"Why speak with such harsh words, my friend?"
Just as Levi finished delivering his ultimatum, the door suddenly opened with a dramatic whoosh, and a figure draped in pristine white robes emerged from within the tower.
"With such distinguished guests visiting, why was I not properly informed?"
He looked with apparent disappointment at the servant positioned at the entrance and scolded with theatrical authority:
"You may return now. There's no need to guard the door here anymore."
"Yes, my lord."
The servant lowered his head in acknowledgment and hurried away with obvious relief.
"Saruman."
Gandalf offered a respectful bow in greeting.
Levi nodded curtly, showing basic courtesy.
Actually, even without betraying the free peoples, this old man's personality wasn't particularly likeable. It wasn't his betrayal that led to his vile character, but rather his vile arrogance and consuming jealousy that would eventually lead to his betrayal.
"How remarkably rare that the Legend of the Wilderness, Creator of Free City-States, Dragon-slayer Levi would visit my humble abode."
"My subordinate lacks proper manners and spoke rudely at the entrance. I hope you won't hold it against him."
"Of course I won't blame him personally."
Levi smiled with deceptive pleasantness: "After all, it's what he was taught by others."
Saruman's weathered face stiffened visibly.
"Haha, you two, why don't we go inside to talk? After all, the entrance really isn't a suitable place for meaningful conversation."
Gandalf quickly stepped between them, blocking their direct line of sight with diplomatic urgency.
"I have no objections to that."
Levi answered first with calm agreement.
"Then please, honored guests, follow me."
Saruman stared at Levi for several tense seconds, then turned and headed toward the upper levels of the tower with measured steps.
As if nothing confrontational had happened just moments before.
Behind him, Gandalf desperately tried to communicate with Levi through meaningful eye signals, but Levi just walked straight ahead, pretending not to notice the wizard's frantic attempts.
These two masters!
Old Gandalf's eyelids twitched with inexpressible difficulty. If these two started fighting seriously, he really couldn't stop them. Neither was someone he could control or reason with once their minds were set.
Valar above, let them speak a few words peacefully.
In the upper level of the tower of Orthanc, Saruman settled into the highest main seat with obvious ceremony, picked up an ornate cup of tea, and took a deliberate sip.
Levi and Gandalf sat at a smaller table positioned below the main seat, with steaming tea placed before them as well.
For several long moments, the scene remained somewhat quiet and tense.
If one ignored previous hostile exchanges and just observed the current scene, perhaps someone might think a refined tea-tasting gathering was being held here.
Taking a small sip of tea and confirming it was just regular tea with nothing suspicious added and no poison, Levi nodded with satisfaction and surveyed the impressive great hall.
Since the entire tower was constructed with polished black stone, the interior environment was somewhat dim despite its grandeur. The only sources of illumination were colored light filtering through stained glass windows and several lamp stands positioned strategically on the ground, with fire-lit lamps protected on top.
This hall featured unobstructed doorways on both the left and right sides. The left appeared to be a research room with numerous papers recording certain studies spread across tables, plus various small miscellaneous items and apparatus.
The right side appeared somewhat empty by comparison.
In the center of that room stood a stone platform with something significant placed upon it, currently concealed by a thick, opaque cloth.
If expectations were correct, beneath that cloth lay the palantír stored in this tower.
The palantír was a magical artifact of incredible power. Those who possessed it could not only communicate with each other across vast distances but also use the stone to observe intelligence about territories where other stones were located, making it essentially Middle-earth's surveillance system.
Before his eventual betrayal, Saruman had used this device to monitor Gandalf's movements, watching him daily to track his whereabouts and activities.
However, the palantír also possessed dangerous drawbacks. If the user's will wasn't sufficiently firm, they would see disturbing things within it that made their mind confused and vulnerable to manipulation.
Only those with exceptionally strong wills could control it properly, turning their vision to things they actually wanted to see.
This was the palantír's function under normal circumstances.
At this time, because Sauron held one palantír, anyone rashly using a palantír would be forcibly connected by Sauron for unwanted communication and then potentially tracked down for elimination.
Extremely dangerous.
So at this time, except for Sauron's stone being in active use, all other existing stones in Middle-earth were covered like this, physically blocking the connection to prevent unwanted spying.
Currently, there were four palantíri with known locations in Middle-earth: one in Gondor, one here with Saruman, one with the elves in Lindon, and the last one with Sauron.
Excluding Sauron's, among the first three, the one in Lindon didn't connect with other stones and could only look one-way toward Aman across the sea, essentially decorative scenery with little practical use.
The one in Gondor belonged to the royal family, but with the throne currently vacant, no one possessed authority to use it.
In later times when the War of the Ring would begin, the then-Steward would activate that stone to monitor Mordor's movements. Due to his deep hatred of Mordor, even Sauron couldn't corrupt him completely.
But in the battle of wills with Sauron, that Steward would still fall behind, causing him to appear prematurely aged despite being in his prime. When the White City was finally breached, he would suffer a complete mental breakdown.
Though the ending wouldn't be pleasant, this future Steward would prove much stronger than Saruman.
Some people confronted Sauron until mental collapse without betraying anyone, while others gave up after just a couple of communications.
Hard to judge.
"Then it's time to ask what brings the much-discussed figure of current events to my remote place?"
In the extended silence, Saruman spoke first, his words pulling Levi's thoughts back from the covered stone.
"I heard that the tower of Orthanc houses the wisest books in all Middle-earth."
"I came for these, hoping to search for some specific materials here."
"I see."
I thought it was something major; turns out it's another person wanting to borrow books.
Saruman took another sip of tea, feeling somewhat more at ease with this mundane request.
"Very well, I permit it."
Though his attitude remained somewhat arrogant, he still agreed to this matter without further objection.
"However..."
With a calculated change of tone, Saruman continued: "The books here didn't fall from the sky. They were all painstakingly collected and organized by me over many years, with quite a few written by my own hand."
"For mortals, the wisdom contained here is something they could never access in their entire lifetime."
Though he looked down on and was jealous of Gandalf, they were of the same kind after all. No matter how displeasing Gandalf might be, without special reasons, they still had to accommodate and help each other.
But people outside their wizard brotherhood?
"Where there are gains, there must be returns. I think you should understand this fundamental principle."
"Fine, fine, got it."
Levi retrieved a golden apple and whoosh threw it directly toward Saruman.
Caught completely off guard, Saruman only had time to block instinctively with his hands.
The movement was so fast he couldn't see clearly what the airborne object actually was.
When the golden item struck, a loud "thud" of impact echoed in the spacious hall. Saruman clutched his struck stomach, his face twitching with pain, followed immediately by rising anger.
"Throwing heavy objects at me! What do you mean by this outrageous behavior?"
"Why don't you look at what's in your hands?"
"Besides stones, what else could it... hmm?"
When he finally saw the item in his grasp, Saruman's eyes widened immediately with shock and disbelief.