Chapter 49: The Town Mayor, Supplies, and Bard

The chubby Town Mayor of Long Lake Town is named Stephen; he has been troubled recently because his knees and toes often ache, and he constantly complains about the dampness and cold of Long Lake Town because of it.

In fact, someone had told him that this was a symptom of gout, but he simply did not want to admit that he suffered from this disease.

Besides this, there are many other things that trouble him; for instance, the share of wine from the Woodland Elves has decreased since a few years ago, which has caused a significant portion of his income to drop.

For another instance, a man named Bard is also a thorn in his side; he is a descendant of the Lord of Dale and holds immense prestige among the common folk, and this man poses a threat to his rule.

But today, there is one more thing that worries him even more: Braga told him that a noble person, suspected to be an Elf, went to find Bard.

This news made the Town Mayor's heart jump into his throat instantly, and he could no longer even care about the sheep treasure and whiskey he liked before him.

He threw on some clothes, endured the pain coming from his knees and toes, and hurried toward Bard's residence.

Meanwhile, Allen, along with Thorin, Bilbo, and Balin, was also walking toward the Town Mayor's residence.

Because Allen had been led over by Braga earlier, and at that time, Braga had been extremely humble in front of Allen.

Therefore, the guards along the way all knew that this lord wearing luxurious plate armor was someone not to be trifled with.

So, no one with time on their hands stopped them to ask questions, even though there was an unfamiliar Dwarf and a Halfling in Allen's group.

Allen was chatting with Bilbo on the way, asking about the Dwarves' experience of escaping danger.

Listening to Bilbo's description, Allen thought their party was truly too lucky.

Not only were they not discovered by Elves in Mirkwood, but after arriving at Long Lake Town, they were also not discovered by the Town Mayor's men.

Most importantly, King Thranduil did not send anyone to pursue them, which surprised Allen very much.

After they arrived at Long Lake Town, they stayed in Bard's house for so long without being discovered by the Town Mayor's spies, which shows just how unpopular this Town Mayor is.

Just as Allen and Bilbo were chatting, Braga appeared not far from Allen with his Town Mayor Stephen and the Town Mayor's deputy, Alfred.

The Town Mayor of Long Lake Town, Stephen, noticed Allen, who was emitting a silvery glow, from a great distance away.

There was no helping it; that suit of armor was simply too dazzling.

Allen also noticed them; he stopped his steps and raised his head.

He looked expressionlessly at the chubby man with a drunken look on his face opposite him, who was limping toward his side.

And Stephen, who walked over, spoke first; his attitude was very humble, and he weighed his words, fawningly saying: "Lord Allen, if I am not mistaken, you must be that lord from Wilderness Town, right? How do you have the time to come to Long Lake Town today? This is truly a great honor; your arrival makes this place shine even brighter."

Stephen had, of course, heard of Allen's great name; how could he not know who had snatched his business? He had long since inquired about the identity of the lord of Wilderness Town.

Moreover, Stephen had always harbored a deep hatred for Allen in his heart, but he dared not show it, dared not act on it, and did not even dare to mention it to anyone.

Because he knew how close the relationship was between the King of the Woodland Elves and this young man before him; with the slightest mishap, Long Lake Town could change its Town Mayor at any time.

Such a small matter was nothing to Thranduil and Allen, but to Stephen, it would be a total catastrophe.

Allen truly had not expected his name to spread here; he had always thought there was no connection at all between the two Human towns.

And Allen really did not like the chubby man before him; this Town Mayor was simply too greedy, and his governing ability was absurdly terrible.

Allen could not even imagine how this fellow had managed to reach the position of Town Mayor.

In the original story, at the very least, there was some skill in his glib tongue, and his business was doing okay; now, looking at the one before him, Allen only felt he was good for nothing.

Allen did not exchange pleasantries with him, and was even too lazy to speak to him.

He directly took out the half-bag of diamonds left over from making gifts and threw it to this money-grubbing Town Mayor, signaling him to open it.

The Town Mayor caught the bag Allen handed over; he was a bit puzzled, but after opening it, a look of intoxication immediately appeared on his face.

Allen looked at the Town Mayor's expression and knew that this bag of things must be very valuable, so he directly stated his demands.

First, provide the Expedition with sufficient supplies, ships, and weapons and equipment.

Second, he wanted to buy that Dwarf Wind Lance located above the Town Mayor's house.

The Town Mayor immediately agreed to Allen's request and told Allen that if things went smoothly, all the items could be prepared by tomorrow.

Then, as if worried that Allen might go back on his word, he immediately took old Master Balin and limped away, sprinting toward his own residence.

They would discuss the specific details there.

Allen could guess that these diamonds should be very valuable, but he had not expected the Town Mayor's reaction to be so great.

Seeing all this, he already knew that the price he had offered was too high, but he did not care.

If the plan went smoothly, the people of the entire Long Lake Town would be Allen's, so why bother about that mere half-bag of diamonds?

Having arranged everything, Allen looked at Thorin Oakenshield and asked: "I have already arranged everything, and we can set off tomorrow. Is there anything else that needs to be prepared?"

Thorin Oakenshield looked at Allen, thinking in his heart of the efforts Allen had made along the way; this time, the look in his eyes when he looked at Allen was full of gratitude.

He said to Allen: "It is enough, Allen. I am now desperate to return to the Lonely Mountain, to take you to visit my homeland, to show you the share of treasure that belongs to you; believe me, it will definitely open your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Allen also smiled and said: "I feel very honored."

The matter of preparing supplies was left for Balin to resolve, and the three of them chatted non-stop as they returned to Bard's residence.

At this time, this Dwarf Prince had already undergone many changes; the Lonely Mountain right before his eyes, the journey about to begin, and the friends by his side had made his state of mind much more relaxed.

Only, fate never favors Dwarves; Thorin Oakenshield's mood, which had just improved, became gloomy once again.

Because he had a new trouble: the owner of the house, Bard, had returned.

At this moment, he had finally figured out Thorin Oakenshield's identity, and the clever man immediately associated it with the songs that had once resounded throughout Long Lake Town.

That prophecy that the so-called King under the Mountain would eventually return to his homeland.

As a descendant of Girion, his elders had always talked to him about the terror of the dragon back then.

Although he was not afraid of facing the dragon, he knew the dragon's powerful destructive force.

If Smaug really flew out from the Lonely Mountain, the dragon's fire breath would surely destroy the place where the people of Long Lake Town relied on to survive, and this was not something he could accept.

So he ran back home in a rage, found Allen and Thorin Oakenshield who were talking, and questioned the Dwarf Prince whether he was going to the Lonely Mountain, and whether he was going to fight that dragon?

Allen looked playfully at this weathered yet charming middle-aged man before him.

He was currently pouring out a stream of words about the harm that Thorin Oakenshield's journey to the Lonely Mountain might bring to the people of Long Lake Town.

However, Thorin Oakenshield ignored him completely; his relationship with this Human was merely a transaction, and there was not the slightest friendship between the two sides.

After Bard finished speaking, the Dwarf Prince only replied coldly: "We will set off tomorrow."

Hearing the reply from Thorin Oakenshield, Bard was naturally unwilling to give up and wanted to say something more.

At this moment, Allen, who was standing to the side, spoke up.

"Bard, is it? The descendant of Girion, the former Lord of Dale, correct?"

Upon hearing this, Thorin Oakenshield immediately fixed his gaze on Bard; he did not have any issue with Bard's ancestor, but rather, his relationship with Girion had been decent, and Bard could even be considered a junior to Thorin Oakenshield.

Bard, however, had no reaction, as many people knew of this matter; he did not speak, but instead frowned and looked at Allen.

Seeing Bard staring intently at him, Allen smiled politely and then said, "I understand your concerns very well, and in fact, I have been considering this issue as well, but this cannot stop the Dwarf from wanting to reclaim the Lonely Mountain."

Having said this, a trace of sympathy appeared on Allen's face, but he quickly reined it in and said calmly, "I think the Dwarf also has the right to return to his own homeland, don't you?"

Hearing this, Bard stopped speaking; he knew this was a matter of stance, where there are only ever different choices, and no right or wrong.

He sighed, turned around, and prepared to leave; he decided not to try to persuade the Dwarves any further.

He only hoped to use the remaining time to urge the residents of Long Lake Town to leave this place, so as to avoid dying at the mouth of the disturbed dragon.

At this moment, Allen's voice rang out from behind him.

"If you want to save more people, do not leave; wait for me here, and perhaps when the time comes, we can cooperate to save the residents of Long Lake Town who might face mortal danger."

Allen also knew that he could not stop Thorin Oakenshield's actions to reclaim his home; there were many other matters involved in this, and he could not obstruct them.

Then, when the dragon Smaug is attacked by the Dwarves, he will certainly come here to Long Lake Town to vent his rage.

This petty-minded big guy, after struggling for a long time in the environment of the Lonely Mountain without harming a single hair on the Dwarves, was instead forced to be coated in a layer of gold in front of Thorin Oakenshield.

At that time, Smaug's heart must have been filled with not just anger, but also a sense of panic.

When he ran out, his cries sounded as if he had been scalded to tears.

Allen estimated that the guy's thought process at the time must have been to first run to Long Lake Town to vent, eat something to recover, and then run back to the Lonely Mountain to catch those Dwarves off guard.

Allen had once thought about whether it was possible to intercept the dragon before he reached Long Lake Town.

In the end, he could not come up with a good plan; at this point in time, there were very few people with the strength to stop the dragon, and that did not include Allen, nor could he invite anyone else.

Therefore, Allen had some plans in Long Lake Town; if they went smoothly, he could both protect the lives of the residents of Long Lake Town and potentially kill Smaug, but it would require someone to cooperate.

In Long Lake Town, the only person he could count on was Bard, so he wanted to cooperate with Bard.

But all of these things would have to wait until he returned from the Lonely Mountain.