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

Chapter 54: Letter from Gandalf
When Tanes arrived near Hyde Fortress, he heard noisy voices before he saw Kenneth Hyde.

He exchanged glances with Neferi Lu and walked over to where the sound came from.

"Dear guests who have come from afar, please be patient. The great Lord of the Golden Tree, His Majesty Tanes, will be here soon." Kenneth Hyde's very distinctive opera voice came, as if he was communicating with the other side.

Around him, the King Greg's army, led by the Knight Commander, lined up in a row, stood upright, and displayed their weapons.

Tanes, still dressed in the armor of the White Wolf Warrior, walked over and first glanced at the crowd opposite him inconspicuously. Then he said to Kenneth Hyde, "Thank you for your hard work, Kenneth. What's the situation now? Why are there two groups of people?"

In front of Kenneth Hyde, some humans who had communicated with him before were dressed normally or even gorgeously, with carriages and armed followers following behind them.

However, after seeing the well-equipped armored soldiers of the king's army, the followers lowered their heads and dared not act arrogantly.

Not far from these humans, there was a group of ragged humans, including the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled, and it seemed that they had come here with their entire family for refuge.

There was vigilance and uneasiness in their eyes. The stronger men all stood in the front, protecting the women, children and the elderly behind them.

It was unclear what these people were talking about to each other, and most of the noise that Tanes and Nepheli Lu heard came from them.

Kenneth Hyde turned around at the sound and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Tanes approaching. "You're finally here, Your Majesty. Here's what's going on: these people claim to be merchants from Gondor. They heard of you and brought their caravan here. However, they couldn't produce the necessary documentation, so I asked them to wait here. But please rest assured, these merchants aren't causing any trouble. Instead, they're patiently waiting for you as I instructed."

Tanes nodded, then looked at the group of refugees in the distance and asked, "What's going on with those people over there?"

Kenneth Hyde shook his head. "I don't know. They didn't come here with the merchants. Instead, they came from a distance and stopped there while my caravan was communicating. I sent soldiers to inquire about their purpose, but received no answer. However, they didn't just disperse. Honestly, I have no idea what these people were planning to do."

Tanes said, "Then let's take things one at a time."

Kenneth Hyde made way for Tanes, who came up to the front of the caravan.

This caravan was much larger than any dwarf caravan that had come here before. At least at a glance, Tanes could see that there were no less than ten carriages. Judging from the ruts in the mud, the carriages were probably loaded with a lot of stuff.

And... Tanes also noticed that these carriages seemed to have been attacked. Some of the innocuous parts had scars that could not be repaired in time, and the armed followers also had traces of bandages on their wounds.

"Greetings, my lord. I am from Los Arnach of Gondor, a land as beautiful as flowers and snow." The leading merchant spoke. He had already guessed Tanes' identity through Kenneth Hyde's actions.

The businessman looked to be a middle-aged man in his forties. He had blue eyes, long, neatly combed blond hair, and a neatly trimmed blond beard. He looked ordinary, but thanks to his decent attire, he gave a good impression.

However, the long journey made his face inevitably show fatigue, but after seeing Tanes, he still tried his best to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor and even tidied up his dusty clothes a little.

Tanes noticed that the other merchants lowered their heads slightly after this merchant spoke, and he realized that he was the real boss of this caravan.

Tanes said, "But I have heard from my ministers that you have no way to prove that you are merchants from Gondor. How can I trust you?"

"Uh..." An embarrassed expression immediately appeared on the businessman's face.

He pulled out a silver badge from his bosom. The badge had a flower symbol engraved on it. "My name is Guy. This badge is the crest of my family. Everyone in Gondor knows it."

Tanes raised an eyebrow. "But this is the Golden Tree. What I need is a document that can prove your identity, not a family crest."

From this point, Tanes has already felt the difference between dwarves and humans in this world.

Dwarves are very sensitive about this kind of thing. They always carry documents proving their identity, which are written in great detail and formality, often several pages long.

Due to the dwarves' somewhat exaggerated habit, even the transaction list written down when trading with them can be used as a document proving one's identity.

The human in front of him wanted to use a badge to prove that it would be fine if he was in the territory of Gondor or even Rohan, but unfortunately this was not Gondor or Rohan.

Guy could only take back the badge. After all, facing a powerful wizard (Guy had heard), he dared not and could not express his dissatisfaction.

Only a retard would lose his temper, but Guy is not that kind of retard, otherwise he would not have been sent by his own family as a representative to the wizard territory.

So Guy could only say helplessly, "My Lord, to be honest, we were attacked by Orcs on the way here, losing many men. We luckily escaped them by escaping to Shabad. But Shabad has long been in ruins, making it impossible to travel normally. We also lost several wagons while passing through the swamps, and the certificate happened to be placed with the valuable cargo of one of them. If it weren't for that damned attack, the caravan you see would be even larger. I really only have my family crest to prove my identity now, so I hope my Lord will take notice."

"Oak...well, I can see that you have indeed experienced an attack." Tanes nodded, actually believing what he said in his heart.

Because Roger and D had just told him about the situation in Shabad not long ago, if he had not gone there and entered it in person, he would never know what the situation was like inside Shabad.

What's more, when a normal person finds that Shabad is full of impassable swamps, he will definitely choose to bypass it.

Since Guy chose to go through Shabad head-on, it means that he really has no way out because of Oak's pursuit.

Hearing Tanes' words, Guy finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you for your tolerance and kindness, Lord."

Tanes said, "Don't be so quick to thank me. I believe your identity for now, but I don't know what goods you want to sell."

Guy had initially breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the first half, but relaxed when he heard the second half. He quickly smiled and said, "That's easy to say. Los Arnach is a land rich in flowers and fruits, so this time I've brought a lot of Gondorian fruits and flower seeds. Of course, the fruits I brought are very easy to preserve and will definitely not spoil. As for the flower seeds, I've brought corresponding flower specimens for each category, so that the residents of your territory can easily choose and purchase them."

Fruit and flower seeds? Seems pretty good.

Tanes nodded subtly, then pointed to the largest, most heavily packed carriage in the middle and asked, "What's in that carriage?" Guy glanced left and right, then took a slight step forward and whispered, "My Lord, those are some insignificant gifts in gratitude for your generosity and kindness."

Tanis remembered what Gandalf had said to him. He could see that these people actually came for his reputation as a wizard, and they would definitely not be the last batch.

He didn't say anything, but looked at Kenneth Hyde: "Kenneth, you lead this caravan into the territory."

"As you command, Your Majesty Tanes," Kenneth Hyde agreed and walked over.

As Kenneth Hyde passed by Tanes, Tanes whispered quickly, "Remember to find a few familiar dwarves when they sell things, so that these people won't raise the price."

"Okay." Kenneth Hyde quickly replied in a low voice.

Then, a friendly smile spread across his face, and he quickly walked towards Guy: "Mr. Guy, please have your caravan follow me. I will arrange an area for you to sell your goods."

It was obvious that Guy wanted to say something more to Tanes, but under Kenneth Hyde's enthusiastic invitation, he could only swallow his words temporarily, and left with Kenneth Hyde with the same flattering smile on his face.

Let the equally sophisticated and smooth Kenneth Hyde handle this troublesome task of trying to make friends.

Tanes thought silently in his heart.

The caravan's carriage slowly drove into the Golden Tree's territory. At the same time, the group of people dressed as refugees who had been silent suddenly became agitated, and several middle-aged men trotted over.

"Shh-!"

The knight commander who was in charge of maintaining order instantly drew out the greatsword from behind him and stood in front of Tanes.

The sword in his hand gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and the soldiers of the King's Army under his command also drew their weapons and aimed at the people who were jogging over.

Three men were frightened and stopped in their tracks. Only the man in the front kept waving something in his hand and did not stop to move forward.

That looks like a letter?

Tanes held out his hand and said, "Put away your weapons and let that man come."

The Knight Commander did not hesitate at all and immediately put the Knight's Sword back into the scabbard behind his back. At the same time, the soldiers of the King's Army also put their weapons back to their original positions in unison.

However, the Knight Commander only moved slightly to the side and did not completely expose Tanes' figure.

Although sometimes Tanes wanted to say that he didn't need their protection given his own strength, he quickly thought of his position in the hearts of these knights and soldiers, so he just let them do as they pleased.

The man got closer and closer, and at the same time he began to shout: "Lord Tanes, is this Lord Tanes?"

Um, how did he know my name?

Tanes subconsciously looked at Nepheli Lu beside him, only to find that the female warrior was also looking at him with confusion.

The man did not foolishly run directly to Tanes, but stopped about ten steps away from him and showed Tanes the worn and tattered letter in his hand.

Tanes asked, "Where did you hear my name?"

The man was panting. The run just now had consumed a lot of his physical strength. When he got closer, the cold gazes of the Knight Commander and the soldiers made him shrink the courage he had finally mustered.

He answered intermittently, "Yes, it was a grey-robed wizard named Gandalf. Our village was destroyed by the Orcs, and he saved us from the Orcs' butcher knife. He then wrote this letter, telling us to go to the southwest continent. In the land of Minhiriath, there is a magical golden tree. That is the hometown of a wizard named Tanes."

Tanis's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Gandalf? Have you seen Gandalf? Where is he now?"

The man shook his head in confusion. "I don't know. After the kind wizard gave me the letter, he continued to head east."

Tanes felt a little lost. He said, "Give me the letter. Let me take a look."

The man subconsciously glanced at the alert Knight Commander, moved closer bit by bit, and handed over the letter.

The Knight Commander took a step forward and took the letter, and the sharp-eyed Tanes had already noticed that there was a rune symbol on the seal of the envelope that he had seen before, which was the one that Gandalf had demonstrated in front of him.

"Give it to me. This letter was indeed written by Gandalf." Tanes said. The knight commander, who was about to check whether the envelope was coated with poison, immediately handed it over respectfully.

My dear Tanes, when you read this letter, it means you have seen these poor people. I know this is an unreasonable request, but apart from your territory, I really can't think of anyone else who can take in these people whose homes were destroyed by the Orcs. Perhaps they will freeze to death or starve to death in the coming winter before they can find a place to take them in.

I encountered them near the Glanduin River. Not only are Orcs destroying their villages, but even trolls are fleeing from the mountains. This means Middle-earth will soon be in turmoil, and I still haven't found any trace of Thorin's father. However, Thorin's plan to conquer the Lonely Mountain can no longer be delayed. The Dwarves must reclaim the mountain and establish a reliable defense before the terrible upheaval strikes. Therefore, I have decided to search for Thrain for one final month. If I still can't find him, I will seek out Thorin in the Blue Mountains and help him launch his expedition to the Lonely Mountain.

Finally, I ask you once again to take these poor people in. Please trust this old man. They are kind folks skilled in farming and herding, not idle vagrants. They will definitely help rebuild your territory.

【Gandalf, thank you for your generosity and kindness.】

(End of this chapter)