"Gandalf! Gandalf! It's me, Radagast!"
From a distance, the old man in a brown wizard's robe and a felt hat shouted towards Arthur and his group.
Although his voice was aged, it was not the volume an old man could produce, but rather like a spirited young man exerting all his might.
Arthur's group and Thorin's company stopped. Gandalf seized the opportunity to ride forward to greet him, while Bernal looked at Radagast with interest.
He pulled on the reins, urging his horse forward a few steps, and came to Arthur's side, whispering, "That old man, like Gandalf, only looks like an old man, but inside, he is not at all."
Arthur nodded: "Of course, I noticed that too. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"
Bernal shrugged and said, "Nothing, just lamenting that there are still many powerful figures in this world. It's just that I don't know why both Gandalf and this fellow called Radagast, intentionally or unintentionally, hide… no, it should be said they suppress their strength. I'm just curious why they do this, just like that orc rider army we encountered in David Village before. Gandalf alone could have easily dealt with them."
Arthur mused, "Perhaps there are concerns we don't know about. I can feel that Gandalf's hidden strength is not intentional, and he also reminded me not to use Glintstone Magic that is too powerful. Never mind, it's meaningless for us to guess alone here. We might as well ask Gandalf privately later."
Bernal nodded: "I have the same intention. There are many things in this world that are still too unfamiliar to us, and I won't feel at ease until I figure them out. As someone who is good at fighting tarnished, you should know the importance of intelligence even more. If you know your opponent's intelligence, you can formulate tactics based on their fighting habits."
Then Arthur's expression became quite interesting, because of Bernal's words, he thought of Sir Gideon Ofnir.
Bernal, seeing Arthur's expression, obviously also thought of Sir Gideon Ofnir, and then fell silent.
After a moment, Bernal covered his face and explained, "No, I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence. He's purely too talkative…"
Bilbo looked at the two who had suddenly fallen silent and asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"
Arthur replied with a faint smile, "We're talking about a very interesting old friend. Perhaps you'll have a chance to see him in the future."
Bilbo pouted: "Alright."
Gandalf had now met with Radagast and was calling out Arthur's name, telling him to come over as well.
"Oh, Radagast the Brown, I want to introduce you to a new wizard, Arthur."
Gandalf said with a chuckle as Arthur, riding Torrent, arrived next to Radagast's rabbit-pulled sled.
Arthur dismounted, politely nodded to the Brown wizard in greeting, and then sized him up: his unkempt hair, long eyebrows, and beard were all tangled together, making it hard to distinguish them; his features were revealed in a charmingly simple manner, and the hair on the right side of his head seemed to be stained with something white that had dried and solidified.
He looked somewhat dirty all over, his clothes were frayed, and there was dust and mud everywhere, as if he had been left in the forest for a very long time.
As Arthur approached Radagast, he smelled bird droppings coming from him.
Well, it was obvious what that dried stuff in his hair was then.
You, Radagast the Brown, are probably not called that because your robe was soaked brown by mud.
Arthur grumbled inwardly; he really didn't know how to describe Radagast's attire.
Gandalf saw what Arthur was thinking. He also knew that his colleague preferred to stay in the forest and therefore paid little attention to personal hygiene.
So he cleared his throat and said, "Radagast, this is Arthur, the rebuilder of Minhiriath, Lord of the Twin Erdtree."
"Oh, hello, I remember you, you're the one who fell from the sky. It's great to have another wizard here, no, Gandalf, I'm not here for him. Although I'm very happy, I'm really not here for him. I'm here for you, something is wrong, very wrong."
Radagast first smiled and extended his hand to Arthur, but before Arthur could even consider whether to hold his breath and shake his hand, the wizard suddenly and frantically leaned towards Gandalf, speaking a lot of words in an agitated tone.
Gandalf also silently took half a step back, while taking out his pipe, wiping the mouthpiece, and then lighting the tobacco.
He offered the mouthpiece to Radagast's lips and said, "No need to rush, my old friend. Take a puff to calm down. This is good tobacco from the Shire."
Radagast suddenly started laughing again, then was about to open his mouth, and then frowned deeply.
"What was I going to say, the words were already on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember."
Thus, Radagast repeated this action three or four times; his face seemed very anxious.
Arthur was about to ask what was wrong with him, but Gandalf, expressionless, stopped him.
Then, to Arthur's utterly shocked expression, he saw a lively stick insect being pinched out of Radagast's mouth from his tongue, which he then placed in his palm with a satisfied smile.
Gandalf watched Radagast's actions out of the corner of his eye, then offered the mouthpiece again. This time, Radagast took a long, comfortable drag, revealing an ecstatic expression, his eyes almost rolling back.
Arthur couldn't help but whisper to Gandalf, "Are other wizards like this too…?"
Gandalf immediately replied with righteous indignation, "Don't misunderstand, only he is like this. Saruman the White is very proper, as for the two Blue Wizards…"
He blinked and thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know much about those two Blue Wizards; there hasn't been much news from them since they went to the distant East and South."
At this moment, Radagast exhaled the smoke he had inhaled into his lungs, and his previously neurotic eyes became normal again.
Gandalf's eyes signaled to Arthur that Radagast the Brown could now communicate normally.
"Alright, now tell me what exactly happened," Gandalf said.
Radagast said, "Mirkwood is sick, Gandalf."
Then he glanced at the dwarves behind Gandalf and Arthur, who were listening with pricked ears, and pulled Gandalf's sleeve, wanting to get away from the dwarves.
Radagast had only taken a few steps when he reacted again, dragging Gandalf to Arthur's side, and with his other hand, he grabbed Arthur's arm guard, leading them to a spot where the dwarves couldn't hear their conversation.
"Some kind of darkness is covering Mirkwood, nothing grows, at least nothing good grows. The air is also corrupted and foul, and there are those terrible webs," Radagast said.
Gandalf frowned and asked, "Webs? What are you talking about?"
Radagast replied very quickly, "Spiders, Gandalf, those big spiders. I'm certain they must be Ungoliant's offspring, otherwise I'm not a wizard."
Ungoliant?
This was the first time Arthur had heard that name, but it was clearly not a good name, because Gandalf's brow furrowed even deeper after hearing it, and he even started smoking.
Why mention Gandalf smoking? Because he put the mouthpiece into his mouth without even wiping it.
Arthur could tell how much of a headache that name gave Gandalf.
He asked, "Gandalf, what does the name Ungoliant signify?"
Before Gandalf could answer, Radagast interjected, "That is a terrifying, monstrous spider. Legend says she emerged from the outer darkness, very possibly a fallen deity that was hatched."
Arthur nodded in understanding, then asked, "So those large spiders are the descendants of this spider, many generations removed? What does their appearance signify?"
"Darkness, Arthur," Gandalf said, exhaling a puff of smoke.
Radagast nodded like a pecking bird, adding, "I followed these large spiders, trailing them all the way to Dol Guldur."
Gandalf turned around, looking at Radagast with a puzzled expression: "Dol Guldur? But that fortress has been abandoned for a long time."
Radagast showed a solemn and slightly horrified expression, shaking his head gently: "No, Gandalf, that fortress was not abandoned. I secretly infiltrated the fortress and immediately felt a dark power entrenched there. The power was stronger than anything I had ever felt, and the shadows within it were like ancient terrors."
The fear in Radagast the Brown's eyes became increasingly evident, his voice trembling as he spoke: "I saw him, Gandalf, a sorcerer who can summon the dead, enveloped in deep darkness."
Then Radagast suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Gandalf's grey robe, saying with force: "Darkness must have returned, Gandalf. The moment he called my name, I felt immense fear in my heart, and then I escaped from Dol Guldur, and have been searching for you ever since."
Gandalf placed his other hand on Radagast's, comforting him gently: "Calm down, Radagast. A necromancer, are you sure?"
Radagast pulled back his hand and took out a sword wrapped in plant fiber and sealed with a magical enchantment from his dirty brown robe, solemnly gesturing for Gandalf to take it.
Arthur also frowned when he saw the sword.
"This sword gives me a bad feeling, Gandalf. It doesn't seem like a weapon a living person could use; a normal person would fall ill just by touching it," Arthur warned, clearly worried.
Radagast saw that Arthur believed him, and quickly nodded, whispering: "That's right, this sword is definitely not from the world of the living."
Gandalf nodded, indicating he understood, then unwrapped the package, revealing the sword inside.
It was a simple-looking straight sword, but the blade was heavily rusted, as if it had just been dug out of a grave.
And the moment the black hilt was revealed, both Arthur and Gandalf seemed to hear the sharp roar of the sword's owner.
A sword separated from its owner still wants to intimidate us?
Arthur raised an eyebrow, and a Holy Sigil appeared in his hand, its golden light growing brighter.
Gandalf, however, quickly closed it, re-wrapping the sword.
As he tightened the rope, he said to Arthur: "My dear Arthur, this sword cannot withstand your power. It cannot be purified by you for now; I need to take it to Rivendell for Lord Elrond to see."
Arthur glanced at the dwarves waiting for them to finish talking, especially Thorin, and asked: "I think we should tell Thorin directly that we must go to Rivendell."
Gandalf sighed, feeling a headache.
Radagast then showed a relieved expression, and re-boarded the sled pulled by giant rabbits.
Gandalf looked at Radagast and asked: "Are you leaving already? Not coming with me to Rivendell?"
Radagast smiled and shook his head: "Although the trees in Rivendell also bring me joy, I still prefer the little animals in Mirkwood. They are waiting for me to return; without me, it would be terrible if those giant spiders came back. Farewell, Gandalf!"
As he spoke, the rabbits kicked their powerful, muscular legs, pulling Radagast away as swiftly and agilely as they had arrived.
Arthur watched his disappearing figure and said to Gandalf: "Your colleague, his personality is truly... unique."
Gandalf's mouth twitched, and he put the sword away, replying: "You can just say he's quite eccentric, no need for such a roundabout description, my dear Arthur."
After Arthur and Gandalf returned to the group, they persuaded Thorin to go to Rivendell.
However, as Arthur expected, Thorin still refused to go to Rivendell for elven help; at this moment, the stubbornness of the dwarves truly opened Arthur's eyes.
Gandalf was naturally quite angry; Arthur felt his beard curl up in frustration, and he even impulsively wanted to abandon the dwarves and go to Rivendell alone.
Arthur had also tried to persuade Thorin, but unlike with Gandalf, Thorin did not contradict Arthur at all, but he also didn't agree.
He was even willing to return the frozen shell axe to Arthur rather than go to Rivendell.
This dwarf leader was impervious to persuasion, no matter who spoke to him.
On the subsequent journey, although the weather no longer continued to get colder, Arthur and Thorin's group began to suffer attacks from orcs.
Whether day or night, orcs riding wargs could attack at any moment.
But their numbers were not large, only seven or eight each time, fewer than the expedition team's members.
Such a small number didn't even require Arthur to act; the dwarves alone were enough to deal with them.
Thorin pulled the frozen shell axe from the warg's corpse, looking at these orcs with confusion, pondering: "What are they doing this for? Do they really think this small number can deplete our ranks?"
Arthur put the soul collector back into his embrace, and upon hearing Thorin's words, said: "These orcs are clearly delaying our progress, Thorin. Haven't you noticed that because of their attacks, our speed has slowed down these past few days? A journey that used to take one day now takes three."
Then he sighed, glancing at Bilbo, who had dark circles under his eyes, and said: "Thorin, Bilbo is almost at his limit. Because of the orcs' harassment every night, Bilbo hasn't rested well for a long time."
Thorin was silent for a moment and said: "So you're trying to persuade me to go to Rivendell again, Arthur."
Arthur said: "That's right, even if it's for Bilbo, or to shake off those orc tails following us, going to Rivendell is a very good choice."
Thorin fell silent again.
Arthur continued: "The Elves of Rivendell are not the same Elves as those of Mirkwood; the Elves you speak of who betrayed you are the latter, and Elrond has done nothing to you. Moreover, the orcs are now risking their lives to delay your journey to the Lonely Mountain, which indicates they are plotting something concerning the Lonely Mountain. Thorin, the more our enemies want something, the more we must prevent them from achieving it."
"Oh, Bilbo! Watch out!"
Bofur's exclamation came from behind, followed by the sound of Bilbo and Bofur falling one after another.
Thorin looked over, but Bilbo and Bofur's bodies were obscured by horse legs, making them unclear.
However, Fili quickly said: "It seems Bilbo, due to extreme fatigue and his body being somewhat weak from never having traveled far, fainted from the cold wind and fell off his horse. Fortunately, Bofur caught him, so he wasn't harmed. But..."
Thorin looked at Fili, asking in a low voice: "But what?"
Fili looked at Thorin with some fear, swallowed, and said: "But Bofur said Bilbo has a high fever. And unfortunately, we didn't bring any medicine... If we let him continue to be exposed to the cold wind in the wilderness like this, I'm afraid he might..."
Thorin instinctively looked at Arthur, who also frowned due to Bilbo's condition.
He waved his hand at Thorin and started to leave: "Prayers don't have the effect of curing diseases; I need to go check on Bilbo's condition first, to prevent it from worsening."
"Go to Rivendell..."
Unexpected words came from Thorin's mouth, making Arthur suddenly turn around, thinking he had misheard.
Thorin saw Arthur's surprised look, and also, due to his own change of mind, quickly and somewhat impatiently whispered: "I said go to Rivendell. Since you said those Elves of Rivendell have nothing to do with the Elves who betrayed me, and I don't want our burglar to lose his life over something like this. If word gets out, the name Thorin Oakenshield will forever be stained."
After he finished speaking, he turned around, his back to Arthur, and said no more.
Arthur did not waste time, but quickly ran to Bilbo's side; Gandalf was already trying to stabilize Bilbo's body temperature.
"Fili, you go check on Bilbo's situation too," Thorin said without turning around, but his voice reached Fili's ears.
With a clear objective, Arthur and Thorin's party reached the edge of Rivendell's territory just two days later.