Upon hearing the news that Gandalf had returned with Rogier and D, Arthur excitedly ran outside Stormveil Castle to await them.
Rogier and his companions were also swift, quickly arriving at the main gate of Stormveil Castle.
Arthur stepped forward to greet them, embracing Rogier, D, and Gandalf in turn.
"You've worked hard, Rogier, and D," Arthur said while embracing them.
Then he looked at Gandalf, opening his arms with a smile: "We haven't seen each other in almost half a year, have we? Didn't the changes in my territory surprise you?"
Gandalf chuckled as he accepted Arthur's embrace, and after letting go, he kindly said, "The speed at which you've rebuilt your homeland is truly astonishing. It's been almost half a year since we parted, but the changes in your territory look like they've taken fifty years. And when I was returning, I passed through the lands of those human kingdoms and already heard bards singing praises of your territory."
Arthur showed a curious expression: "Oh, is that so? But I've always been in Minhiriath, and even my own people haven't traveled to human settlements. Why would human bards sing praises of my territory? What do they sing?"
Then Gandalf cleared his throat, recalling the bards' lyrics, and with a resounding voice, he sang in an operatic tone:
"At the ancient western frontier, the hand of plague cast death's dark signature.
Floods mercilessly swallowed fields, life perished, and cries of sorrow filled the land.
But in the southwest, there was a lonely wizard, his eyes burning with the fire of hope.
Clad in sturdy armor, wielding a precious sword, he walked with steady steps, vowing to rebuild upon the ruins.
He trod upon land shining like gold, sowing seeds of peace in his heart.
The wizard's incantations echoed across the barren land, and life and hope slowly awakened.
The distant homeland will no longer be a dream.
In that once barren land,
The radiance of gold and the song of peace,
Will forever illuminate every dawn."
Upon hearing Gandalf's rendition, D whispered, "Ha, not bad."
In fact, he quite liked the song, as humans from far away were praising Arthur and his Erdtree, which made D, a believer in the Erdtree, very happy.
Rogier stood beside D, and after sensing D's inner emotions, he chuckled softly. Before D could turn his head, Rogier raised his hand and gently applauded, praising, "Indeed, it's a good song, and thank you for your singing, old Sir Gandalf."
Arthur, however, became even more curious. He looked at the smiling Gandalf and asked, "So how did these human bards know about my situation here?"
Gandalf replied, "You'll have to ask your dwarves friends. These messages and poems praising your territory were spread by the dwarves who traveled from the Blue Mountains to various places."
Dwarves? Alright.
Thorin and those enthusiastic dwarves flashed through Arthur's mind, and a smile appeared on his lips.
He roughly understood what had happened.
Gandalf continued to chuckle, "Perhaps in a while, there really will be humans interested in your territory coming over. You should know that Wizards rarely stay in one place for a long time, let alone establish their own territory. You are the second wizard to do so, so there must be many people interested in you."
"If friends come, I naturally have fine food and wine to welcome them," Arthur said generously.
Then he noticed what Gandalf had said and curiously asked, "I'm the second? Is there another wizard who established his own territory like me?"
Gandalf's smile briefly vanished, and he replied with a somewhat unnatural expression, "Yes, Saruman the White. He came to Middle-earth with me and established his own wizard's tower in Isengard."
Arthur noticed Gandalf's momentary unnatural expression. He could tell that Gandalf and this wizard named "Saruman" did not have a particularly good relationship.
Although he was curious about what had happened between Gandalf and Saruman the White, he did not ask to spoil the mood.
Arthur merely smiled, then his peripheral vision caught sight of the pair of slender golden ceremonial straight swords hanging from Gandalf's waist. To change the subject, he teased, "Compared to the stories the dwarves spread about me, I'm more curious about the nickname you introduced me by to Elrond. I remember it was 'Sword Giver'? Why did you give me that nickname?"
"Ahem, well, that's because when I was a guest in Rivendell, and chatting with Elrond, he noticed the ceremonial straight sword you gave me. He asked me about you, what to call you, and I couldn't think of how to introduce you for a moment, so…" Gandalf quickly explained.
Arthur indicated that he didn't mind and asked, "How are they? Have they helped you?"
Gandalf raised his hand and gently caressed the golden hilt of the sword, smiling as he said, "Of course, they've been a great help, in fact. If it weren't for the sword you gave me, I think it would have taken me a few more days to come back and find you."
Arthur immediately understood the meaning in Gandalf's words, his smile fading slightly as he asked, "Is this related to your investigation in the North? What changes happened there?"
Gandalf's smile also faded. He nodded, then glanced at Rogier and D, who were silently waiting nearby, and then smiled again, saying, "This is not the place for a long talk, Arthur. Take us to a suitable place to talk. There are many things I need to tell you."
Arthur made an inviting gesture and asked, "What would you like to drink? How about a cup of Blue Mountains clear tea that the dwarves caravan brought last week?"
"No, no, please bring me a glass of fine wine instead. If it's excellent dwarves wine, that would be even better," Gandalf said.
Inside the City Lord Hall.
The goblet on the table in front of Gandalf was filled with a reddish-purple translucent liquid; Arthur had satisfied Gandalf's wish.
Rogier had just finished reporting the intelligence about Halbarad. He stood by the conference round table opposite Gandalf, relaying all the information he had seen.
"Similar to the abandoned Thorndale, Halbarad also has a large area of abandoned buildings, as well as a very long Greatbridge that spans both ends of the Greywater River. However, this Greatbridge is old and in disrepair, with many collapsed sections that render it unusable, just like the two outside Raya Lucarian Academy." After Rogier finished speaking, he sat down.
Then D stood up and continued Rogier's words, saying, "But unlike Thorndale, which can station Misbegotten, the Halbarad ruins are full of swamps, and because the great bridge is in a state of semi-destruction, the area around it is also very dangerous, and it's unknown when the rest of the bridge will collapse. This means that before this river port city is completely rebuilt, it cannot be used for stationing troops or for living. And this city, which is three or four times larger than Thorndale, is clearly not something we can spare manpower and wealth to rebuild right now."
Rogier, who had already sat down, finally added with a faint smile, "Perhaps when the Erdtree's protective reach extends to Halbarad, Arthur, you can directly summon the mage academy from Liyue to that location, which would save a lot of human resources and money."
Arthur nodded, then looked at Gandalf. He still remembered that the matter of building Halbarad was discussed and decided by Gandalf and Elrond.
Gandalf noticed Arthur's gaze, took half a sip of wine and swallowed it, saying, "Arthur, the rebuilding of Halbarad is not something that needs to be rushed. I believe Lord Elrond has already conveyed our wishes to you."
Arthur nodded, then said, "Yes, Halbarad... just as Rogier mentioned, I will not send anyone there temporarily until the Erdtree's protective range can reach that area. Alright, that's all for the discussion about Halbarad. Gandalf, I also have something to tell you."
Gandalf asked, "What is it?"
Arthur said, "It's related to Thorndale."
Gandalf frowned slightly, and asked in confusion, "Thorndale? I remember you just mentioned that it has been occupied by the Misbegotten from your territory. Has something gone wrong there?"
Arthur shook his head: "No, it's not something that has gone wrong now, it was before."
"Before?"
"Mm." Arthur nodded, "Gandalf, Thorndale, I don't know when, was occupied by a group of orcs. They abducted humans from various parts of Middle-earth and enslaved them to build the Limgrave Greatbridge."
Gandalf's eyes widened, and he suddenly stood up, his blue eyes revealing his inner shock: "orcs are repairing the Limgrave Greatbridge?"
Then he sat back down, unconsciously pulled out his long pipe and tobacco from his waist, and then remembered that he was in the City Lord Hall, so he put them back.
Gandalf fell into deep thought, his expression becoming stern, then he spoke, "If I didn't know your character, I would think you were telling me some new kind of joke."
Arthur did not speak, and Rogier, upon hearing Gandalf's words, asked curiously, "Is this situation very serious? I think it's normal for orcs to want to occupy a stronghold."
"No, this is not normal at all, Sir Rogier." Gandalf immediately shook his head, picking up his pipe again and rubbing it as he spoke, "If it were a group of humans, or even a group of dwarves, I wouldn't find it strange, but those are orcs. They are more skilled at destruction and waste than at building or repairing, unless they are under the leadership of a certain commander, they would not do what you encountered."
Arthur thought of something, and said with an "Ah": "You mentioning that reminds me of something, Gandalf. When the Erdtree's Misbegotten successfully defeated the orcs in Thorndale, their leader was captured alive. When I interrogated him about who ordered them to repair the Limgrave Greatbridge, that orc leader said something like 'Our master has returned, darkness will once again shroud Middle-earth' before committing suicide."
"Clang."
Gandalf's pipe slipped from his hand, falling to the ground with a crisp sound.
However, Gandalf didn't care that his pipe had fallen to the ground; instead, he stared at Arthur with a tense look, slowly asking, "Are you really sure you didn't misremember? Did that orc really say that?"
Arthur raised his right hand and pointed in the direction of the Erdtree: "I swear by the Erdtree, Gandalf, I absolutely did not mishear."
Gandalf's eyes became complex. As he slowly bent down to pick up his pipe, he said softly, "No wonder I also encountered organized orcs on my way to the Lonely Mountain. They appeared and attacked villages or lone merchant caravans regularly, as if obeying someone's command."
"Darkness, darkness... No, it's not entirely certain yet, but this possibility cannot be completely ignored..." Gandalf kept repeating the words.
Finally, he raised his head, revealing the wise face beneath his pointed wizard's hat, and invited Arthur, "What you just said is truly very helpful to me. It seems it's time to hold the second White Council. I wonder if you have time to accompany me to Rivendell and participate in this White Council? If my guess is correct, confronting the awakening darkness will require your strength, Arthur."
Arthur did not answer immediately, but first asked, "How long will it take to return from this trip?"
Although Gandalf didn't understand why Arthur asked this question, he estimated the time in his mind and then said, "To be conservative, it will take about 5 months, and that's if we don't encounter any accidents on the way. After all, Rivendell is quite far from here, and with the Halbarad waterway currently impassable, this is already the fastest time."
Arthur, however, showed a conflicted expression, and said with a bitter smile, "Why does it feel like everyone needs me for a meeting? I'm afraid I can't accept your request. You're not the first to invite me, Gandalf. I'd love to agree and go with you, but I already have a prior engagement with someone else."
Gandalf asked, "Whose promise is it that could make you refuse a wizard's invitation?"
Arthur replied, "The dwarves from the Blue Mountains, the current king of the Durin clan, Thorin Oakenshield."
Gandalf seemed surprised: "It's him! I was planning to go to the Blue Mountains to discuss something with him on this trip back."
Then Gandalf reacted and said to Arthur with a sudden realization, "Wait a minute, you mean Thorin is actually asking you to attend the dwarves' Ered Luin meeting? So Thorin is already preparing for the expedition to the Lonely Mountain?"
Now it was Arthur's turn to be surprised, because he hadn't said anything yet, and Gandalf had already guessed most of it.
He asked back with some suspicion, "You weren't planning to find Thorin and persuade him to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, were you?"
Gandalf nodded: "Yes, while evil has not fully awakened and the evil dragon in the Lonely Mountain is still sleeping in its golden hoard, this is the best time for the dwarves to reclaim the Lonely Mountain."