Chapter 252 I Have Experience in Prison Breaking
"You've seen my sincerity; now tell me, how can I restore his appearance?"
"That's not enough sincerity!" Aaron answered evasively, "Your Highness, we're still in the cell!"
Legolas was stunned for a moment. "If you cure him, I will naturally release both of you, I guarantee it on behalf of the Elven Prince."
"What if your father doesn't agree?"
"I might defy him for the first time!" Legolas said with a wry smile.
Aaron looked at Legolas's determined expression, nodded thoughtfully, "I see your attitude, but your guarantee means nothing to me. I need actual action.
Moreover, your father made the same promise. In other words, your sincerity is only a short sword more than your father's. What's the difference between this and trying to get something for nothing?"
Legolas was silent for a long time, then looked up and stared directly at Aaron, "What else do you want? I won't refuse anything I can do."
"First, you must return my staff to me," Aaron said seriously, his tone brooking no argument.
"Alright, but only after the deed is done."
"Second, release the dwarves."
"No, I can't."
"Let me finish. Release all the dwarves except Thorin Oakenshield. Surely you can accept that condition?"
Hearing this, Legolas took a deep breath. "I will do my best to persuade my father."
"Go do it!" Aaron waved his hand, "Before I change my mind."
After Legolas left, Aaron leaned back against the cell door, looking self-satisfied. "Done. Everything is under control."
"How are you so confident?" Bilbo looked at Aaron in surprise. "Your haggling skills are completely unlike a child."
"I've had professional training."
Aaron raised his head proudly, but his mood was quite complex.
Those tutoring classes really weren't for nothing, but recalling them brought a flood of bitter tears.
"Gaius, why didn't you save Thorin?" Dwalin asked in a deep voice.
"Can you be a little smarter?" Aaron rolled his eyes disdainfully at him. "The most important thing in negotiation is to know the other party's bottom line. Thorinis like a treasure of the Elves in Thranduil's eyes. Do you think he would easily release him?
I've already tried my best to secure benefits for us. What else are you dissatisfied with?"
Dwalin was stunned for a moment. "No matter what, we cannot abandon Thorin."
"I was wrong." Aaron scratched his hair. "I originally thought you were simply simple-minded and brawny, but now it seems you truly have no brain."
"You..."
"What 'you'?
If only Bilbo and I were released, then it would be the two of us saving all of you.
But with my conditions just now, it's all fourteen of us saving Thorin alone.
Do I still need to tell you which has a higher chance of success?"
"This, this, this..." Dwalin stammered incoherently for a while, then bowed solemnly to Aaron. "I'm sorry, I misunderstood."
"Aaron, didn't you say there was another way before?" Bilboasked, "What is it?"
"What else could it be? A jailbreak, of course."
"What, a jail..."
Bilbo's eyes widened, and he instinctively started to shout.
Aaron quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. "Dude, take it easy, don't attract the Elves."
Bilbo nodded repeatedly, lowering his voice and saying, "Maybe I misheard, did you say jailbreak?"
"Don't worry, I have experience.
Give me some time, this cell can't hold me."
"You have experience with jailbreaks?" Bilbo was already a bit numb. "What exactly do you do?"
"Oops, I misspoke, I don't have experience with jailbreaks." Aaron laughed awkwardly, "But the second half is true, I am confident I can escape from here."
"How will you do it?"
Aaron hesitated for a moment, then looked at Bilbo with a smile. "Although I'm not a cat burglar, I do know a thing or two about lock-picking."
Hearing this, Bilbo raised an eyebrow and silently put a little distance between himself and Aaron.
"My gut tells me that you telling me this can't be good."
"Uh... I just wanted to borrow something from you, to help with the lock."
Bilbo gave a sheepish smile. "Borrow what? Not hair, is it?
That won't work. I tried it when I was a kid; hair can't open locks at all."
"Mr. Baggins, you really have a talent for being a cat burglar. You tried to pick locks with your hair as a child?
Don't overthink it, I'm not interested in your lovely hair. I just want your sword."
"sting?" Bilbo was puzzled. "What do you need it for? That sword can't cut through cell doors, otherwise Legolaswouldn't have returned it to me so confidently."
Aaron didn't speak. He directly spent two magic points to buy wine from the mall and used sting to pry out the cork.
Gloin took a deep breath, licking his lips. "Where did you get the wine?"
"Don't mind the details. It's not that hard to hide something under the Elves' noses."
"No, I mean this wine is too mellow. I've never tasted such fine wine in my life."
"Aaron." Oin, from the cell next door, stretched out his arm directly. "Give me a sip, just one sip."
"Dream on." Aaron directly used his finger to plug the bottle opening. "If you get drunk, even if I open the cell door, you won't be able to get out.
Those near the entrance, help me keep watch. Cough if an Elf comes."
With that, he began to whittle the cork with sting, matching it to the keyhole on the cell door.
Wood shavings flew, and Bilbo watched Aaron's actions and the quickly forming wooden key with wide eyes, rubbing them in disbelief.
"You, how are you so skilled?"
"As an excellent chef, my knife skills and carving skills are both put to the test," Aaron said seriously.
Bilbo:...Who are you kidding? But he really couldn't find a reason to refute it.
"Ta-da!"
In less than two minutes, Aaron had a key in his hand, though the latter half of the key was half a piece of wood.
"Now is the moment to witness a miracle," Aaron said to Bilbo, carefully inserting the wooden key into the keyhole and slowly turning it.
"It worked?"
Bilbo was excited. Although he found this method a bit hard to accept, he had to admit that hearing the 'click' sound was quite satisfying.
Aaron nodded triumphantly. Just as he was about to push open the cell door, he heard a continuous series of coughs.
Someone's coming?
Aaron was startled, quickly pulled out the key, inserted it into the wine bottle, and then stuffed the wine bottle into Bilbo's arms.
Having done all this, he sat down as if nothing had happened, closing his eyes to rest.
Tauriel walked down the stairs. The seemingly annoyed She-Elf stopped at Kili's cell door.
She watched Kili gently rub a black stone and asked curiously, "What is that stone in your hand?"
"This is a rune stone.
It has a powerful spell on it. Anyone who reads the runes on it, except for dwarves, will be cursed forever."
Tauriel was startled and was about to turn and leave.
"Or maybe not," Kili said with a smile. "It depends on whether you believe in such things. It's just a stone.
A rune stone, my mother gave it to me to remind me of my promise."
"What promise?"
"That I will return to her," Kili said, playing with the stone in his hand. "She worries about me, thinks I'm reckless."
"Is that so?"
"No, it's not."
When he tossed the stone up, he accidentally dropped it outside the cell, where Tauriel stepped on it.
Tauriel then told Kili about the Elves' love for light. She was an Elda Elf, who loved all light, while the Wood Elves' favorite was the brilliant starlight.
Tauriel reminisced about walking under the starlight, and Kili also spoke of the Fire Moon he had seen.
This conversation brought the two closer, and Taurielreturned the stone to Kili.
After she left, Aaron whistled with a half-smile. "Kili, I take back what I said earlier. You might actually steal the Prince's beloved woman."
Kili remained silent, but his upturned lips and flushed cheeks still betrayed the joy in his heart.
"But I still advise you to be realistic. Don't pursue her?"
"Why?"
"You're from different races!" Aaron spread his hands. "Elves can live for hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of years, or even longer, but dwarves?
Unless your lifespan can reach the same level, you'll just be a passing guest in her life... In short, if you don't have the skill, don't take on the task. You can't handle it."
"Cough cough!" Bilbo coughed. "Aaron, what you said makes a lot of sense, but everything is an illusion until we escape."
"Right, the key."
Aaron took the wine from Bilbo's hand, pulled out the cork, and opened the cell door under everyone's gaze.
"The scent of freedom." Aaron laughed triumphantly. "I told you this door couldn't hold me."
The dwarves all laughed, and Bilbo was even more excited.
He was about to walk out of the cell door but was quickly pulled back by Aaron.
"Don't rush, a jailbreak is a big project. Opening the door is just the first step," Aaron said patiently. "Outside, there are Elves everywhere. Once we're discovered, we'll be caught very quickly."
"Then what do we do?"
Aaron patted his shoulder and said meaningfully, "It's up to you, the super-class cat burglar."
Hearing the words 'super-class cat burglar,' Bilboimmediately understood. He could use the magic Ring to become invisible, and finding the best escape route in Mirkwood wasn't impossible.
"I'll find a way."
"And the keys," Balin immediately reminded him, "the keys to our cells."
"Got it, I'll get them."
"And weapons," Dwalin added, "nothing is more important than weapons."
"And wine," Gloin said, "if there's food, that would be even better."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't go too far." Aaron couldn't listen anymore. He turned to look at Bilbo, whose face had darkened. "Don't listen to them. Finding the keys and the way out is a blessing.
But if you can, bring back my staff."
Bilbo sighed helplessly. "I'll do my best!"
After leaving everyone's sight, Bilbo put on the magic Ring and became invisible.
He was cautious all the way, not daring to make a sound. After wandering for most of the day, he finally found the Elf holding the cell keys and followed him into the wine cellar.