The Bizarre Adventures of the Warhammer Elves

Chapter 493 Thorin Oakenshield

——Buli, Prancing Horse Inn

Rumbling--

With the coming of the heavy rain, the people in Bree who had regained their vitality had dispersed. Only some passers-by wearing ponchos and security personnel on daily patrols were still walking around.

A short figure wearing a raincoat was walking through the newly built rock wall of Bree to the outside of the inn. He looked up at the black dragon flags that could be seen everywhere, with a hint of resentment in his eyes.

The surrounding patrol members obviously also noticed the short figure carrying a refined steel sword on his back, so they all cast wary glances at him.

Although they are called a patrol, they are regular soldiers who have received military training from the elves, and their combat effectiveness is not comparable to that of the Bree militia in the past!

"Humph……"

As if aware of the hidden gazes around him, the short figure couldn't help but let out a cold snort, and then turned around and entered the Prancing Horse Inn, which was unfamiliar to him.

Through the window, he could even see some elves drinking and talking inside, which made him feel a little wary.

Are the rumors true and this place is really occupied by elves?

Thinking of this, the short figure couldn't help but take off his sword from his back, and after thinking for a while, he finally pushed open the wooden door of the inn.

jingle bell~

"Welcome to the Prancing Horse Inn. If you need drinks and food, you can go to the maid. If you need accommodation, you can come to the front desk!"

The owner of the inn was not the old Buttercup and his daughter Betsy Buttercup that he had met before. Instead, he was a man with a kind smile on his face, but it made him feel very suspicious.

Arriving at an empty dining table, the short figure took off his poncho and cloak, and then revealed a rather handsome and tough dwarf face.

In the salute beside him, there is an arm shield made of hard oak segments, which is invisibly revealing the identity of the person:

The current legal ruler of the Turin dwarves is the unjustly named King Under the Mountain—Thorin Oakenshield!

"This is the meal you asked for, please take your time~"

"Thank you."

After taking the dinner plate handed to him by the maid, Thorin couldn't help but take a closer look at the brioche buns and luxurious crystal cups on the plate that were obviously made with elf craftsmanship, and his brows suddenly furrowed.

The butter bun was not big, just enough for him to take three bites, and the black liquid in the crystal cup seemed to be a drink called 'coffee', with a layer of milk printed on it?

Flashy, really the style of an elf!

Thorin turned his head and looked at the elves who were chatting softly at another table in the distance. Finally, he followed their example and picked up the bread and coffee and started to enjoy...

Well, as expected, I am still more accustomed to brown bread sandwiches and milk that can stave off hunger!

The sweetness of the cream and the aroma of the coffee obviously couldn't capture the taste buds of the king under the mountain. In the end, Thorin couldn't help but took out the water bag he carried with him and rinsed his mouth in disgust.

Whether it was the surrounding decorations, the food on the plate, or even the air around him, there was an elf aura that made him feel sick to his stomach!

"What's wrong, guest? Is there anything about the food we provided that dissatisfied you?"

As a dwarf who didn't like to hide himself, Thorin's expression immediately caught the attention of a maid next to him, so she stepped forward and couldn't help but ask.

Thorin pushed the plate in front of him without hesitation, then looked at the elf who was still talking in the distance with some boredom and said:

"Can you please provide me with some normal food? I have just finished my long journey and what I need more is barbecue and beer. Such sweet food will only corrode the heart of an excellent warrior."

He said these words deliberately for those elves and bosses to listen to. To put it bluntly, he was just looking for trouble.

Hearing this, the dark elves who were still talking in the distance turned their heads and looked at Thorin carefully, and then also mocked his companions in the same sarcastic tone:

"Listen to the heroic voice of this outstanding warrior. I guess it must come from a tall and powerful warrior, right?"

"Sometimes body shape may not be used as proof of strength. After all, compared to some hypocritical women who are chirping and pretentious, maybe a real warrior is like me!"

Faced with the ridicule of the dark elves, Thorin naturally responded without hesitation. After all, there was an irreconcilable conflict between him and the elves.

Back then, his hometown, the Lonely Mountain, was attacked by the evil dragon Smaug and fell. However, their former neighbor, Thranduil, the Elven King of the Woodland Kingdom, not only did not provide assistance to them, but also did not even help them in the future!

Thinking of this, Thorin felt a burst of blood surge into his heart, and then he inadvertently put his hand on the sword next to him.

(The Elf King of Thranduil is self-proclaimed by the Silvan elves, that is, the Wood elves, and has nothing to do with the High King of the Noldor elves)

Thorin probably didn't know that Thranduil led an army to the outskirts of the Lonely Mountain when the Lonely Mountain fell, but their arrival was not to help the dwarves defeat the dragon, but to prepare to attack the Lonely Mountain!

Of course, none of this is important to Thorin now. After all, compared to Thranduil on the other side of the Misty Mountains, the dark elves who are reaching for weapons are his biggest enemies right now:

"Put down your weapons, Xiaoduozi, otherwise I will interpret your behavior as provocation!"

Dark elves have never been good-tempered masters. They were still enjoying afternoon tea and immediately entered a fighting state, also holding the rapiers at their waists tightly.

Just kidding, how could a dark elf who could be selected by Rohan and brought to Middle-earth be a weak sheep with no strength?

Seeing this situation, the guests who were still watching the show in the tavern immediately dispersed, and the situation in the tavern gradually became tense...

At this moment, the Prancing Horse Inn seemed to be suddenly shrouded in a shadow. Even the bonfire in the fireplace seemed unable to illuminate such a dark cloud, as if it was about to swallow the souls of all living things present:

"If you don't mind, I hope you can give me some face. Please don't hurt my friends!"

A sound loud enough to shock the soul suddenly came from the stairwell of the inn, frightening the dark elves to quickly pull out their weapons and repeating crossbows and look in the direction of the sound.

An old man in gray robes with a gray beard was seen standing in the stairwell holding a staff. His whole body seemed to be shrouded in a layer of fearful darkness. Even Thorin, who was originally agitated, was frightened into putting down his weapon.

The leading dark elf obviously recognized the identity of the person who came, so he took the lead in withdrawing his weapon, narrowed his eyes and kept wandering between the old man and Thorin:

"Gandalf the Gray... I will give you some face this time, but I hope you and your friends can abide by the relevant rules of the non-li. This is not a place where you are allowed to come around as you please."

"Please relax, Mr. Elf, I do not pose any threat to you."

Seeing that both sides had retracted their weapons, the shadow around Gandalf gradually retracted. Then he bowed slightly to the dark elves with apology, and then quickly left with the bewildered dwarves beside him.                        

The two quickly came to a room in the inn along the stairs. Then Gandalf, an old man, actually lifted Thorin to the chair, picked up his pipe and complained dissatisfiedly:

"Thorin, son of Thorne, grandson of Thor, you should not draw your weapon in front of them, let alone do it in the Prancing Pony Inn. This will involve many innocent people."

"It was those elves who insulted me first. And who are you? Maybe you should formally introduce yourself first?"

Thorin looked at the tall old man in front of him with some caution. It was obvious that the powerful strength that the other party had previously exposed made him wary.

Seeing this situation, Gandalf could only secretly lament the dwarves' stubbornness, and then lit his pipe with the Ring of Fire and took a deep breath to relieve his mood. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Oh, then please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey. If you don't mind, please allow me to smoke my pipe."

"...Please, I know who you are."

"Ah~ That's really great. It seems that I have good luck today."

Seemingly sensing that Thorin's eyes were still full of secret vigilance, Gandalf then activated the ability of the Ring of Fire to gradually make his image more friendly, and then asked with a smile:

"If you don't mind, please allow me to ask why Thorin Oakenshield suddenly visited Bree. You must know that this is not a good time to walk around in this area."

After that, Gandalf conjured a bunch of steaming sausages from the nearby fireplace like a magic trick, and finally took out a bottle of beer from the nearby cupboard and placed it in front of the other party.

This encounter was certainly not an accident. In fact, he had already learned the specific itinerary of the dwarf prince and the purpose of this trip.

But in Thorin's eyes, the image of Gandalf as an elder seemed to suddenly become more relatable. Looking back on his dusty yet fruitless exploration, he put down his guard and sighed:

"I came to find my father. Some people said that they saw traces of him in this area, wandering in the wilderness near the Dark Land... I have been there, but I didn't find any traces."

Dunlund is a forest located in the south of Eregian, but it is closer to Isengard and the Misty Mountains, so it is more dangerous.

And Thorin's father, Thorne, was the former heir of Lonely Mountain, the son of the previous King Thor, and one of the wearers of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves!

As a socialite in Middle-earth, Gandalf obviously knew the dwarf prince who was lost in the Battle of Moria, so he sighed secretly:

"Thorn... he is an amazing dwarf warrior. I was not present at the Battle of Moria at the time, so I don't know his whereabouts."

"Yes, you were not there, but I was. At that time, my grandfather had been killed by Azog. My father bravely charged towards Azog, but then I lost track of him.

People said that he was one of the dead, but I couldn't find any trace of him among the victims after the war. I searched everywhere, and there was nothing that looked like him! "

At this point, Thorin's emotions gradually began to get a little out of control, so that Gandalf had to wait for the other party to vent his emotions again.

In Gandalf's mind, Thorne has most likely been sacrificed, so the real meaning of his search for Thorin this time is obviously not for a dead person, but for other purposes.

Seeing that Thorin's mood had finally stabilized, Gandalf took a deep breath from his pipe and waited until Thorin had finished his meal before continuing to ask slowly:

"The ring your grandfather wore was one of the seven rings of power that were given to the dwarf princes in ancient times. Where is it now?"

As early as the Second Age, Sauron had created sixteen powerful rings of power and presented them to nine strong human beings and seven dwarf princes.

Nine of the powerful human beings were eventually corrupted into the Nine Rings by accident, and the Seven Rings of the Dwarves were taken back or lost by Sauron over time and various wars.

The reason why Gandalf wanted to find out where the Ring of Power of the Lonely Mountain Turin Clan was, was also to find out whether the ring was lost or recovered by Sauron.

If it is the former, then the threat that this dwarf ring may pose can be eliminated in future plans, thereby preventing the Holy White Council from facing new enemies.

But if it's the latter...

Then Azog's identity and purpose back then were worthy of Gandalf and the White Council's suspicion!

Thorin naturally didn't know what was going on in this. He just after a brief recollection, he spread his hands and said helplessly:

"My grandfather had passed that ring on to my father before the war started, and my father took that ring into battle and has been missing ever since."

"So, your father... disappeared with that ring?"

"Ah."

Seeing the affirmative look on Thorin's face, Gandalf couldn't help but pick up his pipe again and smoked it. At the same time, he narrowed his eyes and wondered what he was thinking.

According to the previous conversation, the dwarf ring is most likely on Thorne, and Thorne disappeared during the battle with Azog, so the ring is likely to fall into Azog's hands.

But this cannot rule out other possibilities. If Thorne did not come into contact with Azog, but died directly in the Battle of Moria, then there is a high probability that the dwarf ring was lost.

After all, Thorin also said that he had searched all the corpses but could not find any trace of Thorne, so this possibility cannot be completely ruled out...

"I heard that you visited my grandfather and father before the war started. I want to know what exactly you told them at that time?"

Just when Gandalf was lost in thought, Thorin's voice brought his thoughts back to reality. Then he looked at the anxious dwarf prince in front of him with a complicated look and said:

“I once advised your father to gather the strength of other dwarf groups to take back the Lonely Mountain, defeat Smaug, and regain his homeland, but he did not listen to my advice at the time.

Now, Thorin, son of Thorn, grandson of Thor, I offer you the same advice! "

(End of this chapter)