Chapter 140 – Hammerstrike
"This... is not exactly what I expected." I spoke up the moment we apparated at our current location and I had time to look around.
"We are still a bit away and need to walk. Their territory is surrounded by goblin enchantments that prevent wizardkind to apparate in or out. Not even house elves could do it."
"Then it sounds like we are walking into a tiger's den..." Quincy added, making me nod, but Grindelwald was surprisingly calm. Well... he always was.
"It will be fine. Come!"
Looking around after following him, we were surrounded by lush trees, bushes, and the sound of different birds merrily chirping away. It was as if we were on a hike, going through the untouched wilderness where no humans set foot before. It was a nice change of pace, and I did not really mind it. After around an hour of walking and enjoying the scenery, I noticed smoke rising on the horizon right after coming out from between the trees and arriving at a clearing.
"We are already within their borders; keep your wands at bay. Don't brandish it until I do, got it?"
"Yes, Sir." We answered in unison as we both had different methods of defending ourselves. Even if their barrier cuts off teleporting, I could still turn into a basilisk, and Quincy could fly away. We should be alright...
Finally, reaching their settlement was still different from what I had expected. When speaking about goblins, I thought of being underground, tunneling deep, surrounded by steam engines and machinery. Maybe two or three blacksmith workshops. Or something like what is under every Gringotts. But no.
What I saw was a typical village with stone and brick houses. No, the correct term would be estates. These homes were just as big as any human-sized ones, but their proportions differed. While it would be a two-story building for a human, for them, the same size meant it was a four-story villa. They were all luxurious-looking; the roads were smooth, and they even had parks and churches decorated with gold and silver. The only difference was that instead of a cross, a golden hammer was shining in the sunlight on the tallest, gothic-looking church.
Before I could ask anything, I saw a vehicle approach us, which was like a shrunken-down version of a muggle's car from the 1930s. On the smooth road, it was surprisingly fast and stopped right before us while I watched four goblins get out of it, wearing military-looking uniforms. The fabric itself was black and red, while golden, metallic plates reinforced their shoulders and chest. Would it have any magical properties? Probably. They were goblins, after all.
"Thou glimdratch, wazzock blarn... wixard!"