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

Chapter 80 How to Persuade a Stubborn Dwarf

"Gandalf! Gandalf! It's me, Radagast!"

The old man wearing a brown wizard robe and a felt hat shouted loudly when he was still some distance away from Tanes and the others.

Although the voice sounded old, it did not sound like the volume an elderly person could shout out. It sounded more like a young person with full energy putting in all his effort.

Tanes's company and Thorin's group stopped, and Gandalf took the opportunity to ride up to greet them, while Bernal looked at Radagast with interest.

He pulled the reins in his hand, urged the horse forward a few steps, came to Tanes' side and whispered: "That old man, like Gandalf, only looks like an old man, but he is not old at all."

Tanes nodded. "Of course I noticed that. What do you mean by bringing this up suddenly?"

Bernard shrugged and said, "Nothing. I just lament that there are still many powerful people in this world. I don't know why, whether it's Gandalf or this guy called Brown Robe, they are intentionally or unintentionally hiding... No, it should be said that they are suppressing their strength. I'm just curious why they do this. Just like the army of Orc riders we encountered in David's village before, Gandalf could easily have dealt with it alone."

Tanis pondered, "Perhaps there are concerns we're not aware of. I can sense that Gandalf isn't hiding his strength on purpose, and he also reminded me not to use spells that are too powerful. Well, there's no point in us speculating here alone. Why not ask Gandalf privately later?"

Bernard nodded. "That's exactly what I was planning. There are many things in this world that we're still too unfamiliar with, and I won't feel at ease until I understand them. As someone who excels at fighting the Faded, you should understand the importance of intelligence. If you know your opponent's intelligence, you can develop tactics based on their combat habits."

Then Tanes' expression became somewhat interesting, because of Bernal's words, he thought of Sir Baizhi.

Seeing Tanes's expression, Bernard obviously thought of Sir Baizhi and fell into silence.

After a moment, Bernard covered his face and explained, "No, I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence. He just talks too much..."

Bilbo looked at the two people who had suddenly fallen silent and asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"

Tanes smiled faintly and replied, "We're talking about an interesting old friend. Perhaps you'll have a chance to meet him in the future."

Bilbo curled his lips and said, "Okay."

Gandalf now joins Radagast and calls out Tanes' name, asking him to come as well.

"Oh, Radagast the Brown, I want to introduce you to a new wizard, Tanes."

Gandalf said with a smile as Tanes rode Torret to Radagast's sled pulled by rabbits.

Tanes dismounted, nodded politely to the brown-robed wizard, and then looked him over: his hair, which had not been washed and groomed for a long time, was mixed with his long eyebrows and beard, revealing his naive facial features, and the hair on the right side seemed to be stained with something white and then dried and solidified.

He looked a little dirty, his clothes were all torn, and there were dust and mud spots everywhere, as if he had been left in the forest for a long time.

As Tanes approached Radagast, he smelled the smell of bird droppings coming from him.

Well, it seems that it is self-evident what that dried stuff in the other person's hair is.

I'm afraid your brown robe is because it was soaked in mud.

Tanes complained in his heart, he really didn't know how to describe Radagast's outfit.

Gandalf saw what Tanis was thinking, and he also knew that his colleague liked to stay in the forest and therefore did not care about personal hygiene.

So he coughed lightly and said, "Radagast, this is Tanes, the restorer of the land of Minhirias and the lord of the twin golden trees."

"Oh, hello. I remember you. You were the one who fell from the sky. I'm glad to have another wizard here. No, Gandalf, I'm not here for him. Although I'm glad, I'm not here for him. I'm here for you. Something is wrong, very wrong."

Radagast first extended his hand to Tanis with a smile. Before Tanis could think about whether to endure the stench and shake hands with the other party, the wizard suddenly came up to Gandalf nervously and said a lot of words in an excited tone.

Gandalf also silently took a half step back, took out his pipe, wiped the mouthpiece, and then lit the tobacco.

He held the mouthpiece of the cigarette to Radagast's lips and said, "Don't be impatient, my old friend. Take a puff to calm your nerves. This is fine tobacco from the Shire."

Radagast suddenly laughed again, and just as he was about to open his mouth, his brows furrowed.

"I wanted to say something. The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember them."

Radagast repeated this action three or four times, his face looking anxious.

Tanis was about to ask what was wrong, but was stopped by Gandalf with an expressionless face.

Then, with his pupils shaking, Tanes saw a lively stick insect being pinched out from Radagast's tongue, and he put it in his palm with a satisfied smile.

Gandalf looked at Radagast's actions with a sidelong glance, and handed the cigarette holder to him again. This time Radagast took a long puff comfortably, with an astonished expression on his face, and his eyes almost rolled up.

Tanis couldn't help but whispered in Gandalf's ear: "Isn't it the same for other wizards..."

Gandalf immediately replied righteously, "Don't get me wrong, he's the only one like that. Saruman the White is quite serious. As for the two blue ones..."

He blinked and thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know about the two blue-robed men. After they went to the far east and south, there has been no news from them."

At this time, Radagast exhaled the smoke he had inhaled into his lungs, and his originally neurotic eyes became normal.

Gandalf signaled to Tanis with his eyes, and the brown-robed man was able to communicate normally.

"Well, now tell me what happened," said Gandalf.

Radagast said, "Mirkwood is sick, Gandalf."

Then he glanced at the dwarves behind Gandalf and Tanis who were listening intently, and pulled Gandalf's sleeve to get away from the dwarves.

Radagast took a few steps before reacting and dragging Gandalf to Tanis's side. With his other hand he grabbed Tanis's arm armor and brought them to a place where the dwarves could not hear their conversation.

“There is a kind of darkness that hangs over Mirkwood, where nothing grows, at least nothing good grows. The air is also corrupt and filthy, and there are those awful webs,” said Radagast.

Gandalf frowned and asked, "The web? What are you talking about?"

Radagast replied very quickly: "Spiders, Gandalf, those huge spiders. I am sure they must be the offspring of Ungoliant, or I would not be a wizard."

Ungoliant?
It was the first time that Tanis heard this name, but it was obviously not a good name, because Gandalf frowned even deeper after hearing this name, and even started smoking.

The reason why we mention Gandalf smoking is that he put the cigarette into his mouth without even wiping the mouthpiece.

Tanis could see enough to tell how much the name troubled Gandalf.

"Gandalf," he asked, "what does the name Ungoliant signify?"

Before Gandalf could answer, Radagast spoke first, "That is a terrifying giant spider. Legend has it that it emerged from the outer darkness. It is very likely that it is a hatched and fallen god."

Tanes nodded in understanding, then asked, "So those giant spiders are the descendants of this spider, countless generations later. What does their appearance mean?"

"Darkness, Tanis," said Gandalf, puffing out a puff of smoke.

Radagast nodded like a bird pecking at food and added, "I followed these giant spiders all the way to Dol Guldur."

Gandalf turned and looked at Radagast with a questioning look. "Dol Guldur? But that fortress has been abandoned for a long time."

Radagast's expression was solemn and a little horrified, and he shook his head slightly. "No, Gandalf, the fortress is not abandoned. I sneaked into the fortress and immediately felt a dark force entrenched there. The power is stronger than I have ever felt, and the shadow within is like a horror from ancient times."

The fear in the brown-robed man's eyes became more and more obvious, and even his voice trembled as he spoke: "I saw him, Gandalf. He was a wizard who could summon the dead, and he was wrapped in darkness."

Then Radagast suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Gandalf's gray robe, saying forcefully, "Darkness must have returned, Gandalf. They called out my name, and I felt great fear in my heart. Then I escaped from Dol Guldur and have been searching for you ever since." Gandalf placed his other hand on Radagast's and said gently, "Calm down, Radagast. A necromancer, are you sure?"

Radagast withdrew his hand and took out a sword wrapped in plant fiber leather and sealed with witchcraft from his dirty brown robe, and gestured solemnly for Gandalf to take it.

Tanes also frowned when he saw the sword.

"This sword doesn't give me a good feeling, Gandalf. It doesn't look like a weapon that a living person can use. A normal person will get sick even if he touches it." Tanis warned worriedly.

Seeing that Tanes believed what he said, Radagast nodded quickly and whispered, "Indeed, this sword is definitely not from the world of the living."

Gandalf nodded to show that he understood, then opened the package, revealing the sword inside.

It was a plain-looking straight sword, but the blade was covered in rust, as if it had just been taken out of a cemetery.

And the moment the black hilt was revealed, the sharp roar of the sword's owner seemed to ring in the ears of Tanis and Gandalf.

A sword that has been separated from its owner is trying to intimidate us?

Tanes raised his eyebrows, and a holy seal appeared in his hand, and the golden light became brighter and brighter.

But Gandalf closed it in time and wrapped the sword again.

As he tied the rope tightly, he said to Tanes, "My dear Tanes, this sword cannot withstand your power. It cannot be purified by you yet. I need to take it to Rivendell to show it to Lord Elrond."

Tanes glanced at the dwarves waiting for their conversation not far away, and especially at Thorin, and asked, "I think we should tell Thorin directly that we must go to Rivendell."

Gandalf sighed and felt a headache.

Radagast now showed a look of relief, and climbed back onto the sled pulled by the jackrabbit.

Gandalf looked at Radagast and asked, "Are you leaving now? Won't you come with me to Rivendell?"

Radagast smiled and shook his head. "Although I am glad to see the trees of Rivendell, I still prefer the little creatures of Mirkwood. They are waiting for my return. Without me, it would be terrible if the giant spiders came back. Goodbye, Gandalf!"

As he spoke, the hares kicked up their strong, powerful legs and pulled Radagast away with the same speed and agility as when they came.

Tanis watched the other person disappear into thin air and said to Gandalf, "Your colleague's personality is truly... unique."

Gandalf's mouth twitched, and he put away the sword and replied, "You can just say that he has a very strange character, there is no need to use such euphemisms, my dear Tanis."

After Tanis and Gandalf returned to the team, they persuaded Thorin to go to Rivendell.

However, as Taneth expected, Thorin still refused to go to Rivendell to seek the help of the elves. At this moment, the dwarf's stubbornness really opened Taneth's eyes.

Gandalf was naturally very angry. Tanis felt that his beard was curled up with anger, and he even wanted to impulsively abandon the dwarves and go to Rivendell alone.

Tanis did try to persuade Thorin, but Thorin was different from when he faced Gandalf. He did not contradict Tanis at all, but he did not agree either.

He was even willing to return the Frostshell Axe to Tanes rather than go to Rivendell.

This dwarf leader is a man of few words and no one can stop him.

Later on the journey, although the weather no longer continued to get colder, Tanes, Thorin and the others began to be attacked by Orcs.

At any time, day or night, an orc on a warg might strike you.

But the number is not large, only seven or eight at a time, less than the number of people in the expedition team.

There is no need for Tanes to take action against such a small number of people. The dwarves alone are enough to deal with them.

Thorin pulled the Frostshell Axe from the wolf's corpse and looked at the orcs in confusion, pondering, "What is their purpose? Do they expect us to be reduced in numbers with such a small number?"

Tanes put the Soul Collector back into his arms and said after hearing Thorin's words, "These Orcs are obviously delaying our progress, Thorin. Haven't you noticed that because of their attacks, our progress has slowed down in the past few days? A journey that used to take a day now takes three days."

Then he sighed, glanced at Bilbo, who had dark circles under his eyes, and said, "Thorin, Bilbo is almost at his limit. He has not had a good rest for a long time because of the orcs' harassment every night."

Thorin was silent for a moment and then said, "So you want to persuade me to go to Rivendell again, Tanes."

Tanis said, "Yes, if only for Bilbo's sake, or to shake off those Orcs who are following us, it would be a good idea to go to Rivendell."

Thorin fell silent again.

Tanes went on to say, "The elves of Rivendell and the elves of Mirkwood are not the same elves at all. The elves you claim betrayed you are the latter, and Elrond has done nothing to you. Moreover, the Orcs are now beginning to use their lives to delay your journey to the Lonely Mountain, which shows that they are plotting something against the Lonely Mountain. Thorin, the more the enemy wants to do something, the more we will prevent them from succeeding."

"Oh, Bilbo! Look out!"

Bofur's cry came from behind, and then there was the sound of Bilbo and Bofur falling one after the other.

Thorin looked over, but Bilbo and Bofur were too hidden by their horses' legs to be clearly seen.

But soon Fili said, "It seems that Bilbo was too tired, and his body was a little weak because he had never been on a long journey. So he fainted from the cold wind and fell off his horse. Fortunately, Bofur caught him and he was not hurt. But..."

Thorin looked at Fili and asked in a low voice, "But what?"

Fili looked at Thorin fearfully, swallowed, and said, "But Bofur said Bilbo has a high fever. Unfortunately, we don't have any medicine... If we let him continue to be exposed to the cold wind in the wilderness, I'm afraid..."

Thorin subconsciously glanced at Tanis, who was also frowning because of Bilbo's illness.

He waved to Thorin and was about to leave. "Prayer has no effect on healing. I must first go and see how Bilbo is doing to prevent him from getting worse."

"To the Valley..."

Unexpected words came out of Thorin's mouth, causing Tanes to turn around suddenly, thinking he had misheard.

Thorin saw Tanes's surprise, and, slightly impatient because of his own change of heart, he quickly whispered, "I said to go to Rivendell. Since you said that the elves of Rivendell had nothing to do with the elves who betrayed me, and I don't want us thieves to lose our lives because of this. If this gets out, the name of Thorin Oakenshield will be forever tainted."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and stopped talking with his back to Tanes.

Tanis didn't waste any time and quickly ran to Bilbo's side. Gandalf was already trying to stabilize Bilbo's body temperature.

"Fili, go and see how Bilbo is doing." Thorin didn't turn around, but his voice reached Fili's ears.

With a clear purpose, Tanes and Thorin and his party arrived at the edge of the Rivendell territory just two days later.

　PS: Even when he was not affected by the dragon disease, Thorin's sense of responsibility was greater than his stubbornness, so he panicked when he heard that Bilbo was seriously ill.

　　In addition, Tanes gave an excuse that the elves in Rivendell and Mirwood were not the same group, and the Orcs did delay Thorin's progress intentionally or unintentionally.

　　So Thorin, worried that something might happen in Lonely Mountain, had no choice but to agree to go to Rivendell reluctantly.

　　After all, Thorin is just stubborn, but he is not stupid, and he still knows how to analyze the pros and cons.

　　(Gandalf deliberately took them out of Rivendell to avoid being hunted by the Orcs. This is the best reason I can think of for Thorin to go to Rivendell. Kneel.)
　　In addition, today's chapter is 5K words, and I still owe all readers 1K words (kowtow)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)