Heading west from Bree, Luke had not yet set up the Floo Network, so they couldn't apparate via fireplaces.
However, they didn't need to walk either.
Luke and Gandalf each had a flying broomstick. Luke took Bilbo, and Gandalf took Legolas, and they flew directly towards the Old Forest.
Midway, the four flew over Barrow Downs.
After the previous sweep and purification, the evil forces on Barrow Downs were greatly reduced.
Although it was still eerie, the wights were in a deep slumber. As long as no one awakened them, there would be no need to worry about the threat of the wight for the next few decades.
Although Luke really wanted to completely clear out all the wight, as long as the Witch-king of Angmar was not dead, the wight would be inexhaustible.
And as long as Sauron had not completely lost his power, the Witch-king of Angmar could not be killed at all.
The Witch-king of Angmar was a Nazgûl formed by humans being corrupted by the one ring. His ability to exist in a ghostly form for a long time relied on the power of the one ring and Sauron's dark magic.
In the Battle of Dol Guldur, Luke had killed a Nazgûl, but he was resurrected by Sauron.
In the War of the Ring, the Witch-king of Angmar was killed by the combined efforts of Éowyn, the princess of Rohan, and the hobbit Merry, and the reason he did not revive was that the one ring was also destroyed at the same time, causing Sauron to completely lose his power and no longer be able to maintain the existence of the Nazgûl through the power of the one ring.
So everything returned to the one ring.
And their purpose on this trip was to deal with the one ring.
The four rode their flying broomsticks over the Old Forest and finally arrived above Tom Bombadil's house.
Tom below had already seen them and was happily waving at them.
As soon as they landed on the hillside, Tom came bouncing to them, waving his hands excitedly: "Oh, my friends, welcome to Tom Bombadil's house!"
Luke greeted him proactively: "Hi, Tom, long time no see!"
"Ah, Luke, my friend, the mountain wind blowing from the east brought me news of your victory. I am really looking forward to you telling me about the sights of your journey!" Tom said cheerfully, giving Luke a bear hug and laughing heartily.
"If you're interested, I can at any time." Luke said happily.
Luke had always been grateful to Tom. His first wand core came from Tom and Goldberry, and he was also taught musical magic that he could meditate and cultivate, which was a huge help.
He had always wanted to repay him in some way, but Tom lacked nothing.
"Tom, this is a gift I prepared for you. I hope you like it." Luke took out an openwork ring inlaid with a blue gem and handed it to him.
Tom took the ring, and his eyes immediately lit up. He put it on his right index finger.
Then, he touched the ring with his hand, and a magnificent golden-brown staff appeared in Tom's hand.
The staff head was inlaid with a large ruby, and the staff body was carved with grapevine patterns, with an overall natural and fluid design, exuding an elven style.
The length of the staff was just right for Tom's height.
"This is for me?" Tom played with the staff, clearly very fond of it.
Luke smiled and nodded: "This is a staff I asked the elves to make, crafted from the core of a mallorn tree that grows in Lórien. Try tapping the ground with it."
Tom heard this and curiously tapped the ground with the staff.
Flowers and plants instantly grew from the ground where the staff touched.
Tom's eyes widened, revealing a surprised expression.
He was like someone who had found something fun to play with, tapping and bumping everywhere with the staff, and laughing happily as he watched the flowers bloom everywhere.
Luke's smile deepened at this sight.
This staff was his first attempt at alchemy.
After acquiring "The Book of Abraham," he had never forgotten to study the alchemy knowledge within it.
While in Lórien, he used a section of mallorn tree core left over from making a staff, plus a ruby he selected from the treasure he received from the Lonely Mountain, and asked an elven craftsman to forge this staff.
Luke, using alchemical methods, fixed the "Flower Blooming" spell within the staff.
As long as he tapped a surface with the staff, flowers would bloom.
It could be said that besides being beautiful, this alchemical staff had no other use.
But apparently, Tom liked this staff very much.
In addition, that ring was also one of Luke's gifts.
Luke applied the Undetectable Extension Charm to the openwork part of the ring. Given the original small space, the expanded space limit was only the size of a small room.
Gandalf and the others also looked at the staff in Tom's hand with surprise; they didn't know about it any sooner than Tom did.
Although they knew that Luke always liked to go to the elven craftsmen while in Lórien.
But they didn't expect him to have made such a magical staff.
Tom played for a while, then excitedly led them home.
"Wow!" Bilbo and Legolas's mouths were slightly agape, looking at the house filled with blooming flowers, as if they had come to a flower fairy's greenhouse. Gandalf also showed a surprised expression.
"Tom, I haven't visited you in a long time. I didn't expect you to have changed your style?"
"This is Luke's doing," the beautiful Goldberry walked gracefully from among the water basins full of water lilies, and said to everyone with a gentle smile, "He used magic to decorate our house, and Tom and I both like it very much."
Goldberry was wearing a silver robe, covered with crystal-like Broken diamonds that resembled water droplets, and a golden belt around her waist.
She was as gentle as the Willow River, her eyes sparkling as she looked at everyone.
"Welcome, we haven't had any guests here since Luke left last time."
Tom, like a child who likes to show off in front of people he likes, handed the staff to Goldberry, and proudly said, "Goldberry, look at my new gift, a beautiful staff that can even make flowers bloom!"
Goldberry looked at Tom with gentle, loving eyes, and thanked Luke: "Thank you for the gift you gave Tom. He hasn't been this happy in a long time."
"As long as Tom likes it." Luke was naturally happy that his gift was liked.
Then he took out another openwork ring inlaid with a green gem and handed it to Goldberry.
"Lady Goldberry, this is a gift for you. I hope you like it."
This ring matched Tom's ring. Goldberry was surprised for a moment, then her eyes overflowed with a smile like water.
"Oh, thank you, I really like your gift." Goldberry accepted the gift and put it on her finger.
When Tom saw that Luke had given her the same ring, he immediately leaned his head over and said very curiously, "Goldberry, quickly look at the gift inside the ring."
Goldberry gently stroked the openwork part of the ring with her other hand, and a golden flower crown immediately appeared in her hand.
"This is a flower crown woven from the flowers of the mallorn tree in Lórien, made with elven craftsmanship, and it will never wither." Luke explained.
Goldberry looked at the golden flower crown in her hand with admiration, carefully placed it on her head, and her eyes curved into a smile:
"Thank you for your gift, Luke, this is the best gift I have ever received!"
"As long as you like it."
The three behind watched Luke's actions. Gandalf whispered to Legolas and Bilbo beside him:
"Honestly, if Luke had been even a fraction as attentive in Lórien and Rivendell as he is now, he wouldn't still have made no progress with Arwen."
Legolas and Bilbo both nodded in agreement, indicating their consent.
Fortunately, Luke didn't hear Gandalf's words, otherwise he would have said that Gandalf was disrespectful to his elders.
Not to mention that he is currently only focused on improving his strength, and has no mind to think about anything extra.
And even if he had the mind, would he dare to be attentive in Lórien and Rivendell?
In Lórien, there were Celeborn and Galadriel, who regarded Arwen as a treasure.
In Rivendell, there was Elrond, her father, and her two older brothers, Elrohir and Elladan, protecting her.
To be attentive to their granddaughter/daughter/sister in front of them, was he afraid they couldn't wield a knife anymore?
In Tom's living room,
Tom and Goldberry hosted Luke, Gandalf, Bilbo, and Legolas.
Everyone enjoyed a lavish feast.
During this time, Gandalf finally stated the purpose of their visit: "Tom, we have come here because there is an extremely dangerous item that none of us can avoid being affected by. We wish to entrust it to you for safekeeping until a way can be found to destroy it."
"What is it?" Tom asked curiously.
"It's, it's..." Gandalf opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.
He could only turn to Luke, "You say it, I can't speak."
Luke did not refuse. With the constraint of the Fidelius Charm, he was already surprised that Gandalf could say so much.
So he said to Tom: "It's the one ring. We want you to keep the one ring for us."
Luke was the Secret-Keeper. As soon as he revealed the secret, Tom and Goldberry automatically became among those who knew the secret, and an invisible bond immediately fell upon them, restricting them from telling others.
However, with Tom's strength, Luke doubted that this secrecy charm could restrict him.
Immediately, Bilbo also took out the treasure box containing the one ring from his personal pouch and placed it on the table.
Luke tapped the box with his wand, and the box automatically opened, revealing the one ring placed inside.
"Let me see this precious ring!" Tom looked curiously at the golden ring in the treasure box, and suddenly reached out to grab it directly.
Bilbo and Legolas were both startled by his action.
Gandalf's hand, holding his pipe, also tightened. Although he believed that the oldest Tom Bombadil could withstand the power of the one ring, he was still somewhat worried.
Luke, however, was very calm, full of confidence in Tom.
When the ring was placed on his large brown hand, it seemed to suddenly enlarge a lot, becoming a ring suitable for him to wear.
Tom suddenly held the ring up to his eyes and began to laugh heartily.
What made Gandalf, Legolas, and Bilbo even more tense was that Tom actually slipped the ring onto his little finger.
Bilbo gasped, looking at Tom in shock,
Because Tom didn't disappear!
It was as if the ring on his finger was just an ordinary ring.
Then Tom laughed again, tossing the ring up: it vanished in a flash, and then he made it reappear like a magic trick.
Bilbo was a little uneasy, suspecting in his heart whether it had been swapped.
As soon as Tom put the ring back in the box, he immediately picked it up and, under Gandalf's worried and Luke's disapproving gazes, put the ring on his finger.
The moment he put it on, Bilbo suddenly vanished from everyone's sight.
Everyone's eyes widened immediately, carefully searching Bilbo's chair, trying to find his figure.
Only Tom still looked at Bilbo's empty seat, his eyes gleaming with piercing light: "Hey! Bilbo, Tom Bombadil's eyes aren't so old that he can't see! Take off your golden ring, your hands will be prettier without it."
Bilbo seemed to be observing whether Tom could really see him, which made Tom's eyes follow him.
Finally, he took off the ring again and reappeared.