I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 106: Stone Tablet Portal
With the help of Gandalf's magic, Tanis and he walked out of the heavily guarded gate of Lake Town right under the noses of the guards of Lake Town.

"What are you thinking about?" Gandalf asked curiously when he saw Tanis looking thoughtful.

Tanis blinked. "I was wondering, why couldn't I use this magic of yours when I dealt with those Orcs just now?"

Gandalf coughed lightly. "My magic only reduces our presence. Just like we were just insignificant fallen leaves or pebbles in the eyes of those Lake Town guards just now. But if the fallen leaves or pebbles try to attack and hurt someone, my magic will collapse on its own."

Tanis then looked away in disappointment: "Is that so... I was just thinking, if possible, you and I can use this sorcery to sneak into the Lonely Mountain and give Smaug a hard time."

Gandalf immediately shook his head. "A dragon like Smaug would surely be able to see through my sorcery. This method will definitely not work. If it were possible, I would have tried it myself long ago, rather than waiting until today."

The two walked for a long time and stopped only when they could no longer see the outline of Changhu Town.

Tanes looked out at the silent and deserted wilderness around him and asked, "Do we really have to come so far?"

Gandalf explained: "Because giant eagles don't like to approach human territory, or because of their size, humans will be very wary of them. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, giant eagles basically don't approach areas where humans live."

Tanes nodded: "I understand that."

At this moment, a cry was heard, and a huge shadow covered Tanis and Gandalf. A giant eagle quickly appeared from the clear sky with the afterglow of the sun.
The sound of the giant eagle's wings breaking through the air was like a strong wind sweeping through the pine forest, blowing up the snow on the ground.

When Tanes raised his hand to block the dazzling sunset, the huge body had already fallen to the ground with a bang, and its wingspan seemed to cover the entire river beach.

It lowered its body, and the graceful figure of a human woman jumped down from the giant eagle's back, holding a package in her hand, which seemed to contain something heavy.

Gandalf took two steps forward with his staff, looked up at the giant eagle's amber pupils, and thanked the eagle: "Thank you very much, my friend. Ilúvatar's favor will always remain in our hearts."

The giant eagle raised its head and let out a clear cry, then looked at Tanes with curiosity. The airflow created by its wings overturned the dead branches on the ground, and it flapped its wings to rise high into the sky. It flew away from here without hesitation, and in a flash turned into a silhouette that blended into the sky.

Tanes looked confused. "If I'm not mistaken, was it observing me just now?"

Gandalf laughed and said, "Don't mistake the giant eagles for ordinary wild animals. In fact, they are no different from me in essence. It's just that they chose the form of giant eagles to come to Middle-earth."

Now it was Tanes' turn to be surprised.

"My dear disciple, you have been chatting for so long, but don't you come over to help me move some things?" Se Lian's mature female voice came with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Tanes immediately apologized, walked to Seren and took the heavy package from his hand.

It's really heavy——

The moment he took it in his hands, Tanes immediately felt that the weight of the package was wrong.

And judging from the feel, it seems to contain some kind of stone.

However, Tanes can still bear this weight.

He put the package on his back, opened his arms to Teacher Se Lian, gave her a gentle hug, and then released her: "It's been a long time since we last met, Teacher Se Lian."

What entered Seren's nostrils from his body was not some faint fragrance, but rather the strange smell of blue pyroxene and some potions.

Se Lian raised his hand, pinched Tanes' chin with his cold fingers, shook it left and right to take a closer look, then nodded with satisfaction.

Tanes was confused: "Teacher Serlian, what are you doing?"

"To observe if my apprentice has been injured after being away for several months. So far, he seems to be no different from when he left the Golden Tree."

Ceremony explained indifferently, then turned to look at Gandalf: "Did you give my apprentice the thing you promised?"

Gandalf said with a smile: "Of course, I have given Tanis the secret order from the Prime Minister of Gondor. The Ened region is now the legal territory of your Golden Tree."

Tanis asked, "Is it you, Teacher Cerion, who proposed to use the excuse of sending troops to support the Lonely Mountain to exchange the legal rights of the Ened region from the Kingdom of Gondor?"

Se Lian shook his head. "It wasn't me who said that. It was the barbarian warrior who inherited the title of Storm King."

Gandalf helpfully added, "Lady Cerion is right. This is indeed the condition set by Acting Lord Neferi Lu. Gondor doesn't have the energy to manage the Ened region anyway. I believe that handing it over to you, the Golden Tree, will quickly restore its prosperity. Therefore, I agreed to Neferi Lu's request. I was surprised that Gondor's ruling prime minister agreed so readily. Perhaps he also felt that instead of worrying about the tasteless Ened region every year, it would be better to use it to exchange for other benefits."

Ceremony was not interested in listening to Gandalf's analysis and asked directly: "Shall we start here?"

Now it was Gandalf's turn to be confused: "Start what?"

Se Lian asked in a strange tone, "Of course, it's to arrange the things I brought so that Tanes can return to the Golden Tree Territory?"

Gandalf was startled and asked in a gentlemanly manner, "Lady Ceremony, you have been flying for so long under the guidance of the giant eagle. Don't you need to return to the town to rest first?"

Se Lian interrupted impatiently, "No need. There's no need for so much trouble. Hurry up and finish setting things up. Then I can go back to the Golden Tree Territory with my good disciple and rest."

Then she looked at Tanes and ordered him without any courtesy: "Don't just stand there stupidly. Put the things in the package on the ground. You must be very familiar with it."

Upon hearing this, Tanes swiftly opened the package, revealing the contents - several stones engraved with cyan-blue magic inscriptions. If assembled, they would become the stone portals that Tanes often saw at the border.

Yes, with the portal, I can travel back and forth between the Golden Tree Territory and Changhu Town in a very short time, and the problem of transporting the army can also be solved by this.

He raised his head in surprise and looked at Teacher Se Lian.

Teacher Se Lian said angrily, "Don't look at me like that. I always thought you didn't set up a portal between Stonewell City and Hyde Fortress because you felt it was unnecessary. It turns out you simply forgot."

Tanes had a hint of embarrassment on his face. "My main way of getting around is riding a Torret, and the few times I've used the portal, they haven't been very pleasant."

As he spoke, the memory of him activating the portal, entering an unfamiliar area, and encountering dangerous enemies emerged in his mind.

As Tanes spoke, he had already placed the stone portal firmly in the ground.

Gandalf showed an interested expression as he watched the actions of Cerion and Tanis.

Seren crossed his arms, his fingertips tapping impatiently on his elbows as he continued to command Tanes: "Then pour the magic power in you into those magic inscriptions, covering every line. Be careful not to pour too much at once. Did you overturn the oil lamp?"

Tanes' Adam's apple rolled up and down, and beads of sweat were oozing from the fingertips hanging above the stone tablet.

He rarely did this kind of delicate work, especially infusing magic, which was harder than threading a needle in a rainstorm. He was really not good at it. He felt that he would rather run to the Lonely Mountain and fight Smaug than be trapped in this small place, letting the sticky sweat stick to the ends of his hair.

"Hey, imitate the flow of my magic power and activate this stone tablet together with me."

Seren noticed Tanes's embarrassment, sighed softly, walked over and leaned over to hold his wrist.

If Seren was not still wearing the witch's hood, this scene would definitely have a charming atmosphere.

Unfortunately, there is no if. Both Selian and Tanes focused their attention on activating the stone tablet.

The magic patterns on Se Lian's fingertips spread a faint blue halo on the surface of the stone tablet, and Tanes' wrist trembled slightly in her palm.

"breathe."

The low and hoarse voice covered with pyroxene stone brushed past Tanes' earlobe, but unfortunately all Tanes could smell was the scent of magic potion on Seren's body.

Tanes felt Seren's fingertips pressing on the throbbing blood vessels in his wrist. The magic power from his teacher spread along his skin, forcibly sorting his restless magic power into an orderly stream.

The stone tablet suddenly buzzed, and the runes lit up one by one.

"Don't be distracted."

Seren increased the strength of his fingertips, causing Tanes to focus more.

Then Tanes found that his magic power seemed to be a natural process, successfully covering all the magic inscriptions on the stone tablet.

The center of the stone tablet, which was originally empty, now showed silver-gray spatial fluctuations, and fine crystal dust burst out from the center of the vortex, like a star map in the night sky.

"In other words, was this portal activated successfully?"

Gandalf spoke only at this time. Before that, he had been worried about disturbing Tanis and Cerion.

Se Lian checked the stele one last time and nodded slightly. "Yes, it worked. Do you want to try it? Stand in front of the stele and don't resist."

Hearing this, Gandalf walked over curiously and stopped in front of the stone portal.

From Tanes' perspective, Gandalf's figure was enveloped by the crystal dust emitted from the stone tablet portal, and then assimilated, and then disappeared.

After a silence that lasted about sixty heartbeats, the air suddenly rippled. Gandalf's grey robe fell out from the twisting ripples, and he stumbled twice before regaining his balance.

"I can't believe that I can travel back and forth between two places so far apart in just a minute or so. The fishy smell of Long Lake Town is still on my clothes, and the warmth of Minsilias has already climbed to my eyebrows!" Gandalf looked at the portal behind him with an incredible look in his pupils.

Tanis then curiously asked Cerlian, "Teacher, I remember these portals are one-way, right? How come Gandalf was able to come back so quickly?"

Se Lian said calmly, "So I also installed a portal with the same magic inscription in the courtyard of Stonewell City. Otherwise, do you think I needed your help to activate this portal just now? I'm not sure if this will work. But since your friend returned safely, it means there is no problem with the portal over there, which solves the problem of one-way transmission."

Gandalf then asked in an uncertain tone: "Lady Ceremony, what if we fail?"

Se Lian replied in a relaxed tone, "Don't worry, you are Tanes' friend. I won't let you do anything dangerous. The portal over there has no way to locate the portal here. At most, it will be unusable, but there will be no danger to your life. However, as Tanes' teacher, the possibility of failure is infinitely close to zero."

After hearing this, Gandalf opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.

Finally, he tapped the ground heavily with his staff, and a transparent barrier emerged, protecting the portal beside him.

Seeing this, Se Lian immediately asked with interest, "What spell did you just cast?"

Now it was Gandalf's turn to respond calmly: "Don't worry, it's not some dangerous witchcraft. It's just to protect this stone tablet from being discovered by those evil dark creatures."

Tanis quickly interrupted their interaction and said, "Then Gandalf, you stay here and guard. I will go back to the Golden Tree territory with Teacher Cerlian and bring my army here."

Gandalf nodded. "The sooner you go, the sooner you will return. The mayor of Lake Town is still under the influence of my magic. I can control him and allow your army to enter Lake Town in a reasonable manner."

Tanes pulled Selian over and stood with her in front of the stone portal.

He only felt that the scenery in front of him suddenly changed from the snow-covered wilderness to the golden Stoneville Courtyard.

"Is this a golden tree?"

When Tanes found himself in the Stonewell Courtyard, where he had not been for nearly a year, he immediately looked at the golden tree in the courtyard.

Only then did he notice that the entire courtyard was almost occupied by the golden tree.

The treetops split the sky, their gold-foil leaves brushing against each other sixty feet in the air, and the falling fragments of light fluttered at his upturned face like millions of fireflies.

The twin golden trees, so tall that they blocked out the sun, came into Tanes' sight, causing him to exclaim in surprise.

Now, the thinnest branches of the golden tree are as thick as an adult man's waist, intertwined and coiled into a dome shape, and each leaf has a golden luster.

The golden tree noticed Tanes' return, and its branches began to glow, and the whole giant tree seemed to suddenly come alive.

Millions of gold-foil-like leaves collided with each other, making a rustling sound, like a pet that had not been seen for a long time, wagging its tail and acting coquettishly to Tanes.

"Lord Tanes!"

The strangeness of the golden tree immediately attracted the attention of the entire territory, and two figures in silver heavy armor stepped on the broken leaves and broke in.

The knight on the left lifted the gate of the courtyard with the tip of his halberd, and the knight on the right grazed the gap in the door.

The two Lost Home Knights, or should we call them Storm Knights now, entered the courtyard cautiously with their swords and halberds held high.

But the moment they saw Tanes, they immediately put away their weapons and knelt on one knee to salute him.

Tanes raised his hand, motioning them to stand up, and then instructed the Storm Knight on his left, "Please inform Neferi Lu that I'm back."

(End of this chapter)