Chapter 243 The Stubborn White-robed Wizard
Everyone's gaze was fixed on Aaron, making him feel immense pressure, with a few drops of cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
The highest-ranking White Wizard, the two Elven Kings, and a Grey Wizard determined to drag him onto the 'pirate ship'—according to his estimation, the weakest among them could probably rival a Grand Magister in his understanding, and the strongest, Saruman, might have even reached the Saint Magister level.
If he went all out in a one-on-one fight, he was confident he could defeat anyone except Saruman, but this was four big shots!
Facing such a lineup, he, a mere Archmage, appeared weak, pathetic, and helpless; it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.
"Even if you say so..." Saruman paused, "He is just a child after all."
"Great White Wizard, you truly have a discerning eye!" Aaron said with a fawning smile, feeling quite grateful to Saruman in his heart, "I won't bother you any longer; I'll leave now."
"Stop," Gandalf lightly commanded.
Aaron stopped, rolling his eyes in exasperation, "Is it really necessary?"
Gandalf shrugged, then turned his gaze to Queen Galadriel, "I hope this child can be given a chance to listen in."
Queen Galadriel nodded gently; she and Gandalf were old acquaintances and she wouldn't refuse such a request.
With the Elven Queen having expressed her stance, even if Saruman was unwilling, he couldn't very well make Aaronleave out of respect for her.
The four sat around a table and began discussing matters related to the Dwarves' expedition.
The White Wizard disapproved of Gandalf's plan, believing their journey to Erebor would be a waste of effort and would only enrage Smaug, the Dragon sleeping within it.
Gandalf, however, insisted on his plan; Smaug was almost becoming a thorn in his side.
That Dragon possessed formidable power to conquer territories; it answered to no one, but there was a high possibility it could ally with the enemy, and then the trouble would be immense.
Saruman scoffed at this explanation, stating that their enemies had long since scattered, and the NecromancerSauron's magic could absolutely not recover, otherwise the peace of Middle-earth wouldn't have lasted for hundreds of years... Aaron, listening to this debate-like discussion from the side, yawned a little out of boredom.
He personally leaned towards Gandalf because he had a sense of crisis, and various omens also indicated the possibility of Sauron's return.
However, he didn't care much; when the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up—this group of big shots could defeat him once, and they could defeat him a second time.
Moreover, he wasn't from this world; perhaps he would safely return home before Sauron even began to act.
Most, most, most importantly, his current task wasn't finished yet, so why think so much?
Glancing at the night outside, Aaron silently opened his personal panel.
"Host: Aaron Gaius"
"magic Energy: 8300 (Middle-Level Mage, the end point for most Wizards in their lifetime)"
"Talent: Rare in a Century (magic Energy increases by 3 points daily)"
"Items: moon drop (can remove any negative magic spell), Resurrection Potion (can resurrect any creature that died within one hour), magic carpet, unactivated Dragon Slaying Magic Crystal"
"magic Points: 300"
Looking at the value in the last column, Aaron deeply missed Hogwarts; if he had signed in there, his magic Points would have been at least four digits, certainly not so meager.
"System, sign in."
"Congratulations to the Host for successfully signing in at Rivendell, gaining 10 magic Points."
Aaron felt a little secretly pleased; Rivendell had indeed not disappointed him.
While the magic Points weren't many now, he could still buy some valuable items in the system's store.
Aaron's attention moved back and forth between two items: one was the Patronus Charm, and the other was jack sparrow's compass.
Both items were worth two hundred magic Points; the former was a high-level defensive magic, which might have miraculous effects against the undead and the like, giving him more confidence in this world.
The latter, however, would make his adventure path much smoother; with the correct direction, he could avoid many detours.
After a moment of hesitation, Aaron placed an order for the Patronus Charm.
All information about this ancient magic instantly surged into his mind.
The Patronus Charm is an extremely difficult, extraordinary magic that requires intense concentration and happiness as its source to be cast.
Some Wizards can only summon a white wisp of steam, an incorporeal Patronus, which has very limited defensive capabilities.
He, however, could summon a fully formed Patronus, and such Patronus possess powerful defensive abilities.
Aaron's lips curved into a slight smile; if not for the group of big shots sitting there, he would have been eager to see his Patronus.
Although he hadn't officially used the Patronus Charm yet, he already had a faint guess as to what form his Patronus would take.
In addition, he also understood the language of Dragons and could summon a second Patronus in Dragon form... When the first ray of morning sun shone on Aaron's face, he groggily opened his eyes.
Gandalf and Saruman had argued incessantly all night, neither convincing the other.
Aaron even admired them a little; he could understand Elves not sleeping for a night, but these two were old men, and they were still so energetic after not closing their eyes all night.
At this moment, Gandalf took out a long, yellow-cloth-wrapped object from his in my arms; this was something Radagast had specifically given him.
Elrond lifted the yellow cloth, and a black iron sword appeared in their sights; a look of surprise flashed in their eyes, and even Saruman fell silent.
"This is the Sword of the Crypt," Elrond said in astonishment; this sword shocked him even more than orcrist and Glamdring.
"Forged by the Witch-king of Angmar, and buried with him," Queen Galadriel murmured, "When Angmar was overthrown, the Northern peoples sealed his body and all his possessions in the desolate tombs of Rhudaur.
They buried it deep under cairns, a tomb so dark it would never see the light of day."
"This is impossible; the tomb was sealed with powerful spells that cannot be broken," Elrond said.
"How can you prove this sword came from the Angmartomb?" Saruman questioned.
"Cannot be proven," Gandalf said helplessly.
He felt Saruman was being unreasonable; he couldn't very well ask him to find a grave robber!
"Let us examine the known facts," Saruman said calmly, "A small band of Orcs dared to cross the Bruinen, someone found an ancient dagger, a mortal Archmage claimed to be a Necromancer and resided in a ruined fortress—these are not significant matters."
Aaron mentally labeled Saruman an idiot.
Enjoying comfort was understandable, but at least have some vigilance!
Could so many coincidences linked together still be just coincidences?
"But the matter of the Dwarf expedition troubles me.
I disagree, Gandalf." Saruman shook his head firmly, "I cannot approve of this expedition; if they had consulted me earlier, they wouldn't have to return disappointed."
Hearing Saruman say this, Aaron immediately couldn't stand it.
Cancel the expedition? How could that be?
He had signed a contract, and all of them had signed a contract; it was of great significance.
Moreover, both system tasks were closely related to this expedition; if it were canceled, he wouldn't even know the way, and the time and difficulty of completing the tasks would increase severalfold.
"Um, Gandalf.
I think I need to set off; you know, the expedition can't do without me."
"Of course, I also have some things to discuss with Queen Galadriel; please tell them not to worry," Gandalf said with a smile, then somewhat apologetically addressed Saruman, "Dwarves are much more stubborn than you think; Thorin Oakenshield will not stop going to the Lonely Mountain just because you object."
"Is that so?" Saruman's face darkened slightly, "Then I'm afraid I'll have to speak with him, explain the stakes, and perhaps he'll reconsider."
At this moment, footsteps were heard from outside, and Lindir entered the room.
"Elrond, the Dwarves have already departed on their own."
"It seems the great White Wizard won't have to bother talking to Thorin," Aaron said meaningfully, then realized something and couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
"Wait, they left without me?"
"Evidently," Lindir said.
"They truly are impatient!" Aaron gritted his teeth, then looked at Lindir, "There's something I hope you can help me with; I need to borrow a horse."
"This..." Lindir hesitated, looking at Elrond, "What do you think?"
"Go do it!"
"Yes."
Lindir led Aaron outside Rivendell; just past the stone bridge, an Elven warrior approached, leading a white steed.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! This is much handsomer than my pony."
"This is a warhorse trained by Elves; its stamina and endurance are first-rate.
It will automatically return after you find the Dwarves."
Aaron grabbed a few gold coins from his pocket and solemnly handed them to Lindir, "Consider this the rental fee.
Don't mind the small amount; after all, I don't have much money."
"There's no need for that."
Lindir's eye twitched slightly; he was Elrond's confidant, a respected figure in Rivendell, and he felt it would be disgraceful to accept money from a child.
"Uh..." Aaron scratched his head awkwardly, "Actually, I also wanted you to help me prepare some other things."
"What?" Lindir looked at Aaron with surprise and uncertainty, "What else do you want?"
"Food, preferably dry rations.
Water, just one bag will do; I accidentally lost my water skin on the way.
If possible, a sword, bow and arrows..."
"Wait, I can understand food and water, but don't you have weapons?"
Aaron immediately unstrung his bow and arrows, smiling shyly, "These scraps of metal, how can they compare to Elven weapons!"
Lindir was torn between laughter and tears, and ordered someone to prepare supplies and new weapons for him.
"Thank you."
Aaron, having'sheared enough wool,' decisively swung onto the horse and chased after them along a small path.
It wasn't until noon that Aaron caught up with them.
"You actually left me behind, that's too much!"
Bilbo, seeing Aaron, breathed a sigh of relief, "I knew you'd catch up."
"Where's Gandalf?" Thorin asked.
"He's busy trying to convince someone even more stubborn than you; it'll probably take him some time to catch up."
Thorin nodded slightly, "Keep moving forward."
Because they had to reach the Lonely Mountain before Durin's Day, Thorin felt a sense of urgency and chose the narrow mountain paths.
The expedition team traversed the wilderness, climbed snow-covered mountains, crossed deep valleys, scaled hills, and ascended a sheer cliff.
However, they had only gone halfway when the sky flashed with lightning and thundered, and a torrential rain began to fall.
"This isn't a good sign," Aaron murmured, "I hate this kind of weather."
"No one likes this weather, especially on a perilous path where only one person can pass at a time," Balin said, "Thorin, we need to find somewhere to shelter from the rain."
"I'm looking."
"Wait," Aaron suddenly said, "Everyone stop talking."
The dozen or so people stopped, looking at him in confusion amidst the heavy rain.
Aaron used his keen hearing, pressing his ear against the cliff face, and a few seconds later, his face changed drastically.
"Get out of here immediately, as fast as you can."
"What's wrong?" Dwalin asked, puzzled.
"The path beneath our feet is alive," Aaron said very seriously, "I just heard breathing, a very faint but incredibly long breath, like a mountain."
Oin seemed to recall something, "Impossible, that's just a legend."
"Nothing's impossible, let's go!"
"But the rain is too heavy; traveling now would be especially dangerous," Nori said.
"Where we're standing is even more dangerous," Aaron said anxiously, then looked at Thorin, "You must listen to me this time; this is a hundred times more dangerous than Trolls; if we don't run now, it'll be too late."
Thorin was silent for a moment, then ordered everyone to continue forward.
They braved the heavy rain, traversing the cliff face at their fastest speed; during which, Bilbo missed a step and nearly fell off the cliff, but Thorin's timely rescue ensured they were safe.
They had barely left a minute when a Giant boulder smashed the spot where they had been standing, and a Giant as large as a mountain slowly stood up.
In the midst of the massive thunderstorm, the Stone Giantseemed like a god, completely unaffected.
However, at this moment, another Stone Giant appeared in the darkness; upon seeing each other, they immediately began to fight without hesitation.
Every punch and kick they threw caused the mountain to tremble, and countless huge fragments of rock fell from above, exacerbating the damage to their already cracked bodies.
Even worse, a third Stone Giant joined the fray, turning the one-on-one into a free-for-all.
They hurled Giant rocks at each other, wishing to crush their opponents to death.
The massive rocks collided, exploding with thunderous force amidst the lightning and thunder, leaving the valley in ruins, its trees also destroyed beyond recognition.
Gulp!
The expedition team watched the scene of these 'immortals fighting' with wide eyes, all swallowing their saliva in unison.
"The legend of the Stone Giants is true after all," Bilbomurmured in disbelief.
Whoosh!
Aaron took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.
He was just a small Archmage now; he couldn't handle such a grand spectacle. He might be able to protect himself, but the others might not be so lucky.
Fortunately, they moved quickly this time; if they had been a step slower, the expedition team would likely have suffered casualties.