Chapter 262 The Keyhole Revealed in the Moonlight
At dusk, Aaron (thought form) returned to Bard's house, and as soon as he entered the door, he almost stumbled and fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Sigrid quickly helped him to a chair.
"Why is your face so pale?" Bofur asked.
"Severe magic power overdraft," thought form explained weakly. He had been continuously outputting magic energy for over ten hours, almost causing himself to disappear.
"What did you do?" Bain asked, puzzled. "You were fine when I left."
"It's a secret," thought form waved his hand. "Please prepare some food and warm water for me now. I'm not just a little weak right now."
Bain nodded and quickly took out a plate of black bread and cheese spread from his family's food cabinet.
thought form's mouth twitched, and a few black lines even appeared on his forehead.
Do they have no common sense? Is this all they're giving me to eat? What if I don't recover tonight?
However, considering the Bard family's financial situation, he could only make do.
"Where's your father?"
"He went to the bell tower," Tilda looked at Aaron nervously. "My dad will be okay, right?"
"He will," thought form said with a confident smile. "Your father will kill the Dragon tonight and become the hero of the town, I guarantee it."
The three Dwarves looked at each other. If the prophecy was true and the Dragon would come to Lake-town, it meant Thorin and his group failed to resolve the battle at the Lonely Mountain.
"Thorin..." Bofur hesitated. "The expedition will succeed, right?"
"Of course, Gaius values contracts very much.
I will help Thorin find the arkenstone and ensure the safety of everyone else's lives."
"But you're not even at the Lonely Mountain, how can you guarantee it?" Kili asked weakly.
"Don't underestimate the power of a Wizard," thought formsmiled mysteriously. "I've arranged everything.
By the way, has the poison you were afflicted with not been cured yet?"
"It'll probably have to wait until tonight," Bifur looked at the casserole. "The King's Leaf needs to be simmered for a long time to get the purest medicinal liquid."
...On the other side, the expedition team traveled for a day and finally arrived at Ravenhill.
Bilbo looked at the ruins of the town below and asked incredulously, "What is this place?"
"It used to be the location of Dale, now it's just ruins," Balinsaid. "The disaster brought by Smaug."
"This is the power of a Dragon!" Aaron exclaimed with emotion, his heart increasingly eager to activate the Dragon Slaying Magic Crystal.
As long as he learned Dragon Slayer Magic, he would also control this kind of cataclysmic destructive power within three years.
"Before the sun sets, we must find the secret door to the mountain," Thorin said, about to move forward.
"Wait," Bilbo quickly stopped him. "This is Ravenhill. Gandalf said to meet here. Don't go into the Lonely Mountain alone."
"Did you see him?" Thorin retorted. "We don't have time to wait for the Wizard.
We have to rely on ourselves. Let's go!"
"Let's go!" Aaron patted Bilbo's shoulder. "Gandalf has probably already been to the grave of the Witch-king of Angmar, but after that, he'll be entangled in more dangerous matters, otherwise he wouldn't be unable to make it."
"You know?" Bilbo looked at Aaron in surprise.
"Hmm..." Aaron pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know, but I can roughly guess.
In Rivendell, Gandalf, the White Wizard, and the two Elf Kings had a discussion about an enemy they had centuries ago, an evil Necromancer.
I can only tell you, the waters are very deep here. If minor characters like us get involved, we'll be drowned if we're not careful."
"Then... will he be in danger?" Bilbo asked worriedly.
"Certainly, but when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up," Aaron said very bluntly. He knew himself better than anyone else. Instead of being a hindrance, it was better to do his own thing well.
Bilbo was speechless, but he also knew he couldn't help, so he could only silently wish them well in his heart.
The expedition team searched for the entrance to the secret door according to the map, but the search area was too large, and everyone scattered and searched for over an hour without finding it.
Thorin took out the map. "If the map is real, the secret door is directly above us."
"Up there!" Bilbo shouted, pointing to the statue of Thorin's grandfather, Thrain. There was a winding stone staircase on the huge statue.
"Very sharp eyes, Master Baggins!" Thorin said with an excited laugh, immediately gathering everyone to start climbing the stairs, finally reaching their destination before sunset.
"It must be it, the Hidden Door," Thorin looked at the stone wall in front of him, the outline of the door vaguely visible, his inner joy almost uncontrollable.
Thorin took out the key and shouted to the Dwarves behind him, "Let those who doubted us regret it!"
The Dwarves immediately cheered. The expedition of more than half a year was finally not in vain, and the Dwarf Kingdom had hope of rebuilding.
"We have a key, which means there's a keyhole somewhere," Dwalin began to search the stone wall.
Thorin looked at the lingering glow of the sunset and involuntarily read the Moon-letters on the map, "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole."
"The contract is almost complete," Aaron thought happily. As soon as the door opened, he would be able to use jack sparrow's compass to find the legendary arkenstone and complete the system mission.
However, as the sun slowly set, Dwalin did not find the keyhole.
Thorin also couldn't remain calm and immediately asked Nori to help. His observational skills were the strongest among the Dwarves.
Nori pressed his ear to the stone wall and kept tapping with a spoon, but the sounds that came back to him made him worried.
"Quiet, with all your punching and kicking, I can't hear anything."
"I can't find it," Dwalin angrily slammed the door. "It's not here, it's not here at all."
Thorin watched the sun set, the light gradually disappearing, and could no longer bear it. "Break open the door."
Several Dwarves took out their weapons, but the stone wall was exceptionally sturdy. Knives and axes could only produce a few sparks, and even if weapons broke, they left no trace.
"It's useless, the door is sealed. It can't be opened by brute force," Balin said.
"Let me try," Aaron walked to the stone wall and directly chanted the Alohomora spell, "Alohomora."
Bang!
A pale yellow light appeared on the stone wall, pushing Aaron back several steps.
"Damn it!" Aaron cursed under his breath, but quickly calmed down. If the secret door didn't exist, there would be no need to set such a powerful spell.
The sun set, the last ray of sunlight disappeared, and the Dwarves still hadn't broken open the door.
"Impossible!" Thorin walked to the stone wall with the map, murmuring in disappointment, "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole.
That's what it says. What did we miss?"
The Dwarves remained silent. At this moment, being able to hold back tears was already a sign of strong will.
"What did we miss, Balin?" Thorin asked, his voice choked.
"The light is gone, we can do nothing," Balin said with a heavy heart. "We only had one chance. Let's go, everyone."
"Wait a moment," Aaron immediately stopped everyone.
Don't go, please don't go!
If you leave, I can't complete the contract alone!
He was just one step away from completing the system's first mission. Giving up now, he would be unwilling even if he were beaten to death!
"Lumos."
Aaron snapped his fingers, and a bright light appeared in his hand, illuminating the stone wall and the disappointed faces of the Dwarves.
"Child, I know you're unwilling, but we are even more unwilling than you," Balin comforted him. "But sometimes you have to learn to accept reality."
"Reality my foot!" Aaron said, angry at their lack of ambition. "I only see you so easily giving up the hope of rebuilding the Dwarf Kingdom."
"Thorin," Aaron looked at the Dwarf Prince, whose eyes were dull. "There is a powerful magic spell on the rock wall, which means we haven't found the wrong place. You have the key, so we hold the method to open the secret door.
Now, just because you can't find the keyhole, you want to leave. You've truly disappointed me."
"That's right," Bilbo couldn't help but say, "We can't give up, at least not now."
Thorin sighed deeply and slowly raised his head. "But we are already too late."
"Who told you it's too late? Is today Durin's Day?" Aaronrolled his eyes speechlessly. "Your Dwarf ancestors drew this map, and the Moon-letters on it reveal a cipher, which is a riddle. Are you sure your understanding of it is correct?"
Thorin opened his mouth, looked thoughtfully at the key in his hand, and a glimmer of hope was rekindled in his heart.
"Can you solve the riddle?" Thorin looked at Aaronexpectantly, and everyone else's gaze also fell on him.
"I can't," Aaron directly poured a bucket of cold water on everyone's hearts.
"Then why did you bring it up?"
"But it can," Aaron reluctantly took out jack sparrow's compass. "This thing is even more cost-effective than a magic carpet. I got it for a hefty price.
It can point to what a person desires most in their heart. It's a true treasure."
"You mean it can find the keyhole?" Dwalin asked somewhat skeptically.
"Of course," Aaron opened the compass and placed it in Thorin's hand. "Try it!"
Thorin swallowed, looking at the swaying needle on the compass, feeling like he might be crazy to pin his hopes on a toy.
But now, he had to try everything.
The keyhole of the secret door, the keyhole of the secret door... Thorin concentrated on thinking about the location of the keyhole. The needle on the compass spun rapidly, then stopped, pointing to the lower left of the stone wall.
At the same time, bright moonlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the stone wall.
The light slowly moved down, also pointing to the location of the keyhole.
"The keyhole," Balin looked at the black keyhole revealed in the moonlight, tears almost flowing out.
"The light of the moon," Bilbo murmured thoughtfully. "So the riddle meant the last moonlight of Autumn."
Thorin looked at the keyhole, unable to snap out of his daze for a long time. When he came to his senses, he felt his hand lighten, and Aaron had taken back the compass.
"What are you staring blankly for? Open the door!"
Thorin nodded slightly, and under the expectant gazes of all the Dwarves, he inserted the key into the keyhole.