From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 258: Into the Wolf's Mouth Again (500010000)

"Where is Bilbo?" Gandalf stood under the pine tree and looked around at the members of the expedition. After a series of running and chasing, everyone was exhausted, and their faces were covered with soot. "Has anyone seen our thief?"

"When we were captured by the orcs, I saw him hiding alone! Right next to the cage!" said Noli with the five-pointed head.

"Bilbo must have gone home! And he left a long time ago! He doesn't belong to us! From the beginning!" Thorin shouted tiredly.

"That's impossible! Bilbo is one of us!" Gandalf raised his voice, "and Ivy and I were right behind you! But none of us saw Bilbo!"

"Wizard! Where is our other wizard?" asked the white-bearded Balin. "Didn't he come out with us?"

"Maybe he's gone back to Bilbo!" Before Kili could finish his words, he heard a muffled sound coming from the mountain.

"...Is that the noise made by the wizard?" Philip asked.

"Who else could it be but him?" Gandalf asked. "I will go back and have a look! Perhaps he is in a bitter battle!"

"Take up our weapons!" Thorin said decisively, "We can't give up the wizards!"

The dwarves who were resting on the ground stood up one by one, ready to fight again with their tired bodies: "Kill those orc bastards!"

"Thank you for your kindness!" Ivy said loudly as Golden Horn flew over the treetops. "The Snitch Master and I are just about to return to the team!"

Of course Bilbo did not ride on Golden Horn's back with Ivy, but was held under his arm. Although Golden Horn's total weight did not change, it made it feel a lot better psychologically.

"Bilbo! Ivy!" cried Gandalf in delight. "I never thought seeing someone could make me so happy! You must have gone back to look for Bilbo, didn't you?"

"In fact, I did almost nothing. It was all up to Bilbo himself. When I found him, he was almost at the exit, but was blocked by the orcs guarding the gate." Ivy jumped off the horse and laid Bilbo upright on the ground. "I saw your masterpiece, Gandalf. If it weren't for the orc stuck in the door, we might not have found the way out."

"Ha, ha, ha!" Gandalf's white beard twitched with delight. "So you blew up the gate, did you?"

Ivy smiled and nodded.

"What a miracle!" exclaimed Balin, the oldest of the dwarves. "We passed through the Goblin Town below the Misty Mountains and fought our way through hundreds of orcs. Not even one person was left behind!"

"But our ponies are gone, and so are the magical horseshoes made by the wizard," said Ollie, the youngest, regretfully.

"That's right." Groin didn't look happy either. "I was thinking of showing the horseshoe to my son!"

"I didn't know you had a son, Gloin!" Bilbo was surprised to find that not all the men in the team were bachelors.

"Of course! His name is Gimli! He originally wanted to join our expedition, but he is too young, only sixty-two years old! Twenty years younger than Kili!" Gloin was happy to share information about his family with his companions.

"Oh!" Bilbo was startled. It seemed that he, who was only fifty years old, was the youngest in the expedition. Looking at the faces of his companions, he took the initiative to ask Ivy, who looked the youngest: "Wizard, how old are you this year?"

"Me?" Ivy thought for a moment, "I should be 145, no, 146 years old, as I have been active in this body. You know, we wizards don't usually calculate our age." Ivy was deliberately misleading Gandalf, because all the Istars who went to Middle-earth needed to give up their bodies as Maia and use the image of an old man to guide the creatures here.

And phrases like "this body" would surely get a response from Gandalf.

"That's right." Gandalf was filling his pipe with tobacco. "We wizards never count our ages, but I would say that Ivy is definitely the youngest among us, which is why he wears a green robe."

"By the way, Ivy, please make the pony come out quickly. We are all exhausted." Gandalf said, blowing a smoke ring in the Hobbits' eager eyes.

"Oh my god! The wizard even protected the pony!" Balin was shocked again, "Groin, you can bring the magic horseshoe to your son!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to make some clarification on this point." Ivy spread her hands. "Although the ponies are alive and well, I can't make them come out of the book now. My magic has some limitations now. Yes, limitations."

"Oh——" Everyone made a frustrated sound, even Gandalf in the grey robe was no exception.

"What a pity!" Gandalf took a long drag on his pipe. "I thought you were the freest of us!"

"So your magic is restricted too, Gandalf?" Bilbo asked.

"What else? Do you think I don't use magic because I don't like explosions?" Gandalf asked back in a bad mood.

"Enough!" Thorin stopped the expedition team's quarrels. "We must set off. This place is too close to the orcs' territory and it's not safe enough! It won't be too late to talk after we find a suitable hiding place."

However, as soon as Thorin finished speaking, a creepy wolf howl was heard in the air.

"It's the Wargs!" Gandalf once again showed his agility that shocked everyone. "They will definitely be able to smell our scent! Run!"

So everyone took action and ran along the rugged mountain road. Of course, only Ivy, who was sitting on the back of the golden horn, was the most relaxed, after all, he didn't have to run on the ground.

However, even so, Ivy's mood did not improve. He had been thinking about finding a safe place to rest at night, successfully restoring the spell slots of his warlock and swordmaster professions, and then thinking carefully about which spells he should learn to deal with the dragon Smaug and the possible necromancer of Dol Guldur, that is, Sauron.

Now all the plans have been disrupted, and they don't know if they can survive the current wave of wolves chasing them.

No one spoke, and everyone moved as carefully as possible through the brush and gravel, trying not to leave any trace.

But even so, they saw the wolves and their orc riders before the sun completely set.

"How come those goblins can move around in the daytime!" Bilbo asked.

"Have you forgotten the goblins who were chasing us in the Ogre Forest?" Gandalf answered. "They have been following us all the way here, and may even have been waiting for us in these mountains for a long time!"

"It must be the pale orc Azog!" Thorin said gritting his teeth.

　Uhhhhhhhh!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)