Chapter 124 Before the Tower
"The cooperation is established."
After a brief conversation, Gandalf, who had been silent and just joining in the fun, made the final announcement on the matter.
Thorin nodded and said, "I swear in the name of the King under the Mountain that I will ensure that this cooperation will go smoothly and no party will suffer."
"Then I will guarantee it in my own name." Levi replied.
Thorin joked, "This is much more powerful than many oaths."
After the business was over, Thorin was relieved and asked people to prepare a sumptuous banquet and invited the two to stay.
During the dinner, the members of the expedition team also came out to join in the fun.
Perhaps it was because they met old friends, or perhaps it was a rare gathering again. All the dwarves had a full stomach and drank several barrels of wine.
But no one mentioned the drinking contest again.
The next day, after saying goodbye to the dwarves, Levi first returned to the Valley City, asked Gandalf to wait for a while, and then entered the gate of hell alone.
He entered the Hell Gate in the morning. Before lunch time, he led out two horses from inside. They were the fastest horses in the Roadside Castle.
"They run very fast, which can help us save a lot of time. Let's try to control them."
Levi gave one of them to Gandalf.
As Gandalf got on the horse, he said:
"You are a little bit underestimating me, Levi. I just watched me. Alas -"
The moment Gandalf rode on the horse, the horse under him galloped forward at a high speed, starting at the maximum speed. Before he could react, Gandalf's voice slipped far away.
"You have to, uh, get used to it..."
Levi's reminder came late.
It took a long time for Gandalf to get used to the fast horse under his crotch.
"Too fast, too strong, I finally know why you can run around in a short time."
"This is a horse I have carefully cultivated for a long time."
So long - probably several months.
The two set off like this.
But before going to Isengard, Levi went to Long Lake Town first, found Bard in the mayor's office, and explained the cooperation between River Valley and Lonely Mountain.
"If there are other cooperation in the future, you can judge the feasibility by yourself."
"I understand."
After saying goodbye to Bard, Levi did not delay and continued to walk south with Gandalf, crossing various wild rivers and heading straight to Isengard.
"It always feels a little quiet."
Levi looked left and right on a piece of brown land with no end in sight, and could not detect any abnormality.
Or the biggest abnormality is that there is no abnormality.
"If it were a year ago, would a team of wolf riders come to hunt us down at this time?"
"Most likely."
Gandalf replied: "The route we took is not far from the Black Gate, and there are some camps of orcs in the Misty Mountains nearby."
"No one would want to take this road under normal circumstances."
"But I think that as long as you and your sword are still there, nothing dares to approach."
"That's really boring."
Levi shook his head.
Sauron has been too quiet recently, without any movement, as if he doesn't exist.
I don't know if he really doesn't have the energy to do anything, or if he is planning something big...
The sun rises and the moon sets, and time quickly comes to a few days later.
"Levi, should we stop for a while?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just want to say that it's not a good idea to let the horse run for several days in a row without letting it rest for a moment."
"It's okay, this is a special kind of horse I bred, they don't get tired, and don't need to eat."
"Unheard of, there is such a creature?"
"You have seen it before, aren't all the creatures in my family like this."
Levi glanced at the amulet on his body and said, "Besides, there are many things you can't think of."
"Okay."
Gandalf chose to accept it. At this moment, the two have crossed the river, walked through the highlands of Rohan, and are at the border of Fangorn Forest.
The black tower has already emerged a sharp point at the end of the horizon.
On this day, the sun did not move much, and the two had already appeared at the bottom of the tower and tied up the horses.
I have to say that the scenery of this place is quite good.
At this moment, Isengard can be said to be beautiful with greenery.
Looking around, the tower of Orthanc is surrounded by fruit trees and forests, and there is also a garden. There is a stream running through the garden, and finally converges into a clear lake. The lake is on the side of the tower.
It can be imagined that if you can stand on the top of the tower, the scenery you see will definitely make you feel relaxed and happy.
"I'm serious, the scenery here is really good, and the terrain is also very good, much better than my home."
"There are mountains, lakes, gardens, and forests. There are also many fruit trees. When you go out in the morning, you can pick the freshest fruit with dew."
"There is also such a majestic, hard and magical tower in the middle."
"It's hard to imagine who would feel dissatisfied living in such a good place?"
"Beside the mountains and rivers, with green trees and shade, that's Isengard.
At the first sight of this place, Levi was moved.
There are all kinds of terrain, beautiful scenery, and enough flat land for construction.
It's a perfect place to build a home!
I can only say that the people who built the Orthanc Stone Tower were really good at choosing a place, and their vision was quite unique.
It's a pity to let Saruman live alone in such a good place.
"I have to tell you in advance that he has a strange temper."
Listening to what Levi said, Gandalf sighed and gave him a shot of prevention, and also exposed Saruman's past:
"You don't have to care about what Saruman says in a while, and be careful of some of his guiding words."
"Every word he says is magical, like a dragon, which can bewitch the listeners and make people feel convinced. Even those evil and chaotic Orcs can't escape this magic."
"I know, but it may be difficult for his magic to work on me."
Levi recalled that before this, he had talked with Smaug in Lonely Mountain for a whole day and didn't feel anything unusual, including the language magic that Gandalf used to intimidate the dwarves a long time ago, which didn't affect him.
As they talked, the two had stepped onto the black steps at the main entrance of the tower and slowly walked into the tower.
"Stop."
But before they entered the door, they were stopped by a servant at the door.
"Lord Saruman didn't say there were visitors today. Why are you here?"
The servant had a rather indifferent look in his eyes, and he looked down on people with his head raised, just like Saruman.
Although the servant had such an attitude, Gandalf still said gently:
"I am Gandalf, the gray-robed wizard Gandalf, and this is Levi. We are here to visit. Please inform Saruman."
"In the meantime, we can wait at the door."
Levi nodded, which was considered to be an approval of Gandalf's statement.
"I'm sorry, whether it's a wizard or Levi, you can't go in without Lord Saruman's permission. This is an iron order issued by Lord Saruman himself."
"Please go back."
"This..."
It's probably intentional.
With Saruman's magic power, I'm afraid that the two of them had been noticed when they arrived at the bottom of the tower. He couldn't have been unaware of this.
Gandalf turned around helplessly, and before he could say anything, Levi had already walked two steps forward past him and came to the front door.
The ease and casualness in those eyes completely disappeared, replaced by a more genuine indifference than that of the servant.
That was the true indifference of things that did not matter to him, not some kind of arrogant disguise.
When Levi approached, the servant guarding the door was obviously having difficulty breathing. Recalling the various rumors in his mind, he could not help but take a step back.
The courage given by the backing collapsed in an instant.
"Go tell your Lord Saruman that Levi came to visit with good intentions. If he has something urgent to do, I can wait here for a while."
"Of course, if possible, I still hope that he can receive the news of our visit today."
"Otherwise, this tower will become a ruin tomorrow."
