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

Chapter 144 Reward
The dinner ended with the dwarves' snoring filling the hall, and dwarves including Thrain and Dain lying drunkenly on the floor.

Only this time the floor wasn't cold, but warmed by the rekindled dwarven forge within the Lonely Mountain.

Latan and the Red Lion Legion who were invited to the banquet were stunned by the dwarves sleeping on the ground. It was not until Tanes said that this was the habit of the dwarves that they stopped worrying about whether to move so many dwarves back to their respective rooms to rest.

However, the masters of Lonely Mountain were so drunk that although the servants were still providing wine and food to the soldiers of the Red Lion Legion, Latan and his men could not stay in the palace any longer. Instead, they said goodbye to Tanes and returned to River Valley Town to rest.

Regarding the matters of River Valley Town and Long Lake Town, Latarn seemed to have something to discuss with Bud.

As for Millicent, she didn't like appearing in such crowded places, so she said goodbye to Tanes earlier than Latarn and returned to River Valley Town.

Thorin didn't drink himself unconscious like his father. Instead, he staggered over to Tanes and the others, burped, and said, "Come, follow me. It's time to fulfill the contract. I will give you the reward you deserve."

After he said that, he took Tanes' wrist with one hand, put his arm around Bilbo with the other, and led the two of them into the palace.

"Oh, eh?"

Bilbo looked at Gandalf somewhat helplessly, while Gandalf followed the three of them with a smile on his face.

Although Thorin was drunk, it did not affect his ability to find the way. He quickly led Tanes and Bilbo to a newly cleared room in the palace.

This small room was filled with gems of various sizes, shapes, and colors, as well as well-forged weapons and sturdy armor. Gold coins became the least valuable item in it.

Thorin let go of Tanes and Bilbo, and slapped his cheeks with both hands to briefly sober up his brain from the paralysis of alcohol, but he soon staggered and fell into a pile of shining diamond jewels.

Tanes quickly helped Thorin up again: "Be careful!"

Thorin waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and with his other hand he took out a chain mail-like shirt made of silver gauze from among the jewelry.

Tanes immediately recognized the extraordinaryness of the chain mail and subconsciously asked, "What is this?"

Thorin smiled proudly and said, "This is the craftsmanship that the dwarves are most proud of. Come, Bilbo, it's yours."

Bilbo blinked, looked at Gandalf and then at Tanis, then walked over doubtfully: "To be honest, Thorin, I don't think I deserve the reward. After all, the contract states that I helped you steal the Arkenstone, but I didn't complete the task."

Thorin said, "But please help me throw a stone at Azog's head. Take it. This shirt is made entirely of mithril. It is as light as a feather, as hard as dragon scales, and will never lose its color. Didn't you just say at the banquet how to prove to your descendants that you personally participated in the Battle of Lonely Mountain? This mithril shirt is the best proof."

Then he turned sideways and showed Bilbo everything in the room. "Of course, in addition to this shirt, you can also take away something you like. Whether it's a weapon or jewelry, you can take whatever you like."

Bilbo was stunned for a moment, looked at the things in the room, and shook his head decisively: "I think this thing you gave me is valuable enough. There is no need to give me anything else."

Gandalf looked at Bilbo with a smile and added, "Of course. This shirt made of mithril alone could buy the whole Shire."

Bilbo was so frightened that his hands trembled and he almost dropped the mithril shirt in his hands.

However, even if the shirt falls to the ground, you should be careful about whether there are traces of it on the floor.

When Thorin heard Bilbo say this, he simply nodded without any hesitation.

Then he looked at Tanes: "As for you, Tanes... Honestly, I don't know how to repay you. The help you've given me has long exceeded the compensation agreed upon in the contract, and it's even beyond the responsibility of a friend."

Then Thorin made a cold joke: "After all, not just any friend can help win a war involving dragons. However, the wealth you possess is beyond my comprehension. You give away magical weapons like the Frostshell Axe so casually. I don't know what treasure I can give you to repay you."

Tanes scratched the back of his head, a rare occurrence, and said, "I'm helping you without actually trying to gain anything from you. You don't have to worry about it, Thorin."

Before Thorin could speak, Gandalf spoke up, "But I still suggest that you ask Thorin for something. Although everyone present knows about your friendship with Thorin, that doesn't mean everyone knows it. If you leave without getting anything from Thorin, and word gets out, it will affect the reputation of those who don't know about it. Especially now that the Lonely Mountain is in ruins, Thorin needs a good reputation."

Thorin burped again, raised his finger and pointed at Gandalf, staring at Tanis intently: "Yes, yes, although this old wizard is sometimes very stubborn, he can still give very pertinent advice occasionally."

Gandalf was so angry at Thorin's words that he fumed and wondered who was being so stubborn.

Tanes had no choice but to nod: "Okay, then let me see what interesting things are in this room."

Bilbo looked at Gandalf, who had been standing there motionless, and asked Thorin, "Has Gandalf no reward?"

Thorin was in high spirits at the moment. When he heard Bilbo's words, he waved his hand and said, "Yes, wizard, you have a share too!"

Gandalf was about to shake his head to refuse, but a glance at the pile of jewels made him change his mind and say, "Then I will obey your command."

Then, under Bilbo's gaze, Gandalf came to a table filled with diamond necklaces and bracelets, picked out a necklace that was obviously suitable for women, and after looking at it carefully, he put it in his arms with satisfaction.

Thorin saw Gandalf's actions and teased, "Are you going to give it to a beautiful woman?"

Gandalf coughed lightly and replied vaguely, "Perhaps."

At the same time, Tanes picked out a strangely shaped but jeweled decorative sword from the pile of weapons and said with satisfaction, "I have made my choice. This is it."

Thorin took a closer look at the decorative sword in Tanes's hand and was slightly stunned. "This sword is only for decoration and cannot be used in combat. Are you sure you want it?"

Tanes put it away and said to Thorin seriously, "I chose it precisely because it's an ornament. I'll place this sword in the Golden Tree Territory, so that everyone who enters will know of our friendship." Thorin's eyes softened when he heard Tanes' words. "Indeed, although you have many powerful weapons, you don't have many ornaments with such symbolic meaning."

Then he yawned and said, "It looks like I'm going to fall asleep with my father soon. Let's end our entertainment here for today."

Tanis agreed, "Indeed, it's getting late. Tomorrow during the day, Latarn seems to be discussing something with Bard and needs my presence. Bilbo also plans to go home during the day... So tomorrow is the day for us to say goodbye, Thorin."

Thorin sobered up a little after hearing this and said quickly, "Tomorrow morning I will bring Fili, Kili, and the rest of the expedition to see you and Bilbo off."

Tanes nodded. "No problem. Just come to Riverdale and find us."

After Tanis and the other two left Thorin, Bilbo curiously asked Gandalf, "Gandalf, is there really a woman you like? Are you planning to give her the jewels Thorin got?"

Gandalf glanced around and confirmed that no one was present except Tanis and Bilbo. Then he looked at Bilbo unhappily and said, "Take back your nonsense. To be more precise, I am returning this jewel to a certain elf."

Tanes immediately realized, "Is it the necklace that caused Thranduil to fall out with the dwarves of Lonely Mountain?"

Gandalf motioned Tanis to keep quiet and said in a low voice, "Yes, that's it. I didn't expect the necklace to be placed so casually in that room. While Thorin is drunk tonight, I will chase Thranduil overnight. I hope he hasn't left with his army yet."

Tanis shrugged. "I actually think the dwarves may have forgotten about the necklace... But since you want to do this, let me take Bilbo back to Dale tonight."

Gandalf nodded.

As for the option of giving the necklace to Legolas and asking him to take it to Thranduil, neither Tanis nor Gandalf tacitly mentioned it.

The father and son are still in a state of quarrel for the time being, so it is better to let them see each other less.

Gandalf was about to say goodbye to Tanis when he suddenly thought of something and whispered in his ear, "Also, let me remind you again about the two rings. Don't let anyone know that your friend obtained them from the Ringwraiths. I can't imagine what some greedy humans would do to you and your territory after learning this, especially since you said you have a way to cleanse the curse from the rings."

Tanes' expression also turned serious, and he said solemnly to Gandalf: "I have heard it. Tomorrow morning, when Bernard and Aegon wake up, I will tell them not to tell anyone else about the ring."

Gandalf felt relieved when he saw Tanis's look and said goodbye to the two of them in a hurry.

Bilbo watched the two whispering with curiosity, and after Gandalf left, he asked Tanis, "What were you and Gandalf talking about just now?"

Tanes smiled and said, "Of course, the fewer people who know about this, the better."

Then Tanis realized what was happening and asked, "By the way, Bilbo, I remember you found a magic ring. I said I would show it to Gandalf, but the war delayed it. Gandalf hasn't gone far yet, so why not show it to him now?"

Bilbo sighed and complained, a rare omission. "I thought so too, but when I thought of the Ring, I wondered where it had fallen. It must have slipped out of my pocket when I was hiding from the Orcs who were looking for Azog in the Lonely Mountain."

Tanes comforted him, "It's okay, it's just a magic ring. I'll ask my teacher, Seren, to make you a ring that can also temporarily hide your body."

Bilbo's eyes lit up. "Then I'll leave it to you."

Tanes smiled and nodded, blew the whistle, and Torret appeared out of thin air, snorting.

It nudged Tanis in a gesture of approval, then neighed softly at Bilbo, greeting the hobbit who loved to feed it fruit.

Bilbo also skillfully took out a banana from his pocket that he had hidden on the dinner table, peeled it and fed it to Toret's mouth.

After Tanis mounted Torret, he helped Bilbo to sit on top and said jokingly, "I doubt if Torret was not a spirit horse, he would have been fattened by you."

Bilbo stroked Torret's mane and said, "It's just some small fruit. It won't make you fat."

Then he reached into his pocket to take out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, but unexpectedly touched a cold ring.

Bilbo continued his activities with a normal expression and asked Tanes, "By the way, I've never asked you what Torret usually eats."

Tanes was stunned, and said awkwardly, "Well... I don't think I've ever fed it anything special. But there's a plant called 'Loya Fruit' in my hometown, and Torrett likes to eat it."

Bilbo blinked. "I've never heard of this plant before. Do you have its seeds? I think I could plant some loa fruits in front of the door of Bag End. That way, when you come to visit me on your Toret, he can have a good meal."

Tanes said, "There should be seeds. I'll look for them."

As he spoke, a few pale red, round fruits similar to hawthorns suddenly appeared in his hand. He handed them to Bilbo, who put them into the pocket on the other side.

Early the next morning, Bernard and Egon, who had stayed in the Lonely Mountain Palace, returned and brought back someone who surprised Tanes a little.

He looked at the Elf Prince following behind Bernard and called out his name: "Legolas, why are you here too? Where is Tauriel?"

Legolas politely replied, "Tauriel has returned to the Woodland Kingdom. As for me... I'm very interested in the golden tree that Mr. Bernard mentioned. I hope that as the lord of the golden tree, you will allow me to visit your territory."

Tanes nodded happily: "You are welcome to come anytime if you want. No need to make it so grand. My territory is not some strange forbidden place."

(End of this chapter)