Near the Vales of Anduin, at the Carrock.
This was the farthest place the Great Eagles were willing to fly after deliberation. They gently set everyone down and flew back toward their eyries with powerful wingbeats.
Levi didn't know what had happened while he was away, but everyone appeared to be unharmed, just somewhat tired from their ordeal.
"Bilbo, I once said there was no place for you among us... that was the greatest mistake of my life."
Thorin hugged Bilbo tightly with genuine emotion.
"What happened?" Levi quietly asked Gandalf.
"Thorin was surrounded by wargs and exhausted, nearly died in their jaws. It was Bilbo who rushed over and saved him."
"I see."
Luck might be coincidence, but courage was certainly inevitable.
Levi looked at Bilbo, then glanced at his pocket with knowing concern.
This thing...
Perhaps Bilbo possessing it was also part of the Great Music, but no one was born to suffer, and no one was destined to endure torment.
But it had to be said that Bilbo's magic resistance was truly strong. Holding the Ring and being tempted for a full sixty years, yet still able to give it up voluntarily.
If there was a way, it wasn't necessarily required to just watch Bilbo be corrupted. Even if the problem of gradual mental corruption couldn't be solved, they could try to solve it from the source.
However, in that case, there would be much to do after this journey to the Lonely Mountain.
After a brief rest, the group descended from the Carrock and continued toward the Lonely Mountain.
A few days later, on the other side of the valley, Gandalf stood on high ground, looking at the wargs and orcs scattered throughout the jungle, plains, and both sides of the river, his brow furrowed with deep concern.
"They've practically deployed their entire army. I dare say even their advance scouts searching for us number in the thousands," a dwarf below complained.
"It's a complete mobilization!"
Old Gandalf listened to this, his brow furrowing again. His eyebrows had been suffering these past few days.
"Roar!"
Just then, a beast's roar suddenly came from overhead. Everyone immediately grabbed their weapons, seeing a giant bear baring its teeth and looking down at them with fierce intensity.
"Heavens, what a massive creature! This is bigger than any bear I've ever seen!" a dwarf said tremblingly.
Thud!
The giant bear suddenly pounced down. Levi made to draw his sword.
"Wait!" Gandalf quickly intervened, standing between Levi and the giant bear.
"Beorn, I know it's you. Calm down. I am Gandalf the Grey, companion of Radagast the Brown. He and I are well acquainted."
The giant bear stared intently at Gandalf, making his scalp tingle.
After a moment, it stepped back two paces and stopped baring its teeth. Its massive form gradually shrank, fur retracting, limbs becoming thinner. It transformed into a human over two meters tall.
The dwarves were stunned, rubbing their eyes, thinking they were dreaming.
"This is one of the skin-changers. They're born with the magic to transform into fierce beasts."
Gandalf explained.
"Wizard, men, halfling, and greedy dwarves... what brings you near my territory?"
Beorn looked down at everyone from his imposing height. His emotions remained relatively stable when seeing Levi and Bilbo, but when his gaze swept over the dwarves, he frowned.
"We mean no harm, we're simply passing through," Gandalf explained.
The fate of the skin-changer people was very tragic. They were driven from the mountains by orcs and forced to live in the valleys. Most of their already few remaining people were captured by orcs and tortured to death.
The skin-changer people now likely consisted of only Beorn alone. Gandalf didn't want him fighting with Levi. They couldn't let the skin-changers become extinct.
"Very well, I believe you."
Beorn nodded. Although he didn't like dwarves and wasn't very fond of strangers, if they were companions of the Brown wizard, they could still be trusted.
Gandalf breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, good. The skin-changer was preserved.
"Speaking of which, what are you doing here?" Gandalf asked.
"I'm avoiding the orc army. These past few days they've been like madmen, wandering everywhere. Even I don't dare pass through them."
Beorn shook his head, also somewhat troubled.
"The last time I saw so many orcs was when they tried to expand north into the valley, but there's no one living there now and nothing to plunder. I really can't understand what they're mobilizing for this time."
"Uh, this..." Gandalf glanced at Levi and smiled awkwardly.
Levi shrugged.
"That's not important. The main thing is we have a common enemy. We can deal with them together. Actually, we need some help. This would allow us to better handle the orcs..."
Beorn was silent for a moment, looking at Gandalf, then at the dwarves, finally stopping his gaze on Levi for quite a while before slowly nodding.
"The enemy of orcs is my ally. Good, I can help you. I know a route that can avoid the orcs' sight. During the day, you can leave from there."
"I'll keep watch for you."
That night, under the moonlight, a giant bear stood on the rocky outcrop, vigilantly looking around.
In the house, the group ate their fill and slept soundly.
In the distance, an orc was making a report.
"Leader, we found a giant bear on the rocks. Should we..."
Although that bear looked strong, in comparison, it didn't seem that strong. With a few more men, they could handle it.
"Don't bother with it. Go around it. No need to create trouble for ourselves."
An orc scout sub-leader gave orders: "Our target is that group of dwarves, and that damned..."
At this point, the scout leader's breathing grew heavy, shuddering at the thought of that figure.
"If you encounter him, don't fight him directly. Come back and gather the army, then we'll kill our way over!"
"Yes."
The night passed quickly.
After dawn, Beorn brought out honey bread and drinks he'd made to treat everyone, then provided horses and indicated routes, allowing the group to leave quickly.
Meanwhile, the wandering orcs couldn't find their desired targets. A few days later, for various reasons, they gradually contracted back and temporarily withdrew from this plain.
On this day, at the Forest Gate. Also the entrance to the Woodland Realm. All the horses Beorn had provided were released, leaving only one led by Gandalf.
"This place has been defiled by evil's claws. The situation doesn't look good..."
"Levi, could you do me a favor?"
"What?"
Gandalf approached, turning his back to the group and speaking quietly to Levi: "I need to confirm something these next few days. Do you know about the 'Nazgûl'?"
"I know something. They're servants of Sauron."
Flash!
A shadow flickered in his pupils. Bilbo suddenly glanced at Levi and scratched his head.
"Oh no, no, no, Levi, don't just mention his name casually..."
Gandalf got a headache. Although the Ring was lost, Sauron wasn't completely dead yet. Mentioning his name rashly without certain measures could be vaguely sensed.
Although being sensed wasn't really a problem. Sauron couldn't reach through the network to hit people. It still wasn't a good thing.
"Many elves use 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' when referring to that person. Of course, that's not important. What I want to say is I need to confirm whether those Nazgûl have been summoned again. For this, I need to make a long journey."
"You want me to go with you?"
"No, I'll handle this matter. What I want to ask your help with is, when I return, could you come with me to Dol Guldur? Perhaps there's something there."
"There's more than just something there..."
If he remembered correctly, Sauron was right there now.
"What?"
"Nothing. I agree. When will you roughly return?"
Gandalf mentioned a time that wasn't particularly short.
"Alright, see you then."
"Good. If either of us arrives early, we'll wait three days at the main gate."
Gandalf rode away, separating from the group once again.
Levi followed the expedition into Mirkwood.
"Levi, what did Gandalf tell you?" Bilbo asked curiously, with the nearby dwarves also pricking up their ears.
These fellows were quite curious about Levi and Gandalf's whispering.
However, some things, while not impossible to say, they wouldn't be able to understand if spoken, and would only be confused.
"He said Mirkwood has been corrupted by evil forces and is very dangerous. We need to stay on the road as much as possible. It's relatively safe there."
Bilbo nodded seriously and replied: "I understand."
"I'll be careful."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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