Bilbo and the dwarves walked downstream along the Jungle River, walking and walking until the afternoon, when everyone began to complain and their stomachs began to growl, and finally they came to a pier made of stones.
There is a cabin here and a barge that carries cargo.
So the dwarves suddenly became excited again.
"There is no perfect way!" Thorin said: "This boat just allows us to pass through this big lake!"
At this time, the cheers of the dwarves also alarmed one person.
He is Bard, a direct descendant of Girion, the original lord of Riverdale City. But due to the rampage of the evil dragon Smaug, his family has completely declined. Now he can only make a living by working for the mayor of Lake Town and transporting barrels from the upper woodland kingdom.
Therefore, Bard was very surprised when he saw thirteen dwarves and one halfling coming down the river.
Because this river has always been a trade channel between Changhu Town and the elves, the mayor trades with the Elf King upstream through this river to collect taxes and tolls, and no one else has ever intervened.
Not to mention, Thorin and the others have an extraordinary temperament at first glance, unlike ordinary travelers.
So he immediately took out his bow and arrow and asked them vigilantly: "Who are you and why are you here?"
"I am Bahrain, and these are my family and friends. We are just businessmen who came from the Blue Mountains to visit relatives in the Iron Hills." Bahrain stepped forward to deal with the man in front of him: "But we got lost in the forest, so we can't salute. It’s lost. If possible, sir, could you please do us a favor and send us to Long Lake by boat?”
"No one can enter or leave Long Lake Town without the mayor's order!" Bard did not completely believe the dwarves. He kept looking at Thorin and the others with his sharp eyes, and said thoughtfully: "Businessmen don't have you." My temperament! Although I am old and dim, I am not completely blind yet! Tell me, dwarves, why should I help you? Help a group of liars disguised as businessmen!"
Although there was only one archer, the weapons of the dwarves were all lost in Thranduil's palace, and they were all bare-handed at the moment, so they did not want to get into trouble with him at this time.
"But there is always a way, isn't it?" Bahrain's tone became more kind. He crossed his hands and looked harmless: "Look, we don't have weapons, we are not bad people. We are businessmen, but we don't want to make trouble. Something unpleasant happened!"
Bahrain was very keenly aware that the archers were wearing very old clothes, their shoes even had a few patches, and their faces were quite charming, so he said meaningfully: "We can pay! Double ! As long as you can send us to Changhu Town."
Bard's sharp eyes softened a little, and the bows and arrows pointed at the dwarves lowered. "But I have to know who you are first. Why are you going to Changhu?" He said, "Excuse me, I help the mayor transport barrels to maintain my life. Transporting people is not my job. But It’s strange that there are a lot of wooden barrels delivered this month.”
When he said this, Bard's eyes kept staring at the dwarf's expression, as if he wanted to discover something.
Thorin and Dwalin had expressionless faces, Filikili and Dorebofur were a little embarrassed, Bombur mumbled and didn't know what he was talking about, Groin O'Reil gave him a hand, and everyone else also had different expressions. , then Bud seemed to understand something.
Balin still looked kindly and said: "We just want to find a warm place to rest. As you can see, we are cold, tired, and hungry now, and we don't want to cause any trouble. If you can help a little bit here, Even if you are busy, you can also get some windfall, it’s the best of both worlds, isn’t it?”
Bud put down his bow and arrow and said, "Double?"
"Double!"
The two held hands together.
This scene fully illustrates that money and silk are very attractive, and that the dwarves are not the only race in Middle-earth that has a special passion for shiny gold and silver things.
Of course, it was also because although Bard noticed that Thorin and the others had extraordinary temperament, he never expected that the dwarves would actually challenge the evil dragon. Otherwise, the archer would have been more hesitant.
Although Bahrain perfectly solved the problem of crossing the lake, a new problem soon arose! That is: the dwarves refused to do what Bard said and got into large wooden barrels to hide from the guards' eyes!
They said: "Turin's beard! I have already sworn that I will never get into a barrel, a wooden box, a wooden cabinet, or anything with the word "wood" in my life! Don't even think about it!"
"We pay you on a per-person basis, not on an item-by-item basis!"
Bard was so angry that he almost threw his money bag back in the faces of these dwarf uncles. "Then, I hope you won't be caught by the city gate guards and hung on the city wall!" the archer said angrily.
"That's why we pay you!" Dwalin said rudely: "If we are hoisted to the city wall, there will definitely be a place for you next to it!"
At this moment, even Bilbo was tired of snacking. He missed his home in Bag End extremely much, missed the time when the Silver King and the wizard were around, missed the happy time in Rivendell, and even missed the songs they sang on their journey.
"Where have Master Turka and Gandalf gone, and will they come back? I've had enough of these dwarves. If I could, I really want to go back to the day before we set off! I will never sign that contract again. !I won’t even open the door for them again!”
Eventually, both sides took a step back.
Bard agreed that the dwarves should not get into the barrel, and the dwarves no longer asked the archers to transport them directly into Long Lake Town, but just take them to the city gate. As for whether they could enter the city in the end, then It depends on their fate.
The current in the lower reaches of the Jungle River to the east is very fast. The bumpy ride of the dwarves and Bilbo on Bard's barge almost reminds them of the tragic memories of the barrel.
When they arrived at Long Lake, the sun had already set.
I saw a huge lake with sparkling waves, and a long and narrow wooden bridge connecting the mouth of the lake to a peculiar floating town in the middle of the lake.
The city gate has a water gate like a fence, with arrow towers on both sides, and a few guards are hiding in the door opening to be lazy.
Except for the occasional small dispute over the tolls on the river, they and the forest elves are actually good friends. Other humans live far away, and some young people in the town simply don't believe that there are evil dragons in the mountains, and even laugh at the old people who claim to have seen evil dragons flying in the sky when they were young.
Therefore, the guards in Changhu Town appear to be very lax.
And when they saw Bard actually bringing a group of dwarves back, they were all surprised.
"Bud, why are you back at this time? Who are the people on the boat?" A guard stood up in a panic, holding a long gun, and asked.
Thorin got off the swaying barge and walked up to the guard. "I am Thorin, grandson of Thror, son of Thraine! King of the kingdom under the mountain." The dwarf said loudly: "I am back. I want to see you. The mayor!
Only then did Bard realize that he was actually carrying a dwarf king.
The guard saw that although Thorin's hood was wet, he had shining gold hanging around his neck and waist, and a huge ruby ring on his finger. His eyes were dark and deep, and he did look like a king. of style. So I was a little overwhelmed.
"But why did the dwarf king come to us?" The captain of the guard came over and said.
"This is not your concern. Now you have two choices: either leave us here to blow the cold wind and wait until your mayor knows that you have shut out a king and chop off your heads; or go ahead Report it to him and say that we have finally returned to our homeland just as predicted! We have brought gold and silver with us!"
The guards and Bard quickly remembered the prophecy about the treasure in the Lonely Mountain. All of a sudden, the guards became very excited. Some of the dumber guys immediately ran out of the house, as if they thought the mountain would turn into gold at night. , all the lake water will immediately turn golden yellow.
Only Bud became a little nervous and uneasy.
"Maybe I made a wrong decision this time!" he thought: "I shouldn't have brought them back! The evil dragon in the mountain is not easy to mess with. No matter what king, it can't shake its rule!"
"But he's already asleep now. He never works at night!" said the captain.
"This has to be decided by him! Stop talking nonsense and report to him quickly!" Duvalin jumped up and said impatiently.
Other dwarves seemed to get off the boat and crowded under the city gate.
"We are not armed, so what do you have to worry about?" Bahrain said angrily: "And there are only 14 of us. It is impossible to deal with so many people in Changhu."
The guard captain thought that this was indeed the case and opened the floodgates.
The captain took six of his men and escorted them across the bridge, through the town gate, and to the market place. This is a large circle of quiet water, surrounded by tall wooden piles. The larger houses in the town are built on this circle of wooden piles, and then there is a long wooden pier that can be descended through many steps and ladders. to the surface.
The mayor lives in the largest house in the market.
Seeing that he could not stop the dwarves from entering the city, Bud could only secretly dock the boat at a pier and follow the others to the mayor's house.
At this time, the captain had already banged on the door of the mayor's house.
The person who came to open the door was a sly-looking guy named Alfred. He was a flatterer who always relied on the authority of the mayor to bully the people of Changhu. He was the mayor's right-hand man in exploiting the people.
"Who knocks at the door of the great Lord of the Lake? In this cold, dark, disgusting night!"
The captain told the sycophant Alfred about the dwarves and asked the other five subordinates to bring the dwarves over. "That's them."
"Gold?" Alfred, the flatterer, suddenly became more energetic. He took a closer look at the several dwarves led by him and found that they indeed had extraordinary temperaments. He couldn't make up his mind for a while. He thought for a while and threatened tentatively: "Dwarf, you know, if you lie, your head will be hung on the city gate!"
"As long as you have that ability!" Thorin said disdainfully. With the Lonely Mountain approaching, his arrogance became even stronger. He didn't like to see this kind of guy who just wanted to serve others. He said rudely: "And the dwarf Never lie!"
The slippery human looked at Thorin for a few seconds, then avoided the dwarf's eyes. He muttered something, then closed the door with a bang and started running.
Not long after, the lights in the house were lit.
A heavy sound coming down the stairs was heard by everyone even outside the door.
By this time, many people had heard that a group of dwarves had arrived in Changhu Town. He is the king of the kingdom under the mountain! They are back to reclaim their home in the mountains. Residents near the market gathered one after another, talking excitedly about dwarves, mountains, and prophecies.
The king under the mountain,
The king who carved the rock,
King of silver fountains,
Will return to his hometown!
His crown will be supported by thousands,
His harp sounded clear and clear again,
The songs of the past are sung again,
Stirring up golden echoes in his halls.
The trees on the mountain will dance in the wind,
The green grass will bathe in the sun;
His wealth flows in the mountains,
Dye the river water golden.
Mountain springs flow happily,
The lake light sparkles with sparkling waves,
Farewell, all pain and sorrow,
The King Under the Mountain has returned to his hometown!
Bilbo was surprised to hear someone among them reciting a very ancient prophecy, and everyone became even more excited. It seemed that in the next moment, all of them would suddenly become rich, with their homes filled with gold, and the prosperity and prosperity of the past. Prosperity returned to this town on the water.
At this moment, the door was opened again.
A very fat and tall guy appeared in front of the adventure team.
He is the mayor of Changhu Town. The mayor of Changhu Town gained a lot of wealth through trade with elves. But he was extremely stingy and only gave the people of Changhu a small amount of remuneration, leaving them struggling between poverty and subsistence.
And even so, he was still not satisfied. He even relied on the toady Alfred and the guards in the city to impose heavy taxes on the people of Changhu and exploit the already extremely poor people.
He is a greedy and disgusting guy.
And it was this guy who, when he heard the news about the dwarves and the treasure in the mountains, he immediately jumped out of bed, put on his cloak and rushed out.
"You said you are the king of the kingdom under the mountain. What proof do you have?" Although the mayor looked full of fat and had a sinister look on his face, he did not forget to ask the dwarf a very crucial question.
After bumping around in the barrel for a long time, walking for a long time, and finally taking a boat ride until he almost vomited, Dwalin's patience was almost exhausted at this moment. He said angrily: "Be careful what you say, you are questioning a king. !”
The other dwarves also looked angry.
Bilbo looked at them nervously, always feeling that the dwarves would fight with the humans in Lake Town in the next moment.
But at this time Thorin stood up and stopped them. He raised his left hand, showed the Ring of Thror, and said, "This is a treasure that only kings can wear! If any of you have heard of the Seven Dwarves, The legend of the kingdom, you should know what this means! This is the Ring of Thrór! And I am Thorin Oakenshield, my father is Thrain II, my grandfather is His Majesty Thrór, I am a legitimate orphan. King of the Mountain!”
In fact, many people don't know the Ring of Thror, but this ring does possess some kind of power. Anyone who sees these rings of power can clearly feel their extraordinary power.
So the mayor immediately borrowed the donkey from Poxia and showed a flattering smile: "Well, welcome! Welcome to the king of the kingdom under the mountain!"
The people in Changhu suddenly cheered.
The mayor and the people of Lake Town held a grand banquet, with almost everyone in attendance, to entertain the dwarves and Bilbo who came from afar. The enthusiasm made the hospitable hobbits feel a little uncomfortable.
