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

Chapter 99 The Arahur Cave Opens

"This should be it."

Gandalf looked at the stone platform and said with certainty.

Dui nodded and lowered the broom, landing it on the stone platform.

As soon as the two landed, Dui took the opportunity to untie the ropes and spells binding the dwarves.

The dwarves' beards and hair were all messy, styled into various shapes by the wind.

Thorin, the wolf-fox, looked rather grim, vowing that he would rather walk himself than ride Dui's flying broom again.

Bilbo, though somewhat disheveled, was filled with excitement and anticipation, truly living up to the adventurous spirit of the Tuk family, which had been fully unleashed.

"When the thrush chirps, standing beside the gray rocks, the sun gradually sets, and the last rays of the day in Turin will shine on the keyhole."

Thorin took out a map of Lonely Mountain and, following the information translated by Elrond, began searching for a point of reference.

"The gray rocks, that must be what they're referring to."

Thorin immediately spotted a huge gray rock in front of the mountain wall, his eyes lit up, and he walked over to the rock.

"Standing next to the rock, you should be able to see the back door, but where is the door? And where's the keyhole?"

Thorin stood beside the rock as indicated on the map, but after carefully searching the surrounding stone walls, he found no sign of a door or keyhole.

The other dwarves continued their search, trying to find even the slightest clue.

Thorin, finding nothing, grew increasingly impatient and even began to suspect that Elrond might have lied.

"Calm down, Thorin," Gandalf said. "You must remain calm, especially as the final moments approach!"

"Don't overlook the details. The map says the last rays of sunlight will shine on the keyhole, so let's just wait."

After all, it's still a long time before sunset.

Hearing Gandalf's words, Thorin calmed down a little, but his expression was still not good.

"Then I'll wait, but if I still don't find it in the end, I swear, I'll make the spirits of the valley pay for his lies!"

Gandalf frowned and spoke up for Elrond, saying, "Elrond's integrity is beyond question; he has no reason to lie about this."

"Sorin, you can't doubt him because of prejudice."

"Hmph, I hope so." Thorin said coldly, neither confirming nor denying.

Gandalf shook his head, walked to Duy's side, sighed, and said softly, "The closer we get to Lonely Mountain, the less calm Thorin becomes. We probably need to prepare for the worst!"

"They all suffer from an uncontrollable madness inherited from the royal bloodline. Once it erupts, it will not only kill them but also endanger others!"

Gandalf's tone was somewhat heavy, and his expression was full of worry. Dui, however, was not as worried as Gandalf. He shook his head and comforted him, "There's always a solution when things come to an end. Gandalf, you don't need to worry too much."

"I hope so," Gandalf sighed.

Seeing that Gandalf was still worried, Duy changed the subject: "However, if you want to find the back door of Lonely Mountain, I do have a way, perhaps without waiting until sunset."

Gandalf was somewhat surprised to hear Dui's words.

"Do you possess some kind of magic that allows you to find hidden doors?"

Dui shook his head and took out the True Knowledge Crystal.

"Besides seeing distant scenes, the True Knowledge Crystal can also see past events, and perhaps it can be used to find the location of the back gate of Lonely Mountain."

Dui didn't lower his voice, so everyone else heard him and immediately looked over.

Thorin walked right over, his eyes fixed intently on the crystal in Dui's hand.

"Duir, quickly try it out!"

If Thorin hadn't known it belonged to Dui, he would have looked like he'd snatch it away for himself.

Dui frowned and gave Thorin a cold, wary look.

Is the dragon disease really that bad? Thorin is like a completely different person now. He's become agitated, not quite insane, but he's lost all his composure.

Gandalf was somewhat worried and reminded him, "The dragon is in the mountains right now. When using the True Knowledge Crystal, be careful not to look at it, otherwise it will easily notice you, and that will be troublesome if it alerts the dragon."

Dui knew the seriousness of the matter, so he naturally avoided the dragon's location when inspecting the area.

How far back can the True Knowledge Crystal Sphere see events? It depends on the user's mental will.

With Dui's current strength, it's simply unrealistic for him to want to see the First and Second Ages of antiquity, or even the Age of the Two Sacred Trees.

But if you look at things from hundreds of years ago, that's not a problem.

A scene quickly appeared inside the True Knowledge Crystal: a burly dwarf wearing an iron crown appeared where Dui and the others were now.

He walked to the gray rock, waiting for the afterglow of the setting sun and the rising moonlight to meet, until the light finally converged at a single point on the rock face.

The dwarf wearing an iron crown came to the stone wall, inserted a golden key into the small hole at the spot of light, and with a gentle twist, a stone door immediately appeared on the stone wall.

The stone door opened, and the dwarf wearing an iron crown walked in. "That's my grandfather!" Thorin looked at the dwarf appearing inside the crystal sphere, his expression a mixture of excitement and complexity.

Then, based on the image displayed on the True Knowledge Crystal Sphere, they quickly located the secret door and the keyhole.

"Where's the keyhole? It's right here, why isn't it there?" Thorin kept searching and feeling around where the keyhole was.

But there was only a bare stone wall, with no holes to insert a key.

Gandalf stepped forward and gently tapped the stone wall with his staff, explaining to the anxious Thorin and the others:

"I think the keyhole is hidden and only appears under specific conditions and at specific times. For example, the keyhole will only appear when the last rays of the setting sun and the moonlight intersect at a single point during the Dulin Day."

"So, we still need to wait until sunset?" Everyone suddenly realized.

Although Thorin was anxious, after hearing Gandalf's explanation, he could only wait for the sunset to arrive.

Dui was somewhat interested in the hidden keyhole. Although the dwarves did not possess magic, they could imbue their forged objects with extraordinary properties through their superb forging skills.

He wanted to see if his magic would work on it.

"I'll give it a try," Dui said.

Now that the location of the keyhole had been determined, Duy raised his wand, aimed it at the keyhole, and chanted, "Alohomora open!"

A spell was cast into the keyhole, and the next second a faint sound of gears turning could be heard, and the mountain trembled slightly.

Amidst the astonished expressions of the dwarves, a rectangular stone door appeared from the stone wall and then opened automatically.

"Alright, it seems we don't need to wait until sunset," Dui said with a smile.

Clearly, the dwarven craftsmen who built the secret door had considered various scenarios and set specific times, conditions, and a key to successfully open it.

But they had no idea that Dui's magic was completely illogical, bypassing all of that and allowing the door to open.