(TL NOTE: From now on, I will also be using "Erdtree" for the golden tree)
Rivendell, after the meeting ended.
Gandalf was kept behind alone by Lady Galadriel.
This golden-haired woman, radiating intelligence and wisdom, gently inquired of Gandalf: "You're going to join those Dwarves who left early, aren't you?"
Gandalf nodded slightly: "Yes."
Galadriel said approvingly: "You are right. Helping Thorin Oakenshield is the correct course of action."
But then her beautiful face showed a worried expression: "Yet I fear this expedition will disturb forces we do not yet understand. The Morgul blade Radagast gave you, we must unravel the mystery surrounding it. And that trained Orc warg army you spoke of... something is moving in the shadows, avoiding our sight and will not reveal itself. At least not yet."
Gandalf nodded seriously.
Galadriel added: "You must be careful."
"I will be cautious, Lady Galadriel." Gandalf said, then bid her farewell, also preparing to leave Rivendell.
However, Galadriel suddenly called out Gandalf's Elven name: "Mithrandir, why did you choose that Halfling and that Lord of the Golden Tree?"
Gandalf's departing steps paused, then he slowly turned around.
The bright, gentle moonlight fell on Gandalf's aged face, yet his expression showed a confusion that had never appeared before Tarnes and Bilbo: "I do not know."
"Saruman believes that only great power can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love."
As Gandalf spoke, he somehow began to smile, then asked and answered himself wistfully: "Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid, and he gives me courage."
Galadriel had somehow come before Gandalf, gently cupping his rough hands and comforting him tenderly: "Do not be afraid, Mithrandir. You are not alone."
Gandalf looked at her with grateful eyes, while Galadriel continued in Elvish: "Ae boe i le eliathon, im tulithon. (If you should ever need my help, I will come.)"
Gandalf's expression also relaxed as he bowed his head slightly to show his respect to Galadriel, then slowly stepped back and withdrew his hands, about to bid her farewell.
But Galadriel continued asking: "Wait, Mithrandir. You only told me why you chose that Halfling, but you haven't told me why you also chose that Lord of the Erdtree?"
Gandalf stopped again, but this time his face showed a smile: "Because I did not choose him, Lady Galadriel, so I cannot explain that question to you."
"?" Lady Galadriel's face showed obvious confusion.
Gandalf explained: "Because before I invited Tarnes, he had already agreed to help Thorin Oakenshield reclaim the Lonely Mountain."
Galadriel understood: "I see, this is Thorin Oakenshield's fate..."
Then Gandalf smiled and said: "Of course, if I must give you an answer, it would be this: Bilbo is the source of my courage in facing darkness, while Tarnes is the foundation of my confidence in facing darkness. Please forgive me for not being able to introduce him to you this time, Lady Galadriel."
Lady Galadriel smiled faintly and shook her head: "It matters not. I have sufficient time and patience to wait to meet this friend of yours."
Meanwhile, Tarnes' group and Thorin's company, led by Balin, continued south along the edge of the Misty Mountains after leaving Rivendell.
According to Balin, who was familiar with this mountainous terrain, they had to reach the Misty Mountains near Dunland. Only from there could they more safely cross the Misty Mountains to reach the eastern side, then follow the rivers north, pass through the Gladden Fields, and finally reach Mirkwood.
"This is the ideal route, one I confirmed with Gandalf," Balin said.
The Dwarves all nodded. They had no objections and all tacitly avoided mentioning crossing through the nearer Moria mines.
After all, the Bane of the Dwarves deep in the mines had carved fear deeply into the Dwarves' hearts.
They had now been away from Rivendell for a week, but Gandalf, who kept saying he would catch up with the company, had yet to appear.
Tarnes wanted to suggest waiting longer for Gandalf, but Thorin seemed somewhat impatient.
Thorin said that if the wizard wanted to catch up with them, it would certainly be very easy. Since Gandalf hadn't appeared for so long, it meant he had other matters delaying him, so they should continue their journey.
After hearing Thorin's words, Tarnes felt they made sense and nodded in agreement.
So they continued walking south along the edge of the Misty Mountains for another week.
Though the weather was cold, fortunately there were no Orc attacks.
Tarnes thought it might be because after entering Rivendell, those Orcs could no longer track their trail.
After all, Rivendell's Elves were quite martially inclined, frequently patrolling around Rivendell's territory and hunting down Orcs that intruded.
Bilbo followed them all the way, and the Hobbit, just as Elrond had said, quickly adapted to the harsh outdoor environment.
At least Bilbo could lie down on ground full of stone fragments and fall asleep quickly, rather than sneaking out to quietly complain to Tarnes about why he hadn't brought soft bedding for proper rest.
At midday, the sunlight was brilliant, golden rays like scattered gold dust adorning the mist-shrouded mountains.
"Speaking of which, we've passed many mountain passes, haven't we? Why can't we just go directly through the Misty Mountains?" Bilbo, sitting on Torrent, saw them pass another entrance into the Misty Mountains without entering and couldn't help asking loudly out of curiosity.
Bilbo was riding Torrent because his stamina really couldn't compare with these Dwarves in the short term.
Therefore, Tarnes had summoned Torrent so Bilbo could rest on him when he got tired from walking.
After hearing Bilbo's question, Balin called out loudly: "Of course it's because we can't enter there, Master Baggins. There are many roads that can cross the Misty Mountains, and mountain passes are the same. But, Master Baggins, you must know that most of these roads are deceptive. Otherwise, why would this mountain range be called the 'Misty Mountains' rather than the 'Foggy Mountains'?"
Bilbo showed a thoughtful expression. Seeing this, Balin continued explaining: "Most passes are either dead ends or wrong paths, and they're all haunted by evil creatures, full of danger and terror. Even the path I'm familiar with, I can't guarantee is completely safe. Who knows when dangerous creatures might occupy it? We'd better pray winter is cold enough to keep those terrible things from wanting to appear on the mountain roads."
Bilbo was frightened by Balin's words and shivered.
But Tarnes asked with interest: "Balin, do you know what those dangerous creatures look like?"
Balin replied in a humorous tone: "I certainly don't know, Mr. Tarnes. If I knew what those dangerous creatures looked like, perhaps you wouldn't have met me at Bag End but in the Misty Mountains instead."
Ori, the most learned of the expedition, heard their conversation and said: "I do know some things, though it's all from what I've heard from kinsmen or read in books."
This piqued the other Dwarves' interest, and Kili urged curiously: "Then tell us, Ori!"
Ori nodded: "Most of the dangerous creatures refer to Orcs or Trolls that haunt the Misty Mountains."
Dwalin, who had been listening intently to Ori, immediately lost interest upon hearing it was Orcs and Trolls: "Oh, if it's just Orcs and Trolls, my axe will make all their heads bloom."
But Ori said: "Dwalin, I only said most, not all. In fact, I once heard a Dwarf kinsman in a tavern say he saw eagles larger than elephants in the Misty Mountains."
"Oh, this..." Dwalin fell silent.
Ori continued: "Of course, that wasn't the most terrible thing. He saw something even more horrifying. Even after I bought him three large mugs of ale, he still couldn't calm down, his legs trembling."
Bofur said instinctively: "You weren't tricked out of drink money, were you? What monster did he encounter that even ale couldn't calm a Dwarf's fear?"
Bifur muttered something in Dwarvish, and the other Dwarves immediately objected.
"Impossible, Bifur. That thing is still sleeping in the depths of Moria."
"Oin is right. That thing couldn't come outside, otherwise the Dwarf Ori mentioned couldn't have recognized it."
Bilbo looked curiously at the suddenly agitated Dwarves: "What did Bifur say to make you all so excited?"
Bofur kindly explained: "He mentioned a certain terrifying existence in the Moria mines. Enough, let's not talk about that. Ori, continue. What was it?"
Ori said calmly: "Giants. Stone giants. When he was crossing the Misty Mountains, he encountered a thunderstorm, and the ground began to shake. He thought it was an earthquake but then discovered a shadow had blocked him out. They were two huge humanoid figures made of rock, hurling stones larger than houses at each other."
The moment Ori said the word "giants," everyone, including Tarnes, whether Bernahl, Millicent, or Igon, their eyes gleamed as they looked at Ori.
The gaze of all four made Ori shiver: "Do you have any questions you'd like to ask me?"
The four exchanged glances, then Tarnes spoke: "We're quite interested in the giants you mentioned, Ori. Could you give us more details?"
Ori showed an apologetic expression and replied politely: "I'm very sorry, Mr. Tarnes. What I know has already been completely told just now. The Dwarf who told me about the stone giants didn't know more detailed circumstances either. He said after seeing the stone giants, he fainted, and when he woke up it was clear weather with the giants vanished without a trace. If he hadn't seen those huge rocks that had fallen to the ground when leaving the valley, he would have thought it was just a nightmare."
So thunderstorm weather is one of the conditions for stone giants to appear?
Tarnes nodded thoughtfully: "I understand. Thank you, Ori."
Bernahl came to Tarnes' side and asked with a chuckle: "What do you think, Tarnes? Do you think they could be kin to those giant skeletons in the Lands Between?"
Millicent also approached. Hearing Bernahl's words, she shook her head: "I don't think so, Mr. Bernahl."
After thinking for a moment, Tarnes also agreed with Millicent: "I also think it's impossible. Since they're called stone giants, they should be related to stone. But the giants in the Lands Between are generally associated with fire. However, we need to be more vigilant. Giants are far more dangerous than dragons."
After hearing this, Igon said: "My great bow for dragon hunting has never shot arrows at giants. If we encounter them, I'd really like to see."
Bernahl smiled: "I'd also quite like to experience a giant's power. It's a pity I could only glimpse some of the giants' strength from that fire giant on the snowy mountain. How about it, Tarnes? Want to compete?"
Tarnes' expression froze as he said helplessly: "Why do you want to have another strange competition with me? How about instead imagining what we should do if we really encounter the stone giants Ori mentioned..."
Bilbo, sitting on Torrent's back, silently listened to the four of them discuss how to deal with giants, his expression quite colorful.
He felt that if there really were such massive creatures, they should run immediately upon encountering them, not think about how to defeat them.
Seeing how seriously the four were discussing, Ori said somewhat embarrassedly: "Mr. Tarnes, this is just something I heard about. It doesn't represent reality. Perhaps it really was just that Dwarf exaggerating after getting drunk."
Time passed, and another two days quietly went by.
Under Balin's guidance, the group entered a rugged path hidden among the rocks.
They walked along a mountain road, then came to another path, located almost at the edge of a cliff, and began crossing the Misty Mountains.
Unfortunately, they also encountered thunderstorm weather.
Bilbo wore soaked clothes, wiped rainwater from his face, held the rock wall with his left hand, and used a thick branch as a walking stick with his right, carefully moving forward.
The path was too narrow, and the rain made these rocks somewhat slippery.
Without sufficient caution, one could slip and fall.
"Since we've encountered thunderstorms, might we encounter those legendary stone giants?" Bilbo said loudly, making light of their bitter situation as he carefully stepped over a protruding rock.
But no one answered him. Only the rumbling thunder echoed on this dangerous cliff path.
Then Dwalin's terrified voice came: "Look out!"
Bilbo looked up to see a massive stone block hurtling toward them from the sky not far away.