The Dwarves had promised to reforge the best sword for Luke, so they naturally wouldn't make an empty promise.
To enhance the sword's quality and power, they took out a portion of their treasured Mithril and added it to the ancient sword during forging.
Mithril is an extremely rare and precious magic metal, as light as silver yet harder than steel; adding even a small amount to ordinary steel can forge a sword capable of cutting through iron like mud.
Even Narya, the Ring of Water, one of the three Elven Rings, has its band crafted from Mithril.
The only known source of Mithril ore is the Mines of Moria, inhabited by the Balrog, but since the Balrog occupied the Mines of Moria, Mithril lost its source and became even more precious and scarce.
The fact that it could now be used to forge Luke's sword was enough to demonstrate the Dwarves' sincerity.
It also showed how eager the Durinfolk were to reclaim the Lonely Mountain.
Through continuous forging and tempering, Thorin and two Dwarf craftsmen spent three full days gradually reshaping the ancient sword.
Just before the final quenching, Luke intervened.
Under the bewildered gazes of the three Dwarves, he approached the glowing red sword, drew his magic wand, and, using it as a pen, waved it in the air against the sword, and mysterious runes appeared on the sword's surface.
As magic power was infused, the runes emitted a faint glow, like flowing symbols, becoming even more mysterious and extraordinary.
"What kind of script is this?" Thorin and the two craftsmen had never seen such writing and were very surprised and curious. They could feel that these characters contained magic power, no less potent than Elvish or Dwarvish script.
Luke replied, "These are Runes."
These days, besides monitoring the sword-forging progress, he had been diligently studying the contents of the dictionary of runes. Although he couldn't claim to be proficient, he had learned a few basic Runes and engraved them onto the sword.
Hearing Luke's reply, the Dwarves exchanged glances. "Runes? Are we ignorant? How do we not remember these symbols in Runes?"
Luke slapped his forehead. He had forgotten that the Dwarves' script was also called Runes, but the Dwarves' Runes and the Runes of the magic world were not the same thing.
To be precise, the Dwarven Runes originated from the script invented by the Sindar Elves, and could be considered a variation of Elvish script, also known as Cirth.
The Runes in the dictionary of runes, however, are an ancient magic script from the Harry Potter world. Their inventor is said to be Odin, the King of Gods. To gain supreme wisdom, Odin hung himself upside down on the World Tree for nine days and nights, enduring torment, and sacrificed his right eye to exchange for the secrets of Runes from the Well of Wisdom.
Of course, in the Harry Potter world, Odin, the King of Gods, was merely a powerful Wizard from Norse mythology, but the Runes he invented were the foundation of ancient magic and Alchemy.
So he immediately explained, "These are not your Dwarven Runes, but Wizard Runes, which can also be called magic script."
The Dwarves understood, but became even more curious and surprised.
As far as they knew, there were only a few Wizards in all of Middle-earth, and even those few Wizards had their own script?
But no matter how curious they were, their most important task at hand was still to complete the forging of the ancient sword.
So, another round of quenching, hammering, and polishing followed.
Finally, a golden longsword, over 1 meter long, exquisitely crafted, elegantly designed, with natural curves, thickness, and patterns, and no particularly ornate decorations, quietly emerged.
The ancient sword, originally cast from bronze, now had a portion of Mithril added by the Dwarves, giving it an overall golden hue with a silvery-white luster, and faint silver patterns covering it, making it look like a sword forged from gold.
Luke gripped the sword in surprise. The reforged blade was much smaller and lighter than before, but it suited him better.
He tried to infuse magic power into the sword, and instantly, several mysterious runes appeared on the blade. The runes glowed, and the blade ignited with intense red flames, radiating high heat that distorted the surrounding air.
This was the power of the Runes Luke had engraved on the sword. While reading the dictionary of runes, he had considered combining Dwarven forging with the power of magic script to allow the sword to unleash greater power.
So he specifically chose the Runic symbols representing fire, combined them in the simplest way, and engraved them onto the blade.
And the result was as Luke had expected, even exceeding his expectations.
He excitedly gripped the Flame Sword in his hand and slashed at a nearby wooden stake. The stake was instantly split in half, and the flames from the blade quickly climbed onto the stake, rapidly consuming it.
Thorin, as one of the blacksmiths, also narrowed his pupils at this sight, startled by the power of the sword he had forged.
If used against enemies, even if they weren't cut down by the sword, they would be burned to death by the sword's eerie flames!
As for the other two Dwarf craftsmen, after their initial shock, they were extremely excited. To be able to forge such a powerful sword meant that when the sword's reputation spread in the future, they, as its creators, would also be remembered in history.
This was an achievement many craftsmen dreamed of.
After regaining some composure, Thorin asked Luke, "What do you plan to name this sword?"
Luke put down the sword, and the flames on the blade disappeared, the runes also receding.
"Flame Sword, it shall be called Flame Sword!" Luke said, his eyes bright, caressing the sword as if it were a treasure.
Thorin recalled how the sword had emitted flames earlier and nodded. "The name suits the sword, indeed. I hope this sword will shine brightly in your hands in the future."
"It will!"
With the sword forged, Thorin and the two craftsmen spent another day helping to craft a scabbard.
The scabbard was beautiful and sturdy, made of ivory wrapped in gold, exquisitely carved, and inlaid with magnificent gems.
With the Flame Sword inserted into its scabbard and strapped to his waist with a leather belt, Luke now looked quite like a Knight if he were to put on a suit of armor.
Thorin looked at Luke and tried to persuade him to stay, saying, "Won't you stay here a few more days? I've already sent word via raven to my distant cousins; once they arrive, the expeditionary force will be complete."
It wasn't because he and Luke had developed a deep bond over these days, but rather he wanted to draw Luke to his side, so he could gain a dominant position in the expeditionary force alongside Gandalf.
Luke naturally guessed Thorin's intentions and secretly shook his head.
After spending these days together, he had also realized that Thorin Oakenshield was a very stubborn and arrogant person, prone to suspicion and mistrust, and likely trusted no one outside of the Dwarf race.
Although it wasn't obvious yet, once the "Dragon Sickness" was triggered by the Lonely Mountain treasure, these traits would be amplified, making him even more paranoid.
Even though their relationship seemed to have grown closer these past few days, it remained a transactional one between Luke and Thorin, with no change.
So Luke declined Thorin's invitation, shaking his head and saying, "I'll be going ahead. I still have matters to attend to. I'll meet up with you in the Shire then."
Then, under Thorin's silent gaze, Luke, with his newly acquired sword, drove his carriage and left the Dwarf town.
In fact, Luke wasn't lying. These past two days, he had noticed that the two Mandrake plants in his carriage were becoming somewhat restless, and the pimples on their faces had disappeared, indicating they were clearly maturing.
He didn't want to handle the Mandrake plants in Dwarf territory, so he planned to return to the Shire for further processing.
It took approximately seven days to travel from the Dwarf town to the Shire. Halfway through the journey, both Mandrake plants had matured and produced a small flower bud.
Mature Mandrake plants are very dangerous; their screams can be lethal. Therefore, Luke needed to regularly apply Petrificus Totalus to them to prevent them from suddenly emerging from the soil and emitting their deadly cries.
Carefully tending to the two Mandrake plants, Luke finally returned to the Shire, arriving in Hobbiton on the afternoon of the seventh day.