When Arthur arrived near Haight Fort, before he even saw Kenneth Haight, he could already hear a clamor of voices.
He exchanged a look with Nepheli Loux and followed the sound.
"Guests who have traveled far, please be patient. The great Lord of the Erdtree, Arthur, Your Majesty, will be here shortly." Kenneth Haight's distinctive theatrical voice came, sounding like he was communicating with the people opposite.
Around him, the Kingrick Royal Army, led by their knight captain, stood in a straight line, displaying the weapons in their hands.
Arthur, still in his Blaidd, the Half-Wolf armor, walked over. He first subtly glanced at the crowd opposite, then said to Kenneth Haight, "You've worked hard, Kenneth. What's the situation now? Why are there two groups of people?"
In front of Kenneth Haight, some of the people he had been speaking with were dressed normally, even lavishly. They were human, and behind them followed carriages and armed escorts.
However, upon seeing the well-equipped, fully armored soldiers of the Royal Army, those escorts lowered their heads and dared not be arrogant.
Not far from these humans, there was another group of shabbily dressed humans. There seemed to be old, weak, sick, and disabled among them, much like an entire family had come seeking refuge.
Their eyes held vigilance and unease. The stronger males all stood at the front, shielding the women, children, and elderly behind them.
These people were talking about something among themselves, and most of the clamor Arthur and Nepheli Loux heard came from them.
Kenneth Haight heard the sound and turned around. Seeing Arthur's arrival, he let out a sigh of relief: "You've finally arrived, Arthur, Your Majesty. It's like this: these people claim to be merchants from Gondor. They heard your name and came with a caravan. However, they couldn't produce the appropriate identification documents, so I had them wait here for a while. But please rest assured, these merchants haven't caused any trouble; they've been patiently waiting for you here as per my instructions."
Arthur nodded, then looked at the more distant group of people who resembled refugees and asked, "What's going on with the people over there?"
Kenneth Haight shook his head: "I don't know. They didn't come with these merchants. They walked over from a distance and stopped there while I was talking to this caravan. I sent soldiers to ask them their purpose for coming, but I didn't get an answer, nor did they disperse. Honestly, I'm not sure what these people intend to do."
Arthur said, "Then let's take one thing at a time."
Kenneth Haight made way for Arthur, who walked to the front of the caravan.
This caravan was much larger than the dwarf caravans that had come here previously. At least, Arthur could see no less than ten carriages at a glance. From the tracks sunk into the mud, it seemed the carriages were carrying a lot of goods.
Moreover… Arthur also noticed that these carriages seemed to have been attacked. Some minor, non-critical areas had unpatched damage, and the armed escorts also had bandaged wounds.
"Greetings, Lord. I am Gaye from Los Arnor in Gondor, a land like flowers and snow." The leading merchant spoke. He had already guessed Arthur's identity from Kenneth Haight's actions.
This merchant appeared to be a middle-aged man around forty years old. He had blue eyes, meticulously styled golden long hair and a neatly trimmed golden beard. His appearance was ordinary, but thanks to his appropriate attire, he gave a good impression.
However, the long journey inevitably showed fatigue on his face, but upon seeing Arthur, he still tried his best to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, even tidying his travel-worn clothes slightly.
Arthur noticed that the other merchants slightly lowered their heads when this merchant began to speak, and he understood that this man was the true decision-maker of the caravan.
Arthur said, "But I heard from my subordinate that you cannot prove you are merchants from Gondor. How can I believe you?"
"Uh…" The merchant's face immediately showed an embarrassed expression.
He took out a silver badge from his chest. The badge had a flower symbol carved on it: "My name is Gaye. This badge is my family's emblem; everyone in Gondor recognizes it."
Arthur raised an eyebrow: "But this is the Erdtree. What I need are documents that prove your identity, not a family emblem."
From this point, Arthur already sensed the difference between dwarves and humans in this world.
dwarves are very particular about such things; they always carry documents proving their identity, and they are written very detailed and formally, often spanning several pages.
Due to this somewhat exaggerated habit of dwarves, even transaction lists written during trade with them can serve as identity documents.
The human in front of him, however, wanted to prove his identity with a single badge. This might work in the territory of Gondor or even Lohan, but unfortunately, this was neither Gondor nor Lohan.
Gaye could only put the badge away. After all, facing a powerful wizard (as Gaye had heard), he neither dared nor could he show his displeasure.
Only an idiot would lose his temper, and Gaye was not that kind of idiot, otherwise he wouldn't have been sent by his family as a representative to the wizard's territory.
So Gaye could only say helplessly: "Lord, to be honest, we encountered an orc attack on our way here and lost many men. We barely escaped to Halbarad to get rid of those orcs. But Halbarad has long been a ruin and is completely impassable. We lost several carriages when we passed through those swamps, and the identification documents happened to be placed with valuable goods in one of those carriages. If it weren't for that damned attack, the caravan you see would be even larger. I truly only have my family badge to prove my identity now. I beg you, Lord, to see clearly."
"orcs… All right, I can see that you have indeed been attacked." Arthur nodded, already believing what he said in his heart.
This was because Rogier and D had just told him about the situation in Halbarad not long ago. If one hadn't personally been there and entered it, they would never know the true situation inside Halbarad.
Moreover, a normal person, upon discovering that Halbarad was full of impassable swamps, would definitely choose to go around it.
Since Gaye chose to brave his way through Halbarad, it meant he was indeed desperately pursued by orcs.
Hearing Arthur's words, Gaye finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you for your tolerance and benevolence, Lord."
"No need to thank me so quickly," Arthur said. "I temporarily believe your identity, but I'm still not clear what goods you intend to sell."
Gaye, who had held his breath at the first part, relaxed when he heard the latter and quickly said with a fawning smile, "That's easy to explain. Minas Tirith is a land rich in flowers and fruits, so this time I've brought many fruits and flower seeds that are specialties of Gondor. Of course, all the fruits I've brought are easy to preserve for a long time and are definitely not spoiled. As for the flower seeds, for each type, I've brought corresponding fresh flower specimens for the convenience of your territory's residents to choose from."
Fruits and flower seeds? Sounds pretty good.
Arthur nodded faintly, then raised his hand and pointed to the largest, most heavily wrapped carriage in the middle, asking, "What's in that carriage?"
Gaye looked left and right, then took a slight step forward and whispered, "My Lord, those are some humble gifts to thank you for your generosity and benevolence."
Arthur recalled what Gandalf had told him: it was clear these people were actually coming for his reputation as a wizard, and they certainly wouldn't be the last batch.
He said nothing, but looked at Kenneth Haight: "Kenneth, lead this caravan into the territory."
"Yes, Arthur, Your Majesty," Kenneth Haight replied, walking over.
Just as Kenneth Haight passed by Arthur, Arthur quickly whispered, "Remember when they're selling things, find a few familiar dwarves, so these people don't inflate their prices."
"Alright," Kenneth Haight also quickly whispered back.
Then, a warm and friendly smile bloomed on his face as he quickly approached Gaye: "Sir Gaye, please have your caravan follow me. I will arrange a suitable area for you to sell your goods."
Gaye clearly wanted to say something more to Arthur, but under Kenneth Haight's enthusiastic invitation, he could only temporarily swallow his words, maintaining his fawning smile as he followed Kenneth Haight away.
Let the equally seasoned and shrewd Kenneth Haight handle this troublesome matter of building connections, Arthur thought to himself.
The caravan's carriages slowly drove into the territory of the Erdtree. At the same time, the group of people dressed as refugees, who had been silent, stirred, and several able-bodied men jogged over.
"Whoosh!"
The knight captain responsible for maintaining order instantly drew the knight's greatsword from his back and stood in front of Arthur.
The blade of his sword gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and the Kingrick Royal Army soldiers under his command also drew their weapons, pointing them at the few men who had jogged over.
Three men immediately stopped in their tracks, scared, but only the man at the very front, waving something in his hand, continued to approach.
Is that a letter?
Arthur extended his hand and said, "Put away your weapons, and let that man come forward."
The knight captain did not hesitate, immediately sheathing the knight's greatsword on his back, while the Kingrick Royal Army soldiers also uniformly returned their weapons to their original positions.
However, the knight captain only slightly turned aside to make some space, not fully exposing Arthur's figure.
Although sometimes Arthur wanted to say that with his strength, he didn't need their protection, he quickly remembered his standing in the hearts of these knights and soldiers, and so he let them be.
The man got closer and closer, while also loudly calling out, "Lord Arthur, is that Lord Arthur?"
Hmm, how does he know my name?
Arthur instinctively looked at Nepheli Loux beside him, only to find that the female warrior was also looking at him with a puzzled expression.
The man didn't foolishly run directly in front of Arthur, but stopped about ten paces away from him, showing Arthur the somewhat worn and tattered letter he was waving in his hand.
Arthur asked, "Where did you hear my name?"
The man was panting, the running had consumed a lot of his energy, and as he got closer, the cold gazes of the knight captain and the soldiers made the courage he had barely mustered shrink back.
He stammered, "It... it was a gray-robed wizard named Gandalf. Our village was destroyed by orcs, and he saved us from the orcs' slaughter. Then he wrote this letter, telling us to go to the continent in the southwest, to the land of Minhiriath, where there is a magical Erdtree, the homeland of a wizard named 'Arthur.'"
Arthur's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Gandalf? You've seen Gandalf? Where is he now?"
The man, however, shook his head in confusion: "Th-this I don't know. After that kind wizard gave me the letter, he continued to head east."
Arthur felt a little disappointed inside. He spoke, "Hand over the letter, I want to see it."
The man instinctively glanced at the vigilant knight captain, then slowly shuffled over, handing out the letter.
The knight captain stepped forward to take the letter, but the sharp-eyed Arthur had already seen a familiar rune symbol drawn on the seal of the envelope, one that Gandalf had demonstrated in front of him.
"Give it to me. This letter is indeed written by Gandalf," Arthur said. The knight captain, who was about to check if the envelope was smeared with poison, immediately respectfully handed it over.
"My dear Arthur, when you see this letter, it means you have already met these poor people. I know this is an unreasonable request, but besides your territory, I truly cannot think of anyone else who could take in these people whose homelands have been destroyed by orcs. Perhaps before they can find a place to accept them, they will freeze or starve to death in the coming winter."
"I met them near the Gladden River. Not only orcs were destroying these people's villages, but even Trolls had come down from the mountains. This means that Middle-earth will soon experience a period of turmoil, and I have not yet found any trace of Thorin's father. However, Thorin's plan for the expedition to the Lonely Mountain can no longer be delayed; the dwarves must reclaim the Lonely Mountain and establish a reliable defense line before that terrible turmoil arrives. Therefore, I have decided to search for Thráin for one more month. If I still cannot find him, I will go to the Blue Mountains to find Thorin and help him initiate the expedition to the Lonely Mountain."
"Finally, I once again ask you to take in these poor people. Please trust me, this old man; they are all good people, skilled in farming and herding, not idle vagrants, and will certainly help with the reconstruction of your territory."
"Gratefully yours for your generosity and benevolence, Gandalf."