Chapter 249: Split into Two Groups, Guardian Raven
Gandalf's parting advice was: whatever happens, stay on the main road.
However, not long after entering Mirkwood, the expedition team took a wrong turn, wandering aimlessly on a small path.
"Air, I need air," Oin said, a little weakly. "What exactly happened?"
"Keep going," Thorin said.
"Can't go any further," Nori said, pointing blankly at the cliff ahead. "That path is gone."
"The air in the forest is foul and hallucinatory," Aaron said, exasperated. "Obviously, we're lost. I shouldn't have let you lead from the beginning."
"You didn't ask to!" Bilbo said, weakly.
"That's because I'm not at all familiar with this place.
Mirkwood isn't far from Erebor. Logically, with the Elves as neighbors, having the Dwarves lead would make things much easier for us, but it turns out I overestimated them."
"We haven't been to this forest many times," Balin explained. "Before Erebor was taken by the Dragon, the Elves always led the way, and that was many years ago."
"Quickly, all of you, go find the way!" Thorin said impatiently.
"Wait a moment," Aaron waved his hand. "My personal suggestion is that everyone stays together. It wouldn't be good if one or two got lost."
"Find the way, but don't go too far."
The Dwarves scattered, searching the surroundings, but in Aaron's view, they were just circling in place.
"The influence of Mirkwood on people is a bit too great!" Aaron thought to himself. "In the end, I'll have to rely on myself, the clear-headed one, otherwise, in their state, they'd die of exhaustion before finding the way."
Suddenly, an unusual sound reached his ears. He turned his head and almost popped his eyeballs out.
He saw Bilbo pulling at a spiderweb, which was nothing in itself, but behind that spiderweb was a giant, sleeping spider.
He immediately stepped forward to stop Bilbo's reckless behavior. "Don't move anything, for heaven's sake."
"What's wrong?"
Aaron didn't answer, but instead made him look closely at the spiderweb. When he saw a black spider leg, he was so startled that he recoiled several steps, and his flagging spirits instantly perked up.
"This must be what Gandalf was talking about, the 'other things,'" Aaron mused.
"I didn't wake it, did I?"
"Not yet, but we need to speed up. I don't think this forest only has one spider."
Bilbo swallowed hard and nodded emphatically.
The path ahead was not easy either. As time passed, everyone's condition worsened, and they began to sway as they walked.
What was worse, there were more and more spiderwebs on the road, which was not a good sign.
"Look, a pipe," Oin picked up a pipe from the ground. "There are other Dwarves in this forest."
"And Dwarves from the Blue Mountains!" Bofur exclaimed in surprise. "This pipe is exactly like mine."
"That's yours," Aaron rolled his eyes. "We have to stop. Getting lost isn't scary; what's scary is not knowing you're lost and sinking deeper and deeper."
"We're not lost, we've been heading east," Dwalin said.
"Really?" Aaron pointed upwards. The sunlight was blocked by the leaves, with only a small amount of light filtering through. "Please tell me, how are you so sure which way is east?"
"I..." Dwalin opened his mouth. "Oin has the best sense of direction; I was following him."
"Great, he's swaying more than you are on the road." Aaronsighed helplessly, preparing to take out his compass to find the way.
But before he could act, Bilbo jumped in front of him. "The sun, I have an idea! We can climb to the treetops."
"I thought of that, but..." Aaron looked at the dense spiderwebs on the trees. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"But there's no other way," Bilbo said. "We can only climb the trees."
"Alright!" Aaron shrugged. "Thorin, you and the other Dwarves stay put. Bilbo and I will scout ahead."
No sooner had they left than Thorin heard rustling sounds, and his face instantly changed. "Everyone, be on guard, take up your weapons. We're being watched."
His shout jolted the Dwarves back to their senses, but their mental state was extremely poor at the moment. Before they could react, over a dozen giant spiders surrounded them.
White spiderwebs covered the area, wrapping them into cocoons within seconds.
Bilbo climbed to the treetop, and a wisp of fresh air brushed his face. Breathing the fresh air, his mental state instantly recovered.
"Are you clear-headed now?" Aaron stood on a branch, looking at him meaningfully. "Gandalf probably never imagined that climbing a tree could eliminate the negative effects of Mirkwood."
"He certainly didn't know," Bilbo said, embarrassed. "But you don't seem affected by the foul air in the forest."
"That... is not important," Aaron chuckled. His body had been soaked in various medicinal baths, so even if he wasn't completely immune to all poisons, he was close. The air in this forest simply couldn't invade his consciousness.
"I can see a lake, and a river, and Erebor!" Bilbo shouted excitedly. "We're almost there!"
"Do you hear that? I know which way to go!"
There was no response from below. Instead, a creaking sound came from a distance, like some enormous creature crashing through the forest, moving towards them.
"Spiders," Aaron said, his expression grave. "I'm afraid it's not just one, but a whole group."
"So, Thorin and the others might be...?"
"Don't be hopeful. They've most likely been captured. Common web-spiders usually wrap their prey, so we need to find them as soon as possible."
Bilbo nodded and began to climb down.
But as soon as he moved, he tripped on a ball of spiderweb and fell from the tree.
After hitting several thick branches, Bilbo was left dangling in a white spiderweb.
A rustling sound came from the opposite side. Bilboinstinctively looked over, and a black spider's head appeared before his eyes, then opened its mouth, revealing several rows of sharp teeth.
"Ah!"
Bilbo was startled, and his body plunged again. This time, he hung completely in the spiderweb, unable to move.
Seeing this, the giant spider immediately pursued him, all eight legs moving at once, wrapping Bilbo into a mummy with its web.
"Stun Spider."
A flash of white light, and the giant spider screamed as it flew backward.
"Aaron, you..." Bilbo looked at Aaron, who was standing on the spiderweb holding a black wand, his face full of astonishment. "You really can do magic, Gandalf was right."
Aaron shrugged. "My ancestors said..."
"Don't talk about your ancestors. Even a dog wouldn't believe that excuse anymore."
"My ancestors once said not to casually reveal one's magic," Aaron said earnestly. "So you have to remember to keep it a secret, after all, I did it to save you!"
"Got it, got it," Bilbo grumbled weakly. "Can you let me out first? This is really uncomfortable."
"I could let you out, but I have a better idea," Aaron said with an intriguing smile.
Bilbo paused, his expression shifting slightly. "Wait, I don't think that's a good idea."
"If I think it is, that's enough. Don't worry, I'll protect you."
With that, Aaron tapped his shoulder with his wand and vanished from the spot.
Bilbo:... "You can also turn invisible?"
"Don't mind those details."
"I..."
Just as Bilbo was about to speak, the giant spider came running back.
Its six black eyes scanned the area, and only after confirming that the person who attacked it earlier wasn't there did it drag Bilbo away.
The giant spider took him to its nest. Besides a pile of spiders, there were also thirteen mummies hanging upside down in mid-air. The Dwarves were all wiped out, none spared.
Bilbo took a deep breath, drew his short sword, and stabbed the giant spider in the neck, knocking it off the large tree.
Having dealt with the immediate enemy, he immediately used his sword to tear through the spiderweb on himself and cautiously hid behind the tree trunk.
"They're all here," Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. "The good news is they're still alive and kicking. The negative effects of Mirkwood seem to have disappeared for them.
The bad news is the spiders are eager to enjoy dinner, and we don't have much time."
"Can you save them with magic?"
"Saving one or two is no problem, but so many is difficult. Accidental friendly fire is one thing, but if I'm not careful, I could get caught myself."
"What if I distract them for you?"
"You?"
"I have this," Bilbo took out the golden ring from his pocket. "There won't be any danger."
"Let's switch," Aaron mused. "I'll distract them, you save the others."
Bilbo didn't fuss and immediately put on the ring, becoming invisible.
Aaron raised an eyebrow, stepped out from behind the tree trunk, then tapped the trunk to make some noise. "You, come here!"
The spiders, about to enjoy their 'meal,' heard the sound and all turned to look at him, then all pounced.
"Damn it!"
Aaron turned and ran, secretly complaining in his heart that he had been truly reckless this time.
He only wanted to attract a few of the giant spiders surrounding the Dwarves, but he didn't expect to be so charming, attracting at least several times that number of spiders.
Bilbo took this opportunity to quickly run to the thirteen 'mummies,' preparing to save them.
But then a spider crawled down. It stopped in front of a Dwarf. "Fat and juicy, just one bite."
Bilbo swallowed hard, drew his short sword, and slashed at the giant spider's tail.
The intense pain forced it to turn around, but it couldn't see the invisible Bilbo and was struck several times in quick succession.
"Damn it, where is it? Where is it?" the giant spider cursed frantically.
"Here," Bilbo took off the golden ring and plunged his sword into the giant spider's head.
"So painful, hiss, the sting is so painful."
Bilbo sharply pulled out his short sword, and the giant spider fell from the tree.
"sting, that's a good name." Bilbo decided to name his short sword sting. Although its fame was far from that of orcristand Glamdring, it at least had a trace of existence.
He looked at the thirteen cocoons wrapped up, swung sting, cut the spiderwebs, and lowered them one by one to the ground.
Meanwhile, Aaron was being chased by over twenty giant spiders, frantically running through the forest.
"Human child, much tastier than Dwarves."
"He's mine."
"Stop."
"Block him, don't let him escape."
Aaron felt a stampede of alpacas in his heart. If he had known humans were so popular, he should have given the task of luring the enemy to the Hobbit.
Suddenly, a spider appeared in front of Aaron, hanging upside down.
It opened its mouth, but before it could make a sound, a cold light severed its head.
"Busy running, don't block the way." Aaron shook the knife in his hand and stepped over its twitching corpse.
But after only a few steps, several giant spiders blocked the path ahead, the pursuers from behind caught up, and even above Aaron's head, several giant spiders were rapidly descending.
"I didn't intend to expose it so quickly," Aaron gave a bitter laugh. "But now I truly have no choice."
"I'll have a taste first," a giant spider let out a hoarse laugh and quickly rushed towards Aaron.
"Stun Spider."
"Ah!"
White light flashed, and the first spider to charge was sent flying backward, crashing into a tree.
"Wizard?"
"Never heard of a human child among Wizards."
"How about we capture him and let the master decide?"
"Let's just kill him. We've never eaten a living Wizardbefore!"
The spiders whispered amongst themselves, and Aaron's expression couldn't help but darken as he listened to their words.
He was actually being discussed by a bunch of beasts about how to deal with him. Were they really treating him like a dish?
"Sandstorm."
Blue flames appeared on his wand, and another spider was sent flying, three of its spider legs shattered.
Seeing this, the spiders also stopped talking and, without prior agreement, all attacked Aaron.
Spell after spell was cast, and the spiders were continuously repelled, but they showed persistent determination, constantly closing the distance with Aaron.
The spiders above were even more unscrupulous, launching long-range attacks, using silk and webs to slow down Aaron's casting speed and the direction of his spells.
Aaron gradually fell into a disadvantage. After all, two fists are no match for four hands, and here there were at least a hundred hands.
Just as a spider's fangs were about to pierce Aaron, he raised his wand high and loudly chanted the incantation of the Patronus Charm.
"Expecto Patronum."
A pure white spiral of light was summoned and expanded at an incredibly exaggerated speed.
A white shockwave was released in layers, centered on Aaron, covering an area of hundreds of meters.
Under the suppression of this protective power, the giant spiders continuously retreated, ugly wounds appearing on their bodies, and even their blood rapidly evaporated.
"Run!"
A spider roared loudly.
But the corporeal Patronus wouldn't give them a chance to escape. The raven-shaped Patronus let out a clear and deep cry, then flapped its wings, pursuing these spiders.
Its body was less than a meter tall, but it was extremely fast and powerful, easily crushing spider heads and pecking out their eyes.
The white energy was also divided into over twenty portions, each accurately hitting a spider.
The spiders all shrieked, and black aura emanated from their bodies, but it was dissolved by the white light in a moment. Their lives also came to an end as the black aura dissipated.
Meanwhile, a fully armed team of Elves in the forest also discovered this energy.
The handsome male Elf at the head of the team reached out to touch the white ripple that had spread before him, closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"Did you find anything, Legolas?"
"This is a high-level spell with white as its source. He is not evil, but it is also uncertain if he is a friend," Legolas said. "Everyone, take your weapons and follow me to see."
Phew!
Aaron put away his wand, his breathing slightly hurried, but a smile unconsciously curved his lips.
The Patronus Charm truly lived up to its reputation as one of the most powerful and ancient spells; its power was even greater than he had imagined.
However, compared to pure defense, controlling the Patronus to attack consumed much more magical energy. This big move consumed at least one-eighth of his magical energy, making him feel his own weakness once again.