Chapter 241: Changes

Time is like sand gripped tightly in one's hand, slipping away bit by bit through the gaps between one's fingers.

Under heavy surveillance, Tiehaer's behavior was unexpectedly beyond Allen's anticipation, for his subsequent actions were simply too normal—so normal that they were somewhat abnormal.

On the first day he obtained the order, this Dwarf responsible for the shop's daily operations ran excitedly to the inner room, wrote a Letter to Thorin in Dwarvish, and then a Raven with glossy black feathers flapped its wings and soared high into the sky, flying at high speed from Fislate toward the Lonely Mountain.

The content of the letter was unknown; if it had been a face-to-face conversation, Allen would have had a chance to understand it.

As for the writing, that was impossible; Allen could currently only barely write most of the Western languages, and the script used by the Dwarves was extremely mysterious knowledge, rarely used by any race other than themselves.

However, sending a letter to the Lonely Mountain was an extremely normal act; what shopkeeper in charge of a storefront wouldn't inform their boss when a big business deal arrived?

Moreover, for small items like Jewelry, given the speed of a Raven's flight, if it traveled in a straight line, it would be enough to get from the Lonely Mountain to Fislate within seven days; this time was calculated by Allen.

Even if this business deal didn't go through, Tiehaer should still have sent a letter to the Lonely Mountain, because his shelves were already empty and there was nothing left.

For the next two days, Tiehaer merely instructed his subordinates to clean the shop, and other than that, he made no other moves; this was also why Allen thought it was so normal that it was somewhat abnormal.

Why didn't he go find his supplier to get more stock?

Because Allen did not believe that those cheaply made brass Jewelry pieces were specifically sent here from the Lonely Mountain by Thorin to be sold; he did not think a Dwarf guarding a mountain of gold would do such a thing.

Even if opening a shop in Fislate, Allen did not believe Thorin was doing it to earn more gold and silver; it should have been to let the reputation of the Dwarves spread further, and at the same time, let other powers know that the Lonely Mountain had been conquered once again by the Durin Dwarves.

With such a purpose, how could they possibly sell low-priced Jewelry?

Allen believed this must be Tiehaer's personal business, and only the newly arrived Black Hair Clan would need money to improve their lives; this might have received Thorin's consent, but it was by no means directed by Thorin behind the scenes.

But, even when it reached noon on the fourth day, there was still no movement from Tiehaer's side, and he was behaving very normally; having no other options for the time being, Allen could only instruct his subordinates to keep watching and notify him in time if there was any news.

He still had other matters to attend to.

After four days of full-scale investigation within the city by the Animal Friend and the Cabinet officials, a report soon appeared on Allen's desk, which made his mood even heavier.

Because the situation in the city was extremely pessimistic; there were simply too many residents wearing Jewelry inlaid with Black Gem, with over a thousand people showing them openly alone.

One must know that Tiehaer was not just selling Rings; brooches, Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles, and so on—he had everything, and his customers included both men and women, the young and the old, and the only common point was that these pieces of Jewelry all had a Black Gem, whether large or small.

And what was even more worrying was that these residents who shared this commonality often gathered together for no reason, and the community system Allen had established had created great convenience for their gatherings.

Because when the guards were on patrol, unless there was some special situation, they would not pay attention to matters within the communities most of the time; past habits had caused them to overlook some abnormal behaviors.

And this was exactly a good opportunity for Sauron's followers to preach Morgoth, and their targets were clear: they would only seek out those residents who had already purchased Jewelry and had been influenced for a long time.

Apart from the Rodok from Calradia, the Northern Men living in Rhovanion mostly worshipped Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits, especially those Woodland Residents who lived off the forest, who had a much firmer faith than ordinary people.

But such is the nature of Humans; once the heart is captured by greed, it is very easy to abandon one's original persistence and throw oneself into the embrace of darkness, regardless of whether this greed is for wealth or for a longer lifespan.

Only those with firm wills can overcome desire and walk out of temptation, but it is a pity that those with firm wills would never buy those ornaments, and the residents who bought the ornaments often did not have such firm wills.

What's more, the power of that Magic was so great; how could ordinary people resist it?

Just like that, although Allen's territory looked calm and peaceful, showing a scene of prosperity, in reality, over a dozen secret societies of various sizes had appeared within half a year, with memberships ranging from dozens to over ten, and the total number of people was terrifying—enough to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack in the city.

Through several days of observation, Allen discovered that these secretive members behaved extremely normally during the day, only adding a bit more showing off and comparison in their daily speech, and no topics related to Morgoth would appear in their mouths.

But when night fell, the terrifying titles of "Master of All Things" and "Giver of Freedom" would appear in house after house, and the emblem representing Sauron would receive the offerings of the residents.

Seeing all this, Allen felt a wave of heart-palpitating fear, because he knew that such dark worship was likely only at the most elementary stage at this moment.

After a period of time, as people became more deeply bewitched, the floors in their houses would inevitably be stained with the blood of the innocent, and there would likely be many unexplained disappearances in the city.

Worshipping Morgoth would ultimately lead to an end of torment, pain, and death.

If it were not stopped, Allen's rule in Fislate would be like a dam eaten away by ants, collapsing instantly the moment the flood arrived, and he would no longer have the strength to confront Sauron.

And this kind of tactic, in the past, was a specialty of Morgoth and Sauron; now, however, it had appeared on this newly born land of Rhovanion.

This point made Allen, who had cleared up the ins and outs in a short time, feel "flattered," and at the same time, he understood his weight in Sauron's heart.

Over these years, he had participated in too many things, letting his name end up on Sauron's list, and this was one of the consequences.

It was just that Allen's response could not be called untimely, and the method used could be considered somewhat effective.

On the evening of the fourth day of monitoring in Fislate, there was finally a bit of different news from Tiehaer's side.

Just as the sky was turning dark, this Dwarf drove two ponies along the road toward the Mirkwood in the northeast; having received the news, Allen knew he must be going to find his supplier.

And this person hidden in the shadows might be the culprit behind this incident; if he really found others who looked more like leaders, then it would prove that Allen's guess was correct, and Tiehaer was just a pawn used by the enemy.

If Allen had guessed wrong, no Dwarf had ever been hanged in the square of Fislate; perhaps this was a new beginning.

It was just that he would need to talk some "reason" with Thorin.

And the things that were annoying were far more than just this; how to deal with the thousands of bewitched residents in the city was also a very difficult problem to solve.

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Allen did not want to make a big scene by having the army enter the city and then arresting these thousands of people in public; the commotion caused would be too great, not to mention that many of them were the families of soldiers, and some were even the widows and orphans of martyrs.

Even if the soldiers strictly followed Allen's orders to point their blades at the parents of their comrades-in-arms, using the phrase "This is the King's order" to resolve this crisis.

Then what would Allen's image become in their minds? A tyrant?

How would they fight side-by-side with their colleagues on the dangerous battlefield in the future? While guarding against the enemy, they would also have to guard against the blades of their own allies?

Furthermore, those deeply bewitched residents might not surrender without a fight, and it was very possible that bloody conflicts would break out then.

Dealing with such a crisis required certain ways and methods; if one were impulsive and reckless, it would certainly leave behind irreparable scars.

And this was one of the things that gave Allen the biggest headache at the moment.

And just as Allen was staring blankly at the stars in the sky, a burst of laughter like silver bells reached his ears.

It was his daughter Andrea, who was learning to walk; this little girl, not yet a year old, was smiling with excitement, walking toward Allen through the blooming flower bushes with her mother's help.

And a large dog with light yellow fur was following behind this mother and daughter with its pink tongue lolling out; this was Allen's pet, Juan, who, as a former hunting dog, could only helplessly shrink into the castle to become a watchdog because Allen did not like hunting.

Wearing a white outfit, Andrea opened her arms from afar after seeing her father, babbling words similar to "Daddy, hug" in her mouth, her clear eyes full of childlike innocence.

In an instant, all of Allen's worries were thrown to the back of his mind; he picked up his apple of his eye with doting affection, kissed her smooth face with his stubble-covered mouth, and then said in a voice filled with a smile: "What's wrong? My little girl, why are you still not sleeping so late?"

In her father's arms, Andrea waved her little fists happily, her mouth constantly popping out various garbled words, and Allen, who didn't understand the situation, looked at Yamila with a puzzled face.

Although his love for his daughter was very deep, as a King, Allen was busy, very busy, and indeed rarely had time to accompany his daughter, and Andrea had just learned to speak, so Allen was a bit confused at this moment; he didn't understand what his daughter was saying to him.

Facing Allen's inquiry, Yamila shook her head, walked over, took Allen's other arm, and said softly: "I don't know why, but Sala just couldn't sleep tonight, so I had no choice but to bring her to the garden for a walk, and wouldn't you know it, we just happened to run into you."

Sala was the nickname Yamila had given Andrea; in Calradia, it had the meaning of "Princess," which could be said to be very appropriate.

As she spoke, Yamila's expression also became somewhat serious.

"Are you still racking your brains over the matter of the cult?"

That's right; in Yamila's view, these secret societies blossoming everywhere in Fislate were no different from cults. She could not understand why people who were well-fed and clothed could still be swayed by such base incitement; in Calradia, it was only during times of war that cultists would use a bit of grain to lure followers.

Most of the time, whether it was the Rodok people or the Swadians, the religion they believed in was quite uniform, and James was a priest, though his thoughts and concepts were relatively advanced.

As for the environment of Rhovanion, even during the most critical times, Yamila had never let the residents go hungry; she was indeed somewhat distressed as to why such things would appear under her administration.

This situation was, of course, related to Allen, because he rarely popularized the history of Middle-earth or knowledge regarding Magic to those around him.

His views were somewhat conservative, believing that sometimes the less people knew, the fewer troubles they would have, especially in a world like Middle-earth where there truly were gods and high-level races; knowing more was sometimes not necessarily a good thing.

Especially for Allen himself, he would often only tell others the knowledge he deemed appropriate, so as to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

"Before my dear wife and child arrived, my heart was still in a state of chaos, and I did not know how to properly handle this matter, but now, I already have some ideas, though I still need a little bit of confirmation. Rest assured, I will handle it properly."

A confident smile appeared on the face of Allen, who was holding his daughter. These words were not meant to soothe the melancholy in Yamila's heart, but rather that he had truly thought of a relatively proper method in this instant, and this method was indeed related to his daughter, provided that his conjecture was sufficiently correct.

Looking at the confidence on Allen's face, Yamila's smile also became beautiful. Then, she gently took Andrea, who had fallen asleep at some unknown time, from Allen's embrace. After nodding, she left with Juan, and the garden under the starry sky was left with only Allen once again.

Near Mirkwood, several dozen kilometers outside of Fislate, there was a stretch of rolling small mountains; calling them small mountains was actually a bit of an exaggeration, as it was just a very long earthen slope.

Because it was very close to Mirkwood and lacked sufficient water sources, this place had not been developed by the Humans living in Rhovanion and remained a very desolate wilderness.

However, it was unknown when it began, but there was a very secret and deep cave within this small hillside. Even the Silvan Elf patrolling the border had not discovered the abnormality here, and living inside the cave were a few unkempt Dwarfs.

Among them, the Dwarf wearing the most magnificent attire had a Gold Ring inlaid with a circle of rubies on his right hand, which was extremely conspicuous.

And when the bright moon was in the sky, Tiehaer, driving two ponies, arrived here, and with the help of the moonlight, used a uniquely shaped key to open an extremely hidden secret door.

Then, he walked inside.