"Gandalf, that fellow... sometimes it feels like you can see him everywhere. Like you're in a tavern ordering a mug of ale, and when you set down your cup, he's suddenly sitting across from you."
"But other times, you can't find him anywhere, no matter how hard you look."
"Sigh, wizards..."
Pat.
While complaining, a cup of freshly brewed tea was gently placed before Balin.
"Thank you."
Balin picked it up to taste, then returned to the main topic.
"Regarding Erebor's abnormality, we believe it's beyond normal explanation. It's very likely involving some mysterious phenomenon. Perhaps we need a wizard's help to investigate properly."
Hearing Balin say this, Levi also showed interest.
"So what exactly is this 'mysterious' event that has you so concerned?"
"Tell me in detail."
Balin gathered his thoughts before answering.
"This all began showing signs over ten years ago, specifically in 2949, right after the Riverside Keep battle ended."
"When I returned to Erebor, Thorin told me the underground miners were experiencing something strange. They felt unbearably hot down there."
"Levi, you're not a dwarf, so you might not fully understand. We're very sensitive to temperature changes, but naturally resistant to heat."
"Like your armor right now. Humans or elves touching it might find it uncomfortably hot, but I find it perfect for warming my hands."
"At first we thought maybe there was a lava river flowing nearby, or the hot weather was making things stuffy underground."
"But when the weather turned cool and the survey team confirmed there was no large heat source nearby, we realized things weren't so simple."
"The miners felt this oppressive heat as soon as they went down, and the feeling disappeared after coming back up. Very strange."
"Time hasn't eliminated this sensation. It's persisted for many years now and has started seriously affecting our normal mining operations."
"Levi, what do you think?"
"In my view..." Levi considered the matter carefully.
Did they dig up some radioactive material? That would be terrifying.
Pushing aside this alarming possibility, he said, "I'd better go to the scene to see for myself. Just hearing about it won't reveal anything conclusive."
If they really dug up some dangerous substance that could harm people, my status bar will show debuff effects. Physical detection at its finest.
Like checking whether an electric wire has current, an experienced electrician knows with a single touch. The difference is that I can safely touch dangerous things multiple times.
"You're right."
Balin nodded, finishing the remaining tea in one gulp.
So the two immediately set out together.
However, besides the possibility of radioactive materials, there were some other explanations.
Like Balin said, the abnormality appeared right after the great battle ended. Perhaps some malevolent entity was causing trouble from the shadows...
Riding hard, several days later, Levi brought Balin to the Lonely Mountain region.
However, before entering the great mountain itself, in Dale, he quite unexpectedly encountered two familiar figures together.
"Bard, Bain."
"Quite rare seeing you both here. What are you doing?"
Near the archery range, Levi greeted the father and son warmly.
Bard raised the bow in his hand, gesturing to Levi.
"I'm competing with Bain in archery. Current score is tied."
"Oh?"
Levi immediately gave Bain an approving thumbs-up.
"Well done."
Hearing Levi's praise, Bain, already in his thirties, grinned like a proud child, patting the excellent Ranger medal on his shoulder.
"Not disgracing the excellent Ranger name."
Bard also patted his son's shoulder encouragingly, but simultaneously warned, "Don't celebrate too early, Bain. The competition isn't over yet."
"Next, I'm going to increase the difficulty for you."
Bard stretched his muscles with practiced ease.
He was still that supremely confident archer.
In terms of strength, precision, detail control, and environmental perception, even Roadside Keep's Legion Champion fell slightly short compared to him.
As for Levi himself, he fell even further behind in pure archery skill.
Speaking purely of archery technique, he was just at an excellent Rangers' average level. Compared to those who are more naturally gifted with the bow, he couldn't be called outstanding.
Accurate, yes, but not necessarily refined.
"Then you two continue your match. I'm heading to the Lonely Mountain for some urgent business."
Hearing Levi say this, Bard became somewhat curious.
What, you actually handle proper business sometimes?
So he paused the contest with Bain and briefly chatted with Levi about the situation.
"Oh, so it's this matter."
After hearing Levi's explanation, Bard showed understanding.
"I've also heard rumors of this. Indeed, very strange."
"Perhaps only people like you and Gandalf can solve it properly."
The problem was these two were both notoriously hard to find when needed.
As for the other available wizards...
The Brown Wizard Radagast, living in Mirkwood, wasn't specialized in this area and lacked the skills to handle such mysterious matters.
The other option, White Wizard Saruman, was a powerful figure who would be difficult to secure. Whether he could even be invited was one question, and if he agreed, it would require considerable effort and favors.
Though nominally Rohan's advisor wizard, requesting his help through Rohan's king should work in theory, but Saruman should only be considered as a last resort.
Their brief chat ended. Levi stood up, eyeing the archery targets, suddenly remembering something important.
"Speaking of arrows, perfect timing."
He pulled out a handful of dragon bone arrows, handing them to Bard.
"Dragon bone arrows, similar in principle to the Black Arrow, with certain magical properties and extremely high penetrating power."
"But remember, if lost they won't magically find their way back, and you know dragon bones aren't exactly plentiful."
"Of course, when they should be used, don't hesitate or be stingy."
Bard drew one arrow, placing it on his bowstring to test it.
As soon as he did, he frowned like a professional assessing his tools.
"This bow probably can't get the most out of these arrows. I need a bigger, stronger bow, or perhaps a heavy crossbow..."
His extensive experience let him immediately sense the mismatch between weapon and ammunition.
"Mm... I remember the warehouse has some suitable options stored, plus my old bow might also work well."
Excited by novel items in his field of expertise, Bard said his goodbyes at once, heading straight for the weapon warehouse.
Before leaving, he told Bain to stay put and wait—he'd be back soon.
"That man..."
Levi chuckled, shaking his head fondly.
"Alright, then I won't disturb your father-son reunion ."
With that, Levi also departed toward the mountain.
Only Bain remained .
He looked left and right, scratching his head, momentarily unsure what to do with himself.
Dale and the Lonely Mountain were barely a street apart.
Before long, Levi met Thorin in Erebor's grand council hall.
Upon Levi's arrival, Thorin visibly sighed with relief.
"Good to see you. The underground conditions have troubled us for many years, and we've been unable to solve it."
Levi gave a reassuring response. "Rest assured, I came to solve this mystery."
"Lead the way. Let's go down and investigate ."
"Good."
Thorin nodded and went to prepare for the descent.
Moments later, when he reappeared, the king's formal cloak had been replaced with practical clothes suitable for underground movement.
The two departed together, boarding the mining lift that would carry them down into the mountain's depths.
Light visibly faded as they descended, the environment gradually darkening around them.
When they crossed through another thick rock layer, warm yellow lamplight suddenly illuminated their surroundings.
As the platform descended further, Levi looked up in wonder.
Before him lay an enormous underground space, vast beyond imagination. Lanterns emitting warm yellow light hung on rock walls and protective railings in all directions like countless stars in a subterranean sky. The rhythmic clinking of pickaxes striking stone rang out and echoed, filling the entire cavernous space with the music of dwarven industry.