Upon hearing Gandalf's words, Arthur asked, "Does it have to be now? It's getting late, Gandalf."
Gandalf did not stop, but said, "I am a wizard, Arthur. For a wizard, it is more important to ascertain the truth of a matter than to worry about whether the timing is appropriate."
Arthur frowned slightly and said, "But it's too dangerous for you to go alone. I'm worried. Millison and I will go with you. With Bernal and Igon staying here, there's no need to worry about anything going wrong."
Gandalf smiled and nodded, "Faced with such warm intentions from you, it would be inappropriate for me to refuse. However, I'm not sure how long this trip will take. Perhaps just one night, or it could be an entire day."
He looked at Thorin and said, "If you don't see Arthur and me back by morning, you can set off first. Hmm, we'll meet at the village David mentioned. Within a week, Arthur, Miss Millison, and I will definitely catch up with you."
Thorin nodded slightly, "I hope you can be punctual, Gandalf."
Gandalf smiled faintly, "Oh, my dear Thorin, a wizard is never absent."
Bilbo reacted at this moment, widening his eyes, "Wait, Gandalf, Arthur, are you two leaving the company?"
Arthur reassured him, "Just temporarily, Bilbo. At the latest, we'll meet again after this week."
Bilbo nodded blankly, but he always felt a sense of insecurity after Arthur and Gandalf left.
Arthur looked at Bernal and Igon, instructing, "Bilbo's safety is temporarily entrusted to you two."
Bernal nodded calmly, while Igon laughed loudly, "No problem, Arthur, not even a Dragon can harm your friend!"
Thorin looked at Fili and Kili and said, "You two go help Arthur and them prepare about a week's worth of dry rations, and then go to the stable and bring over Gandalf's and Miss Millison's horses."
Fili and Kili immediately got up and ran out of the farmhouse.
However, when Arthur and the others came out, they found the dwarf brothers standing there in a daze, as if frozen.
Their eyes were wide open, their mouths slightly agape, and their expressions were confused and bewildered.
Seeing this, Arthur spoke up and asked, "What's wrong, Fili, Kili?"
Fili came back to his senses, first subtly glancing at the farmhouse. After realizing Thorin hadn't followed them out, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Arthur, "Uh, there's a small problem."
Kili continued his brother's sentence, adding, "Originally, we should have had eighteen horses in total, but now, even counting the farmer's horse, there are only fifteen. We are missing four horses."
Fili nodded, "Yes, but Kili and I can guarantee that the horses were properly tied in the stable."
Arthur frowned, "I think we should tell Thorin about this."
Fili immediately refused, "Uh, no, let's not worry him yet."
He glanced at the farmhouse again and pleaded in a low voice to Arthur and the others, "Please, Teacher Arthur and Gandalf, don't tell Thorin about the missing horses. Otherwise, we definitely won't be able to sleep well tonight."
Kili also nodded repeatedly, clearly not wanting to be scolded by Thorin if he found out about this.
The dim moonlight gently fell upon the rustic stable. The wooden fences swayed gently in the breeze, making creaking sounds, yet not disturbing the horses inside.
Wait, why were there "creaking" sounds from the wooden fence?
With this question, Arthur curiously took a few steps closer to the stable, reaching the other side, and discovered the truth of the missing horses.
The other side of the stable had been damaged at some unknown time. The sound was precisely from the broken fence swaying in the wind.
Gandalf also looked over, frowning at the huge footprints left on the ground, and said, "It seems that more than one Troll came to David's house just now. It's just that the Troll you and Bernal killed didn't have time to leave."
Arthur looked at the location of the stable and the sheepfold, and nodded, "Hmm, the stable is further out. I did hear the horses' frightened cries just now. I originally thought they were scared by that Troll, but I didn't expect that other Trolls had stolen the horses."
Kili subconsciously asked, "Then why did that Troll spend more time going to the sheepfold to steal sheep?"
Gandalf gave Kili an annoyed look, "Perhaps it's because every Troll has different tastes, Kili. But I'd rather you tell Thorin about this now. One Troll coming down from the mountain is already a situation that needs attention, let alone more than one now. This is already a change that calls for our vigilance. Use your rock-hard brain to think, Kili, would Trolls risk being exposed to the sun and run down the mountain for no reason?"
"Uh, maybe they just wanted to come down the mountain for a change of taste, after all, there are no sheep or chickens in the mountains…"
Kili subconsciously retorted, but was pulled by Fili's sleeve, and then seeing Gandalf's gaze becoming increasingly serious, his voice began to shrink.
Arthur cleared his throat and quickly appeased Gandalf, "Gandalf, no need to be so angry. Fili, I'll go with you and Kili to help explain the problem of the missing horses."
Fili then nodded quickly. At least with Teacher Arthur there, he and Kili wouldn't have to directly face Thorin's wrath.
Indeed, after Arthur brought the two frightened Dwarves back to the farmhouse and explained the situation to Thorin, Fili and Kili were not scolded by him.
However, the price was that they both had to be responsible for finding the missing horses, otherwise, without horses, they wouldn't be able to keep everyone moving at the pace of the company tomorrow during the day.
This meant that Fili and Kili also had to go with Arthur and the others into the deep valley on this cold, late night.
So Bilbo shouted loudly outside the farmhouse, "So why are you taking me out too? The missing horses have nothing to do with me!"
Fili and Kili exchanged glances and said simultaneously, "But you are our hired master burglar, Sir Bilbo. We think you should be able to quickly find the Troll's footprints and lead us there."
Bilbo looked at Fili and Kili in disbelief, then noticed their serious expressions, and was even more speechless.
So he resignedly sighed, "Alright, alright, I knew this day would come, it just happened much earlier than I expected. Looking for Troll footprints at night is safer than looking for Dragon footprints."
Arthur had originally intended to have Bilbo go back, but unexpectedly, he agreed himself.
Gandalf also said, "It certainly saves a lot of trouble to have a hobbit help out. Let's go, before the other Trolls go too far."
The valley, washed by a winter rain in the dead of night, was exceptionally tranquil.
The rainwater shimmered silver in the faint moonlight, and the damp earth exuded a cold aura.
The stream in the valley became even more turbulent after the rain.
Occasionally, a drop or two of water would slide down from above, creating ripples.
Gandalf leaned on his Staff with one hand and held his Ritual Straight Sword in the other.
Arthur also had a similar setup of a sword and a Staff, and he even cast the Glintstone Magic [Starlight] to illuminate the deep forest ahead.
They walked at the very front, while the two Dwarves and the hobbit were in the middle, and Millison was responsible for the safety of the rear.
Gandalf and Arthur stopped, and Arthur frowned after looking around.
Bilbo saw the group stop and instinctively asked, "What's wrong?"
Gandalf turned back and said, "There's too much tall grass and trees ahead, Bilbo, we can't see the Troll's footprints clearly anymore."
Arthur nodded, gazing at the winding, deep valley ahead.
Their current location was not suitable for walking.
The air in the deep valley was filled with a mixture of earth and dampness, and the ground underfoot was haphazardly covered with wild grass, whose height even exceeded their ankles, swaying gently in the wind.
Trees were densely arranged on both sides, their branches and leaves intertwined, forming a thick green canopy that blocked most of the moonlight.
If it weren't for the [Starlight] Glintstone Magic continuously providing a bright light source from above Arthur's head, the faint light from torches alone would have been enough to make them get lost here.
Moreover, Arthur noticed that the ground here was not as soft and moist as the ground outside, which would allow the Troll's footprints to be clearly left behind.
On the contrary, the soil here was mixed with hard stones, and leaving clear footprints on it would require very deliberate force.
Bilbo, using the light emanating from the [Starlight] Glintstone Magic above Arthur's head, squinted at a tree on his right, raised his hand and pointed: "Do you see that tree? Is there something wrong with the trunk of that tree on the right? I'm not sure, it's just a feeling."
Arthur followed Bilbo's finger and indeed found something out of place on the tree trunk.
Kili, sharp-eyed, said, "It looks like a few scratches made by a sharp object?"
Arthur nodded, then carefully looked around the tree and found similar scratches: "Yes, and the trees behind it also have similar scratches..."
"And it seems there's something else..." Bilbo said hesitantly.
He stepped forward with his furry feet, cautiously approached, knelt on the ground, and then picked up something.
Bilbo held a few strands of mane between his fingers, a look of pleasant surprise on his face: "It's hair that fell off a horse! It looks like this direction is correct!"
Gandalf laughed, "As expected of our Burglar, you can even find such inconspicuous things."
Millison said from behind, "Then these knife marks must have been deliberately left by the Trolls. They also need to carve marks in this deep valley overgrown with weeds and trees to recognize the way back to their lair."
Arthur nodded: "You're right, Millison. And the knife marks are relatively fresh, left within the last few days. Combined with what David said, it's very likely that the Trolls left these road markers for themselves to easily go to David's farmhouse and steal livestock."
Fili and Kili exchanged excited glances, and the latter said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry and catch up, it'll be troublesome if that Troll slaughters the horses."
Arthur did not act immediately, but instead canceled the Starlight Glintstone Magic above his head, letting darkness return to the forest.
Because the [Starlight] Glintstone Magic provided too much illumination, he was worried that the Trolls would see the light they were making from far away.
Gandalf then took over Arthur's illumination duty, reaching out to touch the tip of his Staff, producing a very faint, hard-to-notice white light.
Only then did Arthur turn around and say in the direction where Fili and Kili had spoken, "Don't rush, Fili, Kili, patience is the most important thing."
With the light from Gandalf's Staff, Arthur and the others quickly followed the carvings on the trees and found the Trolls' lair.
Rather, these Trolls had not expected humans to follow them, so they made no attempt to hide, and the glow of their campfire directly exposed their location.
There were two Trolls in total, both busy with their respective tasks.
One was tall and muscular like iron; he used a huge moss-covered rock as a whetstone, vigorously sharpening a gleaming, pointed knife.
The other Troll appeared cunning and agile; he held a ladle, gently and rhythmically stirring the black pot simmering over the campfire. The liquid in the pot boiled and churned, making a dull sound, and wisps of hot steam carrying a pungent, unusual odor permeated the surroundings.
The horses they had abducted were simply tied to the thick trunk of a tree, huddling together and trembling.
"Is it not ready yet, William? My stomach is growling, and my knife is almost worn out," the Troll sharpening the knife stopped his actions, turned around, and asked in a simple, honest tone.
At the same time, his hand was not idle, reaching directly into the soup pot, wanting to pinch something out.
Then his head was harshly struck by his companion William with the scalding ladle: "How many times have I told you, don't touch my pot!! Tom!! And Bert hasn't come back yet, we eat together, understand!!"
"Ow, that hurts. I'm just hungry, it's not that I don't want to wait for Bert," Tom protested, clutching his head.
William pointed at Tom unceremoniously: "That's exactly what not wanting to wait looks like!"
Tom said aggrievedly, "But Bert is too slow, we've been waiting for almost half an hour."
William cursed, "Isn't it because he wants to keep eating mutton? The day before yesterday was mutton, yesterday was mutton, and the day before that was still mutton! My mouth is full of the smell of mutton now!"
Tom chuckled after hearing that: "Then why don't we just grab that farmer tomorrow? I haven't tasted human flesh in a long time."
William rolled his eyes at him: "Forget it, that farmer looks thin and small, surely all bones, and will taste sour and bland. I don't want to eat that farmer until we finish the livestock from that farmhouse."
Then he heard Tom's confused voice: "William, what's that? Why is there a fireball floating in the air by itself?"
William turned his head to look, and a massive fireball instantly plastered itself to his face.