Chapter 124 Before the Tower
"Cooperation established."
After a brief conversation, Gandalf, who had remained silent and was just joining in the fun, made the final announcement on the matter.
Thorin nodded and said, "I swear in the name of the King under the Mountain that I will ensure that this cooperation goes smoothly and no one will suffer any loss."
"Then I'll guarantee it in my own name." Levi replied.
"That is more powerful than many oaths," Thorin quipped.
After finishing the business, Thorin breathed a sigh of relief, asked someone to prepare a sumptuous banquet, and invited the two to stay.
During the dinner, members of the expedition team also came out to join in the fun.
Perhaps it was because they met old friends, or perhaps it was because it was a rare occasion for them to get together again, but all the dwarves ate until their stomachs were full and drank several barrels of wine.
But no one mentioned the drinking contest anymore.
The next day, after saying goodbye to the dwarves, Levi first returned to the River Valley, asked Gandalf to wait for a while, and then entered the gate of Hell alone.
He entered the Hell Gate in the morning, and before lunch time, he led out two horses. Both were the fastest and best horses in Roadside Fort.
"They run very fast, which can save us a lot of time. Let's see if we can control them."
Levi gave one of them to Gandalf.
As Gandalf mounted his horse, he said, "You are underestimating me, Levi. I was just watching old—"
The moment Gandalf was riding on the horse's back, the horse under him suddenly galloped forward at full speed, starting at the maximum speed. Before anyone could react, Gandalf's voice disappeared far away.
"You have to, uh, get used to it..."
Levi's reminder came too late.
It took Gandalf a while to get used to the fast horse under his crotch.
"So fast and so strong. I finally understand why you can run around so quickly."
"This is the horse I have carefully nurtured for a long time."
So long - probably several months.
The two of them set off like this.
But before going to Isengard, Levi first went to Long Lake Town, found Bard in the mayor's office, and explained the cooperation between Dale City and Lonely Mountain.
"If there are other collaborations in the future, you can judge the feasibility yourself."
"I see."
After saying goodbye to Bard, Levi did not waste any time and followed Gandalf to continue walking south, crossing various wild rivers and heading straight for Isengard.
“It always feels a little quiet.”
Levi looked left and right in a stretch of brown land that seemed to have no end, but could not detect anything unusual.
Or in other words, the biggest anomaly is the absence of anomalies.
"If it were a year ago, a group of wolf riders would have come to hunt us down by now."
"Most likely."
Gandalf replied, "The route we are taking is not far from the Black Gate, and there are some Orc camps in the Misty Mountains nearby."
“No one would normally want to go down this path.”
"But I think that as long as you and your sword are still here, nothing will dare to come near."
"That's really boring."
Levi shook his head.
Soran has been too quiet lately. There is not a single sound, as if he does not exist.
I don't know if he really doesn't have the energy to do anything, or if he's planning something big...
The sun rose and the moon set, and time quickly came to a few days later.
"Levi, should we stop for a moment?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to say that it's not a good idea to let a horse run for days on end without giving him a break."
"It's okay. This is a special kind of horse I bred. They don't get tired and don't need to eat."
"I've never heard of such a creature?"
"You've seen it before. All the creatures in my house are like this."
Levi glanced at the amulet on his body and said, "Besides, there are many things you can't imagine."
"All right."
Gandalf chose to accept.
Now they had crossed the river, passed through the highlands of Rohan, and were at the border of Fangorn Forest.
The black tower has a pointed tip at the end of the horizon.
On this day, the sun did not move much, and the two men had already appeared at the bottom of the tower and tied up their horses.
I have to say, the scenery of this place is quite good.
At this moment, Isengard can be said to be beautiful with green mountains and clear waters.
There were fruit trees and woods all around the tower of Orthanc, and a garden with a stream running through it that ended in a clear lake just to one side of the tower.
It is conceivable that if you could stand at the top of the tower, the view you would see would definitely be refreshing.
"Seriously, this place has a great view and great terrain, much better than my home."
"There are mountains, lakes, gardens, and forests. There are also many fruit trees. When you go out in the morning, you can just pick the freshest fruits with dew on them."
"There is also such a majestic, solid and magical tower in the middle."
"It's hard to imagine who would feel unsatisfied living in such a nice place?"
Isengard is a place surrounded by mountains and rivers and shaded by green trees.
Levi was attracted by this place at the first sight.
There are all kinds of terrain, beautiful scenery, and enough flat land for construction.
Simply the perfect place to build a home!
I can only say that the people who built the Orthanc Stone Spire were really good at choosing the location and had a very unique vision.
It's such a pity to let Saruman live alone in such a nice place.
"I have to tell you in advance that he has a strange temper."
Listening to what Levi said, Gandalf sighed and gave him a shot of prevention, and also exposed Saruman's past:
"You don't have to pay any attention to what Saruman says for a while, and be careful of some of the leading words he says."
"Every word he said was full of magic, like a dragon, which could bewitch the listeners and make them believe it. Even the evil and chaotic Orcs could not escape this magic."
"I understand, but it might be difficult for his magic to work on me."
Levi recalled that before this, he had chatted with Smaug for a whole day in Lonely Mountain and didn't feel anything unusual. Even the language magic that Gandalf used to intimidate the dwarves long ago did not affect him.
As they were talking, the two of them had already stepped onto the black steps at the main entrance of the tower and slowly walked into the tower.
"stop."
But before they could enter, they were stopped by a servant at the door.
"Lord Saruman did not say that he had any visitors today. What brings you here?"
The servant had a rather indifferent look in his eyes and raised his head with a look of contempt, just like Saruman.
Despite the servant's attitude, Gandalf still said gently:
"I am Gandalf, the Grey Wizard Gandalf, and this is Levi. We are here to visit. Please inform Saruman."
"We can wait at the door in the meantime."
Levi nodded, agreeing with Gandalf's statement.
"I'm sorry, no matter you are a wizard or Levi, you are not allowed to enter without the permission of Lord Saruman. This is an iron order issued by Lord Saruman himself."
"Please go back."
"this…"
It's probably intentional.
With Saruman's magical powers, he must have been noticed when the two of them arrived at the tower. There is no way he didn't know about it.
Gandalf turned around helplessly, but before he could say anything, Levi had already walked two steps past him and came to the gate.
The ease and casualness in those eyes completely disappeared, replaced by an indifference that was much more genuine than that of a servant.
That is the true indifference of things that do not matter, rather than some kind of pretense of arrogance.
When Levi approached, the servant guarding the door obviously had difficulty breathing. Recalling the various rumors in his mind, he couldn't help but take a step back.
The courage given by the backer collapsed in an instant.
"Go tell your Lord Saruman that Levi is visiting with good intentions. If he has something urgent to do, I can wait here for a while."
"Of course, if possible, I still hope that he can receive the news of our visit within today."
"Otherwise, this tower will become a ruin tomorrow."
(End of this chapter)
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