Bilbo lay in the pitched tent, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He simply threw off his blanket and walked out.
"What's wrong? Do you need to relieve yourself?" Bernahl's voice suddenly came from beside Bilbo, startling the little hobbit.
He looked over, and only after recognizing it was Bernahl did he breathe a sigh of relief. He then stretched his body and said, "I don't need to relieve myself. Actually, I barely ate anything tonight. I simply can't sleep. No matter where I lie, I keep getting poked by dirty branches or small stones in the dirt."
At the same time, the Dwarves' snores came one after another, especially Bombur's, which sounded like thunder.
Bilbo gave a thumbs up toward where Bombur was and showed Bernahl a helpless smile. "And these snores."
Bernahl sat by the fire with his greatsword in his arms, his chin covered with stubble.
He patted the spot beside him. "If you really can't sleep, come keep watch with me. Maybe after a while, you'll feel sleepy."
Bilbo thought about it and finally nodded and walked over. "Alright."
He walked to Bernahl's side, first spreading a clean mat on the ground, and then sat down.
"Want some apples? Don't let the others see." Bilbo pulled out two glossy apples from his pocket like magic and asked Bernahl.
Bernahl raised an eyebrow but didn't refuse. He took the apple and bit into it, the sweet juice flowing down his throat into his stomach.
This perked Bernahl up considerably. "Is carrying snacks a habit of you hobbits?" he asked.
Bilbo also bit into his apple and replied with his mouth full, "Sort of. If I don't stuff some food in my pockets, they'll come in handy when I'm hungry but it's not mealtime yet."
Then, while eating his apple, Bilbo eagerly admired the night scenery he had never seen before.
Night fell, the starry river gradually faded, and the roads across the plain stretched under the hazy moonlight. The chirping of crickets occasionally came from the grass by the roadside, sometimes mixed with the distant howls of wild beasts.
The night breeze gently brushed Bilbo's clothing, also bringing a mixed fragrance of earth and wildflowers.
He then squinted toward the Old Forest that had been passed down through generations among the hobbits. Those trees didn't seem so terrifying after all.
Bernahl noticed Bilbo's gaze and asked with a smile, "Do you also think there's something in that forest watching us?"
Bilbo was startled, clearly not expecting Bernahl to ask him this question.
He replied, "No, I was just thinking that everyone I know says the Old Forest is dangerous, but now I'm less than a few hundred meters from it and don't feel anything uncomfortable. As for the gaze watching us, I think it's probably nocturnal beasts or something. After all, we have firelight here, so it's normal for them to notice us."
Bernahl smiled meaningfully. "If only they were just nocturnal beasts."
Bernahl's words made Bilbo shiver. He wrapped his thick clothing tighter around himself. "What do you mean by that? Are there other people besides us staying in the Old Forest?"
Bernahl narrowed his eyes at the forest. "That's hard to say. Maybe they're not even people."
Bilbo pursed his lips. "What is this, nighttime horror story time?"
Bernahl just smiled faintly and didn't say anything more, instead changing the subject. "So what would you like to talk about?"
Bilbo said, "For instance, about Tarnes."
Bernahl glanced at Bilbo. "But I remember Tarnes saying he told you all his stories?"
Bilbo nodded. "Yes, but there are many details he didn't tell me. Like, what exactly is his relationship with Millicent?"
Bernahl showed a surprised expression. "I never thought you were such a gossipy person, Mr. Bilbo."
Bilbo shook his head repeatedly. "No, this isn't gossip. I'm asking seriously. Mr. Rogier's last visit already allowed me to supplement many details of Tarnes's adventures. So I also want to know from you about aspects that Tarnes might not have paid attention to."
Bernahl chuckled. "That's quite a novel way to gossip, but unfortunately, I'm not clear about the specific relationship between that female swordsman and Tarnes either. From my observation, Tarnes treats her as a close friend, without much romantic meaning."
Bilbo nodded in agreement.
"What are you two talking about?" A voice that didn't belong to Bilbo or Bernahl came from behind, startling the former so much he nearly dropped his apple.
Bernahl didn't react much, having long heard the unconcealed footsteps behind him.
"Hello, Mr. Bernahl." Bofur appeared with a smiling face and respectfully greeted Bernahl.
Bernahl nodded and also gestured for the Dwarf to sit over.
Bilbo calmed his startled heart and said, "Why aren't you sleeping either, Bofur?"
Bofur looked surprised. "Of course I'm not sleeping, Bilbo. It's my watch time now."
Bilbo said, "Oh," then, "Is that so? I thought only Mr. Bernahl was keeping watch."
Bofur said, "Besides me, there's also Bifur. But Bifur and I just woke up to take over from Oin and Gloin."
He then looked up with a frown. "But they said they were going to relieve themselves, and it's been nearly ten minutes without them returning. Even for a big one, it should be finished by now."
Bilbo didn't pay much attention and just joked, "Maybe they both ate something that upset their stomachs tonight, so it's taking longer."
Bernahl asked seriously, "They've been gone so long, aren't you and Bifur going to look for them?"
Bofur nodded. "Bifur went to look for them, and I came to inform you, Mr. Bernahl. In case Thorin wakes up in the middle of the night and doesn't see Bifur and me, not knowing where we went."
Bilbo finished his apple and said, "I thought you came to eavesdrop on our conversation on purpose."
Bofur also nodded. "Actually, I did hear your conversation, which is how I discovered Mr. Bernahl was here."
Bernahl interrupted their conversation and asked Bofur, "How long has Bifur been gone?"
Bofur was startled. "Not long, about two minutes ago."
Bernahl sighed, stood up, and drew his knight's greatsword from its sheath. He said to Bilbo, "Bilbo, go wake up Tarnes. Bifur and the others might be in trouble. I'll go help. Bofur, come guide me."
Bilbo became nervous and quickly nodded. "Yes, Mr. Bernahl."
Bofur's expression also became serious. He spread his legs and followed behind Bernahl with a torch, pointing toward a direction near the Old Forest.
"Brothers Oin and Gloin went in this direction because they needed privacy and were looking for a more secluded place," Bofur said.
After looking, Bernahl resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said, "So they went toward the Old Forest. The only thing worth praising is that they weren't stupid, and at least they went together."
Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly appeared ahead. Bernahl immediately shielded Bofur behind him and raised his knight's greatsword with one hand toward where the sound came from.
"I'mna Bifur! (I am Bifur!)" The owner of the footsteps clearly saw the situation and anxiously spoke in Khuzdul.
Bofur immediately recognized his brother's voice and quickly explained to Bernahl what he was saying. But Bernahl didn't lower his sword until the figure appeared within the torch's illumination.
Bofur explained, "Because my brother's head was injured by an axe, his brain was affected, so he can only speak Khuzdul."
Then Bifur glared at Bernahl and rattled off a long string of words.
Bernahl couldn't understand and looked at Bofur. "What is your brother saying?"
Bofur nodded to Bifur while replying, "He says he found shoes and axes that fell from Oin and Gloin but didn't see any people. What's more strange is that there were no signs of fighting at the scene, as if Oin and Gloin suddenly disappeared."
Bernahl frowned. "What was the scene like?"
Bifur could understand Common Speech, so he spoke to Bofur again in Khuzdul.
Bofur again acted as translator. "He says there were only a few willow trees at the scene, and no traces of other animals having been there."
When Bernahl heard "willow trees," he almost laughed out loud.
Due to the height difference, he gently pressed Bofur's shoulder and said, "I know where Oin and Gloin went. Follow me."
Bifur looked at Bofur puzzledly. Bofur met his brother's eyes and decided to follow Bernahl first to take a look.
At least they couldn't let Mr. Bernahl go alone. That's what they thought.
Bifur took another torch from Bofur and gripped his one-handed war axe tightly, carefully following behind Bernahl.
The place where Oin and Gloin disappeared wasn't far from the camp, only about forty steps away. It was clear they really just wanted to find a more secluded spot to deal with their urgent needs.
After all, no one wanted to sleep while smelling urine.
Bernahl looked at the oldest willow tree among them and said to Bifur and Bofur, "Hold up your torches and look up."
The two Dwarves obediently followed Bernahl's instructions, raising their torches upward. Then they saw a horrifying sight: the missing Oin and Gloin were tightly bound by willow branches, entangled in the canopy.
Oin and Gloin's mouths were also wrapped with willow twigs. When they noticed their companions had spotted them, they kept struggling to make "mmm mmm" sounds, their eyes so excited they nearly cried.
When Bifur had just walked past this scene, Oin and Gloin's hearts had sunk to the bottom.
But if Bifur had left even ten seconds later, he would have ended up like Oin and Gloin, caught by the strange willow branches and hung upside down in the canopy.
Bofur covered his mouth and cried out in shock, "By Durin, what are these things?"
Those willow branches crawled slowly over Oin and Gloin's bodies as if they were alive, causing them to writhe in terror from time to time.
The willow branches closest to the firelight avoided it like snakes.
Oin and Gloin's eyes seemed to desperately say, "Get us down quickly!"
Bernahl understood the Dwarves' pleading eyes. He raised his greatsword, and with a flash of cold light, Oin and Gloin fell to the ground along with the severed willow branches.
Bofur and Bifur hadn't even seen Bernahl's sword movement.
"Oh, that hurts."
Gloin nimbly got up from the ground, running while touching his sore bottom.
The willow tree that had hung them up began to shake violently after Bernahl severed some of its branches. The entire tree seemed to be howling in pain, making the ground near the willow tremble slightly.
Bofur and Bifur were rushing to help Oin and Gloin when they felt the ground beneath their feet vibrating.
Bofur shouted confusedly, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's happening now?"
But his hands weren't slow. He directly reached out to grab Gloin and pulled him back.
Just then, the ground where Gloin had been suddenly cracked open, and a huge root covered in wet soil lashed out.
Gloin looked at the root with lingering fear and shouted, "By Durin, this willow tree is like a farm master with whips in both hands!"
Bifur and Oin weren't as lucky. Perhaps because of the earlier failure, the two Dwarves faced attacks from more roots.
But relying on the Dwarves' natural mastery of body balance, they didn't fall into the suddenly cracked ground. Instead, they nimbly stepped on protruding roots or raised dirt clods to dodge several attacks.
Just then, Bernahl's slashes severed all those roots, saving Bifur and Oin.
"Oh, thank you so much! Although my ear-trumpet is lost under this willow tree and I can't hear what you're saying clearly, I still want to say thank you!" Oin shouted loudly at Bernahl.
Bernahl swung his sword again, and several more branches were cut down.
The willow tree had no way to get past Bernahl to attack the Dwarves.
"Mr. Bernahl! The other trees seem wrong too! They just seemed to move!" Bofur, hiding behind Bernahl, reminded him after seeing the other trees.
Gloin shouted, "They must be in cahoots! These trees weren't that close to Oin and me just now! They're moving trees!"
Bernahl only softly reminded the Dwarves, "Get down on the ground and be careful not to get hit by my sword wind."
He felt no tension at all, his eyes calm as still water without a ripple.
The knight's greatsword in his hand unleashed slashes, and invisible vacuum blades shot toward the surrounding trees like arrows, carving sharp trajectories through the air and instantly penetrating the thick trunks.
Under the cutting of the vacuum blades, the trees were severed at their trunks one after another, producing thunderous roars.
"This is absolutely wonderful, Mr. Bernahl!"
Bofur and the others acted as cheerleaders, making happy sounds.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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