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

Chapter 82 Moon Words and the Principle of Regression

"Good God, Thorin, please show him the map."

The voice of Gandalf, nearly driven mad by the Dwarf's stubborn temper, echoed within the pavilion, causing Elrond to look over in surprise.

After all, even Gandalf couldn't help it, which shows that the dwarves are very stubborn.

However, Thorin also realized that it was not right for him to refuse to give the map even though he had come this far.

But when he saw Elrond's elven appearance, his stubborn temper rose again, and he said with a stiff expression: "That is the heritage of my people, and it should be kept by me, including the secrets within it."

Balin also nodded.

Although Balin is a seemingly kind dwarf, he does not really have much affection for elves. He is just more polite and will not express his disgust directly like other dwarves.

Gandalf blew his beard and glared at me, saying, "Don't bother with me with your stubborn dwarf temper. Your pride will hurt you one day. The man standing before you is one of the few in Middle-earth who can understand this map. Show it to Lord Elrond."

Elrond said nothing, nor did he show any other expression, but his eyes flickered between Gandalf, Thorin, and Balin.

Tanes also watched quietly, waiting for Thorin's answer.

Thorin did not speak directly, but thought silently.

Balin thought Thorin had refused, so the corners of his mouth curled up under his snow-white beard into a smile.

But the next second Balin's expression froze. He saw Thorin put his hand into the arms of his clothes, took out the map and walked forward.

"Thorin, no." Balin subconsciously wanted to stop him, but Thorin raised his hand to refuse.

Gandalf finally breathed a sigh of relief, but Thorin gave him the map reluctantly. It took him a long time to walk a few steps, and his eyes were always fixed on Elrond.

Balin was the same, and even looked at Elrond with some dissatisfaction.

Elrond did not show any disgust towards the dwarves' almost "rude" looks. Instead, he took the map with very polite hands and opened it.

With just one glance, Elrond raised his brows and his eyes became sharp.

"Erebor."

He recognized the place on the map, then looked at Thorin seriously and asked, "Why do you care about this map?"

Thorin was about to confront Elrond after some inner struggle, but Gandalf spoke first, "Well, it's mainly academic."

what?
Not to mention Tanes, even Thorin closed his mouth again and looked over in surprise.

Gandalf continued, "Lord Elrond, you know that these ancient artifacts sometimes contain secret messages..."

Elrond was speechless. He turned around and walked into the pavilion with the map in his hand. When he passed by Tanes, he made an expression that said "I don't trust you at all."

Gandalf glanced at Thorin, then followed him with his staff and asked, "You can still read the old Dwarven language, right?"

Elrond said nothing, but held up the map and examined it carefully in the moonlight.

After a while, he spoke in a language that Tanes did not understand: "Cirth Ithil."

Gandalf's eyes widened slightly, and he suddenly realized what was going on. He then explained to Tanis, Thorin, and Balin, "It's the moon language... Of course it is, a detail that is easily overlooked."

Elrond ignored Gandalf's words and said to himself, "Then the legend is true. The Moon Writing can only be seen in the moonlight, and only when it waxes and wanes—it must be in the exact phase of the moon on the day the Moon Writing was written."

He turned and looked at Thorin with a sigh.

Thorin asked in a deep voice, "Then can you read it?"

Elrond made a regretful expression, put the map in his hand away, and handed it back to Thorin solemnly.

Thorin tilted his head and looked at Elrond in confusion.

Gandalf also asked, "Lord Elrond, what do you mean? Can even you not decipher the moonlight writing?"

Elrond sighed and said, "It's not that I can't decipher the moon words on this map, but your luck is bad."

Thorin asked tremblingly, "What do you mean by bad luck?"

Elrond spoke seriously to the Dwarf of Durin's house, "The words upon the map were written on a midsummer night, by the light of a sickle-crescent moon two hundred years ago. Unfortunately, fate has not been kind to you on this visit to Rivendell, Thorin, and the moonlight that shines tonight is not that of that night."

Gandalf murmured, "It's winter now... Does that mean we need to wait here until next summer to decipher the words on the map?"

Elrond added, "And the moon must be in the exact same phase as it was that night."

Thorin immediately shouted, "How could I wait so long here? This time would have been enough for me to reach the foot of the Lonely Mountain with my people!"

Gandalf closed his eyes first, then frowned and looked at Thorin: "If you don't unlock the secret on the map, what can you do after you reach the Lonely Mountain? Do you have to search for the secret door on that towering peak bit by bit?"

"Secret door?" Elrond looked at Gandalf with interest, and chuckled when he saw the other man's expression as if he realized he had let the cat out of the bag.

Thorin was standing there somewhat dejectedly at this time, and Balin was saying something to comfort him.

Gandalf asked again helplessly: "Lord Elrond, is there really no other way to decipher the moon writing on this map?"

Elrond replied gently, "There is no other way. At least, as far as I know, there is no recorded second method of deciphering the Moon's writing. However..."

At the end of his words, he changed the subject, causing Gandalf and Thorin, who had already lost hope, to look at Elrond again.

"However, just because I don't know doesn't mean your friends don't know. After meeting him, I no longer dare to think that I know all the knowledge in the world. Why don't you think about asking Tanes?" Elrond looked at Tanes with a smile, and the latter was a little surprised that the former mentioned his name.

Tanes was still thinking about how to comfort Thorin, but after hearing Elrond's words, he pointed at himself and said, "Ah? I'll decipher the moon language?"

Elrond nodded.

Tanes shook his head subconsciously: "No, you are joking, Elrond. I have never heard of the moon language before. If you can't decipher it under such circumstances, how can I..." But before Tanes could finish his words, an idea flashed in his mind and he was stunned: "Wait."

Elrond was surprised at first, then he smiled faintly at Gandalf and Thorin: "It seems that our friends have really thought of another way to decipher the moon language."

Thorin said respectfully, somewhat excitedly, "Please, Tanes. This expedition is truly important to me. I cannot afford to waste nearly half a year here."

Tanes first calmed Thorin down, then looked at Elrond and asked cautiously, "Elrond, you are very knowledgeable about the Moon's writing, so I would like to ask you a question: Could the mechanism that requires the same lunar phase to be deciphered be considered a form of mimicry or a deception? This question is very important, and I ask you to answer me accurately."

Elrond heard this and said seriously, "That's a good question, Tanes. I can answer you with certainty that it is indeed a form of mimicry to maintain secrecy. After all, the dwarf who wrote this moon text probably didn't want everyone to read it."

Tanes breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I feel relieved. I can give it a try."

Elrond showed an interested expression. "What are you going to do, Tanes? I'm really curious about how else in the world we can decipher the moon writing at an inappropriate time."

A holy mark appeared in Tanes' right hand, and a pale golden glow attracted everyone's attention.

He said: "In my hometown, there is a prayer that can cure all abnormal conditions, eliminate special effects, remove all mimicry, and reveal the true face of things."

Tanes did not say that even the mimicry illusions set up by the gods could be eliminated.

Because he knew that even if he said this, Gandalf and the others would think it was a fantasy.

The prayer that Tanes spoke of was the "Principle of Regression," one of the fundamentalist prayers of the Golden Rule.

He looked at Thorin and said to the dwarf, "Thorin, please place the map on the stone table."

Thorin did not resist Tanes' request and cooperated by spreading the map on the stone table.

The next moment, Tanes' body was completely covered by the golden blessed light. Although it was night, he seemed to be bathed in brilliant sunlight.

Under his feet, a huge golden triangular shadow appeared out of thin air, flashing dazzling golden light.

But this shadow only lasted for two or three seconds, and then it quickly receded like the tide, leaving only a faint golden afterglow lingering around Tanes.

"Thorin Oakenshield, I should take back what I said before. It's not that fate has not favored you. On the contrary, after you met Tanes, fate has always been by your side and has never left." Elrond exclaimed when he saw this magical scene.

Thorin also smiled from the bottom of his heart, and rarely refuted the elf's words: "I have always been honored to know Tanes."

Golden sparks seemed to flash in his eyes, and then returned to normal.

Elrond noticed some changes on the map and immediately took a few quick steps to the stone table.

Tanes recovered from his prayer release and asked nervously, "How's it going, Elrond? Has the moon script mimicry been cracked?"

He was mainly worried that the principle of regression would not work, and if so, Thorin's expedition plan would probably be greatly affected.

As Thorin's friend, Tanes obviously doesn't want to see this happen.

Elrond smiled faintly. "Of course. The moon writing on the map has been revealed. It says: When the thrush strikes, stand by the grey rock. As the sun sets, the last rays of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole."

On the map on the stone table, there was a new blue fluorescent text in the lower right corner. Elrond was reading these words written in the ancient dwarven language to everyone present.

Balin, who was listening, nodded. He had already memorized this sentence.

Thorin folded his arms across his chest, lost in thought.

"Durin's Day, what is that?" came a voice that did not belong to anyone present, and Bilbo struggled up the nearby steps.

Tanis's eyes widened slightly. Not for the first time, he didn't sense the presence of a hobbit.

Earlier, when Bilbo was talking with Gandalf in Farmer David's village, he suddenly appeared behind him.

He even wondered if this hobbit had some talent for stealth, or if all hobbits had this talent for making themselves invisible.

Bilbo saw that everyone in the pavilion was looking at him with an embarrassed expression. He said to Tanis, "Oh, this is what happened. After I finished dinner, I felt much better and was able to get out of bed and walk around. So I went to return the dishes and the small table to the elves. Then I wanted to look for you and Gandalf. The elves told me you were here, so I came here. As soon as I arrived, I saw you praying, and I didn't want to disturb you."

Balin smiled gently. This kindly dwarf obviously had no problem with Bilbo's arrival. He took the initiative to explain, "Durin's Day marks the beginning of the Dwarf New Year. On that day, the last autumn moon and the first sun of winter shine in the sky at the same time."

Then his face changed so much that Bilbo started. "What's the matter?"

Balin pursed his lips and said bitterly, "But Durin's Day just passed the day before yesterday. The next Durin's Day will be a year from now."

Thorin laughed loudly and said, "No, no, Balin, don't be discouraged! It's not that Durin's Day just passed the day before yesterday, but we still have nearly a year to go to the Lonely Mountain! And after arriving at the Lonely Mountain, we have plenty of time to find the mountain pass where the keyhole is!"

The dwarf leader nodded vigorously and thanked Taneth. "Thank you very much, Taneth. I don't know how many times I've thanked you. But without you, I wouldn't know how to reach the Lonely Mountain, find the secret door, and enter it."

Balin saw Thorin's hopeful expression and was infected by his emotion. He quickly calmed down and said, "You are right, Thorin. This way we can ensure that we will be exactly where the map says when Durin's Day comes. Only then, and only then, will the gate be opened."

Although Bilbo came halfway and didn't understand what they were saying, he saw the expression on Balin's face change from bitter to calm, and he nodded happily for his dwarf companion who was traveling with him.

Elrond then rolled up the map carefully and returned it to Thorin, then looked at Tanis and Gandalf.

He said in a tone of "as expected": "So this is your purpose, to enter the Lonely Mountain?"

Thorin put away the map and after hearing Elrond's words, he asked confidently, "So what?"

Elrond turned and looked down at Thorin. "For there are others who think that this is not a wise course of action."

Gandalf understood the meaning of Elrond's words, but just to be sure, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Elrond turned to Gandalf and said meaningfully, "After all, you are not the only guardian of Middle-earth. Let you and your dwarf friends wait here for a few more days. The distinguished guests will arrive soon."

　PS: The moon text on the map can be cracked using the principle of regression, but the keyhole of the secret door cannot be cracked.

　　Because the former is hidden by something like mimicry magic, and the latter is simply hidden in the physical sense without knowing the location, and the keyhole can only be discovered using the special method described in the map.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)