Chapter 136: Before the Meeting

No matter what happens outside, the beauty of Caras Galadhon seems never to be affected, especially at night; the elegant music, the handsome Elves, and the silver lamps like stars soothe the heart of Allen, who had been somewhat restless about facing Saruman.

It is just that the food the Galadhrim eat is still too vegetarian, consisting mostly of fruits and crops; in this regard, they cannot compare to their kin living in Mirkwood, as the Elves of the Woodland Realm have a unique insight into roasted meat, and hunting is also one of their daily activities.

However, the meals here are generally a bit better than in Rivendell; after all, there are still some dairy products and a small amount of meat, whereas those Noldor Elves in the valley who focus on vegetable gardening and fruit tree cultivation are truly vegetarian through and through, as Allen had already learned during the Expedition.

Led by the Galadhrim, it was already evening when Allen entered Caras Galadhon; all his subordinates were left on the outskirts of Lothlorien and were not permitted to enter the heart of this land, and even Holimion and the others were no exception, for this is the law of Lothlorien, which everyone must obey without the permission of Galadriel and her husband.

Even the outskirts are already under the protection of Elf scouts, where Allen's hundreds of subordinates can get a good rest without needing to worry about the Orcish entrenched in Moria; moreover, having arrived in the territory of Lady Galadriel, Allen's own safety naturally has a certain guarantee, so whether his own followers are with him or not is not that important.

As the masters of this place, upon receiving the news that their neighbor had been invited to visit, Celeborn and his wife welcomed Allen at the palace atop Cerin Amroth, and after a brief exchange, they arranged for a member of the White Council, Allen's old friend the Grey Wizard Gandalf, to accompany him for dinner.

Gandalf's bright and wise eyes looked smilingly at Allen, who was eating dinner, with a long, jujube-red pipe in his hand; the light that flared from time to time and the gray beard and hair diffusing into the white smoke revealed that the old man was in a very good mood at this moment.

For some reason, Gandalf always felt that Allen at this moment was someone very pleasant to be around, and there was always an aura about him that made him feel very close.

As a member of the White Council, Gandalf has always shouldered the mission of leading Humans to resist the darkness; whether for any reason—to fulfill the command of the great Manwe, to return home as soon as possible, or to allow the people of Middle-earth to live a peaceful life—this Wizard who gave up his status as a Maia has been fighting for this mission for nearly two thousand years, and even now, he is still striving for a good outcome.

At this moment, Gandalf was dining with Allen just to sound out his little friend first and probe Allen's true thoughts, so as to avoid any conflict in the subsequent meeting, for Saruman's demand is to take that Ring from Allen's hands by any means necessary.

Gandalf really did not expect that Allen could obtain a Master Ring at this very moment, as the members of the White Council have also been tracking the whereabouts of these Rings for years, trying to increase their own strength through various means to resist the great Enemy whose power is gradually reviving.

【To be honest, I have been using a source-switching app to read and follow updates recently; it has many voices for reading aloud, and is available for both Android and Apple.】

These big shots do not have much resistance to using these Magic items; after all, the Three Rings of the Elves have brought great convenience to the rule of Rivendell and Lothlorien, and as long as they can solve the trouble caused by these Rings, then there is nothing they cannot accept.

Moreover, except for Saruman, most of them have extremely limited knowledge of the details of the Rings; even as the former leaders of Eregion, Celeborn and his wife did not personally participate in the forging of the Rings, and it must be said that the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, the jewel-smith guild of Eregion, kept the craft of forging the Rings under very tight seal.

Only Saruman, who has always craved the power of the Rings, finally obtained a few clues about the craft of forging the Rings from the ruins of Eregion not long ago after spending countless time and energy.

This information was learned by Gandalf during his arguments with Saruman; he knows how much energy Saruman has spent on these Rings, and he also knows that his colleague might take actions he dares not imagine to obtain this Ring, so he does not want his friend to clash with the powerful White Wizard.

Gandalf knows that the power Saruman possesses at this moment is very great, and it is truly difficult for ordinary Humans to resist; he is afraid that Allen will suffer in this conflict.

The answer given by Allen was very comforting to Gandalf; his little friend not only generously took out the Ring and placed it quietly on the wooden table, but also indicated that he could hand the Ring over to the White Council for safekeeping and would not interfere with how they handled it, provided that he himself had one thing he needed the big shots of the White Council to help with.

Such behavior clearly indicated that Allen had no attachment to this Ring, which also relaxed Gandalf, who had been slightly worried about this; he was also worried that his Human friend would fall into an obsession with power, which is not a good thing for Humans, who have short lifespans and whose willpower is not particularly outstanding.

Little did Gandalf know that this Ring, which the vast majority of Humans covet, had no effect on Allen at all.

"Allen, what price do you hope my colleague will pay for this Ring?" Looking at Allen, who had finished his meal, Gandalf blew a colorful smoke ring and asked with a relaxed face.

Casually lighting the tobacco in his pipe and taking a deep breath, Allen narrowed his eyes, enjoyed it for a few seconds, exhaled the white smoke that made his brain feel comfortable, and said: "Gandalf, do you remember when we passed by the Iris River two years ago? At that time, we even saved Saruman's subordinates from the hands of the Orcish, and I mentioned something about Isildur and that Ring."

Gandalf frowned slightly, nodded, and said: "Yes, afterwards I urgently asked the Lady to convene a meeting; does this have any connection?"

"Yes, a little." Allen nodded and continued.

"Actually, there are some things I haven't finished saying. Isildur, who was in a hurry to return to Arnor at the time, was carrying not only that treasure belonging to the great Enemy, but also another treasure, which is the Star of Earendil belonging to the Kingdom of Arnor. It is the symbol of the kingship of the North Kingdom and has extraordinary power and significance. As far as I know, it was not taken by the Orcish because its light is not liked by those lackeys of darkness. Actually, I have tried to arrange for people to search that area, but I did not find Isildur's body or the whereabouts of this treasure, so I think the White Wizard, who has spent more time and energy on the Iris River, must have clues about this treasure."

In fact, Allen did not arrange for anyone to search, because he knew it would be a futile effort; the "Star of Earendil" was already lying in the secret chamber of Orthanc. Originally, Allen's plan was to use the Ring to lure out Saruman and then communicate carefully with Bilbo Baggins, letting this professional Burglar help him—and in a way, help the descendants of the North Kingdom—to take it back.

There are three difficulties in this matter: one is that Allen is worried that Saruman can see Bilbo after he turns invisible, as the Maia possess the power to see the Unseen World, and if he doesn't find a way to lure him out, Bilbo going to Orthanc would simply be like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth; the other is how to persuade Bilbo Baggins to help him, which is actually easy to solve—just explain the matter, and the kind-hearted Hobbit won't have much of a problem.

The biggest problem is how to find the "Star of Earendil" in Orthanc; Allen had no clue how to solve this problem, but now it's fine, no need to solve it, Saruman has delivered it to his doorstep himself. The next thing is how to pry the item out of the hands of this White Wizard who has begun to be obsessed with power.

This will depend on Allen's performance and the reactions of the other big shots.

"Indeed, Saruman did spend a great deal of effort scouting the area around the Iris River in search of the Ring's whereabouts; perhaps he really does have some clues."

Allen really does not understand why someone as wise as Gandalf never thought about the possibility of Saruman rebelling. Compared to the original trajectory, Allen had already informed Gandalf of some news in advance, but unfortunately, his friend still felt that Saruman's actions were all to fulfill his mission and to help the people of Middle-earth resist the encroachment of Sauron.

In fact, Allen himself has also fallen into a cognitive trap at this moment; he is considering all problems from the perspective of knowing the plot well. If the plot does not change, he is equivalent to having insight into the final ending of all major characters, which is equal to turning on the God's-eye view.

However, what Gandalf knows is far less than Allen; all his decisions are based on currently known information. At this moment, Saruman's actions can be perfectly justified, and the two might not see each other for ten or even decades; it is very normal that he would not think Saruman would rebel. As for Saruman being obsessed with seeking power, Gandalf is aware of it at this moment, but seeking power is not an evil thing, especially since this person is still his ally; who would dislike their partner becoming stronger and stronger?

It is just that he really did not expect that Saruman would be so obsessed with power that he would not hesitate to stand on the same side as an enemy he had fought for thousands of years, and even defy the orders of the Valar.

At this time, Gandalf felt that although Saruman was a colleague with a strange temper and was extremely difficult to get along with, at the very least he was still a companion in his own camp.

"Using this Ring to trade for news of the Star of Earendil, or even the item itself, is a very reasonable request; Allen, I will help you."

In Gandalf's view, as a descendant of the Numenoreans, wanting to take back a family heirloom belonging to the Numenoreans is the most normal idea. What he worries about is that Saruman may not be willing to cooperate, and Gandalf also knows that if he speaks up to help Allen at tomorrow's meeting, it might very well cause the opposite effect; this matter still needs to be discussed with others.

Allen nodded and said: "Thank you."

In any case, Allen has no intersection with Saruman, and in tomorrow's conversation, having someone help speak for him is always excellent.

After discussing the main business, the two chatted about things they had encountered since they parted. Gandalf expressed his views on the current situation of the Easterlings, believing that in the current situation, it is better to remain still than to move. Rohan indeed does not have much intention to support the war in Rhovanion, and the support that Gondor can provide is also limited. At this moment, the Orcish entrenched in Mordor have begun to launch frequent harassment against Ithilien, but the intensity and frequency are not particularly high, and the pressure felt by Gondor is not particularly great.

If Allen wants to launch a real decisive battle against the Easterlings, he still needs to strive for more support; after all, Sauron will not sit idly by and watch his arrangements be broken, and he will not give up the castle of Dol Guldur so easily.

Allen, on the other hand, was full of interest in Gandalf's observations in Rohan and Gondor, and he actually really wanted to see the various legendary locations; however, the timing was wrong, the time was wrong, everything was wrong. Even though his good friend Singer had sent an invitation, Allen only arranged for Cress and Grim to complete the invitation for him before setting off.

Under Allen's orders, the two of them led a small team of Cavalry and dozens of newly recruited Attendants, carrying the wedding gifts Allen had prepared for the newlyweds, and headed to Gondor some time ago; at this time, they might have almost reached Rohan.

Time passed unconsciously in the chat between the two until late at night, and the two, feeling slightly tired, prepared a little and closed their eyes to rest after feeling sleepy.

Yes, Caras Galadhon is a place that is warm in winter and cool in summer, and the outside climate can hardly have much influence here. In a suitable place, you can just spread out a blanket and cover yourself to have a very comfortable sleep, so there is no need to specifically prepare any guest rooms for sleeping.

Not only are the guests like this, but in fact, even most of the Galadhrim themselves sleep in places where they can directly see the stars. In this regard, the Elves of Rivendell are more particular; after all, their houses have roofs, and the architectural style is very unique, making those who live inside feel more comfortable.

Just as Allen and Gandalf fell into a dream, on a high platform further away, a figure dressed in white robes slowly walked out from the darkness and then quietly watched the two people who had already entered their dreams; the hands gripping the railing gradually had veins bulging.