Chapter 36: The Outsider in Bree

Bree, whether in the original work or the film, is a very important location, and many plot points happen here.

But in reality, Bree is just a very small place, where clever and hardworking Humans and kind, steady Hobbits live; the total population should only be a little over a thousand.

Of course, because it is located on a major thoroughfare, displaced Dwarves often come here, carrying all their worldly possessions, to stay in Bree for a day.

After resting well, they set off for the Blue Mountains to seek the protection of Thorin Oakenshield; after all, that Dwarf Prince is doing quite well there.

Generally speaking, this is a stable, peaceful place, and for hundreds of years, it has never encountered the threat of dark forces.

Of course, this is naturally because someone is in the shadows, silently paying the price.

Allen was walking on the main street of Bree at this moment; most of the houses here were of a stone-and-wood mixed structure, having a very medieval European style.

Even more obvious than the style of the houses was the road in the town; it was not narrow, but it was made of mud, and spring is a rainy season, so it easily becomes incredibly muddy.

Allen was now walking very gloomily on the muddy streets of Bree, preparing to return to his lodging, the Prancing Pony.

The time was already evening, and Allen had just come out of the home of a man with a slightly bald head and a large nose.

That man was the "famous" carrot lover of Bree, Albert Dreli.

On the first day Allen arrived here, he saw this fellow leaning against his own doorway eating a carrot.

Coincidentally, this person was also the cook for the Lord of Bree's household, so during this time, for the sake of his own palate, Allen would occasionally go find him to discuss culinary arts; however, why was Allen so idle?

Yes, yes, after Gandalf brought Allen to Bree, he once again dumped this young man and ran off, saying he was going to gather information, and it had been nearly a month.

Facing this situation, Allen was very helpless and had no way to stop it; he couldn't exactly tell Gandalf that Thorin Oakenshield would definitely appear at the Prancing Pony on March 15th.

Allen also knew that he had come out too early, especially regarding the path through the Misty Mountains; the Great Eagle only spent two days delivering Allen and Gandalf from the Carrock to Eriador.

When the two rushed to Bree, it had taken less than a month, and at that time it was only mid-February.

After arriving here, the old man in the grey cloak mounted the horse Allen had bought and left him behind to go out; Allen had no choice but to wander around Bree by himself, familiarizing himself with the surrounding environment.

However, when Allen walked into the Prancing Pony while drenched in rain, his good friend, Gandalf the Grey, was already sitting at a table, drinking beer, and looking at him with a face full of smiles.

Gandalf, an old man with a powerful personality, even if he left Allen alone in Bree, it was hard for Allen to truly be angry with him.

The young Human sat down opposite Gandalf and called over the waitress: "Becky, bring me a cup of Honey Mead."

Compared to beer, Allen preferred this thing with a bit of sweetness.

The Prancing Pony, a property of the Butterbur family, is the largest tavern and inn in the vicinity, often gathering a large number of idlers, people from all walks of life, including everything.

This is a place where information flows very freely; many people come here for the sake of some news, even those Humans who have defected to the dark forces.

For example, today, Allen recognized one of them at a glance; that middle-aged ugly man sitting by the window, exuding a gloomy aura, was a spy for the enemy.

There was also a thug quite famous in Bree, Old Bill, a big man over two meters tall who looked fierce and menacing, but ended up fleeing the inn in a hurry like a stray dog after seeing Allen.

Bree has indeed never been threatened by dark forces, but that does not prevent this small town from breeding some annoying people and some evil deeds itself.

It was the fifth day after Allen first arrived here; it was an afternoon, and he was strolling idly through the market, incidentally buying some things he liked.

Old Bill, who had been observing Allen for a long time, quietly followed Allen, appeared beside him, and with the help of his massive physique, held the calm-faced Allen hostage.

There was no help for this; who told Allen that whenever he bought things in this small town, he would pull out gold? Once wealth is revealed, it is bound to invite disaster.

Did Allen notice? He noticed; at first, he was prepared to act directly and cripple this fellow.

But having been through many battles, he did not feel any killing intent from the other party, and he did not take out a weapon, only using seemingly ridiculous strength to hold Allen hostage.

Facing this situation, Allen did not resist; besides, he had been very bored lately, and having a little fun to spice up his dull life was not out of the question.

It was just that Allen was puzzled: did he really look that easy to bully? Was it because he was very polite to everyone?

Or was it because he appeared not to be carrying a weapon that made these people so bold?

Allen did not want to carry a bow and sword while shopping, and Elf-style weapons often attracted people's attention.

This made people like Old Bill think they were lucky and had run into a fat sheep who knew nothing.

Soon Allen was taken to a dark corner, where four or five men with unkind expressions, holding long and short weapons, were already waiting there.

Perhaps feeling that their side had more people and held weapons, Old Bill let go of Allen, pushed him into the crowd, and then logically began to extort him.

Facing this situation, Allen was not panicked in the slightest; his hand reached into the Cloak behind his back, and as if performing magic, he calmly drew out a Longsword exuding a cold light.

How could Allen not have a weapon? He could just spend Dinar to buy one; as long as he had money, Allen was equivalent to carrying a cold-weapon warehouse with him.

The few thugs surrounding Allen did not know what had happened; they seemed to have only seen a flash of white light, and the lamb waiting to be slaughtered before them had directly transformed into a fierce tiger baring its fangs.

Just as the few thugs were puzzled, Allen used the Longsword to casually knock the weapons from their hands, forcing them to kneel on the ground.

Allen did not pay attention to the thugs' pleas for mercy; as punishment, he sliced off the thumbs of their right hands.

In this way, they lost the capital to do evil.

And Old Bill, who had held Allen hostage, was dumbfounded; he knew he had fallen today. The big man over two meters tall, before Allen could express anything, knelt down directly.

Allen was not polite either; he went over and kicked him in the face, then walked away in a happy mood.

Poor Old Bill not only fainted from this kick but also lost more than half of the teeth in his mouth.

Subsequently, rumors related to Allen began to spread in Bree, saying that the polite-looking outsider living at the Prancing Pony was actually a cold-blooded murderer, and the people of the town should drive him away as soon as possible.

Allen did not care about such rumors, and the owner of the Prancing Pony did not say anything; after all, Allen was generous with his money, and he had not encountered such a generous guest in many years.

It was just that in the days that followed, whenever Allen felt bored, he would find Old Bill to spar on "techniques"; Allen didn't remember how many times, but all of Old Bill's teeth should have fallen out.

Soon Bree had a new rumor: the town's famous thug leader, Old Bill Ferny, had been targeted by the outsider living at the Prancing Pony, and now he hid in his dilapidated house every day, trembling, not even daring to step out the door.

But today, this fellow actually dared to appear at the Prancing Pony; there must be something going on, but Allen did not care.

However, it was clear that the smiling Gandalf had found out what Allen had been doing during this time as soon as he returned.

He joked: "Allen, I didn't expect that in such a short time, your reputation would ring throughout Bree."

As soon as Allen heard this, he knew Gandalf was joking; he waved his hand indifferently and asked in a low voice: "Gandalf, is there any news of Thorin?"

Because today was already March 15th; if there was no news, Allen would have to consider whether his little wings had flapped again, and if such a thing happened, he would still have to discuss the next step of the plan with Gandalf.

Gandalf nodded and said: "At the earliest tonight, at the latest tomorrow night, he will arrive here. At that time, I will handle the negotiations with him; you can listen in."

Allen nodded, expressing agreement; just as he was about to ask Gandalf about his journey, he noticed Gandalf looking toward the door, and Allen also turned his head to look.

A Dwarf wearing a raincoat, looking slightly disheveled, walked into the Prancing Pony at this moment, tidied himself up a little, and sat at an empty table in the middle of the inn.

Although he looked disheveled at first, this Dwarf's equipment was not shabby; he wore a tight-fitting, practical outfit and carried a Dwarf Longsword at his side.

At this moment, he was enjoying a pipe of the tobacco Bree was famous for, his handsome, resolute face wearing a look of contentment; this was Thorin Oakenshield, the Dwarf Prince of Durin's Folk.

At this time, Allen was already preparing to get up and go over to greet him, but Gandalf gave Allen a look to stop him, and only after waiting a while did he sit over there by himself.

Interestingly, the spy at the window actually began to hesitate in his seat because of Old Bill's flight.

At first, he could not understand why Old Bill, who had offered such a high price, had just run off like that.

But soon, he noticed Allen staring at him, felt a shock in his heart, remembered the rumors in town, and slunk away from the Prancing Pony.

Thorin Oakenshield had also just noticed this gloomy man who had been staring at him, but since there was only one person opposite him, he was only slightly on guard.

He did not want to cause trouble here, because this might bring trouble to the Dwarves and make them an unwelcome race in Bree.

However, as the gloomy middle-aged man left, Gandalf sat down opposite him, which made him relax once again.

Meanwhile, Allen sat at a table next to them, drinking the Honey Mead in his hand and listening carefully to the content of their conversation.

It had to be said that Gandalf's eloquence was very, very good; Thorin Oakenshield, sitting opposite him, was persuaded by Gandalf in a short amount of time, and a look of longing gradually emerged in his confused, doubtful eyes.

Indeed, the displaced Dwarves of Durin's Folk were in urgent need of returning home, and Thorin Oakenshield was also eager to reclaim the throne and wealth that belonged to his family.

However, Allen, who was eavesdropping, always had the feeling that Thorin Oakenshield was being swindled, and then Allen thought of himself, feeling for a moment that he was not even as good as this Dwarf Prince.

This was inevitable, because Allen had an innate fondness for this respectable old man, Gandalf; this was a very normal thing.

Soon, Gandalf began discussing the details with Thorin, how to gather an army, how to retrieve the King's treasures, until he mentioned the need for a Burglar.

Thorin Oakenshield glanced in Allen's direction and asked Gandalf, "Is this the Burglar you found for me?"

Indeed, Allen's attire at this moment was very much like a Ranger, and Thorin Oakenshield had long since sensed the relationship between Allen and Gandalf.

Especially since this Human Ranger had forced away that gloomy man with just a look, making Thorin Oakenshield not dare to underestimate this young Human who had come to his side.

"No, no, no, Thorin, this is not a Burglar, this is my friend, Allen from Wilderness Town."

Gandalf introduced Allen to Thorin Oakenshield, and Allen nodded slightly to acknowledge Thorin Oakenshield.

Thorin Oakenshield frowned, seemingly thinking about something, and then said, "I have not heard of this place."

At this time, Allen spoke, his voice unhurried and neither servile nor overbearing.

"It is normal not to have heard of it; Middle-earth is so vast, and besides, Wilderness Town is not famous; it is normal that Thorin Oakenshield, grandson of Thror and son of Thrain, has not heard of it."

Thorin Oakenshield nodded, ignored Allen, and said to Gandalf, "Then what about the candidate for the Burglar?"

The Dwarf Prince was still more concerned about the issue of this expedition; if he could make use of a capable Human Ranger, he would just pay a little more in reward.

"The candidate has already been found; in over a month, we will gather at Hobbiton in the Shire, and I will leave a mark on his door."

Thorin Oakenshield was quite satisfied with Gandalf's answer, especially since the appearance of Allen made the Dwarf have high expectations for the Burglar.

Allen knew that the details of this conversation were finished; he sat back down at his own table and had Becky serve him a premium set meal.

There was no helping it; everyone around was eating, making Allen, who had just eaten a meal in the afternoon, hungry as well.

After eating and drinking their fill, the three of them returned to their respective rooms at the Prancing Pony to rest for the night, and the next day, they embarked on their own paths and left Bree.

Allen knew that during this month, Gandalf had likely already been to Hobbiton once and found Bilbo Baggins, whom he had been paying attention to for a long time.

But Allen did not speak, nor did he ask; the two of them rode their horses, passed by the Barrow-downs, walked through the Old Forest, and under the gaze of the Hobbits, checked into the Green Dragon Inn.