"Enough! Are you not causing enough trouble already?"
The Dwarves' naturally loud voices meant that their whispered complaints about him were all overheard by Gandalf and Bilbo, who had returned.
At this moment, not only did the old wizard look displeased, but even the good-natured Bilbo's face had darkened slightly.
Seeing that the Dwarves still seemed unconvinced, Gandalf continued, "Mike is right, you're not only rude but also arrogant."
"This is no longer a hundred years ago, the prosperous era of the Dwarves. No one owes you anything; on the contrary, if you want to reclaim your homeland, you need the help of others…"
Compared to Mike, the Dwarves' behavior of treating someone else's house like their own home and making a mess as soon as they entered was indeed unpleasant.
Seeing that Gandalf was truly angry, Balin, the "strategist" who had served three generations of Dwarf kings, quickly spoke up to admit his mistake, "Gandalf, you know that us Dwarves are naturally like this and means no harm. We just spoke too quickly earlier…"
Saying this, the white-bearded Dwarf also gestured with his eyes to Thorin, signaling him to soften his stance toward the Wizard.
The truth was exactly as Gandalf had said: there were only a dozen or so Dwarves left, and they simply could not reclaim the Lonely Mountain with their own strength alone.
"I don't believe my people are wrong. The Lonely Mountain belongs only to the Dwarves, and we can reclaim our homeland without anyone's help…" As if he hadn't seen Balin's hint, Thorin's attitude remained firm.
Or rather, arrogant.
"Is that really so?" Gandalf, also in a fit of pique, gave no face to the Dwarf King before him and said stiffly, "Are you sure you can enter the Lonely Mountain without a hidden map and key?"
"Also, Smaug already memorized the scent of you Dwarves over a hundred years ago; once you get close, he will be startled awake prematurely…"
"So, do you really think you can steal back the Arkenstone from Smaug without the help of a thief?"
Here, the old wizard once again implicitly hinted at Bilbo's importance to Thorin and the others.
"Even if you're right, then just let this Hobbit thief join. There's no need to find anyone else to share our Durin clan's treasure." Thorin agreed with some of the old wizard's statements, but still showed no sign of backing down.
"Fine, whatever. I just hope you keep your promise to share the wealth of your Dwarves with Bilbo once you reclaim the Lonely Mountain." Gandalf had come to understand the Dwarves' bad temper, so he wasn't prepared to argue further with Thorin.
As for sharing the wealth, that was an agreement Gandalf had made with Thorin before the adventure party was formed.
"No problem, if this Burglar can truly help us reclaim the Arkenstone, what's wrong with giving him one-fourteenth of the treasure?" Thorin was clearly well-prepared, and after glancing at Bilbo again, he pulled out a contract.
"Wait, wait, although I deeply sympathize with the plight of the Dwarves, I am truly not a Burglar…" Seeing the contract presented before him, Bilbo panicked again.
"It's decided!" Seeing that the Dwarf had shown sincerity, Gandalf walked to the dining table, cleared a space, and then carefully pulled out an ancient scroll and a key, explaining, "Time is pressing, so I'll be brief. This scroll records a hidden entrance to the Lonely Mountain, and this key is crucial to opening the entrance."
These two items were the last resort left by the Durin's Folk, and the old wizard had obtained them by accident.
Now they were proving useful.
"A map to enter the Lonely Mountain?" Thorin excitedly picked up the scroll to examine it.
On the other side, the white-bearded Balin held the golden key as if it were a treasure.
This was the hope for the revival of the Dwarves!!!
Meanwhile, the other Dwarves also gathered around Balin, admiring the key in his hand as if on a pilgrimage.
For a moment, only Bilbo in the entire room was still daydreaming, unaware of what was happening.
"So, what does it say?" After a long time, Thorin, who had been studying the scroll, asked.
They had a clue to enter the Lonely Mountain, but Thorin couldn't understand the writing on it at all.
The other Dwarves, hearing this, also curiously crowded closer, then shook their heads, indicating they couldn't understand it either.
Then, the group of Dwarves all looked eagerly at the old wizard.
"This is written in runes, so before we go to the Lonely Mountain, we need to find someone who understands runes to help us decipher the information on it," Gandalf said directly, without hiding the solution.
"So, who can read runes?" Thorin's nephew, Qi Li, voiced the Dwarves' thoughts.
"Elves," Gandalf answered again.
"No, I can't ask Elves for help." The enmity between Dwarves and Elves had been buried a hundred years ago. Thorin put the scroll into his cloak and said, "I don't believe there's no one else who can read runes besides Elves."
Then, having obtained the important clue, he avoided the old wizard and said to his other kinsmen, "Everyone get some rest early, we'll set off for the Lonely Mountain first thing in the morning."
Thorin hadn't forgotten that there was a human "competing" with the Dwarves.
Meanwhile, Mike, after bidding farewell to Bilbo and the old wizard, flew out of Shire Town not long after.
Strictly speaking, the Shire is very large, almost entirely the territory of the Hobbit, and surrounding the diligent and simple Hobbit town, many humans also live in the vicinity.
Some of them live by farming, but a considerable portion make a living by doing business with the Hobbit in the Shire.
Therefore, the commercial district around the Shire is not small.
Mike, not planning to travel overnight, chose an inn called the Green Dragon Inn and walked in. On one hand, it was to find a place to stay, and on the other, it was to gather information.
Middle-earth is vast, and Mike didn't want to wander around aimlessly like a headless fly. So his immediate priority was to get a map of Middle-earth.
"A pint of beer, please."
The Green Dragon Inn was the largest hotel in the commercial district; even at night, the hall was lively. Many people dressed as rangers were drinking and bragging, so Mike also went to the bar to blend in, ordered a beer, and sat down.
With the resurgence of dark forces in Middle-earth, hunting dark creatures gradually became an industry.
And the rangers who can fight dark creatures may not be very strong, but their knowledge will certainly not be low.
Otherwise, they would probably have died in some dark corner long ago.
"You must be new here, do you need any help?" Just as Mike was drinking and listening to the drunkards chat, a woman in a hooded cloak sat next to him and said confidently, "I guarantee no one here has more up-to-date information than me."
"Oh, do you have a map to the Lonely Mountain?" Mike turned to look at the woman.
The newcomer had a delicate face, and the ears deliberately hidden under her hood were a bit pointier than those of ordinary humans, clearly indicating she was a half-Elves.
"A map to the Lonely Mountain?" Hearing the question, Sophia seemed very surprised, and her gaze once again scrutinized the man in front of her.
His exquisite attire, exceptionally handsome appearance, and a temperament that was completely out of place with the others in the tavern, led to a preliminary assessment that he was an "easy mark" who hadn't experienced hardship.
As for the Lonely Mountain, it was in the easternmost part of Middle-earth, not far from the dark stronghold of Mordor.
And the closer to Mordor, the stronger the dark forces, so ordinary rangers wouldn't go to such dangerous places.
"What, you don't have one?" Mike looked with interest at the woman whose eyes were darting about.
Although she tried to be subtle, her scrutinizing gaze was very uncomfortable.
To be precise, this half-Elf woman had ill intentions.
"Consider yourself lucky, I happen to have a simple map to the Lonely Mountain…" Sophia smiled, pulled out a simple map from her person, and said, "Just ten… no, just eight gold coins, and it's yours."
"Deal." Mike pretended to reach into his pocket, then eight gleaming gold coins were placed on the table.
"The road to the Lonely Mountain is very dangerous, if you're really going, it's best to find a few more companions." Perhaps out of compassion, Sophia, after taking the gold coins and before leaving, kindly added an extra word of advice.