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

Chapter 64 The Unlucky Dwarf

Bilbo lay in the tent, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, so he simply threw back the covers and went out.

"What's wrong? Do you want to go to the toilet?" Bernard's voice suddenly sounded from beside Bilbo, startling the little Hobbit.

He looked over and breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized Bernard. He stretched his body and said, "I don't need to go to the bathroom. I didn't eat much last night. I just can't sleep. No matter where I lie down, I always bump into dirty branches or small stones in the dirt."

At the same time the dwarves began to snore, especially Bombur's, which sounded like thunder.

Bilbo gave a thumbs-up to where Bombur was and gave Bernard a helpless smile: "And these snorings."

Bernal was sitting by the fire, holding a greatsword in his arms, his chin covered with stubble.

He patted his side and asked, "If you really can't sleep, come and keep watch with me. Maybe after a while, you'll feel sleepy."

Bilbo thought about it, and finally nodded and walked over: "Okay."

He walked over to Bernal, first spread a clean mat on the ground, and then sat on it.

"Would you like some apples? Don't let anyone else see." Bilbo took out two shiny apples from his pocket like magic and asked Bernard.

Bernard raised his eyebrows, but did not refuse. He took the apple and took a bite. The sweet juice flowed down his esophagus into his stomach.

This cheered Bernard up a lot. He said, "Is it your hobbit habit to carry snacks with you?"

Bilbo took a bite of his apple and mumbled, "Well, I suppose I should put some food in my pockets. It will come in handy when I get hungry and it's not time for dinner yet."

Then Bilbo ate his apple and enjoyed the night view he had never seen before with great interest.

As night fell, the stars gradually faded, and the road across the plain stretched out under the hazy moonlight. From time to time, the low chirping of crickets could be heard from the grass beside the road, occasionally mingling with the howling of wild animals in the distance.

The night breeze blew gently, ruffling Bilbo's clothes and bringing with it a scent of earth and wildflowers.

Then he squinted his eyes and looked at the old forest in the distance that the hobbits had talked about for generations. Those trees didn't seem so scary.

Bernard noticed Bilbo's gaze and asked with a smile, "Do you also think there is something watching us from those woods?"

Bilbo was stunned. It was obvious that he had not expected Bernard to ask him this question.

He replied, "No, I was just thinking about how everyone I know is talking about the dangers of the old forest. But now I'm less than a few hundred meters away from the old forest, and I don't feel anything that makes me uncomfortable. As for the gazes looking this way, I think it's probably wild animals scouting around in the night. After all, we have the firelight here, so it's normal for them to notice us."

Bernal smiled meaningfully. "If only it were really just a beast hunting at night."

Bilbo shuddered at Bernard's words. He wrapped himself in his thick clothes and asked, "What do you mean? Are there other people in the old forest besides us?"

Bernard narrowed his eyes and looked at the forest. "It's hard to say. Maybe they're not even human."

Bilbo curled his lips. "What is this, time for scary stories at night?"

Bernard just smiled faintly and didn't say anything else. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, "So what do you want to talk about?"

"About Tanis, for example," said Bilbo.

Bernard glanced at Bilbo and said, "But I remember Tanes said he told you all his stories, didn't he?"

Bilbo nodded. "Yes, but he hasn't told me many details yet. For example, what is his relationship with Millicent?"

Bernard showed a surprised look. "I never thought you were such a gossipy person, Mr. Bilbo."

Bilbo shook his head repeatedly. "No, this is not gossip. I am asking seriously. Mr. Roger's last visit has already allowed me to supplement many of Tanis's adventures in detail. So I also want to know from you some aspects that Tanis may not have paid attention to."

Bernard chuckled. "That's a very novel way of gossiping, but unfortunately, I don't know the specific relationship between that female swordsman and Tanes. From what I've observed, Tanes treats her as a confidante, not a romantic interest."

Bilbo nodded in agreement.

"What are you talking about?" A voice that did not belong to Bilbo and Bernard sounded behind them, startling the former and almost causing the apple in his hand to fall to the ground.

Bernal did not react much, as he had already heard the undisguised footsteps behind him.

"Hello, Mr. Bernard." Bofur appeared with a smiling face and greeted Bernard respectfully.

Bernard nodded and gestured for the dwarf to sit over.

Bilbo, having recovered from his fright, said, "Why are you not asleep, Bofur?"

Bofur was surprised for a moment and said, "Of course I am not asleep, Bilbo. It is my watch time now."

Bilbo said, "Oh, really? I thought Mr. Bernard was the only one keeping watch."

Bofur said, "Besides me, there's Bifur. But Bifur and I just woke up and relieved Oin and Gloin."

Then he raised his head and frowned, "But they said they were going to the bathroom, but they haven't come back in nearly ten minutes. Even if they were going to the toilet, they should have finished."

Bilbo didn't care and just joked, "Maybe they both had stomach upset last night, so it took a long time."

Bernal asked seriously, "They've been gone for so long, aren't you and Biff going to go look for them?"

Bofur nodded. "Bifur went to find them, and I came to inform you, Mr. Bernard, in case Thorin woke up in the middle of the night and didn't see Bifur and me, wondering where we were."

Bilbo finished the rest of his apple and said, "I thought you were here to eavesdrop on our conversation."

Bofur nodded. "In fact, I did hear your conversation and realized Mr. Bernal was here."

Bernal interrupted the conversation and asked Bofur, "How long has Bifur been away?"

Bofur was stunned. "Not long ago, about two minutes ago."

Bernard sighed, stood up, pulled the knight's sword from its scabbard, and said to Bilbo: "Bilbo, go wake up Tanis. Bifur and the others may be in trouble, I will go to help them. Bofur, come here and show me the way."

Bilbo became nervous and nodded quickly, "Yes, Mr. Bernard."

Bofur's expression also became serious. He took a step forward, followed Bernard with a torch in hand, and pointed in a direction near the old forest.

"Brothers Oin and Gloin went in this direction because they wanted to find a more secluded place for convenience," said Bofur.

Bernard looked at them, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He said, "So they headed towards the old forest. The only thing worth praising is that they weren't stupid. At least they went there together."

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly appeared in front. Bernard immediately protected Bofur behind him, raised the knight's sword with one hand and pointed it at the place where the sound came from.

"I'm na Bifur!" The voice of the man who had heard the footsteps had evidently seen what was happening, and he spoke anxiously in Dwarvish. Bofur immediately recognized his brother's voice and hastened to explain the meaning of the words to Benar, but Benar did not lower his sword until the other man appeared within the glare of the torches.

Bofur explained, "Because my brother was hit on the head by an axe, his brain is damaged and he can only speak Dwarvish."

Then Biff glared at Bernard and said a lot of gibberish.

Bernal didn't understand, so he looked at Bofur and asked, "What is your brother talking about?"

Bofur nodded to Bifur and replied, "He said he found the shoes and the axe that fell from Oin and Gloin, but he didn't see anyone. What's even stranger is that there were no signs of a struggle at the scene, as if Oin and Gloin had suddenly disappeared."

Bernal frowned: "What was the scene like?"

Bifur understood the Common Speech, so he spoke Dwarvish to Bofur.

Bofur, acting as interpreter again, said, "He said there were only a few willow trees at the site, and no signs of other animals."

Bernard almost laughed out loud when he heard "willow".

Because of his height, he gently pressed Bofur's shoulder and said, "I know where Oin and Gloin are going. Come with me."

Bifur looked at Bofur in confusion. Bofur looked at his brother and decided to go over with Bernal to take a look first.

At least Mr. Bernard couldn't go alone. That's what they thought.

Bifur took another torch from Bofur, and at the same time, he grasped the one-handed battle axe at his waist tightly in his hand, and followed Bernal carefully.

The place where Oin and Gloin disappeared was not far from the camp, only about forty steps away. It was obvious that they really just wanted to find a secluded place to solve their urgent problems.

After all, no one wants to sleep smelling like urine.

Bernard looked at one of the oldest willow trees and said to Bifur and Bofur, "Raise your torches and look up."

The two dwarves obediently followed Bernal's instructions and raised their torches upwards. Then they saw a scene that shocked them - the missing Oin and Gloin were trapped by one willow branch after another and entangled in the treetops.

Oin and Gloin also had willow branches wrapped around their mouths. When they realized their companions had noticed them, they kept making "Mmmmm" sounds, their eyes almost filled with excitement as if tears were coming out.

The scene of Bifu leaving just now made Oin and Groin's hearts sink.

But if Bifur had walked a dozen seconds later, he would have been caught by these strange willow branches and hung upside down on the treetops just like Oin and Gloin.

Bofur covered his mouth and cried out in surprise, "By Durin, what are these?"

The willow branches crawled slowly on Oin and Gloin's bodies as if they had life, causing them to twist their bodies in fear from time to time.

The willow branches that sensed the fire and were closest to the torches avoided it like snakes.

Oin and Gloin's eyes seemed to desperately say, "Get us down here!"

Bernal understood the dwarf's pleading eyes, raised his greatsword, and with a flash of cold light, Oin and Gloin fell to the ground along with the cut willow branches.

Bofur and Bifur never saw Bernal swing his sword.

"Oh, that hurts."

Groin nimbly got up from the ground and said as he ran while touching his sore butt.

The willow tree on which they were hung began to shake violently after Bernal cut off some of its branches. The whole tree seemed to be roaring in pain, causing the ground near the willow tree to tremble slightly.

Bofur and Bifur, rushing to help Oin and Gloin, felt the ground vibrate beneath their feet.

Bofur shouted in confusion, "Ooooh, what's going on?"

But his hands were not slow to move. He reached out and grabbed Groin, pulling him back.

Just at this moment, the ground where Groin had just been standing suddenly cracked, and a huge tree root covered with moist soil rolled over.

Gloin looked at the tree's roots with a lingering fear and cried out, "By Durin, this willow tree is like a farmer with his hands full of whips."

Bifur and Oin were not as lucky as Groin. Perhaps because of their recent failure, the two dwarves were attacked by more tree roots.

However, relying on the dwarves' natural control of body balance, they did not fall into the suddenly cracked ground, but nimbly stepped on the emerging tree roots or raised clods of earth to avoid several attacks.

At this moment, Bernal's slash cut off all the tree roots and saved Bifur and Oin.

"Oh, thank you so much!! Although my hearing aid was lost under this willow tree and I can't hear what you are saying, I still want to say thank you!" Oin shouted to Bernard.

Bernal swung his sword again, and several more branches were cut down.

There was no way the willow could get past Bernal and attack the dwarf.

"Mr. Bernal! Something seems to be wrong with the other trees too!! They seemed to have moved just now!" Bofur hid behind Bernal and reminded him when he saw the other trees.

Gloin shouted, "They must be in the same group! These trees weren't that close to Oin and me just now! They are moving trees!!"

Bernard simply warned the dwarves, "Get down on the ground and be careful not to get hit by my sword."

He didn't feel any tension, and his eyes were as calm as water, without a trace of ripples.

He swung the knight's greatsword in his hand, and invisible vacuum blades shot towards the surrounding trees like sharp arrows, drawing sharp trajectories in the air and instantly penetrating the thick tree trunks.

The trees were cut in half by the vacuum blade, making a series of roaring sounds.

"That's wonderful, Mr. Bernard!"

Bofur and his friends acted as the atmosphere group, making cheerful noises.

　The people in the old forest are not tree people like Ents, but creatures called "Huorn".

　　They could be Ents that became like trees, or trees that became "Ent-like," or even a combination of both.

　　It can be understood as being in a transitional state between a tree and an Ent.

　　As mentioned earlier, the Hobbits' indiscriminate cutting down of trees in the old forest provoked these Huorn, so they mistook the dwarves, who were also short in stature, for Hobbits.

　　Especially the dwarves peed and pooped next to their bodies (grass)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)