Chapter 16

Galadriel’s appearance was quite unexpected. It was past ten at night already. Most people had gone to their rooms to rest. Zheng was curious with what Xuan was planning. That was why he kept questioning Xuan. And now, what were Galadriel looking for?

(She came to us instead of the movie characters. Could it be a quest?) Zheng thought to himself. He stood up and faced Galadriel with a smile.

“Is there anything you need? Lady of Lorien.“ Zheng asked.

Galadriel was as beautiful as the first time they saw her. Yet, her face was also fogged, hiding her real appearance. She walked over with elegance and sat down naturally. “I should have met you earlier in the day, warriors who faced the Balrog and buried it in eternal darkness. However, the One Ring delayed a lot of time. Please don’t take it as disrespect.”

Zheng laughed. “Oh, we wouldn’t. We are grateful that you can accept us and give us shelter during a time of fatigue and sadness. You are too polite.”

Galadriel nodded as a thanks for his acknowledgement. She then looked at the two of them. “I heard Legolas said that you possess powers beyond his recognition, a power strong enough to battle the forces of Sauron. He asked me to give you the rewards you deserve. At the same time, he wished me to persuade you to follow this journey to the end. It seems that he was overthinking. Your courage and strength are to be praised, warriors.”

These praises were almost forcing the players to battle Mordor. The good thing was Galadriel knew her way with words. Zheng felt cozy instead of irritated. The softness in her voice was comfortable. Zheng nodded repeatedly with a smile.

Xuan on the side looked emotionlessly. He finished two fruits then said. “If you feel we are worthy of being respected… then stop your magic.” The Gauss pistol slid into his hand and he shot an ornament on her head. He then went back to peeling his fruit as though nothing happened.

Zheng shivered. That was when he finally felt that he was being controlled. The only thing in his mind was Galadriel’s beauty and her soft voice. The sound of the gunshot struck his head. The beauty and voice dissipated.

Galadriel was stunned. After a while, her hand reached for the shattered ornament on her head. “Your wills are strong. I am unable to read your minds. The most I can do is influence your feelings toward me… But you. Why don’t you seem affected? Don’t you feel that I…”

Xuan interrupted him. “Sorry. I don’t have feelings.”

Galadriel wasn’t mad at Xuan. She smiled. “I should apologize. The One Ring is too important. If Sauron gets his hand on it, there is no one in Middle Earth that can stop him. Therefore, I had to know your thoughts. I had never heard of such powerful humans. Your origins are also so sudden. So I had to try. I apologize again. I meant no ill intentions.”

Zheng took a deep breath. He restrained the bit of anger he had. “I can forgive your actions but a person’s inner thoughts are his private matter, my lady. Please respect people’s privacy.”

Galadriel slightly bowed. Her smile remained. “I hope my actions do not cause you to think negatively of Legolas. I did not solicit his opinion. Similarly, if you have any requests, please let me know. I will do my best to fulfill them.”

A thought came to Zheng’s mind. “We have two bounded weapons. The owner of the weapons aren’t dead so my comrades can’t unleash the full potential of these weapons. Are you unbind the weapons for us? I heard you are a powerful wizard.”

Galadriel paused for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Sorry. I am a wizard but I specialize in magic of the mind. Gandalf is the most learned wizard of us all. He walked Middle Earth for many years. In contrast, we elves choose a more peaceful and comfortable lifestyle. The white wizard Saruman also has this ability but he had…” Galadriel sighed.

Zheng also sighed. He wasn’t sure if Gandalf really died. If this world continued to follow the original movie plot, Gandalf would return from death as Gandalf the White. When that happened, he could still unbind the weapons.

“Then can you trade energy stones with us? I wish to trade for energy stones with items from our mercenary group.” Zheng said.

Galadriel looked at Zheng and Xuan with curiosity. “If you need energy stones for the battle against Mordor, I can gift you a few dozens of each attribute. The quality of the energy stones aren’t best. We aren’t as wealthy as Rivendell. Most of our energy stones are fire attribute.”

Zheng immediately said. “No. The trade isn’t for right now. Furthermore, we need a huge quantity of them. A few dozens are too little for us. That’s why we wanted to trade and not simply ask for them.”

“Huge quantity?” Galadriel frowned then nodded. “The mines Lorien has access to indeed produces energy stones in quantities and not quality. However, taking out a large amount at once is still…”

“A thousand or so is enough.” Zheng pondered and said. “Even several hundreds are fine. We can trade with other items, medicine, valuable medicines, liquor, food, even metals in large quantity. How about an ingot of refined iron for a low quality energy stone?”

Galadriel finally turned serious. “Lorien indeed lacks metals. We used to trade for metals with the dwarves but ever since Moria shut off, we can only obtain our metals from Rohan and Gondor. Their metal forging is far from the dwarves. And they recently switched to using hardwood for arrows. A refined iron ingot can trade us for ten low quality fire energy stones or five other attributes. The medicines are also needed for our migration.”

“Migration?” Zheng was curious. “The environment here is amazing. The location is out of sight. And the city is inside the woods. It would be a pity to abandon such a beautiful place.”

Galadriel’s smile was taken by sadness. She muttered. “When Sauron wields the One Ring or when you succeed in destroying the One Ring, the Three Rings of the Elves will disappear. Our hearts will fall into eternal weariness. The land of the gods beyond the sea is the only place we can achieve serenity. The age of the elves have ended.”

Zheng suddenly asked. “What will it take to prevent the elves from having to migrate? I can see that you treasure Middle Earth. Don’t you feel sad having to leave your home like this?”

Galadriel sighed. “Certainly not. This is the home of the elves but…”

Xuan interjected. “What if we wipe off Sauron’s will from the One Ring? Just like how you unbind bounded weapons.”

Galadriel shook her head. “That’s not possible. Sauron sealed his mind and life in the One Ring. Anyone who wields it will be controlled by the evil inside. The Hobbit is already showing signs of losing himself. Furthermore, no one has a mind stronger than Sauron’s.”

“Then what if we bring the ring out of this world?” Xuan rotated the fruit in his hand. “Bringing the One Ring out of this world. If it’s an item, it would enter God’s dimension normally. However, as a movie character that hasn’t received the ticket to enter God’s dimension… and the realm, he will be erased. And the One Ring will remain.”

“Is-is it possible?” Zheng cried in surprise. He had been pondering the possibility of a long term trade with Galadriel. However, it was obviously not possible by the time the were to leave The Lord of the Rings world.

Galadriel asked. “What is God’s dimension? Are you warriors from the realm of the gods?”

Zheng scratched his head. He organized his thoughts. “Uh. We will return to another dimension. We don’t know whether or not it is the realm of the gods. However, beings from this world can’t enter it. They will get killed as soon as they enter it. Items on the other hand can move in an out of the dimension. So we can bring the One Ring to that dimension to kill Sauron who sealed himself in the ring. The ring will then rid itself of its malice while protecting the Three Rings of the Elves from being affected. Those rings will retain their powers!”

Galadriel seemed stunned. She pondered for a while before speaking. “I don’t fully understand your words. But you said you will bring the One Ring away…”

Xuan said. “There’s no need to give us the ring. It’s merely a speculation. We will continue heading toward Mount Doom. If we aren’t able to enter the Mount Doom at that time, we will attempt to bring the One Ring back to God’s dimension. It is good if the elves can stay. Otherwise, our trade can only proceed for one to two times. Which isn’t favorable to both of us.”

Galadriel sighed and didn’t speak further. They could see she had taken note of this. The trade with the mercenaries were beneficial to the elves. And if the mercenaries could save the elves from having to migrate, that would be the best outcome. Even if it wasn’t possible, having them bring the ring to Mount Doom and destroy it was also an exceptional contribution to Middle Earth. She thanked them again then left.

Once Galadriel went out of sight, Zheng quickly asked Xuan. “How confident are you with this speculation?”

“Approximately 60%. However, the chance the One Ring getting into our hands is less than 10%.” Xuan shook his head. “The One Ring is a quest item, probably an extremely powerful one. The other four teams are aware of this fact. Team Celestial is probably determined to obtain the ring. Remember that all five teams have to stay together in Mordor for half an hour before we return. A lot of things can happen in this half an hour. It is impossible to avoid encountering team Celestial and team East America during this time. The One Ring is a key tool to us returning to God’s dimension safely. We will likely abandon the One Ring to preserve our team. Of course, if the difference between the teams isn’t huge, the One Ring will be the bait to killing them. Either way, the chance of us getting the ring is slim.”

“Is that so?” Zheng sighed. He patted Xuan’s shoulder. “It’s great if you are always like this. Just let me know before you do anything. Bro, it’s not like I will disagree with you. I merely want to know an outline of your plans. Do you think that’s difficult to you? Ha. Anyway, it’s a win to achieve the trade with Galadriel. And once we finish this world, we will have an endless supply of mithril and energy stones. We may even be able to exchange some time to learn magic from Gandalf. Haha.”

“You won’t understand even if I were to tell you…” Xuan murmured. “Mortal’s wisdom.”

Zheng had entered his room while Xuan murmured.

Morning of the next day. Gimli came to wake the players. He told them Galadriel was waiting by the wharf. She wanted to give the Fellowship a gift from the elves. After he said these words, Gimli quickly disappeared while the players became curious.

Ten minutes later. All the players groomed themselves then headed toward the wharf. All the movie characters were waiting there by the time they arrived. The movie characters were each wearing a cloak that perfectly suited to their size.

After the players got in place, ten elves came up to them. These were the maids of Galadriel they saw the other day. The elves helped them put on the cloaks. They were told these cloaks could conceal them from being detected by magic and change color to blend in with the environment. The cloaks were magical items. The effects of them was probably equivalent to rank C or higher.

Each player also received a short sword. The swords were imbued with mithril and ithildin. They could bind to the weapons with a drop of blood. The swords enhance the users’ powers in a fight. The effects were equivalent to a DD or C magical weapon.

Galadriel walked up to Zheng. “Legolas said you already have a powerful weapon. So we don’t have to gift you a short sword. This is a leaf from Telperion that we preserved. The tree that lighted the world has withered but its leaves still contains unbelievable life force. Take the leaf. When it comes to a time where you have to put your life up in a battle, fold the leaf and hold it in your mouth. Its life force will be consumed on behalf of your own. It will protect your life as it melts… For the bravery of our warrior, and for the promise to change the fate of us elves.” She gave Zheng a kiss on the cheek.

Galadriel then came over to Xuan. She gave him a smile. “I don’t know what I should gift you. A human with no feelings wouldn’t concern himself with a gift from the elves. Let me give you a blessing.” She chanted a blessing in the tongue of the elves.

(This woman obviously remembers Xuan destroyed her ornament from yesterday… Women remember every bit of resentment.) Zheng thought to himself because Xuan was the only person who didn’t receive anything. It was fairly abnormal.

Xuan though looked unperturbed. He took the food from the elves, it was lembas bread. One small bite was enough to fill the stomach of a person. Xuan seemed interested in this highly compressed food.

Zheng was feeling pity for Xuan when Legolas grabbed his shoulder and said. “Don’t worry. He got the most valuable gift out of us all. It’s a blessing from the lady. The blessing is infused with magic. I don’t know what its effect is yet but the blessing will follow him until it unleashes its effect. The lady will feel feeble for the next several days. Xuan is the most fortunate of the bunch here.”

Zheng finally felt better. He wanted to thank Galadriel but she gave them a smile then left with a male elf.

The group didn’t waste time. They loaded the weapons and food on the boats. There were three people on each boat with the except of Aragorn taking the three Hobbits. The boats sailed down the river. The Fellowship departed on their journey once more.

“We will sail out until we reach a waterfall of Caradhras. The journey will be dangerous. The elves have told us that Saruman sent his army down the shores to attack us. We are facing the orcs from Mordor and the Uruk-hai from Saruman. The Uruks are larger and stronger than normal orcs. They are not afraid of sunlight. They can fight under the most extreme conditions.”

Aragorn yelled to the other boats as he paddled.

The majority of players were caressing their weapons and cloaks. Both of these were indeed magical items. They were valuable even in God’s dimension. The veterans were delighted to have obtained them for free. Heng also received ten arrows from Galadriel. His own arrows were enchanted but the arrows from Galadriel surpassed them. These arrows weren’t as powerful as enchanted arrows but allowed him to imbue his psyche force into the arrows, which would allow him to adjust the arrows’ paths slightly after he fired them. Heng had achieved the three arrow explosive shot. Its accuracy though was less than optimal. These arrows could turn his three arrow explosive shot into his trump card. The charged shot wasn’t his only ultimate ability anymore.

Everyone else got their share of reward. The Fellowship sailed down the river and moved further and further away from the realm of the elves. After a turn, they could no longer see the city.