Luke was greatly surprised when Bilbo said that a village had appeared at the foot of the mountain.
He remembered that the area around Weathertop had been desolate before.
He immediately went out with Bilbo, followed closely by Gandalf and Legolas.
The scenery around Weathertop remained the same.
As the highest hill within a thousand miles, the Water of Weeping below the mountain and the East-West Road were all clearly visible.
And between the Water of Weeping and the East-West Road, near the Water of Weeping, a village had appeared at some unknown time.
Smoke curled from the village, and figures could vaguely be seen.
Standing on the hilltop, looking out at the village, Luke was full of questions.
"When did these people gather here?"
Gandalf was also surprised for a moment, then smiled and prompted, "Have you forgotten the villagers we rescued in the Troll Forest earlier?"
Luke naturally remembered.
But the problem was that he had previously distributed a portion of the Trolls' treasure to the villagers, and that money was enough for them to live a comfortable and well-fed life anywhere.
And traveling from the Troll Forest to the vicinity of Weathertop required crossing the vast wilderness of the Lone-lands, not only worrying about wild beasts and bandits, but also the appearance of Orcs; it was a difficult journey.
Even upon reaching Weathertop, there was no place to eat or stay.
To live here, they would need to start from scratch.
In Luke's opinion, these villagers should have continued west to live in Bree, or followed the Greyflood River under the Last Great Bridge to live in the human kingdoms to the south.
And not clear land near Weathertop.
If there was a question, then it should be answered.
"Let's go, we'll go down the mountain and see these new neighbors," Luke said.
The few of them did not take the easy way out by riding flying brooms; they simply walked slowly down the mountain.
However, looking at the path overgrown with weeds and thorns, Luke silently decided to build a road later.
Otherwise, the place he lived in wouldn't even have a decent road, which was a bit shabby.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, they first encountered the Water of Weeping.
The Water of Weeping was vast, covering a large area from the southwest of Weathertop Hills to Bree; it was a huge swamp.
Luke looked at this swamp and had a plan in his mind.
He thought that in the future, he could hire people to dig up this swamp and transform it into a lake, just like the Black Lake at Hogwarts.
Then, if he wanted to go to Weathertop, he could cross the lake by boat or pass over a high bridge.
Turning Weathertop into an easily defensible fortress,
Bypassing the Water of Weeping, Luke and the others arrived at the village near the swamp.
The appearance of strangers alerted the villagers, but when they saw Luke and the others coming from the direction of Weathertop, and then saw Luke's appearance, the villagers quickly changed from wary to surprised and doubtful.
A young man dressed in simple linen clothes suddenly rushed out of the crowd.
He came before Luke and the others, saying with surprise and excitement, "Wizard Luke, you're back?"
Luke looked at the young man in front of him, quickly recalling memories in his mind.
"You're Edward?"
The young man nodded excitedly and honorably.
"It's me, Wizard Luke, you've returned, haven't you?"
Luke nodded and asked about the doubt in his heart: "Why are you here? And what's the situation with this village and these villagers?"
"After you and Wizard Gandalf rescued us and gave us money, most of us chose to walk west along the road, hoping to come and live in your territory," the young Edward said with excitement and adoration.
"It was just too long a journey, and we even encountered a group of Orcs on the way; we almost thought we were going to die!" Edward said this with lingering fear.
Luke and Gandalf frowned upon hearing this.
They hadn't expected these villagers to encounter Orcs; had Orcs already spread to the wilderness?
"What happened then?" Luke continued to ask.
"Later, we encountered a group of Rangers. They quickly killed those Orcs, and when they heard that we were rescued by you and Wizard Gandalf, they had two of their Rangers escort us all the way here."
Edward explained, "Oh, by the way, the leader of that group of Rangers said he knew you. He said his name was Alpha."
"Alpha?" Luke was surprised to hear this, not expecting that it was Alpha and these Dúnedain who had saved the villagers.
Then, at Edward's enthusiastic invitation, Luke and the other three were welcomed into the village.
Among the people in the village, Luke recognized some of them; they were all people Luke and Gandalf had rescued previously.
But there was a small portion of people Luke had not seen.
According to Edward's explanation, he then learned that these people were those from nearby who had heard of the Black Robe Wizard Luke and had specifically come to seek refuge, hoping to gain Luke's protection.
Now, throughout the entire Eriador region, the name of Black-robed Wizard Luke was already well-known.
In this era, if common people had no one to protect them, they would either be plundered by bandits, oppressed and exploited by the powerful, or even attacked by Orcs, Trolls, and the like; it was truly a precarious existence, difficult to survive.
Therefore, finding a lord who provided protection, especially those benevolent lords, was a dream come true for the common people.
Luke's deeds, such as helping the hobbit resist tree invasions, solving the Barrow-downs Barrow-wights, and rescuing villagers captured by Trolls, had long spread throughout the wilderness, creating an image of benevolence and compassion in the hearts of many.
According to Edward, these refugees were just the first batch from nearby, and there would be a continuous stream of people coming to seek refuge later.
There were now over three hundred people in the village, and if more people came, the village would need to be expanded, transforming from a village into a small town.
Luke was also a bit surprised to hear this news.
And all the people in the village had gathered at this time; those villagers who had been rescued by Luke and Gandalf earlier were now looking at Luke with faces full of surprise and excitement.
They had traveled thousands of miles to settle here precisely to gain Luke's protection and no longer live a precarious life.
However, since Luke had not returned for a long time, their hearts had been empty and somewhat uneasy.
Now that Luke had returned, it was as if they had found their backbone, and they were completely at ease.
As for the villagers who had come to seek refuge, they looked at Luke from a distance with reverence and uncertainty, cautious and not daring to approach, fearing that Luke would reject them.
Luke looked at the villagers and asked, "Who is your current village chief?"
A tall, thin middle-aged man stepped forward and respectfully said, "Lord Luke, I am Luke. I was chosen by the villagers to temporarily manage village affairs, but the true village chief still needs to be appointed by you."
Luke looked at this middle-aged man, who was respectful in demeanor but steady in temperament, and was somewhat curious.
"You don't seem to be someone I've saved before. Where are you from?"
Luke bowed, "My Lord, I used to live in Bree."
Luke was truly surprised now.
"You used to live in Bree? Then why did you come here?"
Bree is located at the intersection of the East-West Road and the North-South Road, with convenient transportation, making it a prosperous commercial town.
And there was nothing here at Weathertop.
Why would this man named Luke come here?
Facing Luke's inquiry, Luke dared not conceal anything: "My Lord, I am the son of the previous mayor of Bree. Because of a rift with the current mayor, I heard that you established a territory here, so I wanted to come to you for protection."
The moment Luke's gaze met Luke's, he instantly knew the reason for the matter from his memory, and he withdrew his gaze with understanding.
It was merely a grudge arising from a change in power; Luke had no particular interest in such matters.
However, Luke, as the son of the former mayor, was indeed a capable person.
Upon arriving here, he quickly gained the recognition of the villagers and organized them to build houses, establishing a complete village from scratch.
He even started doing business with passing merchants.
Such a talented person would achieve something wherever he went.
Since he confirmed that the other party did not come with an ulterior motive and was also a capable person, Luke simply nodded.
"Since you have gained the recognition of the villagers, then you shall continue to be the village chief and manage affairs."
Luke couldn't help but show joy upon hearing this.
Although he had remained calm just now, his heart was still uncertain, unsure of Luke's impression of him.
If Luke had a bad impression of him, even if he had gained the recognition of the villagers, a single word from Luke could still decide his fate.
Luke immediately knelt down, solemnly and gravely swearing:
"I, Luke Thompson, in the name of the gods, swear allegiance to the great Lord Luke, Master of Amon Sûl, the Tree-Feller, the Bane of Barrow-wights, the Troll Slayer, and the Orc's Nemesis!"
Upon seeing Luke's action, the other villagers immediately knelt down as well, swearing allegiance to Luke, becoming his subjects, and accepting his rule.
Luke was startled by this sudden scene.
He immediately waved his hand: "I don't need your allegiance. You can all live here if you wish. I can guarantee that you will not be harmed here."
Upon hearing this, Luke and the other villagers were stunned, their movements frozen, their expressions uneasy and uncertain.
Gandalf looked at the uneasy villagers, then sighed and advised Luke, "Luke, accept their allegiance.
Only by becoming your subjects can they live here in peace."
After hearing Gandalf's words and seeing the villagers' expectant and uncertain expressions, Luke also felt a headache coming on.
Alright, he really didn't understand how people's minds worked in this world.
He had already agreed to let the villagers live here and promised to protect them, so why were they still begging him to rule them?
And even if he didn't agree, they wouldn't be at ease?
Seeing this, he could only nod and accept the villagers' allegiance.
And upon seeing Luke agree, the villagers immediately rejoiced, as if they had finally found a sense of belonging.
Thus, the villagers became Luke's first subjects.
All villagers could address Luke as "My Lord" to show respect and subordination.
And Gandalf, Bilbo, and Legolas, who witnessed this scene, all immediately congratulated Luke.
"Congratulations, Luke, you are now a lord with subjects!"
Gandalf congratulated him with a cheerful laugh.
"That's right, Luke, do I have to call you Lord from now on too?"
Bilbo also joked excitedly, while also feeling thrilled and happy to have a lord as a friend.
Legolas, though silent, was also smiling broadly.