Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth...

Chapter 88 Chase

As for using dark magic, none of them are people who adhere to a black-and-white ideology.

Then, to Dui's and the others' surprise, Galadriel handed Dui the crystal bottle containing the light of Eyarndil.

"Take it."

"Dark magic can corrupt the mind and easily lead people astray. The Light of Eyarendil will keep you in the light and prevent you from falling into darkness."

"Madam, this is far too precious." Du Yi felt the gift was too heavy and was a little hesitant to accept it.

After all, he had personally witnessed Galadriel use it to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.

Galadriel placed the crystal bottle into Dui's hand, her smile leaving no room for refusal.

"Consider it a trade for the potion you just gave me."

"Thank you, Madam!"

Dui accepted the crystal bottle containing the light of Eyarendil and remembered the favor.

The group did not linger in Dorgudu.

The brown-robed wizard Darrigaster was returning to his cabin in the woods to continue spending time with his animal and plant companions.

Elrond and Glorfindel, at Galadriel's request, planned to spend some time in Lorien to discuss their plans against Sauron.

Duy and Gandalf declined Galadriel's invitation to visit Lorien and prepared to catch up with Thorin and his companions.

This time, Gandalf was not imprisoned in Dorgon by Sauron as he had been before, and was only rescued by members of the Righteous Order later. So this time, it only took them a few days.

Judging from the expedition's speed and distance, Thorin and his companions probably haven't even left the Dark Forest yet.

After everyone parted ways, Duy and Gandalf hitched a ride on Darrigus's sled.

Darrigast lived up to his reputation as the god of the Middle-earth, speeding through the forest in his sled, narrowly avoiding crashing into trees each time, eliciting gasps of surprise from Duy and Gandalf.

He finally managed to get Dui and Gandalf to the old road in the dense forest before bidding them farewell and returning.

"Phew, that was so exciting! My heart can't take it."

Gandalf patted his chest, still shaken, and after catching his breath, he spoke.

"Let's go, we need to pick up the pace. We don't know where Bilbo and the others are. Hopefully we can catch up."

Dui thought for a moment, and he seemed to remember that Thorin and his party first encountered a giant spider in the forest, then ran into the elves of the Woodland Kingdom, and were imprisoned in the dungeon by Thranduil.

In that case, they probably haven't gone very far.

Dui took out the True Knowledge Crystal. "We can tell where they are by using the crystal."

Gandalf stopped him, shaking his head solemnly: "The Crystal of Knowledge is not omnipotent, Duir. This forest has an owner."

"If you use crystals to spy on the forest, the owner of this place will see it as provocation and cause unnecessary trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Dui recalled the scene when he used the Crystal of Knowledge to examine Gandalf and was discovered by him.

He immediately put the crystal away again.

The elves in the dark forest are not known for their good temper, from top to bottom.

If the Elf King finds out, it will be really troublesome.

The two walked along the old path in the dense forest, also known as the Elf Path.

Seeing that the trees along the road looked sick and lifeless, and that the air was not fresh and had a musty smell of decay, the two men looked rather solemn.

"Be careful not to inhale too much air. This place is polluted by dark magic. Inhaling too much will cause dizziness and hallucinations," Gandalf warned, covering his nose with his sleeve.

Then he murmured worriedly, "I just hope the dwarves don't inhale too much toxic air and go astray, otherwise it'll be troublesome!"

Dui frowned as he smelled the air and waved his wand at his face.

A transparent bubble enveloped his head, instantly isolating him from the polluted air outside.

"Gandalf, do you need it?"

"I couldn't be happier." Gandalf's eyes lit up when he saw the bubble on Dui's head.

Duy waved his wand and added a bubble above his head as well.

This is the head-breathing spell that Dui learned from the book of spells. It was originally used for breathing underwater, but it's perfect for this purpose now.

The two continued on their way, each with a transparent bubble above their head, until they reached a broken bridge.

Looking at the broken bridge before him, Gandalf sensed something was wrong, his face filled with worry.

"It seems my fears have come true!"

"If they couldn't cross the bridge, they must have chosen another way to cross the river."

His eyes scanned the surroundings, and soon he spotted some trails not far from the bridge, where there were vines that could be used to cross the river.

Furthermore, soil and signs of climbing were found on the vines.

While Gandalf was searching for clues about Bilbo and his companions, Duy went to the riverbank, used Transfiguration to conjure several bottles, and carefully filled them with river water.

The river water is polluted by dark magic; it not only has hallucinogenic effects, but anyone who touches it will immediately fall into a deep sleep and easily drown.

Its effects are comparable to the hypnotic drugs made by Dui.

Dui was very curious about the river water and planned to fill several bottles to take with him, which would be a good choice for research or to hypnotize enemies.

"Duir, it's time to go. We need to find Bilbo and the others as soon as possible," Gandalf called out.

"Okay, coming!" Dui put the bottle filled with river water into his spatial bag, then strode towards Gandalf.

"Restored to its original state~" Dui waved his wand at the broken bridge.

The broken bridge was quickly restored to its original state.

The two crossed the stone bridge and quickened their pace.

However, neither of them found any signs of anyone having traveled there recently.

This means that after they crossed the river, they did not return to the old road in the dense forest, but went somewhere else.

Seeing Gandalf's worry, Duy comforted him, "Don't worry too much, Gandalf. Maybe they've just strayed from the right path and are now ahead of us."

"And I also have some spells I can try to find them."

Upon hearing this, Gandalf's eyes lit up, and he looked at Dui with hope.

"Duir, what kind of magic spell do you have? Try it!"

"This is my first time using it too, and I can't guarantee it will work immediately." Dui didn't make any guarantees. Although he had seen this spell in the Book of Spells, he had never cast it before.

He coughed lightly, then, following the spellcasting instructions in the spellbook, waved his wand, thinking of Bilbo, and chanted, "Guide me!"

A blue ray of light shot out from the tip of the wand, the other end disappearing into the unknown depths of the dense forest.

Gandalf and Duy looked at each other, seeing that the light was pointing due north into the dense forest.

While this wasn't exactly the opposite of the original destination of Gushan, it was still quite far off.

If the directions given are correct, then Thorin and his companions are lost.

Gandalf sighed deeply. "Let's go and see where they've gotten lost."

The two then left the old path and followed the direction indicated by the magic wand into the dense forest.

Guided by the wand, the two had a clear goal and rushed towards Bilbo and the others as quickly as possible.

The deeper you go, the denser the forest becomes, and the sky is covered by thick leaves, so that almost no light can penetrate.

Not to mention, there are many spider webs that seal off many places completely.

Huh? A spider web! Dui realized instantly and immediately became alert.

"Duir, what have you discovered?" Gandalf noticed Duir's unusual behavior.

Dui pointed to the dense spiderwebs on the tree: "Gandalf, it seems we've arrived at the lair of the giant spiders, the descendants of the Ugoliant that Darrigus mentioned."

Before he could finish speaking, a rustling sound came from all around, like the scraping of heavy, sticky feet across the ground or branches.

Countless enormous spiders emerged from the trees and the ground, surrounding them from all directions, their densely packed eyes gleaming with covetous lust as they stared at them.