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

Chapter 60: Tuke's Blood in My Heart

Bilbo subconsciously stood behind Tanes and asked, "Expedition? What expedition?"

Gandalf did not answer directly, but coughed and said, "Bilbo, bring us a lamp and give us more light."

Bilbo curled his lips, but our lovely Hobbit still prepared to bring a lantern as Gandalf said.

Tanis stopped Bilbo, holding a staff in his hand, and said with a smile, "Bilbo, there is no need to go to so much trouble."

Then, in Bilbo's surprised eyes, he gently waved his staff and cast the [Starlight] magic. A soft light blue light instantly filled the entire room, making it brighter.

"Oh! Although I heard Mr. Roger mention that you can cast witchcraft, I was still surprised when I saw it for the first time." Bilbo said, looking at the ball of light above Tanis's head.

Tanes replied, "It's just a trifle, a very simple spell."

Then he looked at Gandalf and said jokingly, "And our Gandalf also knows this level of illumination magic, but he just wants to make someone forget a problem for a while."

Gandalf coughed loudly, pulled a map from his grey robes, and spread it on the table in front of Thorin.

Thorin was not too surprised because he already knew that Gandalf had this map when he met him in Stonewell before.

But even so, his eyes could not hide his excitement as he carefully looked at the map that Gandalf took out.

Bilbo curiously stepped out from behind Tanis and came to Gandalf's side. He looked at the annotation on the map and slowly read: "The Lonely... Mountain...?"

Gandalf nodded. "Yes, far away in the east, beyond the mountains and rivers, beyond the woods and the heaths, there lies a lonely mountain. That is the destination of our journey, my good lad, Bilbo."

Bilbo said nothing, but stared at the map in a trance.

After Gandalf produced the map, Gloin looked at Ori, the most knowledgeable, and said, "Ori has read the omen, and the omen says: The time has come."

His brother Oin added, "Yes, I heard from those tall humans from the east that ravens have already flown back to the mountains. This is exactly the same omen that Ori interpreted."

Ori nodded. "If the birds of old return to the Lonely Mountain, the reign of the beasts will end. That's what the prophecy says."

prophecy?

When Tanis saw Gandalf, he always felt that this prophecy was related to Gandalf.

Sure enough, Gandalf gave Tanis a knowing smile.

At this moment, Bilbo's face changed. He turned his attention away from the map and looked at everyone sitting there. He even raised his hand politely and asked, "Uh, beast? What beast?"

Bofur put down his recorder and said, "Smaug the Terrible, of course, the greatest scourge of the world."

"Smaug? Who is it? Or what creature is it?" Bilbo asked again.

Bofur patiently continued, "It is a dragon. It flies in the sky and breathes fire. It has teeth like razors and claws like butcher hooks. It also loves precious metals."

Bilbo scratched his head. "Yes, I know what dragons are like. But they don't sound very scary."

The dwarves looked at the hobbit in surprise, obviously surprised by what he had just said.

Bilbo said quickly, "I'm serious. I really don't think Smaug is scary at all."

Thorin laughed out loud: "It seems that our Master Baggins does have some courage."

Bofur said curiously, "Even if it burns you to ashes in the blink of an eye? It's like the furnace has wings. The flame flashes, the burning pain passes, and puff, and you are ashes."

Bilbo then looked a little unhappy, and taking a few steps back said, "Oh, this is indeed not so good. But compared with the dragons I have heard of, it is still quite ordinary."

Gandalf glared at Bofur, and Bofur said nothing more.

But Balin, who had just exchanged some stories with Aegon, asked, "What dragon have you ever heard of that is more terrible than Smaug?"

Gandalf also looked over with interest. He subconsciously thought that Bilbo had heard the story of the Black Dragon Ancalagon.

But Bilbo's answer surprised Gandalf. He pointed at Tanis and said, "It's the dragon Mr. Tanis told me about, Folshanks the Dead Dragon. That's the name. I can't remember it wrong, because I happened to be writing about Mr. Tanis's adventures recently."

Thorin frowned, and the dwarves looked at each other and whispered.

None of them had heard of the dragon's name, and they looked at Tanes, as if they wanted to ask, but were afraid that their questions would disturb the other party.

Gandalf glanced at Tanis, he knew that the dragon was most likely from the other's hometown.

Balin asked kindly, "Could you describe it to us, Mr. Bilbo Baggins?"

Baggins nodded. "Of course. Mr. Tanes told me that Fulshanks is an ancient dragon covered in hard rock scales. However, due to absorbing too much death power, it has turned black. The lightning it releases is still crimson dragon lightning, but it can also release a black and gold cursed mist that can kill people instantly."

Black and gold?
Gandalf and Thorin saw each other at the same time, and realized from each other's eyes that they were thinking the same thing.

That is the golden tree with a double helix structure in the territory of the Tanes Golden Tree, and the forked half of it is black and gold.

It is indeed related to death, Gandalf thought silently.

Thorin didn't have so many thoughts. On the contrary, he thought that since Tanis could tell Bilbo this adventure story, it meant that he survived the claws of the dead dragon.

Bofur made an admiring expression towards Tanes and asked, "Mr. Tanes, what happened to the dragon?"

Tanes said simply, "Dead."

Fili and Qili nodded heavily. It was obvious that this result was in line with their imagination of their teacher's ability.

Thorin coughed, drawing the dwarves' attention back to him, and said, "Well, now that we have the map, I'm sure our wizard will have something else to say."

Balin nodded in agreement and said, "Of course. We all know that the main gate of the Lonely Mountain has been blocked. We must need another way to enter. Mr. Gandalf must have come to tell us this method."

Gandalf smiled at Balin and said, "You are right, Balin. I do have a way for you to enter the Lonely Mountain."

Then, the seemingly elderly wizard cleared his throat and said, "Your presence here means that you all understand that Thorin's plan does not have the support of the seven dwarf kingdoms, because they are only loyal to the true dwarf king. I am of course aware of the position that Thorin holds in your hearts, but only by obtaining the Arkenstone can Thorin's status as king be recognized. And the Arkenstone is buried under countless mountains of gold by the evil dragon, so we need a thief to sneak into the Lonely Mountain and steal the gem."

Then he looked at Bilbo with a smile and said, "And I happen to know a secret side door in the Lonely Mountain that can let our thief in. Smaug is very familiar with the smell of dwarves, but he certainly has never smelled a hobbit."

Bilbo pointed at himself in surprise, his eyes wide with uncertainty as he asked, "Snitch? Me?"

Oin, who had his hearing aids in his ears, asked loudly, "Do you think you are a skilled thief?" Bilbo naturally shook his head: "I am a thief? Don't be ridiculous."

Then Oin took off his hearing aid and laughed, saying, "He said he was!"

The dwarves started making noise again, leaving Bilbo standing there at a loss, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Thorin couldn't stand the noise around him anymore and shouted, "Enough! Quiet down!"

The noise made by the dwarves seemed to have been muted. Thorin finally looked at Bilbo with his own eyes. After a few seconds of silence, he looked at him and asked, "Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you ever fought?"

Bilbo didn't quite catch it. "Excuse me, what?"

Thorin didn't care and said, "Axe or sword, what weapon are you good at?"

Bilbo imitated Thorin's tone and said, "If you must ask, I am better at cutting bacon into pieces. But obviously, that is not what a burglar should do."

Then he sighed and said, "I am not a thief. You have found the wrong person. If you are looking for a host who can provide you with a banquet venue, it must be me. But thief, I'm sorry, I have never stolen anything since I was a child."

Thorin nodded. "I think so."

Balin also said: "I agree with Mr. Baggins. He is not the material of a burglar."

Dwalin looked at Bilbo, who looked anything but a warrior, and added, "And the wilderness is not for a good man. He can neither fight nor take care of himself."

Bilbo nodded vigorously.

Gandalf looked at Bilbo, somewhat disappointed.

The dwarves started a new round of quarrel over whether Bilbo Baggins could be the Snitch.

Just when Gandalf couldn't help but want to shout to quiet the dwarves, Tanis's voice suddenly rang out.

"Excuse me, everyone, but could I ask Bilbo a few questions?" Tanis asked gently.

Thorin immediately slammed the table hard, quieting the dwarves and making Bilbo feel sorry for his table for a second.

Bilbo looked at Tanes and met his smiling gaze.

For some reason, Bilbo felt that Tanes had seen through some of his inner thoughts, which made his heart beat fast.

He actually also hoped that Tanes could give him a push.

"What did you want to ask me?" Bilbo asked, not even noticing that his tone was becoming somewhat hopeful.

As a shrewd man, Gandalf immediately noticed the emotion in Bilbo's tone. He had been thinking about how to persuade Bilbo, but now it seemed that there was no need.

Tanis asked, "Bilbo, what do you think of the stories I have told you about my adventures?"

Bilbo praised without hesitation: "Excellent! I never thought a person's adventure story could be so colorful."

Tanis nodded, then looked at the puzzled looks of the surrounding dwarves and said, "Bilbo, you can refuse these dwarves and ask them to help you clean up your house and then leave immediately. Don't worry about the burglars anymore. I can assure you that they will never dare to complain about you."

The dwarves, led by Balin and Dwalin, looked at Tanis with puzzled expressions. They didn't understand why Tanis would take the initiative to give Bilbo a chance to refuse.

Gandalf leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, as if he didn't care what Bilbo's final choice was.

As the person involved, Bilbo himself was naturally surprised.

He looked at Tanes, who said to him again, "I'm serious, Bilbo. As your friend, I don't like you being forced or coerced into doing anything, because you may not be ready for an adventure. So as long as you say no, I will help you settle it."

Then Tanes glanced towards the kitchen and said with a smile, "Of course, I will also replenish the food that the dwarves ate tonight."

Bilbo whispered subconsciously: "That's not the case."

"Ah."

Thorin was closer to Bilbo, so he heard the hobbit's voice. He laughed and then closed his eyes like Gandalf.

Tanis smiled and asked, "And what is your answer, Bilbo?"

"I……"

Of course I wanted to refuse.

Bilbo felt that he should be able to say it immediately, but the words did not come out of his mouth.

Then Bilbo shut up again, and paced back and forth.

There was something Took in him that had been awakened when he had heard the stories of Tanes, and the coming of the dwarves had only intensified it.

He wanted to see mountains, to hear the sound of pine trees and waterfalls, to explore caves, and to carry a sword instead of a cane.

The dwarves looked at each other, and seemed to have noticed that what the hobbit was thinking was different from what they thought, and they couldn't help laughing.

Bilbo also noticed that the atmosphere in the room had become somewhat humorous. He sighed and said, "Okay, okay, I admit that I am actually very timid and indeed not a thief, but I want to join this adventure. But I am afraid that I will lose my life, Tanis. Your adventure stories are very thrilling and almost cost you your life every time. But it is so attractive to me..."

He lowered his head, revealing a helpless smile, not wanting others to see his expression. He said in a self-deprecating tone, "Perhaps this reason I gave will make you laugh at me. Well, go ahead and laugh at me. I'm a Hobbit who's afraid of death but yearns for adventure."

But no one criticized him, which made Bilbo look up in surprise.

Then he heard Tanis say helplessly to Gandalf: "In fact, you saw what Bilbo's heart longed for from the beginning, so you chose him?"

Gandalf cleared the dust from his cigarette and said with a smile, "That's just one of the reasons. I also know that the Took blood in him won't let him stay in Bag End for the rest of his life. Of course, the more important point is that Hobbits walk very lightly. In fact, if they want to, they can go unnoticed by anyone. I believe Bilbo's abilities are far greater than you think."

He finally looked at Thorin and said, "Only this one thing do you have to trust me."

Thorin turned around and looked at Bilbo seriously again, then turned to Gandalf and said, "Well, let's do as you say."

Then he said to Balin, "Give Bilbo the contract, and also give him the contract between Mr. Tanes and his three friends."

　Thanks to Moyexiang and Elune for the Qidian coins! ! (The tough guy kneels down)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)