"I should be heading home tomorrow, Tarnes."
After enjoying the Elven dinner that evening, Bilbo looked toward Tarnes, who was helping Estel correct his sword-swinging posture, and spoke up proactively.
Hearing this, Tarnes nodded slightly. "I figured you'd be about ready to go home. I happen to need to visit Rivendell as well, so on the way home I can accompany you back to Hobbiton first."
Bilbo's eyes lit up. "That would be wonderful! I was worried about traveling back alone being too dangerous. With you accompanying me, I won't have that concern."
After teaching Estel two basic sword techniques for single-handed swords, Tarnes came to Bilbo's side and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, why isn't that Elven prince with you?"
Bilbo paused, then realized. "Oh, you mean Legolas? He went to find Mr. Bernahl, saying he received much care from him during the battle against the Nazgûl at Lake-town and went to thank him."
Tarnes replied, "I see. But Bernahl should be quite busy recently. I just don't know if Legolas will have a chance to see him."
Bilbo nodded, then secretly glanced at Melina and tugged Tarnes's arm, asking quietly, "Are you alright?"
Tarnes looked confused. "What kind of question is that?"
Bilbo quickly shushed him, then continued in a low voice, "Don't let her hear you. I mean, are you alright handling relationships with your, uh, female friends? Before there was Miss Millicent, now there's Miss Melina. And I remember you telling me you married a princess named Ranni."
Tarnes realized what Bilbo was worried about and bent down, saying with mixed laughter and tears in a low voice, "When did you become such a gossip, Bilbo?"
Bilbo said with feigned profundity, "Because I've read many books that all say 'heroes have always struggled with beauties.' I'm rather worried that with so many lady friends, if you don't handle the relationships well, you might become quite dangerous."
Then he generously patted his chest and assured Tarnes, "But don't worry, I won't mention these things to others. And if you really can't handle it, uh, you can come to my house to hide for a while, take refuge. Of course, you can come to my house anytime without needing that excuse. I'll always have delicious food ready to welcome you."
Tarnes was amused by Bilbo's tone and nodded. "Alright, then I'll trouble you to take in this homeless person when the time comes."
"What are you talking about? Teacher Tarnes, and Uncle Bilbo?" Estel's curious voice rang out, startling both of them.
Tarnes cleared his throat. "Bilbo and I were chatting about Hobbiton. That's Uncle Bilbo's homeland, very peaceful and tranquil; in some sense, the Shire is Middle-earth's paradise. You must visit there if you get the chance, Estel."
Children's attention is always easily drawn to other things. Sure enough, after hearing Tarnes's words, Estel immediately said happily, "Hobbiton? Good, I've noted this place down. I'll bring gifts to visit Uncle Bilbo when the time comes."
Bilbo also smiled at Estel. "No need for overly expensive gifts. Oh, but if possible, I hope you can bring me some tableware that Elves normally use. Ordinary ones are fine. I want to keep them as collectibles."
Estel tilted his head in confusion at Bilbo. "Collect Elven tableware? Though I don't understand why you like collecting these things, Uncle Bilbo, I've noted it down."
Tarnes explained for Bilbo, "Perhaps hobbits also value cooking and eating very much, so he wants to collect things related to these."
Bilbo nodded and smiled at Estel. "Exactly. I'll also let you taste hobbit cuisine then."
After Estel chatted with Bilbo for a few more minutes, Tarnes called him back to the open grassland to supervise his sword practice.
Perhaps due to the good education he received in Rivendell, Estel had very solid fundamentals in swordsmanship.
Tarnes initially worried he might be teaching too quickly but found his concern unnecessary. Estel quickly learned the basic sword techniques Tarnes taught him.
Tarnes also noticed that Estel's stamina had increased considerably compared to when he last saw him in Rivendell.
As for the reason, Tarnes wasn't sure.
Could it be from eating good Elven food since childhood, or from exposure to golden blessings in Golden Tree territory?
Later, Tarnes learned from Elrond that it was Estel's Dúnedain bloodline that caused him to develop faster than ordinary humans.
Looking at Estel, who gazed at him expectantly, Tarnes clapped his hands and praised very seriously, "Your progress in swordsmanship is surprising even to me. Estel, you truly have talent and haven't wasted it. That's quite rare."
Estel was still a child after all, and couldn't help cheering after receiving Tarnes's praise.
Tarnes said, "When I return next time, I'll teach you more advanced martial techniques. However, in my homeland, the Lands Between, we generally call them 'Ashes of War.'"
Bilbo carefully noticed Estel's slightly confused expression and suggested to Tarnes, "I see Estel definitely doesn't know what you mean by 'Ashes of War.' Why don't you demonstrate one for him? I only understood what Ashes of War were after personally witnessing your battle with Mr. Bernahl."
After hearing Bilbo's words, Tarnes thought about it and indeed found this reasoning sound, so he had Bilbo take Estel to a safe location while he went to where Estel had been standing.
Then Tarnes demonstrated the Ash of War that Bernahl had used in their previous battle, Vacuum Slice. The invisible but sharp sword energy left clear, elongated sword marks on the golden grass, making Estel watch with burning eyes.
He asked excitedly, "Teacher Tarnes, is this the Ash of War you'll teach me when you return?"
Tarnes shook his head slightly. "Not this one, but some more basic Ashes of War. Though your swordsmanship fundamentals are solid, regarding Ashes of War, you're still a beginner and need to start learning from the basics."
Estel quickly nodded. "Yes, Teacher Tarnes."
Tarnes could see that Estel was actually hiding his disappointment, so after thinking, he comforted, "Don't rush. I promise you can learn Ashes of War that look even more spectacular than what I just demonstrated."
Estel puffed out his small chest. "I know Teacher Tarnes is comforting me, worried I'll be disappointed! But I'm fine! During your absence, I'll listen to you and seriously train the fundamentals, waiting for you to return and teach me Ashes of War."
How well-behaved.
Tarnes sighed inwardly while reaching into his dimensional storage, then a finely crafted single-handed straight sword appeared in his hand along with its scabbard.
Estel's gaze was immediately drawn to the sword in Tarnes's hand, his mind connecting it to the nickname for Tarnes that Elrond had mentioned, making his breathing heavier.
Could Teacher be giving this sword to me?
Estel couldn't help thinking.
Indeed, just as Estel thought, Tarnes came to his side, half-knelt to be at eye level with him, and said, "I left Rivendell in a hurry last time and didn't give you a meeting gift. When Fili and Kili became my students, I also prepared gifts for them. Therefore, I couldn't leave you without a gift. This sword now belongs to you."
As Tarnes spoke, he placed the Royal Army straight sword in Estel's outstretched hands.
Then Tarnes produced a Blessed Dew Talisman and hung it around Estel's neck, explaining, "This talisman can slowly heal injuries you receive, and can gradually repair hidden injuries that are hard to notice. Your body is still developing, but your training volume is large, which will definitely leave hidden injuries. This talisman can slowly restore your body."
Estel nodded vigorously, memorizing Tarnes's words.
Tarnes patted Estel's head. "Though this sword is a standard straight sword, its quality is absolutely guaranteed. When you grow a bit more, I'll prepare a more special and powerful single-handed sword for you."
Estel nodded again. "I'll work hard to become a student worthy of that sword, Teacher Tarnes."
Tarnes smiled and shook his head. "No, Estel, your safety is most important. Weapons are ultimately external things, and if I promise to give you something, I definitely will. Whether it's you or Fili and Kili, I hope you can all live well."
Though Estel didn't understand why his teacher said this, he also kept these words in his heart.
Tarnes stood up and smiled. "Alright, you should be happy after receiving a gift. And don't you want to know what more Ashes of War look like? Melina and I will demonstrate some for you, alright?"
Hearing this, Melina sighed. "Are you asking me to spar with you?"
This time it was Tarnes's turn to quickly shake his head. "How could that be? Blades have no eyes, and Ashes of War even less so. It doesn't matter if I accidentally injure myself, but I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt you."
A smile quickly flashed across Melina's lips before disappearing, her tone slightly rising. "But it would be better to have a target for reference regarding the Ashes of War's power. I don't want to swing weapons at the ground like you."
Tarnes turned to look around, finding himself in a dilemma. "But there don't seem to be any targets here. Should we take Estel to the barracks in Stormveil Castle? But wouldn't going now be too late and affect his rest?"
Estel raised his hand at this point. "If it's about targets, Brother Elladan made several wooden dummies behind the house for training my archery."
Tarnes nodded. "Then let's use those. If they're damaged, I'll have people send over unused targets from the barracks later."
In the time before Estel went to sleep, Tarnes and Melina together demonstrated several Golden Tree-related Ashes of War, leaving Estel's mind filled with the golden radiance of those techniques even as he entered his dreams.
Of course, the other hobbit present also fell asleep that night with visions of the Ashes of War's brilliance.
And Tarnes, who rarely needed sleep for rest, traveled with Melina that night to Ensis Castle. Rellana, who had been given sufficient time to reorganize, and her Carian army left the castle with Tarnes, heading for Stormveil Castle, and without disturbing any residents, traveled through the waygate to Lake-town.
Thanks to Tarnes's reminder, neither Rellana nor her Carian army was affected by the sudden temperature drop, as the soldiers had already put on warm winter clothing under their armor before entering the waygate.
"Lord Tarnes! Uh, how should I address this lord?" The Storm Knight guarding the waygate immediately came to Tarnes's side to salute, then looked toward Rellana.
"This army comes from Caria. They're here to exchange garrison duties with the Redmane Legion."
Tarnes didn't explain much about Rellana and her army's origins, and the Storm Knight couldn't ask detailed questions either, so he simply saluted them before returning to his guard position.
Rellana looked at the waygate behind them. "It seems our only means of long-distance travel is this one waygate?"
Tarnes nodded. "Currently this is the only waygate that can reach here."
Rellana looked at her army, then a small squad mixing soldiers and sorcerers stepped forward in understanding and knelt on one knee before her.
"You're responsible for assisting the Storm King's subordinates in defending here."
After saying this, she looked at Tarnes and continued, "Once the garrison situation stabilizes, I'll send an engineering unit to build a small fortress here. What do you think, Tarnes?"
Tarnes smiled. "If we can build a fortress here, that would be wonderful. I've always had this idea, but neither the Storm Legion nor the Redmane Legion had spare personnel to do it."
Rellana replied, "In the Land of Shadow, we were accustomed to using our own hands to build fortresses to resist attacks from the remaining Hornsent. And protecting this waygate within a fortress is also insurance."
Tarnes nodded. "Indeed so. Let's continue forward. I'll take you to Lake-town. However, there probably aren't many people living in Lake-town currently. Most of the previously relocated residents still chose to settle in Dale."
Rellana looked toward the town swaying with lamplight on the distant lake surface. "Is Radahn also in Lake-town now? I haven't seen him for a long time, and I have many questions to ask him."
Tarnes replied, "Radahn should still be in Dale. Lake-town is currently garrisoned by his praetorian knight Freyja, leading a small number of Redmane Legion soldiers."
Seeing Rellana frown upon hearing Freyja's name, he explained, "Don't worry, this Freyja has broken free from Miquella's charm control and is no longer that demigod's follower."
Only then did Rellana feel relieved. "That's good."