Chapter 147 Return
"The good news is that I had a competition with the Balrog. Although the process was a bit difficult and many buildings were destroyed, he did not gain an advantage."
"What about the bad news?"
"We competed in your hometown."
"Then this news is really good. At least we don't have to worry about having nothing to do for a long time after we recapture Moria in the future."
Thorin said frankly, his mood was quite stable.
"Okay, don't worry about this little thing. At least the place is still intact, and I am still here."
Levi patted his shoulder.
"You are right."
Thorin nodded slowly, but his expression did not relax at all, but became more solemn.
"What's wrong? Don't you believe me?"
Levi asked whenever he had something to say.
"No, I believe that with your help, everything will be fine."
"It's just..."
"The Balrog, he is still there."
"It will probably take a long time to recover Moria, and there is little hope."
Thorin confided: "Balin has always wanted to do this. He told me a few days ago that when all the tribesmen return and the equipment and weapons are ready, he will lead an army to recover Moria."
"Of course, this is what I want to do."
"You know, Levi, our dwarves have always lost their homes and wandered, first Moria, then the Gray Mountains, and then Erebor..."
"And the things that occupy our homes are always beyond our power."
"The cold dragons, the fire dragon Smaug, the Balrog."
"We have never given up fighting them, but..."
Thorin sighed.
The mountains where the dwarves live are always dangerous. If they live on the ground, dragons will come to them smelling gold and silver, and if they dig too deep, they will encounter Balrogs. In addition to these big guys, there are ugly Orcs all over the mountains, who are directly controlled by Sauron.
Surrounded by enemies, no one is easy to mess with.
Levi didn't know what to say.
The mines that can be stepped on in Middle-earth have almost been stepped on by the dwarves.
"At least everything is moving in a good direction now, isn't it."
"Yes, I believe it will get better and better."
"By the way, there is one more thing."
Levi suddenly said: "The elves also contributed to bringing back Durin's Axe."
Thorin stopped and looked at Levi.
"It was the elves of Lothlórien, led by Lady Galadriel herself, who led an army out of the Golden Forest and used her power to drive the Balrog back."
"Is it the witch who can bewitch people in the legend... No, I mean, is it the lady who controls magic?"
"Yes."
"I see."
Thorin nodded, his eyebrows twisted.
"If there is a chance, I will thank the lady for her help, and I will not owe them a favor."
"That's the best."
The matter is over for now.
The day after Levi brought Durin's Axe to Erebor, a grand ceremony was held.
The king made a generous speech on the high platform, announcing to his people the return of the treasure of Durin's family.
And behind the return of the treasure, Levi's battle with the Balrog and the dangers he suffered in Moria were also vividly described.
One man and one Balrog fought for several days under Moria, until the gate was destroyed.
At the end, the support and assistance of the Golden Forest elves were also reluctantly added to the story. The length is not much, but it is rare in the story of the dwarves.
"Let's give them a credit for the time being."
"Humph, it's because we live too far away, otherwise it would not be their turn!"
"That witch..."
"It's the magic lady, that's what our king calls her."
"Well, the magic lady, I heard she is very beautiful, I guess her beard must be very long."
"But don't elves have beards?"
"Well, maybe that lady is a little different?"
No matter how the process is. From the result, the reputation of the elves among the dwarves has indeed improved a lot.
At the same time, a new name spread among the dwarves.
"Enemy of the Balrog."
That is a person who can be an enemy of the Balrog. Legend has it that the Balrog can't get any good in his hands and can only be beaten back to the ground.
His name is Levi.
The dwarves praised his title.
But in another place, this name has become a taboo.
"Him."
Not long after Levi arrived at the Lonely Mountain, a tall figure wearing a black robe and a tall black helmet walked out of Mordor.
The horse under his crotch was also huge, ugly and covered with a terrifying mask, with a head like a skull, and evil flames in his eye sockets and nostrils.
If someone who didn't know saw him, he would probably think he was a certain Ringwraith.
But whether it was strength, status, or age, he might be taller than most of the Ringwraiths.
"The mouth of Sauron, Barad-dur's lieutenant greets you."
A few days later, in a deep pit in Moria, the tall dark human politely greeted the Balrog, and the terrifying high temperature that filled the underground did not affect him at all.
"I don't like the color of your armor."
"... I'm really sorry, I promise it will be a different color next time we meet."
"What do you want to do?"
"My master said that we have a common enemy: him, the human."
Boom boom -
The heat wave that was enough to burn all life swept over and stayed within a few feet, almost melting the armor.
"So what?"
The flames erupted from the mouth, imitating the sound of speaking.
The Mouth of Sauron took two steps back and took out a roll of magical parchment that could withstand high temperatures.
"The master said that in some unreachable caves at the foundation of the earth, there may be some sleeping fire disasters."
"It records the black magic that can call your people - if they really exist."
"This may require a little help from you."
No one knows how the Mouth of Sauron discussed with the Balrog.
But what is certain is that he completed the task assigned by his master excellently.
A ball of jumping flames was stored in a sturdy small box and taken back to Mordor.
A few days later, another group of Orcs set out from Mordor and stationed in the Moria Pit. At the same time, a new Moria Orc leader appeared.
The changes happened quietly, even the nearby Golden Forest was not aware of the movement. The skeleton horses galloping in the wilderness seemed to be covered by something and were not noticed by anyone.
Except——
"What is that?"
On a piece of wilderness intersecting the Death Swamp north of the White City, a ranger hid behind a tree, lowered his body, and secretly looked out.
"Black robes, skeleton-like horses, such an ominous aura..."
"Could it be the remaining black Numenor people, the Mouth of Sauron?"
The ranger took off his hood and looked into the distance.
"Maybe something has changed in this land again."
"But I have only been away for two years. What can happen in these two years?"
Farodan stared at the black figure that was gradually moving away for a long time. After making sure that he had left, he emerged from hiding, stepped onto the road, and continued to head west of the Misty Mountains.
It's time to go and see the wizard of the wilderness.
I wonder if he is doing well recently?
There has always been a huge controversy about the number of Balrogs - this is mainly because Tolka has been changing the settings, and this pigeon king eats books every now and then.
I heard that a reader wrote to him to ask about the specific settings and pointed out the bugs in his book, and he wrote to the reader: "None of your business."
Anyway, Tolka did not say for sure how many Balrogs there were in the end.
Today he said there were hundreds, and tomorrow he said there were only three or four in total. I guess he himself had not figured out how many there were.
So here I simply use the setting of "The Silmarillion".
According to the original text of "The Silmarillion":
"The Balrogs were destroyed, and only a few escaped and hid in the deep and unreachable caves in the foundation of the earth."
In other words, it can be assumed that there are still other Balrogs sleeping in some invisible pits, but there are no dwarves or anything else to wake them up.
