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

Chapter 61: Excitement before the Hike

After hearing Thorin's words, Balin nodded and took out five thick stacks of paper contracts from his loose maroon clothes.

Balin smiled and said, "These are routine procedures, mainly including cash expenses, contract duration, due remuneration, and funeral arrangements."

Bilbo's originally relaxed expression immediately tensed up when he heard the last word.

After Balin handed one of the contracts to Bilbo, he stood up and handed the remaining four to Tanes and the others.

Tanes quickly scanned the contract handed over by Bahrain, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it, he quickly wrote his name on it.

After Tanes signed his own name, both Millicent and Egon signed their own names without even looking at the contract.

Bernal took a quick look, but was soon dazzled by the dense rules and regulations and instructions on the dwarf contract, and then signed his name.

As for our Hobbit, after hearing what Barin said about the "funeral arrangements", he began to read it word by word. In addition, Hobbits are also sensitive to contractual documents, so he read it very carefully.

Bilbo opened all the contracts in his hand. The long contracts were almost as tall as the Hobbit.

"Oh..." Bilbo mused, looking at the Common words written in Dwarven art.

[The conditions are as follows: Remuneration will be paid upon completion of the transaction. If there is any profit, it will not be less than nor exceed one seventeenth of the total profit.]

Bilbo nodded secretly: "Well, that's fair."

[We are not responsible for any injuries caused by the following reasons, or any sustained injuries caused by these reasons, including but not limited to: dismemberment...]

?

Bilbo checked that he was not mistaken and glanced at Balin.

And Balin, the kind dwarf smiled politely at Bilbo.

Bilbo looked down at the contract again and continued reading.

[The organs are removed from the body and burned to ashes.]

Bilbo slammed the contract shut and held it in his hand.

The adventurous spirit he had finally mustered and the blood of the Tuk family were frightened by these few words.

Bofur was amused and asked deliberately, "What's the matter, our Master Baggins?"

Bilbo took a deep breath and exhaled, patted his chest and said, "It's nothing, I just feel that there are too many dwarves in the house. They have taken away all my fresh air."

Gandalf glared at Bofur again, his straight eyebrows almost raised, and said, "Don't scare Bilbo's hard-earned courage away, or else without him to sneak into the Lonely Mountain to steal the Arkenstone, you will have to confront the evil dragon who is familiar with the smell of dwarves."

Bofur fell silent immediately.

Balin looked at Bilbo, who was breathing heavily, and asked with concern, "Are you okay, brother?"

Bilbo patted his chest again and said, "Well, I'm much better now. At least I won't faint."

Balin nodded and asked, "So, is our Mr. Snitch ready to sign his own name on this contract?"

Bilbo pursed his lips. "Well, actually I can sign it, but..."

As mentioned before, he was indeed a coward. Just some of the text descriptions in the contract made Bilbo, who had a very rich imagination, think of the scene of his tragic death under the claws of Smaug.

Bilbo looked at Gandalf and Tanis separately and asked, "But can you guarantee that I can come back safely?"

Gandalf was about to reply, but Tanis spoke before him, "I cannot guarantee your return, Bilbo. But I can assure you of one thing: you will be safe from all danger until I am dead. Any enemy who wishes to harm you must step over my fallen body."

Bilbo looked at Tanes, and he did not see any fear of the unknown dangers in the other's eyes.

Gandalf said kindly, "Bilbo, I remember when you were little, you always left home to go into the woods to look for elves. You would stay out late, returning home after dark, covered in mud, twigs, and glowworms. What the little hobbit wanted to know most was what lay beyond the Shire."

Bilbo sighed and said, "Yes, yes, Gandalf, I know what you mean. The world is not in my book, nor in my map; it is outside my window."

Then he smiled and looked at Tanes: "Tanes, remember when we first parted, I asked you if I should go out for a walk."

Tanes nodded: "Of course, I still remember how I answered you. Do you have the answer to that question in your heart now?"

Bilbo raised the thick stack of contracts in his hand, walked to the table, took a pen and signed his name. "Yes, I think in addition to reading your adventure stories from books, I also want to write a story about my own adventures. If I could come back, maybe I would be different from what I am now."

When Gandalf heard what Bilbo said, he looked at the timid yet brave Hobbit with gentle eyes.

After signing his name, Bilbo looked up at the people at the table and asked, "So what should we do next? Do we need to hold another dinner for me and Tanes' friends to join the expedition smoothly?"

Bombur, who was stroking his big belly, nodded excitedly after hearing Bilbo's words: "That's great!"

Kili rolled his eyes at Bombur. "We are not like you. Bilbo already made sure we were all well fed at the dinner just now!"

Bilbo scratched his head. "I don't know how much you ate, but I think there should be some leftovers in the kitchen, enough for a midnight snack."

Fili said quickly, "Thank you for your sentiments, Mr. Bilbo, but we really can't eat any more."

Bilbo saw that even the two dwarves, Balin and Dwalin, shook their heads, and then he said indifferently, "All right then."

Tanis laughed good-naturedly. "I had forgotten that hobbits have the habit of eating several meals a day. Look, Bilbo, you are already better than the dwarves in terms of eating alone."

However, a dwarf immediately objected. Gloin shouted, "The dwarf's strength isn't eating, but drinking! Master Baggins, do you want to challenge us to a drinking contest?"

Bilbo looked around at the dwarves, all of whom perked up at the mention of "wine," and said quickly, "If there's nothing else to do, I think we can just disband and get some rest. When does this adventure start? Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?"

Then he said to himself, "Oh, I ought to have locked my door after I went, lest the Lobelias should get their eye on Bag End and steal all my silver while I was gone."

Thorin said, "I think you should go and pack your luggage for your long journey, Mr. Snitch. We will leave early tomorrow morning, so you don't have much time to pack slowly."

Dwarves never procrastinate; once they decide on their destination, they set out immediately. Tanis was used to the dwarves' ways, but Bilbo obviously had not expected the dwarves to set out so early.

This made him a little confused for a moment, and he didn't know what to bring.

A sleeping bag for the night, a light and convenient quilt, and clean clothes to change into. Maybe I should also bring some soap or something so that I can take a bath or wash clothes by the river.

Bilbo began to get excited. This was the first time he decided to travel far away and go on an adventure with wizards and dwarves. His heart couldn't help but beat fast.

I'm afraid Bilbo will have trouble sleeping tonight.

Tanes said at this time: "Why not take this opportunity to introduce to you the helpers I brought with me on this trip!"

Thorin heard this and smiled happily. "Okay, then be quiet. Let's listen to what powerful helpers the great wizard, Tanes, the lord of the golden tree, has brought us!"

Bilbo, who was already very excited, quickly moved a stool and sat down at the dining table, pricked up his ears and opened his eyes wide, waiting attentively for Tanis' words.

The dwarves fell silent, and except for Fili and Kili, the other dwarves looked at Tanes eagerly.

Thorin mainly wanted to let his compatriots other than Fili and Kili know how powerful the three humans who came with Tanes were, in order to boost morale.

After all, they were facing the evil dragon that destroyed their hometown. Thorin knew that although these brave dwarf compatriots responded to his call, they must still be afraid of Smaug in their hearts.

He sent many letters to Tanes, and Tanes replied to them all seriously, including introducing to Thorin the three humans who came with Tanes.

Bernard, there is no need to explain this. Thorin knew that the other party was the teacher of Fili and Kili, and he saw it with his own eyes.

The growth of Fili and Kili was obvious to him and the other dwarves. Although their personalities had not changed much, their strength was far greater than it was last year.

The dwarves actually knew about Bernal from Fili and Kili, so when Tanes introduced him, they all applauded enthusiastically.

Although Bernard had never taught other dwarves, Fili and Kili, who also regarded them as crown princes, had already regarded Bernard as the dwarves' mentor, which was why they were so enthusiastic.

Bilbo was secretly surprised, because he knew that Bernal was a human with similar strength to Tanes, and Tanes told him this himself.

[Quasi-King] Bernal, he remembered that Tanes called him that.

Wait, could it be that these three humans Tanes brought with him are all legends that appeared in his story?
So Bilbo looked carefully, and first he looked at the beautiful, silent woman sitting next to Tanis.

With her crimson hair and striking golden metal prosthetic hand, she must be the "Miss Millicent" that Mr. Tanes mentioned! A swordsman with noble character!

The other old man was wearing armor that looked like it was pieced together, and his pupils were like dragon pupils when they were erected. He must be Mr. Egon, the [Dragon Warrior] who had faced the [Mad Dragon] Beile together with Mr. Tanes!
Bilbo almost cried out in excitement.

He never thought that he would be able to go on adventures with three legends in the story.

Oh my god, I actually met a living legend.

While Bilbo was feeling emotionally stirred, Tanis finished introducing Millicent and Egon.

However, compared to Millicent, the dwarves paid more attention to Egon. After all, his name was [Dragon Warrior].

And their final enemy on this journey is Smaug, an evil dragon.

"That's great. We have a powerful dragon slayer following us this time. Smaug will definitely die in his hands!" Bofur said happily.

Egon laughed loudly and said, "I promised Tanes that I would plunge my harpoon into the dragon's body even if it meant risking my life!"

Harpoon?

The dwarves, like Millicent at the beginning, looked confused when they heard Aegon talk about harpoons.

Tanes added promptly: "What Aegon called a harpoon was actually an arrow he made from some kind of rock that resembles dragon scales."

The dwarves' confused expressions disappeared and they began to shout at each other again, all talking nonsense and belittling Smaug.

Thorin slapped the table again and said loudly, "Well, Mr. Tanis has finished introducing the powerful allies he brought with him. Now it's time to rest! Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, you three brothers, help our Snitch Master clean up the kitchen. The others can find a room to rest."

Bilbo came back to his senses after hearing Thorin's words and quickly stood up from his seat. "There are many rooms in Bag End, but it's a bit winding. Let me lead the way."

The night passed, and Bilbo was too excited to sleep, as expected, so he started to check if everything was ready for the next day.

It was not until dawn that he closed his bright eyes due to fatigue and fell headfirst onto the bed.

But poor Bilbo felt he had not slept long before he was shaken awake.

"Hey, hey, Mr. Snitch, wake up." Bofur came to Bilbo's bed and shook his shoulders.

Bilbo groaned tiredly, his eyes half-awake, and yawned as he half-sat up from the warm bed. "Are we going to set off?"

Bofur smiled at the sleepy hobbit and nodded, saying, "Yes, Thorin and the others are already outside, ready. You are the only one missing."

Then Bofur looked down at a suitcase and two bulging sacks beside the bed and asked, "Are these the luggage you are taking?"

Bilbo nodded, still in shock. "Yes, that's them... Well, where are you taking them?"

Bofur hung the suitcase over his shoulder, then easily picked up the Hobbit's large cloth bag with his left and right hands, raised his foot and was about to turn around.

He turned around after hearing Bilbo's cry and said in confusion, "Of course I'm helping you carry it out the door."

Bilbo's sleepiness flew away, and he woke up and asked quickly, "Wait, going out? Don't you need breakfast? Shouldn't we eat and drink enough before setting out in the warm morning sunshine?"

Bofur suddenly understood and smiled, shaking his head. "No, we can just make a quick breakfast while we're riding. Hurry up, Bilbo, and don't keep Thorin and the others waiting."

Then the dwarf walked out of Bag End with the hobbits' luggage without looking back.

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(End of this chapter)