Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1057 1039. Evil Dragon
"This is not what we agreed on, Gandalf!"

After the feast was over, Elrond took a wizard and a 'wizard's agent' to another place in Rivendell.

On the road, Lan, who was following Elrond, lowered his voice and spoke viciously to Gandalf beside him with his head tilted.

The old wizard still didn't dare to put the foot that "hit the table" firmly on the ground. He hopped when he walked, and the long beard that grew to his belly trembled along with it.

But the old man held the wand in one hand, and there was no sign of abnormality on his face.

"Just consider it a favor, Lan!"

Gandalf also muttered something incoherently.

"This is a big deal. It's not enough for me to speak out alone! Besides, didn't you follow Radagast to Dol Guldur to see it? I was right!"

"I saw it with my own eyes, but that doesn't mean I'm Radagast's agent."

Lan En decisively pointed out the loophole in the old wizard's words.

"Have you asked his opinion?"

"You can rest assured." Gandalf confidently pulled out the pipe stuck on his belt and put it in his mouth.

"I've been friends with Radagast for a long time, longer than you can imagine, and I know him well."

Then, the old wizard's tone revealed sincerity.

"I need help, Lan. Just as Radagast needed your help in Mirkwood."

"Do you think I'm a pushover?"

The witcher looked at Gandalf expressionlessly.

The old wizard puffed on his pipe and blew out a perfect smoke ring with ease.

"That's hard to say. But if you can lend a helping hand, I promise. Haha!"

"It'll be great for you and great fun for me!"

Lan En raised his eyebrows: "Is this a prophecy? Do you have the power of prophecy?"

Gandalf smiled and said nothing, except for the clicking sound of his pipe.

I hate the Riddler!
Lann almost wanted to give Gandalf's other good leg another slap!
But this is just an idea.

Because Elrond, who was walking in front, had stopped.

He turned around casually and gracefully, and the two ribbons hanging from the shoulders of his elf costume also fluttered and turned in a circle.

"Okay, two wizards, we need to stop whispering for a while."

This is a small hall in Rivendell, and it is now night after the dinner.

Rivendell's magic not only makes the sunlight always soft and warm, but also makes the moonlight always gentle and bright.

The bright moonlight slanted down from the windows of the hall, and the elves' already artistic buildings suddenly had an even more tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.

Thorin, who had left the dinner early, and Balin, the oldest and most experienced dwarf, were already waiting here.

And it seemed that he had considered having a formal discussion with the elves, because of his friendliness, kind appearance, and temperament, the Hobbit Bilbo was also there.

Even if the dwarves were not wearing armor, at first glance they looked like a group of fully armed, short iron men ready to smash people's heads at any time.

Although the Hobbits are about the same height as them, they give people the feeling that they are like primary school students skipping out with their backpacks on their backs on a spring outing.

Harmless and cheerful.

Being able to present yourself as harmless and non-threatening is a very advantageous trait in social situations.

As they came down, the dwarves and hobbits nodded kindly to Lan, and received equally kind responses.

"You led a group of dwarves, including the blood of the King of the Lonely Mountain, through the dangerous wilderness, facing trolls, wargs, and orcs. You definitely don't just want to stay in Rivendell for a few days, right?"

Elrond spread his hands and looked at Gandalf who walked down the stairs into the hall with Lan.

"Though these poor fellows are indeed very tired from the long journey."

In response to Elrond's question, Gandalf responded with an open mind.

"exactly."

He did not hide the fact that this group of people had other purposes, and told Thorin in front of everyone.

"Here, Thorin. The map."

But although Gandalf succeeded in getting Thorin, who had left early, to wait here, it seemed that they had not yet reached a complete agreement.

After Gandalf spoke, Thorin Oakenshield, the imposing dwarf, just looked at Elrond without making any move to take anything out.

"That map is a relic of my ancestors and the property of my people. It is my natural duty to protect its secrets. Outsiders are not qualified to see it."

"Don't show me your dwarf stubbornness! Now is not the time!"

Gandalf said angrily.

"Your pride will make you suffer sooner or later! Use your brain, Thorin! The person standing before us is the only one in Middle-earth who can possibly see the secret on the map. Hurry and give the map to Elrond!"

"Do you really want to succeed in this journey? If you can't understand what's on the map, I think there's no need for us to continue on and suffer this! Let's break up right here!"

Problems that cannot be avoided are the best medicine to sober people up.

Although Lan En didn't know where this group of dwarves were going or what they were going to do.

But I think if you can't even understand the map, there's no point in traveling far.

Finally, Thorin took out the map and handed it to Elrond.

Elrond was not in a hurry at all. He just watched Gandalf persuade Thorin silently.

The map was a sheet of parchment so old that it had even begun to soften. At a glance, Elrond recognized the information on the surface of the map.

"This is Elbor?"

He looked up at Gandalf in surprise while holding the map.

"Why are you so interested in the map of Lonely Mountain?"

"Academic reasons!" Gandalf added with a smile, "Mainly academic reasons. This kind of ancient map always has some hidden secrets worth discovering."

Elrond had a look on his face that said, "I'll just listen to your nonsense."

But he still tilted his head to look at the moonlight outside, then raised the map in his hand again.

"This is the Moon Text. It's a very useful means of keeping secrets."

Gandalf and Thorin's eyes lit up.

"Oh, I forgot you were also good at ancient Dwarven language!"

"Not really," Elrond said politely. "It's easy to read the contents of these moon words. Just read them under the same moon phase, moon color, and moonlight as when they were written, and the moon words will appear naturally."

"They must have been written under a new moon in summer two hundred years ago."

"It just so happens that today's moonlight matches the time recorded in the code on this map. You came at the right time. Or..."

Elrond looked meaningfully at Gandalf and Thorin.

"To some extent, it was destined."

Elrond held up the map to the moonlight.

Then, the parchment began to reveal flashing secret words.

Elrond repeated the secret words.

According to the custom of this world, the codeword was indeed expressed in the form of poetry.

This even made Lan En a little worried that the person who wrote the code would discard some information for the sake of rhyme.

Those code words seemed to be describing a secret door, the time and location of its opening.

After Elrond finished his retelling, he showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"Secret Gate. Lonely Mountain?"

He handed the map back to Thorin, returning it to its rightful owner.

"So your group of dwarves is not on a journey, but an expedition? You want to take back your country from the clutches of that evil dragon?"

"so what?"

Thorin took his map, put it back in his arms, and spoke expressionlessly.

"It is only natural that the dwarves should take back their country!"

"That is true, but" Elrond was not angry at Thorin's rudeness, but just frowned slightly, "some people think this is not wise."

"A dragon?"

Lan En interrupted at this time.

"A dragon has taken over the dwarven kingdom of the Lonely Mountain?"

"And it has been entrenched until now for hundreds of years."

Gandalf confirmed this statement and added something.

"Smaug, the greatest and most evil dragon in the north of Middle-earth."

"That day it came from the east, and the storm it created with its wings alone broke down all the trees in an ancient forest. Its claws were like butcher hooks, and its teeth were like sharp swords!"

The witcher frowned.

To date, he has seen many dragons in many worlds.

In Westeros, he even got the skull of Balerion, the Black Death. The dragon was estimated to be more than 200 meters long when it was alive.

One mouth can swallow an African elephant.

However, in that era of feudal knights, this kind of dragon still did not have the power to capture a country or city alone.

The crossbow can make it bleed.

As for the dragons of the New World, although they are generally very powerful, they have no intentions towards human society and only have wild natural instincts.

The ancient dragon era of the fire world had long been swept away by the gods of fire.

Not to mention the magical medieval era.

In the world of magic, dragons are powerful, but they are actually more like expensive and dangerous commodities.

Although the magical power of the dragon is a headache and fear-inducing, as long as the attack is covert and sudden enough, the dragon will not be able to react.

Then a few ordinary strong men forming a dragon-slaying team would be enough to hunt down the dragon.

The famous Clinfeld Raiders even used only a few people to hunt and kill many dragons along the way and became famous for it.

Compared to the monsters of the New World, the dragons of the Magical Middle Ages are more like 'glass cannons'.

Some of them possessed magic that even the ancient dragons of the New World could not withstand, but they themselves could be killed with just a well-placed javelin.

So when Lan En was in the Magical Middle Ages, there was basically nothing to worry about, except for making sure Kirin didn't get into any weird situations when playing outside.

But in this world, the arrogance of the evil dragon Smaug seems extraordinary.

(End of this chapter)