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

Chapter 62 Home is behind you, and the world is in front of you

Bilbo hurriedly put on his warm clothes and walked out of Bag End.

The stone path outside his fence was crowded with ponies, with dwarfs sitting in the saddles.

At this time, Hobbiton was very quiet, and more than 90% of the Hobbits were still sleeping soundly.

It was already nine in the morning when they opened their eyes. After enjoying a hearty breakfast, the Hobbits' day would begin.

As for the remaining 10%, they were patrolmen carrying lanterns and a certain big shot who was woken up by the dwarf.

The dwarves spoke to each other in low voices because they were worried that their voices would be too loud and disturb the hobbits who were still asleep.

"Actually, I think we can really have breakfast before setting off." Bilbo said, looking at Thorin who was riding on his horse, wondering what he was thinking.

He noticed that Thorin had a pendant around his neck compared to last night. It was an old, aged black iron key, about the size of his palm.

It was last night, after the dwarves had gone to bed, that Gandalf found the key to the side door of Lonely Mountain that Thorin had given him, and by the way, he exchanged some news about Thorin's father with him.

Obviously, Gandalf did not bring good news, so Thorin was in a slightly depressed mood this morning.

Thorin noticed Bilbo's gaze, put the key into his collar, and replied: "We must set off as soon as possible, and I think you should be well prepared in advance. This is not a journey, but an expedition, Master Burglar."

Then he looked at Fili and Kili and said, "Give our hobbit a pony."

"No, no, that's not necessary. I still need to lock the door. Thank you, I can definitely keep up with you on foot. I've always loved hiking. I tell you, I once walked all the way to Frogtown..."

Bilbo was still thinking of refusing, as he felt that he could catch up with Thorin and the others just by using his legs.

In fact, it was because he had never ridden a horse before, so he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of everyone.

Then Fili and Kili each grabbed one of his shoulders and lifted him up.

Bilbo let out a cry of panic as he was placed on the saddle of a pony.

Just now, Bofur had hung all of Bilbo's luggage on the pony.

Fili smiled and patted Bilbo's shoulder: "Relax, she is a good girl and will not throw you to the ground."

Qili added from the other side, "Only if you don't hurt her. Pay attention to the reins in your hands and don't use too much force."

At this time, Tanis came over riding Torret. Even though Bilbo was sitting on the pony, Torret was still half a body taller than him.

The wise horse snorted at Bilbo, and it was obvious that he remembered the hobbit and the sweet apples he had fed to Torret last time.

"Oh, Tanis. Good morning?" Bilbo's voice was trembling because he had never ridden a horse before.

Tanis smiled and said, "Good morning, my dear Bilbo. Don't be nervous. Relax your body. You will soon feel sore in your hips if you keep tensing like this. Leave it to your horse. If all else fails, you can bribe it with an apple."

Bilbo felt the unsteadiness of his hips and said, "I wanted to use the apple, but I left in such a hurry that I didn't even lock the door! Yes, I didn't lock the door!"

At this time, Bofur passed by and threw a bunch of keys to Bilbo. Bilbo reached out to catch it and found that it was the key to his own house.

Bilbo looked at Bofur and asked, "How did you get the key to my house?"

Bofur said matter-of-factly, "I found it by your bed this morning, just before I woke you up. Don't worry, Mr. Burglar, I checked your door carefully and locked it for you."

Then he rode away on his pony, which was about the same size as Bilbo, humming a song.

Bilbo started to speak but stopped himself. He tried to raise his hand but then realized he was sitting on a horse and put it down again, holding the reins tightly.

Finally, he looked at Tanes and complained, "I think he is a better thief than me. Sometimes I really don't know what the dwarves are thinking."

Tanes nodded in agreement. "That's true, but once you get used to the ways of these dwarves, I think you'll fall in love with them."

"Me? Falling in love with these dwarves is such a bad joke," Bilbo said in surprise.

He finally looked back at Bag End, which was gradually retreating behind him, and sighed: "But no matter what, the journey has begun."

"Yes, Bilbo. The world is before your eyes, and your home is behind you. The legendary journey of a hobbit has just begun in a hurry." Gandalf came over with a smile on his face.

Bilbo just gave an awkward but polite smile to the wizard who was always preaching, and then suddenly sneezed.

Tanis asked with concern, "What's wrong, Bilbo? Are you feeling a little cold? I have some small cold-weather items I can lend you."

Bilbo's nose seemed to be about to burst, and he said as he rummaged in his pockets, "No, it's horsehair... I need to find my handkerchief."

But Bilbo did not find his handkerchief in his pocket.

Oh, I won't leave him at home, will I?
Bilbo's eyes widened, and he turned around suddenly. He was about to shout loudly to ask the team to stop so that he could go home and get his handkerchief.

Bofur slackened his pace again, and Bilbo came up to him at that moment.

He looked at Bilbo's actions and said with an expression of astonishment, "I put your handkerchief in the right pocket beside the horse's belly. When I was locking the door for you just now, I saw your handkerchief fall out of the pocket and onto the floor."

Bilbo looked at Bofur and at the same time felt in the pocket beside the horse's belly, and sure enough, he felt a soft, clean handkerchief that exuded a sweet fragrance.

"Oh, er, thank you." Bilbo nodded.

Bofur nodded as well. "You're welcome."

Then he rode back to his brothers Biff and Bombur, humming happily as before.

As an aside, because Bombur is much heavier than a normal dwarf, the dwarf's pony cannot bear it, so he rides a normal-sized horse, which he shares with his brother Biff.

Tanes said at this time: "There shouldn't be any problems now, right?"

Bilbo curled his lips. "To be honest, I have some. I got up so early and haven't had breakfast yet. Now my stomach is growling. Not only that, I haven't put on my hat yet, let alone my wallet. I'm penniless now, not a penny at all."

Gandalf came over with a smile, holding a lot of hats in his hands. "There are many kinds of hats here, my dear Bilbo, which one do you want to choose?"

Bilbo cried out in surprise, "Where did you get all those hats, Gandalf?"

"This kind of question is nothing but a trick for wizards, Bilbo Baggins." Gandalf waved his hand, and finally changed it to Bilbo's favorite light brown flat-billed hat and handed it over.

Bilbo took it, put it on, and then asked, "The hat problem is solved. I don't think you need me to pay for anything with the money... So how do we solve the problem of breakfast? Let's make it clear that we hobbits will not feel hungry until we have eaten two breakfasts."

Millicent happened to be riding a normal horse next to Tanis. After hearing this, she subconsciously asked, "Why do you not feel hungry if you eat two meals?" Bilbo smiled and said, "Because by the time the second meal is over, it will be almost noon and time for lunch."

Millicent was surprised at the hobbit's appetite and looked at Tanis, who shrugged.

Thorin, who was in the front, rode his horse and turned downhill.

Next behind him came his two nephews, Fili and Kili, and then Balin and Dwalin.

Next came Oin and Gloin, distant relatives of Balin and Dwalin.

Next are Dori, Nori and Ori. Although they look inconspicuous, they are actually also royal members of the Durin family, although not direct blood relatives.

At the end were Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. Their status was not as noble as their companions in front. They were just descendants of the dwarves of Khazad-dûm.

And after that, it was Tanis, Bilbo and the others.

Gandalf rode behind Bofur on his white horse, and Bilbo's pony walked beside Gandalf, and on his right was Torret.

Gandalf and Tanis worked together to protect Bilbo in the center.

Finally, there is the combination of Bernal, Millicent and Egon.

Bernal deliberately fell behind, as he was responsible for the safety of the rear of the team.

His knight's greatsword was unsheathed, and the blade was carried on his shoulder armor, as he rode on horseback.

Because there were so many people, the expedition team was very long, which also attracted the attention of the few hobbits who got up early.

"I say, Mr. Bilbo, where are you going?" A hobbit standing by the road saw Bilbo and asked loudly.

Bilbo smiled back and said proudly, "Me? I'm going on an adventure!"

"Adventure? Oh... you must be crazy, poor Bilbo." The hobbit chewed on the word, immediately understood its meaning, and instantly lost interest in the team.

He shook his head and prepared to return to his orchard to pick vegetables and fruits for breakfast, and then sit outside the door, smoking his pipe all day.

That's what a proper hobbit would do.

Bilbo felt a little disappointed, as he thought he would receive other people's blessings.

But he soon put the hobbit's words out of his mind and began to look forward to it.

"Goo-"

But the rumbling of his stomach made Bilbo realize that what he should be looking forward to most now was when breakfast would start.

An hour after the expedition left Hobbiton and passed a pool and a meadow, Bilbo finally couldn't help but ask the question loudly.

Thorin, who was walking in front, heard Bilbo's shout, stopped his horse, turned around and said, "We have to reach the old forest tonight, so there is no way you can stop and slowly make a fire and cook, Master Burglar."

Bilbo frowned and cried, "But one must eat. I am very hungry! Aren't you hungry too?"

He looked at Tanes and asked, "Tanes, don't you think we should have breakfast?"

Tanis blinked. He really wasn't hungry yet, but he didn't want to refuse Bilbo, so he could only blink.

Then Bilbo looked at Gandalf again. "Aren't you hungry too, Gandalf?"

"Well, oh hehe...the tobacco from the Shire is really good." Gandalf naturally didn't feel hungry, so he could only talk about other things while holding the cigarette in his mouth.

Just as Bilbo was about to continue asking, Bombur's stomach suddenly made a rumbling sound.

Then the sound was like a contagion, from Bofur to Bifur, to Gloin, Dwalin, Fili and Kili, and one after another every dwarf's stomach made this sound.

"Gu..."

Even Thorin was the same.

Bilbo looked smug and raised an eyebrow at Thorin, causing the dwarf leader to look away.

Thorin said in a deep voice, "Then give us twenty minutes to quickly finish our breakfast."

The expedition team stopped temporarily. In fact, the dwarves had wanted to have breakfast for a long time, but they did not dare to make this request because of Thorin's majesty.

Bilbo was the most industrious, for he was really hungry.

He took out a frying pan and a fire starter from his luggage, and then skillfully built a fire with small stones from the soil.

The dwarves gathered some dry grass and twigs and put them inside, and Bilbo started the fire.

Then he put on a solemn expression, put a small piece of butter in the pan and spread it evenly, then put in the sausage and bacon.

The dwarves suddenly felt that the dry, cold food in their hands had no taste, and all their eyes were fixed on Bilbo's pan.

"I didn't quite catch you," Bilbo asked, shaking the pan to prevent the food from burning. "Where are we going to stay tonight?"

Thorin silently put his dry food back into the bag, looked up at Bilbo and said slowly: "Old Lin."

Bilbo smiled and nodded. "Very good, old forest...old forest?"

His smile froze, and the frying pan in his hand stopped shaking.

Bombur looked longingly at the piece of bacon he had set his eyes on, which was gradually emitting a fragrant aroma. "What's the matter with you, Bilbo? That piece of pork bacon is about to burn."

Then Bilbo uttered a rat-like shriek. "What! We're going to spend the night in the Old Wood? No, no, no, not at all! Not at all!"

Thorin frowned and asked seriously, "Why? What's the reason?"

' cried Bilbo, giving Bombur the piece of bacon in the pan. 'Because the Old Wood is mysterious and dangerous! ' They say in Hobbiton that the trees of the Old Wood will eat you in your sleep!'

Just then Bombur put the piece of bacon into his mouth, and the grease coated his lips.

(End of this chapter)