, and its doors of shining bronze.
At Gringotts, even the attendants were dressed luxuriously. The short goblin standing at the entrance wore a crimson uniform trimmed with gold, looking every bit the part.
As Cyrus approached, the goblin at the entrance bowed to him but did not say any words of welcome.
The floor of Gringotts was also white and gold, making it look less like marble and more like flawless white jade. After passing through the bronze doors, there was a second door inside, this one silver, with inscriptions on both sides.
Though it was Cyrus's first visit to Gringotts, he was already familiar with the inscriptions and paid them no mind—after all, he was here for wealth that did not rightfully belong to him.
However, from another perspective, he did have the key to Vault 12.
Beyond the silver door was a vast marble hall where hundreds of goblins sat, all dressed in formal suits and seated on high stools, allowing their short stature to look down upon any wizard who entered.
Not at eye level, but looking down. This was clearly the arrogance of the goblins.
Cyrus found their behavior quite laughable.
As the losers in the struggle against wizards, they seemed to believe this posture could reclaim their dignity, thinking this could place wizards beneath them.
But from another perspective, many non-human species, like centaurs and giants, possessed far greater strength than goblins. Yet, compared to the goblins, their lives were quite miserable. The goblins' inherent greed, though often despised, had undeniably afforded them a comfortable life. So much so that many goblins even felt a sense of superiority, looking down on wizards and considering themselves more noble.
History teaches us that to gain rights, one must pay with bloodshed.
And it must be continuous!
From this perspective, Cyrus actually admired them. However, standing on different grounds, humans tend to have double standards. As a human and a wizard, naturally, he stood from the wizard's perspective.
"Welcome, sir—" A goblin attendant approached, bowing slightly.
"I need to go to Vault 12," Cyrus's words caused a ripple of pause among the goblins, not just the attendant.
The scratching sound of quills on parchment ceased, the goblins placing gems on scales stopped their work, and a pigeon-egg-sized ruby rolled off a tilted scale right to Cyrus's feet.
The goblins exchanged quick glances and then returned to their previous activities.
"Your key, sir?"
Cyrus handed over the key to Vault 12.
The attendant passed the key to a goblin sitting in the center of the hall, wearing a monocle. This elderly goblin, with a white beard, inspected the key carefully for a long moment before speaking:
"The key is genuine. Griphook, you will take him!"
Then, a goblin Cyrus was very familiar with emerged. He had a high forehead, grey hair, and his height barely reached Cyrus's waist.
"This way, sir." Griphook led Cyrus towards a platinum door. There were many similar doors around, each looking almost identical.
Noticing Cyrus's curiosity, Griphook explained, "These different doors lead to different underground areas. Of course, there is actually only one space, but the tracks are different. Ancient vaults like Vault 12 are placed at the forefront."
He led Cyrus towards a door positioned quite at the front. Cyrus noticed several goblins hastily leaving, their eyes frequently glancing towards him.
Griphook opened the door, revealing an interior starkly different from the opulence of Gringotts. Beyond the threshold lay a vast, dark, and damp underground cavern. Black tracks twisted like enormous serpents along the rocky walls, extending into various other caverns.
"Get in," Griphook instructed as a cart that could slide along the tracks arrived. It lacked any safety features, resembling a worn-out old cart used for transporting goods in a mine.
Gringotts charged management fees for each vault they opened. The goblins used that money to raise dragons, set up security measures like the Thief's Downfall, ensuring robust security, but they couldn't care less about the customer experience when it came to the actual transportation.
Their motto seemed to be functionality over comfort.
Cyrus and Griphook climbed into the cart, and a long handlebar clicked down, serving as the only safety measure. Griphook pulled the lever, and the cart started moving on its own.
The cart accelerated rapidly, iron wheels leaving sparks on the tracks and producing a loud noise.
Cyrus felt like he was on a roller coaster, with the sensation of being flung out of the cart.
He felt like he had been in the cart for at least ten minutes, beginning to wonder just how deep beneath London Gringotts extended. It seemed as though they had traveled several miles.
Perhaps Gringotts had hollowed out the entire underground of London.
Then again, it could be attributed to the Undetectable Extension Charm. After all, Gringotts wasn't initially controlled by goblins.
While deep in thought, a sudden splash of water drenched Cyrus's face. He quickly ducked, covering his face with his hands. He could feel his soaked features reverting to their original, handsome appearance. Thankfully, the cave was dimly lit, and Griphook was focused ahead, so he didn't notice the change.
"Apologies, sir. That's the Thief's Downfall, one of Gringotts' security measures. It washes away magical enchantments," Griphook said. He didn't seem at all sorry for drenching his client; rather, he appeared quite proud.
The Thief's Downfall was indeed a clever invention.
"Does it wash away any magic?" Cyrus asked casually, wiping the water off his face.
"What?"
"I mean, could it even remove the effects of the Killing Curse?"
Griphook shuddered and reluctantly replied, "No, sir. It's primarily for transformations, Confundus Charms, and Imperius Curses, to prevent malicious wizards from controlling us."
He turned to look at Cyrus, as if fearing he might do something rash. Fortunately, by then, Cyrus had already transformed his face back, avoiding detection.
"Even magic has its limits, sir."
They ended their not-so-pleasant conversation. Along the way, Griphook stopped the cart once to report to a goblin guarding the ancient vaults before continuing.
After what felt like an eternity, Griphook pulled the brake lever.
Cyrus felt the cart's wheels being forcibly halted, but due to inertia, the cart continued to move swiftly. The friction between the wheels and the tracks produced sparks, like a comet's tail.
"Screeeeeech—"
The piercing sound hurt their ears.
"We've arrived!"
The cart came to a stop. Griphook jumped off onto a metal platform.
An ancient door appeared before Cyrus.
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