The starry sky closed, the moonlight faded, and the sun rose.
When the first ray of morning sun shone on the land of Minhiriath, Gandalf mounted his pony and bid farewell to Arthur and the others who had come to see him off.
"What I mean is, do you really not want to stay a few more days? Although your words sometimes sound like riddles, I quite enjoy listening to your stories about Middle-earth," Arthur said, trying to persuade Gandalf to stay.
He had a good impression of this wise wizard.
Especially after the battle last night, Gandalf also helped to clear some of the roads outside the outpost using Glintstone Magic, making the area look like a inhabited place, no longer a desolate wilderness.
Gandalf took the staff Arthur handed him, weighed it in his hand, and then smiled at Arthur, "Meetings are always brief, and partings will always come, my friend. Evil stirs on this land, and I must uncover the truth."
Arthur was not wearing the Blaidd, the Half-Wolf helmet at this time; the sunlight shone on his black messy hair, but his handsome features showed an expression of "he's using that way of speaking again."
"I hope when I meet the next wizard, he won't make 'I have things to do, see you later' sound like a complex poem. Goodbye, Gandalf. If you pass through the Shire, say hello to Bilbo for me and tell him the food is really great." Arthur patted the horse's rump a few times, and the horse immediately started moving forward.
Before Gandalf rode far, he looked back and shouted to Arthur, "Continue southwest from here, and at the end of the cape, there's a large forest called Eriador. It is said that indigenous Minhiriath humans who hid there since the Second Age still live within it. Or you can head further southeast; there's a ruined port called Thorndale. Perhaps you can use it to help you get in touch with the Gondor Kingdom."
Arthur noted the names of these two places in his mind and shouted loudly, "Eriador, Thorndale, I've remembered both of them!"
Upon hearing this, Gandalf turned his head and urged his mount to quicken its pace and ride away.
Rogier held his wizard's hat brim, shielding the morning sun, and walked over to Arthur: "So, are you going to these two places next?"
Arthur replied, "I'll check the map Bilbo gave me first to see if they're marked. If they're too far, I'll stay here for now to guard the Erdtree. Only when I can summon a fortress or a castle will I feel comfortable leading people out."
After speaking, Arthur took out the map Bilbo had given him from his 懷 and opened it. The parchment map had developed creases from Arthur' frequent use, but its clarity and text did not hinder his reading.
Rogier curiously examined the map, which Arthur had marked with two or three symbols. The symbols included sword-shaped marks and small figure drawings.
He asked Arthur, "What are these symbols?"
Arthur glanced at them and explained, "The sword symbols are the locations where I encountered orc attacks, and the little figure symbols are where I previously met a group of dwarves from the Blue Mountains. I've been estimating the distance along the way; our approximate location is here."
His finger pointed to a black dot on the map, with the words "Erdtree" written in the language of The Lands Between.
Rogier followed the direction of Arthur' finger and, combined with the directions and place names Gandalf had mentioned earlier, quickly found "Eriador" and "Thorndale."
"It looks like Eriador is closest to our location, while Thorndale is a bit far," Rogier said with a smile.
Arthur also nodded, "Yes, in that case, I'll go to Eriador first and say hello to our neighbors."
Just then, Nepheli Loux's voice came from behind them: "Where are you going, my King?"
She was dragging the corpse of a wild deer, an arrow sticking out of the deer's ear, with the arrowhead having pierced through its skull from the other side.
Arthur turned around, first glancing at the wild deer's corpse in her hand, then said, "That wizard recommended two places worth visiting. Have you just returned from hunting?"
Nepheli Loux dropped the wild deer's corpse at her feet and nodded, replying, "Yes, but the wild animals around here seem to have either fled or been killed by the orcs during last night's attack. I went out to hunt before the sun rose, and only now found this one wild deer."
The female warrior then hesitated for a few seconds before suggesting, "Arthur, I think we can't go to those two places just yet. We need to solve the food problem first. If it were just you, me, and this sorcerer, the dry rations you brought would be enough for us for a week. But suddenly, there are thirteen more mouths to feed, and this morning's breakfast has already consumed most of the remaining dry rations."
Arthur immediately realized and asked, "Are there enough dry rations left for our lunch?"
Nepheli Loux kicked the wild deer's corpse at her feet: "Counting this deer, it's just enough. But I'm not sure about dinner, because I'm not certain how many prey I can hunt in the afternoon. However, the only good news is that we don't have to worry about drinking water, because there's a river outside this abandoned human town... Oh, maybe I should have those Godrick's soldiers make some fishing rods to fish?"
Arthur said, "That's also why I chose to plant the Erdtree here; with a river nearby, we don't have to worry about food shortages in the short term. Those wild animals you mentioned who fled will surely come to the river to drink. But this is not a long-term solution; the number of people who need to eat will only increase. Although I have some plant seeds, they are not crops."
He looked at the Erdtree, which still shone with golden light under the sun, and said, "As long as we can get crop seeds, they will ripen quickly under the blessing of the Erdtree."
Nepheli Loux's expression relaxed, and she asked, "Judging by your expression, you must have thought of a way to get crop seeds?"
Arthur nodded, handed the map in his hand to Rogier beside him, then reached into his spatial backpack and pulled out a slightly smaller battle axe. The black axe head was engraved with unknown inscriptions.
Nepheli Loux's eyes narrowed. As someone who used a battle axe as her main weapon, she naturally recognized at a glance the excellent craftsmanship of this axe, but she had never seen such craftsmanship in The Lands Between.
This axe belonged to a race from this world.
Nepheli Loux immediately understood in her heart.
"The owner of this axe is Thorin. He said that if I needed anything forged, I should go to him for help, so I think he certainly wouldn't be stingy with some crop seeds." Arthur toyed with the battle axe, which was only suitable as a practice weapon for him due to its size, and said with a smile.
Rogier then asked, "Where is he now, and is he far from here?"
Arthur said, "He said he was a dwarf from the Blue Mountains. If I show this axe to other dwarves, someone will lead us to him."
Rogier opened the map in his hand, and after seeing the location of the Blue Mountains, he smiled and said, "It doesn't seem too far, but our trip to Eriador will have to be postponed."
Nepheli Loux also came over, glanced at the map, and asked, "Arthur, how many days will the round trip take approximately?"
Arthur said, "Give me a week and a half. I will have Torrent gallop at full speed to the Blue Mountains. Even if I don't find Thorin, I will exchange for what I need through bartering."
Rogier re-rolled the map and handed it to Arthur, saying with a slight tone of disappointment, "Torrent is only enough for you to ride. I'll stay here and use my Glintstone Magic to help Nepheli Loux hunt more animals."
Nepheli Loux nodded, "That would be for the best."
Arthur patted Rogier's shoulder, "Next time, I'll definitely let you go out and see this world, which is different from The Lands Between. For now, I apologize."
Seeing that Arthur's itinerary was confirmed, Nepheli Loux picked up the wild deer's corpse again. She bid farewell to Arthur and Rogier, then walked towards the river's location. She needed to process and clean the wild deer's corpse there.
Arthur looked at the wild deer's corpse, which, under the Erdtree's light, was not assimilated into golden particles and absorbed like the orc and warg corpses last night. He nodded thoughtfully.
It must be that Nepheli Loux was not within the Erdtree's illuminated range when she shot the wild deer, or perhaps the Erdtree only absorbs the souls of evil creatures like orcs and wargs after they die.
Arthur noted these two conjectures in his mind, intending to find a way to verify them upon his return.
Rogier also bid Arthur a temporary farewell at this time. According to him, he needed to transcribe the map content he had just memorized onto new paper before his memory faded.
Arthur did not find anything strange about the sorcerer's astonishing memory.
Arthur also had his own things to do. He blew the whistle, summoned Torrent, and rode him to the pass he had created last night.
At the entrance of the pass, there was a cheval de frise, and beside it stood a Godrick Knight with a long spear and a golden-yellow greatshield, along with two Godrick Soldiers holding crossbows.
Inside the pass, there were also teams of three soldiers each, patrolling in an overlapping manner to ensure no blind spots.
They meticulously guarded the Erdtree's safety at the center of the pass. The leading Godrick Knight, seeing Arthur approaching, immediately bowed their heads slightly in salute along with the two Godrick Soldiers.
Upon nearing, Arthur had Torrent stop and commanded the Godrick Knight, "I have a very important matter that requires me to go out. While I am away, the Erdtree's safety, and that of Lady Nepheli Loux, the Storm King, will be entrusted to you all. Until I return, you must obey her commands."
"Yes, Elden Lord, Your Majesty Arthur! Until our lives dissipate, no enemy shall set foot in the pass!" the Godrick Knight responded loudly.
—Three days later—
Arthur rode Torrent for three days and three nights without rest, and through the weary eyes beneath his Blaidd, the Half-Wolf helmet, he finally saw a continuous range of Blue Mountains.
The Blue Mountains, as the name suggests, indeed appeared as one deep blue high mountain after another from a distance.
It was only when Arthur got a little closer that he could see the continuous, undulating Blue Mountains covered with numerous dark green pine trees, as well as bustling towns with smoke rising from beneath the mountains.
Arthur took off his helmet, pulled out the red dew holy grail bottle, and took a sip. Feeling his stamina fully restored, he took a deep breath and guided Torrent across the grass onto the wide road built by the dwarves.
There were quite a few dwarves on the road at this time. With happy smiles on their faces, they were either returning laden with goods or leaving their hometowns with hopeful expressions, pulling carts full of merchandise.
And at the end of this road, the vibrant town was located.
Arthur had already attracted attention, and he himself was drawn by the appearance of those dwarves.
Besides dwarves with short black beards the same color as Thorin's, he also saw dwarves with fiery red long beards and golden long beards, their beards braided into various strange patterns.
After this series of observations, Arthur even had the thought, "Is Thorin not a dwarf, but a slightly taller hobbit?" because his short beard was almost non-existent compared to the long beards of these dwarves.
And when the dwarves spotted Arthur, some were wary, while others were curious.
The wariness was due to the armor Arthur wore and the weapons he carried, while the curiosity stemmed from his appearance from the roadless grass and his dusty, travel-worn look.
Moreover, he was a human.
It wasn't that the dwarves had never seen humans in the Blue Mountains, but those humans were always dressed as merchants coming to do business.
A human like Arthur, wearing armor, riding a horse, and seemingly without any goods to trade, was indeed rare in the eyes of the dwarves of the Blue Mountains.
Arthur put his Blaidd, the Half-Wolf helmet back on, blocking the gazes of the dwarves who were scrutinizing his appearance, and urged Torrent forward again.
Soon, he arrived outside the town.
Many dwarves were entering the town, along with two or three tall human merchant caravans. They all formed long queues in front of the city gate.
Fully armored dwarf soldiers with spears patrolled back and forth beside the queuing lines, guarding against suspicious individuals.
Unfortunately, while Arthur's attire at this time could not be called suspicious, it was completely out of place compared to the elegantly dressed merchants of the human caravans.
Therefore, the dwarf soldiers immediately approached Arthur. The leading dwarf captain had a fiery red long beard, and his tone was very polite.
He asked in somewhat broken Common Tongue, "Your name, human, and your purpose for coming to the Blue Mountains."
Arthur did not put on airs but raised his hand to indicate he had no ill will, answering the dwarf captain's interrogation, "You can call me 'Arthur.' I am here to find a dwarf named 'Thorin.' Do you happen to know him?"
To Arthur's surprise, his gentle answer not only failed to alleviate the dwarves' wariness but instead made them even more cautious upon hearing him utter the name "Thorin."
What's going on? Is Thorin some kind of dangerous person?
Arthur maintained his posture to avoid provoking the dwarf soldiers, thinking to himself.