"Hello, sir, madam, tickets are £17 each. For two of you, it would be £34. If you are willing to pay an extra £7, we can also offer you a commemorative album and map for your visit."
In front of the gate pavilion of the scenic area, the slightly plump face of the female ticket seller, who seemed to be working part-time to save money for her studies, showed a polite smile as she greeted Amosata and Vintonia who were walking together.
The sunlight from the western edge shone on Amosata's face. He glanced at the unmoved Vintonia and noticed that this woman seemed to have no intention of paying. After a wry smile, he took out several pieces of paper money and handed it over.
Now, two weeks have passed since Amosata returned to the orphanage. This is the longest time he has spent there since graduation. Not only did he want to fulfill his promise to Xahmer, but he also needed some time to think whether he should accept the request of this druid priestess.
After a period of difficult decision-making, Amosata finally agreed.
Not because Vintonia could offer any substantial compensation; in fact, these druids, who have been chased like rabbits by the church for centuries, are all 'poor souls'. The combined wealth they possess might not even be as much as Amosata's.
He made the promise for two reasons. Firstly, the ruins of Merlin are an irresistible temptation for any wizard or muggle, even Dumbledore would probably not mind going there personally to explore, though Amosata is still unaware of what the druid priestess referred to as "Merlin's eternal resting place."
Secondly, Amosata has always been very concerned about the prophecy foretold by the previous druid priest before his death. Both the church and the druidic order are considered religious forces, and Amosata questions why he, as a wizard from an orthodox tradition, should be involved in this at all. He has never dealt with such zealous religious figures and cannot fathom why he has been drawn into this situation.
However, at the deepest level of his heart, Amosata unconsciously felt that there might be some connection to his identity as a time traveler.
Now it's summer vacation, and the famous Muggle tourism area, Stonehenge Park on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England is bustling with people. It's full of moving silhouettes. In his past life, Amosata had experienced such scenes frequently. But since arriving in the magical world, this is the first time he has encountered such a situation.
Amid the crowd, the contemplative Amosata suddenly felt a coolness in his arms. He looked up and realized that Vintonia had been pushed into his embrace by the bustling crowd.
Feeling the rigid back pressing against his chest, Amosata took a deep breath. A unique and refreshing scent entered his nostrils with precision, making his heart unconsciously accelerate a bit and causing a momentary dizziness.
"Excuse me, Mr. Brayn--"
Amid the noise, Vintonia's cool voice was like a bucket of cold water that extinguished the unease that was inevitably rising in Amosata's heart. He flicked his fingers inside his jeans pocket, shutting out the sound of their conversation.
"This is what you mean by the ruins of Merlin?"
Amosata sighed heavily and snorted.
"Merlin had himself built into the stones before he died? No wonder no one has been able to find his resting place for over a thousand years."
Following the crowd, the two of them stood outside the white-painted iron railings, not far away, an ordinary guide was explaining the origin of Stonehenge to a group of middle school students.
"---The Stonehenge, the circle of standing stones, the sun temple, the prehistoric stone table, has been called differently in different historical periods. After being identified by scientists, it is generally believed that they were established around 2000 BC. At present, there is no consensus among scientists on how ancient ancestors in the Stone Age and Bronze Age were able to build such a magnificent stone ring under extremely poor production conditions."
"Sir, what purpose do you think the people built it for?"
A muggle middle school student raised his right hand inquisitively, his eager attitude making Amosata smile. He thought of Hermione Granger, who always eagerly answered questions in his dark magic defense class. He wondered what kind of emotions the little witch would feel after seeing the news about Gilderoy Lockhart.
"A good question--"
Because of the loud noise around, the male muggle tour guide had to shout loudly to be heard by the students.
"People believe that the ancient ancestors built it for astronomical observation - the main axis of Stonehenge, the ancient path leading to the columns, and the rising sun on Midsummer morning are all on the same line."
Additionally, there are two stones whose lines point in the direction of the winter solstice sunset. Therefore, people guess that this may be a primitive observatory built by ancient humans for observing celestial phenomena. It can be considered as one of the earliest prototypical observatories!"
"The purpose of building it by the founder of the ancient druidic order, besides utilizing the power of Stonehenge for divination of the stars, was also to draw magic from beyond the world."
"Draw magic from beyond the world?"
In the magical world, the builders of Stonehenge and their purposes have been well established. But Vintonia's additional point about it made Amosata frown.
"What does that mean?"
Dressed in a white floral print dress and wearing a sunhat, Vintonia closed her mouth and stared at the door made of several giant stones. For some reason, she seemed to embody a sense of resistance.
Amosata thought for a while and suddenly asked,
"I don't know how this Stonehenge is related to the ruins you mentioned... but I assume you've been inside many times, right?"
"You are very wise, Mr. Brayn."
Elegant and beautiful appearance will attract more attention wherever you go.
The tourists around, many of them secretly focused their eyes on Vintonia in front of the white railing, but Amosata, who was with her, did not feel a bit of self-complacency from envy in his heart. On the contrary, he felt something bad because he finally found a wizard whose mind sealing skill could be compared with that of Snape and Dumbledore.
For the rest of the time, the two of them did not have much conversation, but simply followed the group of muggle tourists as they toured this majestic stone circle. Amosata tried to observe the Stonehenge from a different perspective, but he only faintly noticed that the evenly distributed magic in the void was oddly distorted in this space.
In principle, this situation indicates that there is a high-concentration magical energy node, but Amosata couldn't see anything special about those stones. They looked ordinary to him.
A crescent moon had risen above the plane's horizon in the southeast sky, and Amosata and Vintonia had dinner at a nearby Muggle restaurant before setting up tents with many other campers under the cover of darkness. Both were skilled in this, not using magic but easily erecting a round-top tent.
"When do we have to wait?"
Facing the undulating 'green waves' on the plain, Amosata, who had been silent for a long time, turned to ask.
For some reason, he felt that something terrible would happen during their exploration next, but the druidic priestess seemed very taboo about talking about the ruins inside. Whenever Amosata casually brought it up, she would immediately fall silent and refuse to speak.
Many tents around, with their lights and fires flickering, sent curious glances toward Amosata and Vintonia standing side by side. The Muggle men would quietly appraise Vintonia, who was so delicate that she seemed more like an Eastern woman, and couldn't help but gradually be enchanted by her ethereal and extraordinary temperament.
Among the feasting Muggle group, two young men stood up, and from the direction of their steps, it seemed they were headed towards Vintonia.
But before they could get close, they were repelled by the intimidation in Amosata's alert gaze, and they slunk away, embarrassed.
"It's best to wait until the Muggles are resting, Mr. Brayn. We'll make some noise later..."
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Reading Nook
