When Tarnes and Thorin's group left Bree, just one day later, two unwelcome visitors quietly arrived outside Bree's east gate.
Or rather, they couldn't possibly enter Bree at all, because these were two Orcs.
It was another cold night, and these two Orcs rode wargs, snarling as they looked toward Bree.
"That spy, that human who submitted to the master, hasn't contacted us today," one of the Orcs said.
The other Orc showed a sinister smile: "That means there are two possibilities. Either that spy betrayed the master and fled, or he discovered the target the master was looking for, got exposed, and was killed."
"Growl!"
The warg beneath this Orc let out a low growl.
The Orc soothed his warg and said to his companion: "You wait here for that cross-eyed human. I'll search along this road. If he doesn't come back, report directly to the master."
At this time, Tarnes and his companions were enduring a miserable journey, as the weather had turned awful.
The gray sky pressed down like a massive lead block, making it hard to breathe. Rain threads escaped from the gaps in the clouds, piercing the earth mercilessly like fine needles. November's chill mingled with the rainwater, bringing bone-piercing coldness that made one shiver involuntarily.
The world in the rain became blurred and unclear, every landscape seeming painted with oils, becoming twisted and illusory.
Bilbo had once thought that the weather on this expedition would be like May or September, either warm or mildly cool, without rain or wind. Just like the beautiful stories told in cheerful tales.
But now it was cold and wet. Though Bilbo had to camp in the wild before, at least then the ground was dry. Even at the Old Forest, it was just some poking branches!
"This is terrible. I forgot to bring an umbrella and can only wear a raincoat," Bilbo grumbled.
Then he looked up at Tarnes, who was sitting on Torrent beside him, also without an umbrella: "Don't you find it uncomfortable, Tarnes?"
"A bit, but it's bearable, not unbearable," Tarnes replied, feeling the rain quietly soaking through his raincoat and into his white wolf armor.
Bilbo said thoughtlessly: "Well, but you and Gandalf are both powerful wizards. Can't you cast spells to change the weather? You don't need to make it particularly pleasant, just stop the rain. I feel like a fish soaking in a fishbowl."
He rode his pony, following the main group along a muddy path, with heavy rain pouring down. It had been raining all day. Water was dripping from Bilbo's hat brim into his eyes, and his cloak and raincoat were already soaked through. Even his pony was tired, stumbling along the muddy road.
Even Dwarves like Dori and Ori, who liked singing and storytelling, had become moody due to the rain and didn't want to talk. Even the usually cheerful, optimistic Bofur was sighing as he looked at his pipe tobacco that was too wet to light.
Dori, ahead, wearing a hood with his cheeks reddened by the cold wind, pulled his cloak tighter. After hearing Bilbo's complaints, he turned back and shouted: "Mr. Gandalf and Mr. Tarnes, can you make this flood from the sky stop?"
Gandalf was equally annoyed by the rain at this point. After hearing Dori's voice, he irritably shouted back: "It IS raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue raining until it stops raining. If you want to change the weather of the world, go find other wizards!"
What masterful circular logic.
Tarnes couldn't help but smile slightly at Gandalf's words, but his expression quickly stiffened. He discovered that the Dwarves in front of him, along with Bilbo, were all looking at him with hopeful eyes. Even Thorin was gazing at Tarnes with the same expectant expression.
He was growing weary of this wretched weather as well, but they still hadn't found a suitable place to rest and could only continue forward through the cold, dark rain. If they couldn't find shelter soon, Thorin would have to keep leading the group through the treacherous night.
Change the weather of the world, seek out other wizards. Could Gandalf be referring to me?
After all, there were only two wizards in this expedition, and excluding Gandalf himself, that left only Tarnes.
Tarnes looked at Gandalf in surprise and saw him looking back with a sly expression.
You old man, I almost forgot my external identity as a wizard.
Even Bernahl teased from behind Tarnes with amusement: "Yes, Tarnes, you know so many magical spells. Surely you can deal with mere rainwater."
Tarnes gave him a look, then said to Bilbo and the Dwarves: "I'm afraid I have no way to drive away this rain either..."
Bilbo and the Dwarves showed disappointed expressions, but were quickly drawn back by Tarnes' next words.
"But if it's just to make the body warmer and the mind clearer, I do have some methods," Tarnes said with a smile, golden light appearing in his hands, the catalyst for casting incantations.
Golden Tree's Blessing. Brilliant golden grace flowed gently into the expedition members through this incantation, continuously bringing new vitality and warmth to their bodies.
Bilbo felt his rain-numbed fingers warming with a tingling sensation. Though the rain continued from the sky, he felt much better than before.
Fili and Kili's eyes lit up as they suddenly realized that the beast incantations they had learned had similar effects.
Fili looked at Kili with a slight smile: "It seems Teacher Tarnes has taught us another way to use incantations in non-combat situations."
Kili said with some excitement: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's try it now."
The Dwarf brothers took out the Beast Claw sacred seals that Tarnes had given them and used the beast incantation Bestial Vitality.
The off-white beast incantation replaced Tarnes' Golden Tree prayer the next second, but Fili and Kili's excited expressions hadn't lasted a second before their faces fell.
Though the Bestial Vitality they cast on themselves did have an effect, it didn't warm their bodies like Tarnes' incantation had. Or rather, the effect of their beast incantation wasn't obvious.
Kili pulled his thick, soggy clothes tighter and asked Fili: "Why didn't it work? And Teacher Tarnes' incantation disappeared too."
Fili felt the cold gradually creeping over his body and shook his head in confusion.
At this time, Bernahl spurred his horse slightly faster to come alongside the Dwarf brothers. After casting the same Golden Tree incantation as Tarnes, he said: "I haven't told you about this yet, but I was planning to wait until you mastered the beast incantations before explaining. Fili, Kili, remember this: most of the time, different types of beneficial incantations with the same effect don't stack. They're replaced by whichever is cast later."
Fili and Kili immediately nodded.
Since Bernahl was talking about incantation-related matters, Thorin also listened carefully. He keenly caught the subtext in Bernahl's words: "Mr. Bernahl, are you saying a person can learn more than one type of incantation?"
Bernahl glanced at Fili and Kili's uncle and said: "Only theoretically. But don't bite off more than you can chew. Many people spend their entire lives mastering one type of incantation proficiently and are already outstanding talents. So far, I've only seen two people who can skillfully switch between different incantations and spells in combat."
Thorin instinctively asked: "Which two?"
Bernahl replied with a smile: "One is a sorcerer whose strength rivals mine, and you've already met the other."
He then looked meaningfully at Tarnes without saying more, making Thorin follow his gaze with a knowing expression.
He murmured: "It's Tarnes. I should have known it was him."
While Bernahl and Thorin were talking, Tarnes was chatting with Gandalf.
Gandalf chuckled: "I was right to push Bilbo and the Dwarves' complaints onto you."
Tarnes' mouth twitched: "But this is only temporary. We still need to find shelter from wind and rain tonight. If this rain continues, my incantations alone can't give Bilbo and Thorin sufficient rest."
Gandalf nodded: "Don't worry. Though it's getting dark, I know these roads. If we go a bit further ahead, there's a farmhouse. I know the owner. His family will take us in for the night."
Tarnes breathed a sigh of relief: "Good."
Then he looked at Thorin and shouted: "Thorin, did you hear Gandalf? Just a bit further ahead, and we'll have a place to rest!"
Thorin replied: "I heard! Dwalin, Gloin, help me clear the path ahead."
Soon, Tarnes and Thorin's group entered a deep valley, where the rain had lessened considerably. At the bottom of the valley was a river. The rain had raised the water level significantly, and the willows along the banks were bent by the wind, seeming to sigh. The wind scattered the clouds, and wandering moonlight appeared among the remnant clouds racing across the mountains.
The Lonely Mountain expedition didn't take long to exit the valley and soon saw the farmhouse Gandalf had mentioned.
Beside the farmhouse, the hanging lamp in the chicken coop had gone out, but by the returning moonlight, it still appeared weak and cozy. Several fowl rested quietly in their pens, occasionally making soft clucking sounds. In the sheep pen, several docile sheep huddled together, seemingly seeking each other's warmth, their breath rising in white puffs in the air. In the distant stable, a horse stood alone, its mane trembling slightly in the rain as if listening to surrounding whispers. Its hooves occasionally struck the muddy ground with dull sounds.
Strangely, though, no lights were lit inside the farmhouse, making it unclear if anyone was home.
Seeing this, Gandalf muttered strangely: "Could it be that the rain made this farmer go to sleep very early today?"
Tarnes asked: "Let's go look, and we'll know the situation. Thorin is generous enough with his money to appease any farmer's displeasure at being woken from sweet dreams."
Thorin's group rode their ponies and arrived at this farmhouse located deep in the mountains. Their arrival didn't seem to disturb the owner inside, so Thorin politely dismounted and walked slowly to the wooden door.
His hand gently shook the old bell on the door, its clear sound echoing in the quiet air. As the bell sound faded, while waiting for the farmhouse owner to come out, Thorin's gaze carefully traced the farmhouse's outline: simple structure, rough stone walls, weather-beaten wooden door.
Obviously, the farmer Gandalf knew had been living here for a long time.
But still no one responded to the bell, and the farmhouse showed no lights. The Dwarves had little patience. Thorin frowned and shook the bell again, but the result was the same.
Gandalf frowned and walked over, stroking his gray beard and muttering in confusion: "This shouldn't be right. The owner of this farmhouse never goes out in winter."
Thorin glanced at Gandalf: "But no one is responding to us now."
Gandalf was silent for a moment, then decided to call out directly: "Davy, son of Dain! Are you there! It's Gandalf! I'm passing through tonight and would like lodging!"
The wizard's voice echoed around the farmhouse. Just as Thorin was about to suggest going in and knocking directly, a surprised middle-aged male voice came from inside the farmhouse: "Gandalf? Is it really you?! Gandalf!"
Gandalf heard the relief in the voice's owner's emotions and responded warmly: "It's me, Davy. Though I don't know what you've encountered, I'm here, and I've brought many friends. Though there are quite a few of us, I hope you don't mind."
The farmhouse door opened a crack, and a somewhat balding head peeked out. Upon seeing Gandalf and the others at the door, he immediately opened the door and ran over excitedly, almost tearfully shouting: "Too many people? I don't mind too many people at all! Thank goodness, finally someone came!"
Tarnes, Bernahl, and Millicent exchanged glances. They weren't stupid. Obviously this farmer seemed to have encountered some terrible monster.
Gandalf asked gently outside the fence: "What's wrong, Davy? What terrible thing made the steady farmer I know show such an expression?"
Seeing that Tarnes, Thorin, and the others all had weapons at their waists, Davy breathed another sigh of relief, as if he very much hoped the people Gandalf brought were a group of fully armed mercenaries.
But the next moment, Davy's expression became tense. He looked around anxiously and quickly opened the fence gate to let Thorin and the others in.
Cold sweat appeared on his frightened forehead as he said to Gandalf: "Recently there's been some kind of huge monster prowling the deep valley at night, like a brown bear that can stand upright, but much larger than a brown bear. I saw it with my own eyes just the day before yesterday. For the past two days, that monster has been lurking around my farmhouse and has already stolen four of my sheep!"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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