Only two movie characters and one player died among the whole group. The casualties were actually extremely low in such a life and death fight followed by a huge explosion. That was an ancient demon they fought. Even one with 30% its peak strength weren’t easy to defeat and survive. So three deaths were not that big of a loss.
That was Xuan’s natural thought process of thinking by numbers. The rewards were unexpectedly generous this time around. God somehow announced that both Zheng and Gungnir killed the Balrog. Which rewarded both of them a rank A reward and 8000 points. Furthermore, they also obtained one mithril bar and two ounces of Ithildin. The trade was more than fair for only three lives, two of which were movie characters.
As for the rest of the group, both the movie characters and team Northern Ice Land were sad. Lives and feelings weren’t something that could be measured by profit.
The archer girl was said to be a kind person. There was a man in the group dating her. He was crying his heart out. The Hobbits lost a friend and the wizard that had protected them all this time. They cried harder than the player did.
The others didn’t feel good at the outcome either. Everyone stood there quietly for an hour until the sadness subsided. Legolas tied a rope to an arrow and shot it at the cliff on the other sidee. Zheng rode the Nightmare and carried everyone over a few at a time. They finally crossed the collapsed cliff. Ten minutes later, the group reached a magnificent stone gate. Gimli told them this was the main entrance to Moria. They were walking along the escape path.
Outside the gate were a set of hills and mountains further away. The terrain ahead was slowly shaping to a plain. They would exit Caradhras with a bit more walking.
Everyone laid on the white rocks after they came out of Moria. No one wanted to get up for the moment. And sunlight bathed them.
The air inside the mines were stale. The death of the Dwraves meant no one was there to operate the ventilation equipments. The several days inside the mine felt like someone were covering their noses. The fresh air lightened them up and brought energy back to their bodies.
The continuous battles exhausted their mind and bodies. Once they were out of the stressful mines, the exhaustion struck them all at once. They just wanted to lie there and sleep. Zheng and Gungnir expended the most energy out of everyone. Give them a chance to close their eyes and they would fall asleep.
“Get up, we have to keep going!” Aragorn stood up and looked at the sky.
Boromir said. “Give them a moment, for pity’s sake! They are still in a sorrow.” He looked at the Hobbits.
Aragorn sighed. “We have no ability to fight anotheer battle. So we have to find a place to rest and recover. By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs! We must reach the woods of Lothlórien before night. Zheng and his group also can’t fight anymore. We won’t be able to take on a swarm of orcs!”
Boromir knew the weight of these words. He quietly stood up. The group dawdled for nearly an hour before heading down the hill. Their pace wasn’t fast. It was noon now so there were five to six hours before the sun set.
Walking down the hill, the group soon came to a stream formed from melted snow. They drank the water and had their rations. Gimli jumped in to freshen himself up.
Further down and they reached a grassy field. The rocky land ended by the field. The group finally left the hill. It was perhaps three in the afternoon by this time. Aragorn was worried so he repeatedly urged the group to speed up. They pace went from walking to a jog. Finally, they came to a forest before nightfall.
Golden light beamed through the trees, giving the tranquil woods a mystical aura. They felt a sense of serenity as they walked through the woods. Gimli was the only one who talked non stop.
“They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods, an Elf-witch, of terrible power. All who look upon her, fall under her spell… and are never seen again.”
People laughed at the story. The movie characters knew that the Dwarves didn’t like the elves much.
“Well, here is one Dwarf she won’t ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!”
Suddenly, a notched arrow appeared before his face. It was actually five to be precise. Other bows appeared around the rest of the group. There were elves hidden behind the bushes and trees.
“The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark.” A commander looking elf walked out and said with a smile. He waved at the archers to put down their weapons. The archers then opened up a path. “Welcome to Lothlórien, the Fellowship of the Ring.” He turned around and walked into the deeper part of the woods.
The group had to follow. They were shocked at first but this should be a safe place since it was the territory of the elves.
Streams connected every part of this land. The elves decorated the boats with delicate ornaments. They felt at ease as they crossed the streams on a boat. Then they reached the camps of the soldiers.
The commander waited for them. He put his hand on the chest and said to Legolas. “Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil.”
Legolas responded with a nod. “Our Fellowship stands in your debt, Haldir of Lórien.”
The commander then said to Aragorn in the tongue of the elves. “Oh, Aragorn of the Dúnedain, you are known to us.”
Aragorn understood his words and gestured back.
Gimli said loudly. “So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves! Speak words we can also understand!”
The commander showed a look of disdain. “We have not had dealings with the Dwarves since the Dark Days.”
Gimli looked angry. “And you know what this Dwarf says to that? Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul!”
The rest of the group sighed and smiled. Aragorn patted Gimli on the shoulder. “That was not so courteous. We are guests here.”
The commander glanced over the Hobbits and the players. He was confused at the attire of the players. Then he suddenly said. “You bring great evil with you. You can go no further.”
The players had no say in the rest of the scene. Aragorn argueed with the commander. Yet, he insisted they return the way they came or stay at this place. The rest of the group found a place to sit down. They were tired from everything that had happened. They waited for Aragorn to obtain the opportunity forward.
The commander finally backed after a long while. He said to the whole group. “Rest for a night. I will take you to Lady Galadriel tomorrow. Her will determines whether you can proceed to Caras Galadhon… the heart of Elvendom on earth.”
The following day, the group ate a filling meal then followed the commander to the elven city in the deeper part of the woods. The roads in the woods were complicated. They crossed both land and water and went from the morning till afternoon before a bright view appeared in front of them. Out of the densely populated trees was a large grassy field. This field was located within the woods. A single gigantic tree stood in the center of the field. It was the size of a skyscraper. Its height reached hundreds of meters.
“Cares Galadhon of the golden woods. Heart of Elvendom on earth.” The commander was carried away as he stared at the tree.
The woods were indeed golden with the setting sunshine shining through it. It gave a kind of holy beauty to the tree in the center and painted the smaller trees as though they were crafted with gold. The group exclaimed at the sight. Though they questioned that the commander brought them here at this hour to specifically see this scene.
The group soon entered the gigantic tree. It was actually formed by numerous trees weaved together. There were stairs, bridges and man made tunnels within the tree. The water was clear. The bottom of the tree looked fresh and clean. It wasn’t piled with fallen leaves.
Sunshine couldn’t penetrate into the tree. However, it was lighted by the glowing marbles hanging by the structures. The movie characters weren’t stunned but it stirred up the desires within the players. Gungnir walked over casually, observed the marbles then walked back to the group. He said in a low voice. “Rank D fire attribute energy stones. There’s probably thousands of them in this place.”
Their eyes lit up. Thousands of rank D energy stones. Even though they were all fire attribute, but it might also mean the elves had similar amounts of other attributes. If they could obtain a few hundred rank D energy stones here, it would be an unbelievable amount of wealth.
“Don’t take these energy stones. If they are ours, we will eventually get them.” Zheng pondered and said. He then followed behind the movie characters.
Zheng’s reputation peaked after the battle inside Moria. So his words were like the words of the head of this alliance. Gungnir was acting quite friendly these to him these days. Neos was saved by him. So they naturally agreed to what he said. The rest of the group held their desires back and followed the movie characters.
The metals they obtained were split among the teams. Team China took half the mithril bar and an ounce of Ithildin. Team Northern Ice Land and team Africa each obtained a quarter of the profit. It was a pity they couldn’t get Balrog’s energy stone. By the looks of it, it seemed to be at least rank A or even AA.
Since the group got a taste of grabbing the items outside of the plot, they were thinking of doing the same here. They wanted to at least get some extra energy stones.
The movie characters led them to the core trunk of the tree. They walked up the stairs swirling around the trunk. The glow from the energy stones painted the place into a wonderland.
The group followed the stairs all the way up until they reached the top of the tree. They saw that there was a man made hall. There was a separate set of stairs leading up from the hall. After they all set foot in the hall, two elves walked down from the stairs, a man and a woman. The elves gave off a brighter gentle glow than normal elves. They attracted everyone’s gazes.
The male elf was handsome but he paled next to the female elf. Her beauty couldn’t be described with anything. Her long soft blonde hair lay on her back. A gentle gold glow radiated from her body. No one could get a clear look of her face for some reason. They could only felt her unparalleled beauty.
The two elves walked to the front of the group. The male elf said. “The Enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone. Tell me, where is Gandalf?”
The female elf observed everyone in the group while the man talked. The players lacked the respect the movie characters had. They were wondering why they couldn’t see the elf’s face clearly and so they stared straight at her. When the female elf looked at them, they felt something sounded in their minds. It was similar to connecting to Soul Link but something was different.
The psyche force users noticed the abnormality. They all put up the masking and enveloped their team members. The female elf expressed surprise then she smiled at them before turning to the movie characters.
“Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen into shadow.” She muttered to herself. Then she stared at the group with shock.
Legolas sighed. “He was taken by both Shadow and Flame, a Balrog of Morgoth. We slew the Balrog with great effort but Gandalf sacrificed himself to prevent the Balrog from being reborn. Moria and Khazad-dûm are now taken over by the orcs.”
Gimli also sighed. He bowed his head in sadness. The female elf said. “Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dûm fill your heart, Gimli, son of Glóin. For the world has grown full of peril. And in all lands, love is now mingled with grief.”
Her voice was gentle and peaceful. Gimli and the other movie characters spaced out in her voice. Lan said to the rest of the group via Soul Link. “She’s a psyche force user, an incredibly powerful one. She just influenced the characters with her psyche force.”
The male elf said. “What now becomes of this Fellowship? Without Gandalf, hope is lost. I do not have faith in you reaching the depth of Mordor without the protection of a wizard. You are likely to fall into the hands of the minions of Sauron.”
Aragorn opened his lips but no word came out. The female elf said. “The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace.” She casted her eyes at Frodo. Even while she and the male elf was leaving, she still looked over Frodo. They disappeared to the top of the stairs.
The group finally found a place to rest arranged by the commander. The three teams then gathered together to discuss their next action.
“Based on the movie, we won’t stay here more than three days. This is considering the change we brought to the plot.” Xuan was sitting on a wooden chair. “I know what you are thinking. You want to obtain a large quantity of energy stones during this time. My reply is not possible.”
Xuan continued with certainty. “Despite the quantity of the energy stones here, we do not have the justification to obtain any of them. Perhaps you have forgotten that we currently don’t have the strength to guarantee our own safety. The energy stones are merely material wealth. Don’t forget the threat of the other two teams. There is a reason to God’s every action. Even though those two teams come in the world at random locations, it is still the same world we are in. Given our three teams had such a high chance of encountering each other in the beginning, do you think our alliance can post a real threat to team East America and team Celestial?”
A man from team Northern Ice Land said. “What does that have to do with the energy stones here? It can’t be that getting the stones will make the two teams attack us.”
“No. But there is something more valuable than energy stones here. It’s more useful at least until the end of this movie. Influence! We need to rely on the forces of this world. They will aid us rival the other two teams. The elves are one of such forces. We can’t ruin our influence for just energy stones. That will also ruin the effort we spent to build a relationship with the main characters. The influence we obtain will be over a hundred times more valuable!”
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