Because Rogier and D had different objectives, Rogier, being on a sightseeing trip, requested to stay an extra week, which the hospitable hobbit readily agreed to.
D, on the other hand, after delivering all of Arthur's gifts and letters to Bilbo, stayed for one night and then departed early the next morning.
Before leaving, D very politely asked Bilbo if he would like to accompany him to Arthur's territory, to experience the greatness of the Erdtree and join the Golden Order.
"No, I still think my Bag End law suits me better. Uh, please also convey my thanks to Arthur for me; he gave me far too many things. Besides those delicious-looking dried goods and the books I haven't read, there were even some luxuries that only human nobles use."
Although Bilbo wasn't sure what the Golden Order was, seeing D's fervent tone and devout demeanor, he instinctively and tactfully refused.
As for those luxuries, they were actually prepared by D himself privately for Bilbo.
Because Arthur knew that Bilbo was more interested in books and food than in these expensive luxuries.
D did not get angry at the refusal this time; instead, he nodded: "That is indeed a pity. I will convey your request to Lord Arthur."
Rogier said with a smile, "Be careful on your way, Darian."
D glanced at Rogier, put his helmet back on, and then said, "You're the one who needs to be careful, Rogier. I don't want to hear about you getting into trouble again, ha, don't get deceived by those Deathblight-like fellows again this time."
Rogier merely returned a hand-to-chest salute, and D rode off on his pack horse, which had been relieved of all its gifts, leaving Hobbiton.
Bilbo waited until D had gone far away before looking up at Rogier: "Does your friend usually speak so formally? Honestly, his compliments made me a bit embarrassed."
Rogier's eyes twinkled with a smile: "Darian only behaves that way towards people he respects. You see, he's not like that with me, perhaps because we are friends?"
Bilbo asked curiously, "Then what kind of attitude does he have towards people he dislikes?"
Rogier thought carefully and said, "Either he endures and ignores them, or he directly draws his sword and slashes them?"
Bilbo widened his eyes slightly, feigning surprise: "Oh, then I'd better be careful not to become someone he dislikes."
Rogier smiled: "It's hard for you to become someone he dislikes. After all, you are a lively living person."
Bilbo's face showed surprise, and he tilted his head: "What does that mean? Does he dislike lively dead people?"
Rogier said mysteriously, "Or maybe they aren't people at all."
Bilbo expressed that he couldn't understand, but he didn't dwell on it too much. Instead, he turned around and said with a smile, "Let's go home first, and chat while eating. What you helped supplement about Arthur's experiences yesterday was very interesting."
Rogier, who was following Bilbo's small figure, paused when he heard his words: "Wait, didn't we just have breakfast?"
Bilbo took out his pipe and nodded as a matter of course: "Yes, we just finished breakfast, but we still have afternoon tea, chat pastries, and pre-lunch snacks to eat."
Rogier subconsciously touched his stomach; he felt that he should increase his exercise in Hobbiton these days.
But how do these hobbits eat so much without getting fat?
Rogier's curiosity was piqued, and he decided to use this week to observe the Hobbits' living habits.
Meanwhile, within the Golden Tree Territory.
After visiting Fili and Kili, Thorin left again and returned to the Blue Mountains.
The tuition fee he brought was somewhat beyond Arthur's expectation: it was a silver-white Battle Skill axe full of Dwarven style, but forged with a rare metal Arthur had never seen before.
Thorin called this metal "Mithril," and an equal volume of Mithril was worth ten times its weight in gold.
When Thorin took out this axe, even Fili and Kili's eyes widened, unable to believe that their uncle would produce such a precious item.
Arthur and Bernal only then learned from the dwarves brothers that Mithril was no longer being mined because its place of origin was occupied by a Balrog known as "Durin's Bane."
All the Mithril seen now were ancient relics, each one a treasure.
However, Thorin believed that his friendship with Arthur was far more valuable than the Mithril Battle Skill axe, especially after witnessing the skills Fili and Kili had learned, this belief became even stronger.
Through Bernal's almost fanatical and obsessive teaching, and Fili and Kili's gritted persistence, these dwarves princelings had learned many basic Battle Skills, and they could perfectly complement the Beast Prayers they had learned from Arthur.
It could only be said that finding Bernal to teach them was indeed the right choice, because not every warrior proficient in Battle Skills could skillfully use Prayers in combat.
If Thorin himself didn't have so many things to attend to, he would have shamelessly asked Arthur to have Bernal teach him as well.
Ultimately, the Mithril Battle Skill axe that Thorin used as tuition was given to Bernal by Arthur, as Bernal was indeed diligently and responsibly teaching the two dwarves.
When Bernal received the Mithril Battle Skill axe, a hint of surprise appeared on his face the moment he held it.
"I am indeed a bit surprised. I can feel it's harder than steel, yet it doesn't weigh much." Bernal evaluated after swinging the Mithril Battle Skill axe a few times.
At that time, when Thorin saw Bernal showing satisfaction with the Mithril Battle Skill axe, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Because in his heart, the magical Battle Skills and Prayers that Fili and Kili learned had an intrinsic value far exceeding a single Mithril Battle Skill axe.
If Fili and Kili were to return to the Blue Mountains after their training and teach these skills to other loyal dwarves warriors, Thorin felt that not only the Dragon in the Lonely Mountain, but even Durin's Bane deep within Moria could be defeated, and then Mithril could be mined again.
Of course, what Thorin didn't know was that in Arthur's and Bernal's eyes, the Mithril Battle Skill axe was a weapon forged from a relatively rare metal, but even knowing its value was ten times its volume in gold, they didn't consider it particularly special.
This couldn't be blamed on Arthur and Bernal; it was simply because even in The Lands Between, they were tarnished who had seen many divine weapons and sharp tools.
However, Arthur and Bernal did not deny the value of the Mithril Battle Skill axe because of this; both knew that they only felt it was nothing special because of their extensive experience.
If this Mithril Battle Axe were given to Kenneth Haight of Haight Fortress, this old-school Golden Noble would surely keep it as one of his prized collections, waiting to bestow it upon a brave soldier under his command who had achieved great merit.
Time flowed by swiftly, and the scorching heat of summer gradually gave way to the cool crispness of autumn; in a flash, several long months had passed.
During this time, Rogier, too, journeyed from Hobbiton to Bree and then to Rivendell, earning the title of "Mysterious Demonic Swordsman" along the way, before contentedly returning to the Golden Tree Territory.
No unexpected events occurred during this period; the Erdtree grew normally, its protective influence expanded once again, and the people within the territory continued their lives in an orderly fashion.
Except for Arthur, who occasionally summoned residents of The Lands Between, Misbegotten, Godrick's Royal Army, and the Storm King's Exiled Soldiers and Banished Knights from the elden ring, further solving the problem of a large territory but too few people.
Oh, a correction here.
Because Exiled Soldiers and Banished Knights were given those names after losing their Storm King, at the initiative of the young Storm King Nepheli Loux, Arthur allowed them to reclaim their original names: Storm Soldiers and Storm Knight.
And their legion's name naturally became Storm Legion; the people of the Golden Tree Territory would no longer refer to them as Exiled Soldiers and Banished Knights in the future.
The summoned Misbegotten were still sent to Thorndale, currently the main living area for the Misbegotten.
After months of reconstruction by the Misbegotten in Thorndale, the lion hybrid reported that the Greatbridge could now be put into use.
However, the only problem now was that the Misbegotten of Thorndale did not have any intact ships to use the Greatbridge, and their appearance, which differed from the common people of Middle-earth, would lead to them being mistaken for orcs.
Therefore, the Misbegotten continued to further repair the remaining parts of Limgrave Greatbridge.
Arthur also felt that this was not an issue; with Halbarad not yet rebuilt, the sea route from Thorndale to Halbarad to Rivendell could not yet be used.
Although Kenneth Haight suggested that once the Misbegotten repaired the abandoned ships in the Greatbridge, they could set sail south, pass through Andrast, and then turn into Dol Amroth within Gondor territory, thus opening a sea route for communication with Kingdom of Gondor .
But this proposal was directly rejected by Arthur; Nepheli Loux of Stormveil and Edgar of Morne Castle also disagreed with this proposal.
The three gave very consistent reasons: the Misbegotten simply had no experience with such long-distance sea voyages.
Especially Edgar, as Morne Castle was originally a castle near the sea, he had some basic knowledge of navigation.
The opening of every sea route is accompanied by countless risks; with good luck, one might only dock at an unfamiliar non-destination, but with bad luck, one could truly get lost at sea and wait for death.
Edgar specifically emphasized that although those Misbegotten had drifted on the sea in ships, at that time they were confined in the ship's hold as goods, as slaves, not even knowing what the scenery on the high seas looked like, and thus had no experience in setting sail at all.
Although the reason Edgar gave sounded like a dark humor joke at the moment, making everyone present look strange, Kenneth Haight had to admit that he was right.
Arthur finally said, "In that case, once Halbarad is rebuilt, I will personally go to Rivendell to request Elrond's help. Perhaps among those long-lived Elves, there are captains skilled in sea navigation. I will share all of this with him, and I imagine Elrond would also be very pleased to see a new sea route discovered."
Nepheli Loux, Kenneth Haight, and Edgar had no objections, so Arthur wrote a letter and dispatched a winged hybrids stationed in the Golden Tree Territory to deliver it to the lion hybrid.
Soon, the lion hybrid wrote back, expressing his strong agreement with Arthur's decision.
In reality, this made the lion hybrid breathe a sigh of relief; Thorndale still had many areas that needed repair.
Although the most basic living facilities had been reconstructed, the reconstruction of Thorndale's city walls was not yet finished.
Currently, the lion hybrid had only refilled the collapsed sections with rubble and wooden stakes; if they were to encounter another large-scale orc attack, it would only serve to slow down the enemy's advance.
The lion hybrid also mentioned in his reply that orcs had recently reappeared around Thorndale, though only in small groups of about thirty to forty.
Before they approached Thorndale, the winged hybrids responsible for sky patrol discovered these orcs and, in cooperation with the Scale-skinned Hybrids on the ground, severely wounded and drove them away.
However, approximately every half month or so, new orcs would appear nearby, and recently, the frequency of orc appearances had begun to increase.
The lion hybrid suspected that something big might be brewing with the orcs in an unknown part of Middle-earth.
After reading the lion hybrid's reply, Arthur immediately thought of what Gandalf had said about those lurking, restless things.
Alas, he wondered if Gandalf had found any clues about Thorin's father.
The old man had been gone for months without a word, and Arthur truly feared that Gandalf had also suddenly disappeared.
Compared to Gandalf, who had sent no news, Thorin had been very proactive in maintaining contact with Arthur, sending letters every half month, inquiring about Fili and Kili's recent situation while also informing Arthur about his preparations for the Lonely Mountain Expedition.
"I have announced my plan to the dwarves I trust. Dwalin was the first to respond to me, then Gloin, and then Dwalin's brother Balin also agreed to join. For now, that is all; honestly, I feel a bit disheartened, as it seems not all dwarves wish to return to the Lonely Mountain, which fills my heart with renewed uncertainty. Even if we do not reclaim the Lonely Mountain now, my kin are already very prosperous in the Blue Mountains; this has become their new home. Am I truly worthy of risking Dwalin's and their lives, letting them join me in an expedition where death could come at any moment? My dear friend, Guardian of the Erdtree, mighty wizard, please tell me the answer."
Just as Arthur saw the confusion Thorin expressed in the letter and was contemplating how to reply, Nepheli Loux entered and said, "Many human caravans have arrived outside the territory, Arthur."
"Huh?" Arthur looked up, bewildered.
What was this situation now?