From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 260 Entering the Black Forest (600010000)

"Bilbo! You don't look well!" Kili, who was caught in the claws of the giant eagle, teased loudly.

Under the influence of Ivy's Feather Fall, all members of the expedition team boarded the giant eagle safely. Of course, some of them had less graceful falling postures and were caught by the giant eagle's claws.

This news was particularly bad for Mr. Baggins, because he was a hobbit who was afraid of heights. Even an ordinary small cliff would make him dizzy. He hated ladders and hated climbing trees. Even in order to avoid wargs and orcs, it was Ivy who helped him climb the tree.

Such a traditional Hobbit was caught in the air by a giant eagle, overlooking the pale mountains illuminated by the moonlight and the black forests stretching all the way to the horizon. No wonder he looked not so good.

"I feel like bacon in a frying pan..." Bilbo complained loudly, otherwise the wind blowing beside him would blow away all his voice, "The altitude is taking away the energy in my body bit by bit!"

Hobbits have always had their own ideas about cooking, so using food as a metaphor is also something they are good at.

Fortunately, these giant eagles were very fast. Before the thief masters were completely fried in the oil pan, the giant eagles dropped them off on a rugged rocky mountain.

Bilbo collapsed to the ground and looked around with the only part of his body that could still move - his eyes.

This was an unusually large eagle's nest. In addition to the nests made of dry branches and straw, Bilbo also saw the rocks that the giant eagles used to sharpen their beaks, and the remains of bones left over from their meals.

Just as Bilbo began to wonder whether the beaks of these giant eagles were as sharp as the swords of the goblins, and whether they would cause the poor hobbits more pain before their death, the giant eagles grabbed him and Kili, flapped their wings and flew away again.

This time, after flying only a short distance, Bilbo saw a mountain wall with a bonfire and the expedition members gathered around the bonfire.

They are enjoying a midnight snack around the campfire!
Bilbo saw at once that it was the work of a wizard, for no one in the wild would provide tea and bread.

The aroma of butter and black pepper reinvigorated Bilbo, and his mouth and tongue, which had been dry for a long time, began to be moistened by saliva.

"Oh my goodness! It's saffron!" Bilbo exclaimed in surprise. "Saffron is added to the stew. We are in for a treat!"

Although Ivy's Room of Requirement is now in an awkward situation of "what is put in cannot be taken out, and what is taken out cannot be put back in", the food and drinks will eventually end up in the expedition team's stomachs, so there is no need to put them back.

Besides, the second ancient ritual of the Hufflepuff Gold Cup can also be completed through this "meal in time of need". After running in the orcs' underground passage for so long, everyone was already starving.

These giant eagles are messengers of the God King Manwe and friends of Gandalf. They are intelligent, understand the language of elves and humans, and can communicate with kind and intelligent creatures without obstacles. In essence, the giant eagles are similar to the five Istars, all of whom are Maia subordinate to the Valar, except that they appear in the form of giant eagles and live and inhabit Middle-earth.

Gandalf has reached an agreement with the Eagle King that these giant eagles will take them out of the Misty Mountains after dawn and head to the place where the river flows at the foot of the mountain.

The help of the giant eagle is undoubtedly a timely help. The expedition's journey in the Misty Mountains will come to an end tomorrow. Next, they will enter the vast wilderness. After passing through the Black Forest, they will be able to see the long river originating from the Lonely Mountain.

Ivy could finally take a full long rest to restore all the spell powers she had used and gained in Goblin Town. Of course, after completing the ancient ritual of the gold cup, the ancient power of the gold cup was further unlocked.

The 12th level of the Golden Cup's ancient ability is [Blessed Water]. If the liquid in the Golden Cup is not drunk for more than 1 hours, it will automatically turn into blessed water. [Blessed Water] can turn weapons and projectiles soaked in it into + holy weapons, and can be superimposed with weapons that already have magical properties.

The effect of the so-called [Holy Weapon] is similar to that of [Enemy-Breaking Weapon], both of which are enchanted effects that can deal an additional 2d6 damage after hitting the enemy, but the damage of [Holy Weapon] only works on evil creatures, and the damage type is radiant. Now if the [Arcane Enchantment] of the Swordmaster is taken into account, the damage of Ivy's sword has exceeded the 8d6 fireball spell, and he can swing two swords per round and use another spell. If you take into account up to four attacks of opportunity, the theoretical damage that Ivy can cause in one round has broken through the sky.

The duration of the [Blessed Water] is one hour, and it can be effective on up to three medium melee weapons or one hundred and fifty projectiles.

This means that Ivy can not only enhance her own combat ability, but also provide powerful BUFF capabilities to her teammates. Moreover, after using [Blessed Water] before the battle begins, it does not prevent her from using the gold cup to restore health during the battle, after all, the effect of sipping can be used all the time.

As for the 8th level of the ancient power of the gold cup, it expands the healing dice of the [drinking cup] to d2, and sipping will cure poisoning and eliminate the first level of exhaustion. And drinking will cure disability and coma, and completely eliminate the effects of the disease. And the drinking cup will provide a benefit of +6 constitution for one hour. In addition, when Ivy holds the gold cup, he can add the th level spell Hero's Feast to the spell list and always consider it prepared.

As a very unique sixth-level spell, Hero's Banquet calls forth a large feast, including food, drink, and tableware. This feast will take at least an hour to eat, and if everyone participating in the feast takes an hour to enjoy the food and drink, then all participants will gain several benefits that last for 24 hours. They will be cured of diseases and poisons, and become immune to poisoning and fear conditions, and their maximum health points will increase by 2d10 points.

However, for ordinary adventurers, this spell, in addition to providing some bonuses, is most useful for providing a perfect meal when starving. But Ivy has a portable Room of Requirement, so he doesn't really need this ability.

In addition to the gold cup, Ivy also selected several spells that were given when the Swordmaster class level was upgraded. Most of them were damaging spells with a casting distance of close combat contact, because Ivy could use [Spell Strike] to transmit close combat contact type spells through the blade, and double the spell damage when the weapon hits hard. Now Ivy's critical hit probability is already 30%, and this type of spell will greatly increase his single burst power. He has not forgotten that there is a dragon waiting for him to deal with in the lonely mountain.

It was obviously unrealistic to expect the dwarves to slay the dragon, so Ivy had to make all preparations for slaying the dragon. For this purpose, he even spent experience points to learn a 2nd-level transformation spell called Ghost Strike.

The effect of this spell is to make the weapon in Ivy's hand translucent, while ignoring all armor bonuses, shield bonuses, and natural armor bonuses on the target's defense level. In other words, Ivy will not have to worry about her attacks not being able to penetrate Smaug's hard dragon scales. However, the effect of this spell can only last for one round, even with the enhancement of [Delay Spell], it can only be extended to two rounds.

If Ivy can raise the Swordmaster's occupation level to level 6, he can obtain the metamagic feat of [Persistent Spell] from the bonus feat, and extend the effect of Ghost Strike to 24 hours by spending spell points.

By then, even if Ivy's beast bite sword is no different from a needle to Smaug, the duration of 24 hours is enough for Ivy to stab it to death. Moreover, without the blessing of natural armor such as dragon scales, Ivy's beast bite sword will be able to deal tons of damage. If it triggers a heavy attack or a heavy attack of a contact spell, it will be a heavy blow even for an ancient dragon like Smaug.

----

The next morning, the Eagle King led his giant eagles and sent the expedition team to the location agreed with Gandalf.

It was a riverside with lush vegetation, and it looked very beautiful. Bilbo confessed that he was reminded of Bag End in the Shire.

The giant eagle landed on a huge rock standing by the river. Ivy noticed that there was a man-made path on the rock. Perhaps an ancient general who had been stationed here used this rock as a natural watchtower.

"No matter what the results of your trip are, I hope you can return to your nest safely!" When leaving, the Eagle King led the giant eagles to offer blessings and farewell.

Gandalf also led all the members of the expedition to respond: "May the strong wind under your wings allow you to soar to the homeland of the sun and the end of the moon..."

This reminded Ivy of the farewells from other worlds, such as: "May Mother Earth protect you", "May your feet always be dry" or "Merlin bless you".

Perhaps these ways of saying goodbye can be considered as adapting to local customs to some extent?
"Friends!" Gandalf shouted passionately from the boulder, "We are already halfway through our journey. Now we just need to pass through Mirkwood and we will see the Lonely Mountain!"

The dwarves and hobbits gave a shout of victory.

But Ivy knew very well that such words were usually followed by a "but".

Sure enough, after the cheers stopped, Gandalf continued, "But what awaits us ahead will not be any easier. In addition to the dragon that may be sleeping on the treasure pile of Lonely Mountain, there are also many dangers in the Mirkwood. We must be vigilant and must not leave the mainland. Otherwise, if we are caught by those evil creatures hiding in the dark, we two wizards will not be able to find a better remedy."

"How could that be!" Noli thought Gandalf was joking, "You are a wizard!"

"Yes, Noli, I am a wizard," Gandalf said solemnly, "but magic cannot help you get out of the spider's belly intact."

"This is a warning from Radagast, the Brown Wizard. Now the forest is full of evil offspring. They are giant spiders that can talk and eat any creature that passes by." Gandalf did his best to exaggerate the horror, hoping that the dwarves would be more vigilant. "I don't want anyone to die here before seeing the gold of Lonely Mountain. Remember?"

"I promise you, no one will enter the spider's belly before seeing the dragon." Thorin, who had been silent since yesterday, spoke. It seemed that the failure in the duel with Azog had a certain impact on his mentality.

Seeing the dwarf prince speak, Gandalf finally felt relieved. In fact, most of his words were meant for Thorin. As a direct descendant of Durin, Thorin's character was even more stubborn than stone. But the experience of leading his people in wandering for many years changed him. Gandalf always believed that he was the most obedient member of Durin's family, at least better than his father Thorne, grandfather Thor, and cousin Dain Ironfoot. "Very good." Gandalf led everyone down the stone steps on the boulder, "Next, I will take you to visit another person who lives on the edge of the Mirkwood. If all goes well, I can also get a few ponies for everyone!"

"Can the wizard also help us put magic horseshoes on the pony?" Groin was still thinking about the gift he had planned to bring to his son.

"No." Ivy looked at the steps. Golden Horn's West Wind Horseshoe should be able to overcome this obstacle. "We don't have enough time. But after we recapture the Lonely Mountain, if you welcome me to live there for a while, maybe I can make a souvenir for each of you."

"Of course! You're always welcome in Lonely Mountain, wizard!" Kili and Fili said in unison.

"Speaking of time, how long is it until the Day of Durin?" Thorin looked at Balin, the oldest dwarf.

"Durin's Day is the transition between autumn and winter. We have just entered autumn, and we still have nearly three months!" Balin said happily, "This is all thanks to the two wizards!"

The dwarves felt light on their feet, and the extra time meant they had more chance to recuperate and face Smaug in full strength.

"Don't forget that Azog is still behind us. He won't give up so easily..." There was no smile on Thorin's face. "We must find the Arkenstone and convey King Durin's orders to the seven dwarf clans. Only in this way can we defeat this ambitious orc again..."

The journey from the river to Gandalf's old home was not short. The expedition team walked for a long time on the sparsely wooded grassland. It was not until the sun was hanging low in the sky that they saw a large flower field in front of them.

There were all kinds of alfalfa in the flower field, and the flowers were in full bloom. Many of the alfalfa were bearing fruit. Golden Horn was the first to rush into the flower field and compete with the wild bees as big as the hobbits' fists for the right to eat the flowers.

"Good Lord!" exclaimed the hobbit. "If I get stung by one of those bees I shall be as fat in no time as I was when I left the Shire!"

"We are very close. This is his bee field." Gandalf looked at the fence at the end of the bee field, which was made entirely of tall thorns.

"Who is it that lives in a place like this?" Thorin asked. "You have been unwilling to tell us the truth all along. Now we are going to meet the real master. We can't remain ignorant, otherwise he will definitely say that the dwarves are uneducated!"

"Oh, all right." Gandalf nodded. "I can only say that he doesn't like dwarves very much. Of course, he hates orcs even more. Restoring the influence of the Lonely Mountain in the Great Wilderness is necessary to curb the influence of the orcs. So even if he doesn't like dwarves, he will definitely help us."

"But you still didn't say who he was, not even a name." Balin then pointed out Gandalf's omission.

"Beorn, the lord of this house is called Beorn," said Gandalf, beginning to move on. "He is a skin-changer."

Ivy dragged the Golden Horn, who was eating so much, out of the flower field. Alfalfa is a very good feed, and almost all herbivorous mammals like it. The Golden Horn, who lives in the forbidden forest, rarely has the opportunity to eat this plant.

"Skinchanger?" Ivy heard the hobbit ask the question on everyone's mind. "What is a skinchanger? Some kind of fur trader?"

"No!" Gandalf turned around. "I warn all of you, don't mention anything about the fur trade in front of him, otherwise he might tear you to pieces!"

"A skin-changer means he has many identities. Sometimes he turns into a giant bear, and sometimes he is a strong black-haired man. In short, people like him have lived near the Misty Mountains for a very long time. They have lived in this wilderness long before the orcs and dragons arrived. That's all I can tell you."

When they arrived at the outskirts of the thorn hedge, Gandalf divided everyone into groups and asked them to appear in pairs before the skin-changer Beorn, hoping that this would ensure that he would not get angry and turn into a giant bear to tear everyone present to pieces.

"Ivy and I will go first, and of course we must take Golden Horn with us, for this noble horse will surely win Beorn's favor." Gandalf said, and he and Ivy set out together.

They passed through a heavy wooden door and entered the manor of Beorn the Skinchanger. It was beautifully maintained, with all the houses made of solid logs and straw. The barns, stables, and animal pens were all easy to spot. Although there were no less functional buildings, there were still many creatures roaming around in the manor.

Ivy felt like he had stepped into a druid's territory, where animals and plants lived in harmony. There was no dried animal meat here, but there was a lot of honey and dairy products.

Beorn was a very large man, hairy and muscular, and he was chopping wood with a great axe.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Beorn was very alert, but the combination of the old man and the young man gave him enough sense of security.

Gandalf introduced himself politely and said that he was introduced by Radagast the Brown Wizard.

"Okay, I know who you are, or rather, who you claim to be." Beorn nodded and put down the axe in his hand. "Two wizards, I have never entertained two wizards before. What do you want to do?"

Gandalf then recounted the expedition's journey, describing the orcs in great detail and exaggeration. If he did not become a wizard, he could live a rich life as a bard telling stories in a tavern.

"Goblins!" Beorn's tempers rose. "You have had a quarrel with goblins! I hope you have killed some of the bastards!"

"By the way, what on earth was hanging on that beautiful horse? Why do I smell the stench of orcs!" Beorn looked at Golden Horn not far away. It was lowering its head to the ground to look for wheat that had fallen in the grass.

"Ah." Ivy suddenly realized and took a sack wrapped in linen from Jinjiao's saddle bag. "This must be what you are talking about!"

"I didn't even notice that Golden Horn had an extra package on him." Gandalf stretched his neck to look at the sack in Ivy's hand. "Could this be the treasure you found in Goblin Town? Just like the elven sword in our hands?"

"It is not," Ivy said, placing the sackcloth on the block Beorn had been chopping wood on. "It may be uncomfortable. Are you sure you want to see it?"

"Of course! Let us open our eyes, wizard." Beorn's eyes were fixed on the sack.

Ivy removed the sackcloth package, revealing the ugly, charred orc head inside.

"Oh!" Gandalf covered his eyes. "This is the Orc King from Goblin Town. Why are you carrying such an ugly thing? It's so evil!"

"I plan to use this head to commemorate the elves who died when Gondolin fell. It will increase the power of the Beast Bite Sword." Ivy wrapped the head again. "I know there is another group of elves living in the Black Forest. Maybe they can provide some help in building the altar."

"I knew it! I knew it!" Beorn showed an ecstatic expression, and he showed the two men a piece of shackles on his arm.

"There used to be many skin-changers living here. We lived a peaceful life without conflict. But the orcs destroyed everything! They slaughtered my people and took the survivors as slaves! You killed the orc king, wizard! You are my friend forever! You can use everything in this room as you like! What's mine is yours!"

Gandalf blew the whistle at the right time, which was the signal for him and the expedition team to show up as agreed upon.

"Dwarves... okay. Although I don't like dwarves, as long as you are friends of the wizard..." Although Beorn was reluctant, he still gave the expedition team delicious and soft bread, and fresh goat milk as dinner.

The next morning, Beorn gave ponies to all the dwarves and hobbits, and Gandalf a horse. These beasts of burden would carry them to Mirkwood. And of course there was food, all bread and cake, and lots of honey, goat's milk, and nuts.

"Never leave the road! And my ponies can't take you through the Mirkwood. You need to let them go at the edge of the forest. The forest is very dangerous now. You must be very careful!" Beorn said when he said goodbye to the expedition team. "Of course, if you retreat, my door will always be open to you!"

　Wow ya ya ya!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)