"I... I don't know where they wandered from." Initially Torg was somewhat nervous, but grew smoother as he spoke—quite concise too, appearing to be a highly adaptable young man.
"They've got great numbers, entrenched in Woody End's southern reaches, occupying a cave less than two days' journey from here."
"Two days! A cave?" Aedric caught the key words, frowning as he asked urgently: "Torg, have you entered the cave to investigate?"
If only a small group of orcs had entered the Shire, that wouldn't be too big a problem. Working together with these Rangers, with proper preparation, launching surprise attacks on a small force of thirty to fifty should prove manageable.
His strength was growing stronger. When he first arrived, fighting three Uruk-hai alone required hesitation. Now? Fighting five posed no difficulty whatsoever.
Against Snaga, if he had proper armor, he could easily handle ten!
But orcs occupying a cave amounted to at least a tribe. No one knew the interior situation. He needed to investigate thoroughly.
Aedric wouldn't tolerate such threats existing near Thornfield Village. Those life-loving, warmly friendly Hobbits treated him extremely well.
In other words, having finally achieved respected reputation in a village—would he let those orcs ruin it?
"No." Torg shook his head: "The cave entrance is extremely narrow with sentries patrolling nearby. Orcs frequently enter and exit—infiltration proves very difficult."
At this moment, Morgan quickly approached from behind Aedric.
"Captain, if you want to know the cave's interior situation, I could make the trip." For added persuasiveness, he supplemented: "When I was a border guard, I once entered orc caves in the north and even set fires inside to properly teach those filthy creatures lessons."
"Every cave's situation differs." Halladrak said with concern: "In darkness, orcs see far more clearly than us. Unless you can disappear under their noses, I wouldn't recommend anyone risk this."
"Because slight carelessness means losing one's life."
Older people, having seen much, naturally proved more cautious.
Disappear? Aedric caught another keyword.
His brow cleared as he looked at Halladrak: "Want to know the orc cave's exact situation?"
[3. Invisibility Ring.]
[Omitted.]
[Wearing it refracts light, making one disappear under enemies' noses. Note: it cannot mask scent or sound.]
If Morgan wore it...
"Certainly!" Halladrak nodded. He didn't know what methods this "Forever Guest of the Grey Havens" possessed, but surely wouldn't deceive him at this moment.
Lord Círdan's judgment was trustworthy.
"Then good—we depart in two days. Can Torg serve as my guide then?"
Halladrak hesitated briefly before nodding: "No problem."
Again, Lord Círdan's judgment deserved trust. Moreover, they urgently needed to know the orcs' specific situation to arrange subsequent actions.
The Dúnedain guarded the Shire's borders. Though unknown how those orcs had infiltrated, they'd eliminate them with utmost speed!
"Then it's settled." Aedric rose to leave, calling loudly toward the distance: "Bilbo, we should return!"
Baggins stopped his Snaga research, responding: "Alright." This was all material!
After receiving a response, Aedric looked again at Halladrak: "Pleased to meet you, honorable Dúnedain."
"Likewise pleased to meet you, Master Aedric."
The three departed thus. Watching the gradually distant figures, Halladrak commanded: "Clean the battlefield quickly—we can't linger here too long!"
One tall, two short—the three quickly returned to the village. Bilbo departed first to deliver gathered herbs to Granny Anna while telling Little Shepherd of Snowball's tragic fate. Incidentally comforting him.
After the remaining two returned to the courtyard, Aedric stopped Morgan, opening his right hand: "Look, what's this?"
An utterly ordinary ring bearing no inscription or embedded gems—merely a circle formed by two intertwined silver threads.
"What's the point? Just an ordinary ring." Morgan looked completely puzzled.
Aedric lowered his head mysteriously: "This ring's anything but ordinary. Wear it, and you can disappear before people's eyes."
"Are you feverish? What nonsense." Morgan instinctively objected.
Next second, his expression froze, his mouth gaping wide enough to stuff an entire fist. To avoid wasted breath and let his companion quickly believe him, Aedric checked that no one was around before extending his finger to don the ring.
In an eyeblink, he completely vanished on the spot. Even clothes, weapons, boots—everything disappeared.
After becoming invisible, Aedric felt his vision darken as all objects lost color. Conversely, everything's outlines became more clearly visible.
Even the sun became a dim white porcelain disk, seemingly pulled by a ship piloted by a long-haired lady.
What was that? Arien and the sun-ship?
Strong dizziness struck, making Aedric quickly lower his gaze. As his sight descended, he clearly saw his reclining chair atop the village chief's roof.
Looking further down, the entire village resembled a living sketch, bringing indescribable eerie feelings. Then came intense nausea, worse than drinking that medicine.
As for whether he was truly invisible? Morgan's jaw-dropping expression said everything. Even as outlines, it was quite obvious.
No good—felt sick!
Suppressing nausea, Aedric removed the ring, lifting Morgan's chin: "Wearing this ring, I believe you should return safely from the orc cave."
Previously, Aedric had considered conducting reconnaissance himself. Only he lacked stealth skills and relevant experience—letting Morgan handle it proved more reliable.
Professional matters should be left to professionals. Now there was a third reason—ordinary humans likely couldn't use this thing.
"For me?" Morgan paused, looking at his captain with disbelief.
The wilderness spread various miraculous tales. Long ago, he'd encountered a gray-robed, blue-hatted wizard at Bree's Prancing Pony.
That day, the man had told a story about a magical ring, asking tavern travelers whether they'd heard similar tales or seen such rings. That was Morgan's first and only time hearing this.
But it taught him one truth—such things were extremely precious treasures rarely seen by ordinary people.
"Right." Aedric nodded, asking: "But first you must answer one question. Why would you volunteer to enter the cave? We all know this is dangerous work."
Seeing Aedric's serious inquiry, Morgan grew solemn too.
"Why? Perhaps because these years, the villagers have treated me well. Now they face danger, so I should do something." Finishing, he added half-jokingly, half-seriously: "Moreover, I just learned today that my captain seems quite remarkable. If I don't do something, how could I continue following you?"
"Ha." This answer surprised Aedric somewhat.
He grinned, casually tossing the ring to Morgan while instructing: "Try wearing it first if there's time—get familiar with it. Its invisibility isn't free."
Wearing it for just five or six seconds had made him dizzy and nauseous. Clearly this ring consumed some energy—possibly willpower or mental strength, with quite high requirements.
Right—this was crafted by Aulë the Smith, a Vala. Even casual creations probably wouldn't concern themselves with usage thresholds.
Regarding willpower and mental strength, big humans generally proved inadequate. Hobbits should manage, though?
"Watch this, my captain." Morgan caught it, eagerly donning the ring.
He felt little discomfort, looking left and right with great curiosity. Just then, a small figure appeared at the gate—Aunt Mina's son.
"Master Aedric, so good to see you! Mother stewed mutton and sent me to invite you and Master Morgan for dinner. Eh? Where is he?"
Mina's son looked around—he'd clearly heard voices just now.
"Seems Morgan lacks fortune today—he's gone out on business." Mina's mutton-stewing skills were village-renowned.
Large pot, wood fire, adding several spices known only to her. After stewing for one or two hours, the mutton bore no gamey odor while becoming tender and flavorful.
Lean meat stayed juicy rather than tough, while fat portions melted on the tongue. Dipped in rich broth, it was life's great pleasure.
"Let's go, go, go—I can hardly wait!" Aedric strode away, turning to make faces before leaving.
Then he saw boot-marks kicked into the ground, knowing Morgan was extremely displeased. Hobbits loved good food even more!
Aedric laughed heartily, quite pleased with himself. That's for calling me shameless this morning!
Three days later.
Southern edge of Woody End. Now at sunset, shadows like quiet flowing water gradually submerged the lush green forest.
A squad of five orcs emerged from an utterly black cave entrance, chattering noisily as they entered the dense woods. Orcs loved darkness and hated sunlight, so they were always nocturnal.
However, those busy bickering and arguing failed to notice a small figure materializing behind them. Then in a flash, he slipped into the cave entrance.
Never stopping, he penetrated continuously deeper.
"This damn place—open or closed eyes, it's equally black!" Having walked barely two hundred steps, Morgan needed to feel along walls to advance, with pitch blackness ahead and only that faint light behind indicating direction.
"Making you show off! Making you boast! Let's see how you handle those murderous creatures! Fight one hundred alone?"
Though boasting publicly, actually entering this utterly unfamiliar cave of unknown orc numbers left Morgan somewhat panicked. Naturally, Hobbits who dwelt in holes adapted faster than big humans in such environments.
Before long, Morgan collected himself. Large furry feet stepped soundlessly on gravel, ears far more sensitive than humans' pricking up to carefully listen for nearby sounds.
Hobbits possessed such talents. Only this downward tunnel seemed endless, while air grew increasingly stifling.
Morgan felt like a toad trapped in mud—unable to breathe or hop about.
Crack.
Morgan jolted in alarm! He felt like he'd stepped on something long and thin. Not like a branch. Like bone!
Bones casually discarded after orcs finished gnawing! Danger!
Sweat instantly covered Morgan's forehead as his right hand in his vest pocket quickly slipped the ring onto his index finger.
Vision suddenly cleared. Black and white lines sketched the narrow, low tunnel with extremely simple strokes—empty stone walls plus scattered rocks, bones, and dry grass on the ground.
Everything appeared so clear and bright, creating illusions of perceiving all.
"Hmm?" "What's that?"
Questioning voices came ahead. In Morgan's sight, three oddly-shaped humanoid creatures bearing short spears suddenly appeared around the corner.
Snaga! One ahead, two behind, rapidly approaching. Clearly these were patrolling sentries investigating the noise!
Yet the narrow tunnel measured barely a meter wide. Nowhere to hide or avoid!
Retreating meant redoing everything, and Morgan couldn't guarantee encountering them again next time. This damn tunnel ran straight with no hiding places!
"Fight it!" "Can't flee from the first mission disgracefully!"
Morgan's expression grew determined. His left hand drew a leaf-wrapped powder packet from his vest, shaking it out to scatter silently nearby.
Wild dog excrement ground to powder with an extremely concentrated stench. Standing nearby would mask the human scent on Hobbits.
The invisibility ring concealed all these actions. The rest depended on luck and his agile movements. Plus the two sharp weapons at his waist!
"Damn, seems a pack of wild dogs got in." The leading orc sniffed, spitting thick saliva aside before cursing coarsely: "So stinking! Did they treat this like a latrine?"
"That's good!" Another orc said slowly: "I didn't eat my fill just now. Now wild dogs deliver themselves—let's chase them, catch them, skin them, and secretly roast and eat them without sharing with those monsters!"
"The hide's mine!" The last orc emphasized.
"Then what're we waiting for? Chase them—they must've run out!" The lead orc took the lead, the other two following closely.
Morgan stood motionless, holding his breath with taut muscles. Watching them approach ever closer, Morgan moved lightly, his body drifting half a meter leftward like leaves in a breeze.
Completely soundless. Successfully avoiding the first orc. The creature's excited face flashed before his eyes.
"So ugly!" Morgan complained inwardly, immediately watching the rear two orcs.
If they ran side by side down the tunnel center, he need only step back against the wall to dodge successfully. If they spread wide, he could only curl up and slip through the gap between them.
If they passed along the left side together, Morgan could only pray and adapt, since he currently stood on the tunnel's left.
Fortunately, Hobbits were always blessed by luck. Morgan stepped back, pressing himself tightly against the uneven stone wall.
Even through his vest, back muscles ached from protruding rocks. But this was worthwhile.
"Whew..." Watching the three distant figures, Morgan finally exhaled stifled breath as his wildly beating heart calmed.
Then he continued forward without daring to pause. He didn't want returning orcs blocking him again.
Everyone knew no wild dogs existed outside the tunnel—they were doomed to come up empty!
Within two or three minutes, Morgan reached the corner where the orcs had emerged. Rather than rushing in recklessly, he cautiously poked out half his head.
"Damn it!" Morgan removed the ring—the lines ahead were too chaotic, like demons dancing wildly. He wiped his eyes, looking at the scene before him with an extremely heavy expression.