A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“What is he doing?” Dwarin asked.

"He's talking to someone...he's pointing at us...they're shaking hands."

"Can you just shut up for a bit?" Aaron said speechlessly. "It's like Bard sold us out."

"Maybe he's already betrayed us," Dvalin said unhappily.

"Calm down, everyone. This is normal negotiation. Don't act impulsively," Aaron said immediately. "Don't make things worse before we're sure he's betrayed us."

As soon as the words were spoken, the sound of chains being pulled reached everyone's ears, and then a large number of fish were poured into wooden barrels to cover them up.

Now everyone understood what Bilbo meant by those three sentences, but this method was just too uncomfortable.

With the fish as cover, Bud dared to lead them into the checkpoint.

"Stop the ship, cargo inspection, please show your documents." The man at the checkpoint came out of the building carrying a lantern. "Oh, it's you, Bud."

"Good morning, Percy."

"Is there anything I need to declare through customs?"

“No, but I’m cold and hungry.” Bud handed him a document. “I just want to go home.”

“Likewise.” Percy took the document and went back inside to stamp it. “Alright, everything is fine.”

"Wait a minute." A pale-faced, hunched-over man snatched the documents from Bard, whose expression turned grim the moment Bard saw him.

"I was commissioned to transport wooden barrels from the Woodland Kingdom."

But the bucket is full now, right, Bard?

If I remember correctly, according to the registration, you are a boatman, not a fisherman.

"That's none of your business."

"You're wrong. Anything that concerns the mayor is my business."

A lackey, a pure and simple lackey.

Aaron immediately labeled the person, while secretly cursing his bad luck for running into someone like this checking up on him.

Hopefully Bard can pull through! Otherwise, he'll have no choice but to intervene.

He hadn't learned the Soul-Stealing Curse yet, but he was quite familiar with the Amnesia Curse.

"Alright, Alfred, have some compassion, everyone needs to eat," Bud said helplessly.

Alfred, however, had no compassion whatsoever. He immediately labeled the fish as illegal and ordered his men to dump them all.

No matter how much Bud brought up the issue of the town's residents' basic needs, Alfred remained unmoved.

Seeing that Alfred remained stubborn, Bud could only bring up the mayor, "What if people heard that the mayor dumped fish into the lake?"

If they revolt, that's none of your business!

Upon hearing this, Alfred's already pale face turned even paler, and he immediately waved for his men to stop dumping the fish.

"Always want to be a hero, huh, Bard?"

You always want to protect the people; they might support you now, but your good fortune won't last long.

The gates opened, and the ship passed through security smoothly.

“The mayor has been watching you. You’d better remember this. We know where you live,” Alfred said coldly.

“This is a small town,” Bud retorted. “Everyone knows where everyone lives.”

Once the boat reached a safe spot, Bard kicked over the barrel, and the expedition members crawled out of the pile of fish, their bodies covered in the fishy smell.

Bard paid off an acquaintance on the shore with a silver coin and a boatload of fish, telling him not to tell anyone what he had seen.

Aaron took a deep breath of the not-so-fresh air before he truly began to take in the town of Long Lake.

The entire town was built on the lake, but it was devoid of any vitality; dirty, chaotic, and dilapidated were his first impressions of the place.

"I understand why you're so poor now. People who can survive in a place like this probably just want to get by!"

“At least he’s still alive,” Bard said calmly.

“Ha! Someone like you shouldn’t be buried here.” Aaron said earnestly. “You should have a wider world to explore. You will have a place in the human capital.”

Bud smiled and shook his head, subtly changing the subject, "Let's go to my place first!"

"No, your house is probably being monitored right now."

That lackey sounded incompetent, but lackeys usually mean what they say. "Aaron murmured, "For your safety and the safety of your family, I suggest we go somewhere else."

“No one else can take in so many of you,” Bard said, shaking his head. “You can only come to my house.”

“Aaron, it’s alright,” Balin said calmly. “I believe Mr. Bard must have a route to avoid the Watchers.”

“Yes, it is, but…” Bard looked troubled, “you might not be able to accept it.”

“It’s acceptable, it’s acceptable, it’s necessary,” Bilbo said. They had endured all kinds of hardships and suffering along the way, and safety was more important than anything else.

Chapter 256 The "Shit Escape" is Absolutely Impossible

"What? Crawling into the toilet?" Aaron stared at Bud with wide eyes. "I would rather die than agree to this. I've never been so wronged in my life."

"Escape by shitting," what a ridiculous idea!

Although he's not from this world, if he does this kind of thing, going to the toilet will be a nightmare from now on.

The dwarves glared at them angrily, their hearts filled with resentment. If word got out, their lifelong reputation would be ruined, and how would they ever face the world again?

“That’s the safest route; no one would have thought of it,” Bud said with a forced smile. “And don’t get me wrong, our toilet goes straight down to the lake; it’s not dirty at all.”

“That won’t do either,” Aaron said angrily.

“Fine!” Bud shrugged helplessly. “You can go to my house openly and then be discovered by the watchers, and then by the mayor.”

I don't care. At worst, I'll get a beating, or worse, I'll be locked up for a while. But you'll definitely be arrested and sent to the Woodland Kingdom to curry favor.

Upon hearing this, Thorin remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "We agree."

"Thorin." Dvalin stared at him in utter disbelief, utterly bewildered. "You, you can't..."

“Why not?” Thorin countered. “Is the journey more important, or is that little bit of self-respect more important?”

We're running out of time. We can't afford any mistakes. If we miss this opportunity, we might never have another chance.

Hearing this, the dwarves had no choice but to accept this route against their will, since personal honor and disgrace were incomparable to rebuilding the dwarven kingdom.

“You can go if you want, I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely will not take that road,” Aaron said with considerable disgust. “Even if I die, die outside, or jump off this cliff, I will not learn the shit-escape technique.”

"Aaron, just bear with it, it will pass," Bilbo patiently advised.

"Don't try to persuade me. I have some connection with the Elf Prince. Even if I get captured, nothing will happen to me."

“But this isn’t just your problem!” Balin said in a deep voice. “We’re a team. If you’re exposed, we won’t be able to escape either.”

“Gaius,” Thorin looked at him intently, “don’t forget the contract you signed. You can’t act impulsively at this time.”

"You guys..." Aaron laughed in exasperation. "Fine! Now that things have come to this, I'm not going to pretend anymore."

"That's right, I'm a wizard. Magic allows me to hide from ordinary people and won't hold the team back."

“But you don’t even have a wand anymore,” Bilbo said weakly.

Aaron glared at him fiercely. How come I never noticed you were such a chatterbox before?

"Are you confident?" Thorin asked seriously.

"I am absolutely certain."

"Then could you help us too...?" Dvalin asked impatiently, a glimmer of light appearing in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Aaron gave him a gentle smile. "I'm sorry, I may have to disappoint you, but I'm not that great."

I am that powerful; it's not impossible for me to cast a phantom spell on a dozen people. But who told you to force me to use the shit escape technique?

It's not very harmful, but extremely insulting.

Dwarin and the others looked embarrassed and stopped trying to force the issue.

"Have you reached an agreement?" Bard asked. "If you have, come with me."

He led the group down a narrow path, but as soon as they turned a corner, they encountered a boy.

"Dad, our family is being monitored."

"Your son?" Aaron sized up the boy, estimating he was a few years older than him.

Bard nodded, then looked at his son. "Don't worry, Barn."

"You stay here with Gaius. I'll go give the others directions and be right back."

After saying that, Bud led the others through the streets and alleys, telling them the location of his house and emphasizing the toilet sign, afraid that they might go to the wrong place.

When he returned, he saw Aaron bombarding his son with questions, asking him about his age, education, and living conditions.

"Ahem! We should get going. How do you plan to get to my house?" Bard asked. "If you regret it now, I can take you there again."

"No need." Aaron snapped his fingers, and his body instantly became transparent.

Bard was a little better off; although he was shocked, his expression remained relatively calm.

Barn stared in disbelief, his hand trembling as he pointed at the transparent area in front of him. "Dad, Dad, Dad, can you see that?"

He's gone invisible? He really has gone invisible.

"I saw it, I'm not blind."

“A simple illusion spell,” Aaron said calmly. “Now you can lead the way without worry.”

Bard and Barn exchanged a glance and silently walked out of the alley.

To avoid being discovered by their surveillance team due to the discrepancy in the timing, they made a point of going to the market and buying some useful items as cover.

As they approached their home, the three of them climbed the stairs.

Bud threw a fruit to the two people fishing below his house, saying, "You can tell the mayor that I've finished my work for today."

A little girl saw Bud come in and happily hugged him, "Dad, where have you been?"

Another, slightly older girl also gave him a hug, saying, "Father, you're back! I was so worried about you."