Luke and Bard's family got along well.
Bard was hospitable, and his two children were innocent and kind.
Luke was also very generous, taking out some beautiful jewelry from his spatial bag and giving it to Bard's two children.
Three days had passed since Thorin and the others, and Gandalf, left.
Luke joyfully welcomed the first flying broom of his life.
The broomstick was made from the hardest core of the old willow, jade-white all over, with smooth and flowing lines.
Inside, intricate runic symbols were engraved, with magic subtly flowing within them.
The tail end of the broom was cut from the remaining material into countless neat thin branches to ensure its streamlined shape and precise balance.
With the flying broom completed, Luke couldn't wait to try it out.
He placed the flying broom beside his foot, stretched out his hand, and shouted, "Up!"
The broom rolled on the ground.
"Up!" This time, his tone became firm and unyielding.
With a whoosh, the broom leaped from the ground and landed directly in Luke's hand.
Gripping the flying broom, Luke's lips quickly curved upwards, his excitement and sense of accomplishment evident.
After making the flying broom, the first thing, of course, was to test its performance.
Luke eagerly went outside Bard's house, straddled the flying broom, and gently pushed off with his feet.
His entire body was immediately lifted by the broom, slowly floating off the ground.
Beneath his backside, an invisible air cushion supported him, just like riding a bicycle, so he didn't have to worry about falling.
Bard's family, who had followed him out, were stunned by this sight.
Bard's young son, after the initial shock, was filled with excitement and eagerness, wishing he could also ride it and experience it himself.
For his first flight, Luke was exceptionally excited, leaning his body directly forward, and his entire being shot out like a firecracker in an instant.
"Ah ah ah!" Luke flew around like a headless fly, soaring into the sky one moment, and nearly hitting a rooftop the next, making people's hearts pound.
The residents of Lake-town were all attracted by this scene, and then they were utterly astonished.
They recognized the person flying on the broom as the guest staying at Bard's house.
They never expected him to possess such ability, to be able to fly!
Especially the Mayor, who was almost hit by him near his own rooftop, widened his eyes and craned his neck out the window, a look of annoyance in his eyes.
Although he was greedy and short-sighted, he still had some insight.
He only regretted why he hadn't invited such an extraordinary person back then, instead letting that fisherman Bard benefit.
Meanwhile, Luke was oblivious to the reactions of the Lake-town residents; after his initial familiarity with the flying broom, he finally, somewhat wobbly, piloted it and landed back in front of Bard's house.
Seeing the envious and longing expressions on Bard's children's faces, Luke smiled and promised them that he would take them flying in the future.
Then, after formally bidding farewell to Bard, he soared into the sky on his broom, flying towards the Lonely Mountain.
As for Bard's black arrow, although Luke had considered taking it to deal with the dragon Smaug.
But after thinking it over, he gave up.
Although the black arrow is currently the only known weapon in Middle-earth that can penetrate dragon scales, it doesn't mean it's the only thing that can deal with dragons. Luke has a divine spear, aeglos, in his hand, and its penetrating power is unmatched.
Gil-galad, the High King of the Noldor, once used it to pierce the hardest armor on Sauron's body, leaving a wound on Sauron.
Luke believed his divine spear was no worse than the black arrow, so he left the black arrow for Bard, to see if he could still accomplish the feat of slaying the dragon.
The speed of a flying broom depends on the level of its craftsmanship, just like the Wizards in the world of magic have Sweep Series, Comet Series,
Nimbus Series, and other flying brooms, as well as the fastest one, the Firebolt.
Although Luke obtained the manufacturing process for flying brooms, he was only a beginner, so the flying speed of the broom he made was even slower than the slowest flying broom in the magical world.
However, even so, with his flying broom, he still managed to catch up with Thorin and Gandalf and the others, who had departed three days earlier, in just half a day.
It was unknown what had happened during these three days; Gandalf had not successfully persuaded Thorin to abandon his advance on the Lonely Mountain, but instead continued to walk with them.
When Luke was still just a small black dot in the distance, Gandalf had already spotted him, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Aha, our last member has finally caught up!"
Hearing Gandalf's words, everyone looked in the direction of his gaze with confusion.
Then they saw a blurry figure in the distant sky rapidly approaching them.
Soon, Luke's figure came into view.
"Luke!"
Everyone looked at the flying Luke in disbelief.
"My Aulë, am I still dreaming? How am I seeing Luke flying on a broom?"
The Dwarf Bofur rubbed his eyes and exclaimed, "Everyone, I'm not too late, am I?"
Luke leaned slightly forward, slowly descending from mid-air and landing on the ground, asking with a smile.
"Welcome back, Luke," Gandalf happily stepped forward to give Luke a hug, then eagerly looked at the broom in his hand, "I didn't expect you to make the flying broom so quickly. How does it feel to fly?"
Seeing Gandalf's eager expression, Luke laughingly handed him the broom.
"It feels pretty good; you can try it too."
Gandalf's eyes instantly lit up, he snatched the broom, his face beaming with joy.
"Then I won't be polite!"
Having tossed the flying broom to Gandalf to tinker with, Luke turned to greet everyone.
Bilbo, upon seeing Luke, felt as if he had found his backbone, yet he was somewhat guilty and dared not meet his gaze.
As an honest and trustworthy hobbit, Bilbo didn't know how to refuse; after Thorin threatened him with the signed contract, even knowing that the dragon had awakened, he still agreed to risk stealing the arkenstone for Thorin, and so he left Lake-town first with the Dwarves.
Of course, more importantly, Bilbo had confidence in the magic ring in his hand.
He felt that as long as he put on the magic ring, he could steal the arkenstone right under the dragon's nose.
This would also fulfill the agreement they had signed.
It was just that when he left Lake-town with the Dwarves earlier, it was very sudden, and he didn't have time to tell Luke and Gandalf before leaving.
Now, seeing Luke again, he felt a bit guilty.
Luke, however, didn't care about this; Bilbo was his friend, not his subordinate, and didn't need to ask for his opinion to do anything.
He patted the hobbit's shoulder, then smiled and greeted the Dwarves.
To be honest, after getting along for so long, besides Thorin, he had a pretty good impression of all the Dwarves.
For example, the eldest, Balin, was the wisest and most mature among the Dwarves, practically the strategist of the Dwarf team.
The youngest, Fili and Kili, though Thorin's nephews, were lively, quick-witted, and friendly.
The fattest, Bofur, was easy-going, loved to eat and sleep, and was the 'mood-maker' of the team.
The other Dwarves also had many shining qualities.
But when it came to Thorin—Luke didn't know how to comment.
"Welcome back, Luke," Thorin's attitude was wary, his eyes full of suspicion, "I hope you are here to reclaim the Lonely Mountain together, and not to persuade me to give up like Gandalf?"