little gentleman

In order to speed up the process, the four rented three ponies and a tall horse.Although it was a good thing to have a means of transportation, Bilbo found that riding a horse was not so easy. Although the pony was not tall, it still took some effort for a hobbit who was only good at walking to climb on the back of the horse.To keep Bilbo from climbing up and down comically, Thorin helped him without a word, and helped Bilbo onto the horse's back.

"Thank you." Bilbo thanked Thorin when he settled down, only to find that Thorin had gone off and mounted another pony.

The four set off, Bilbo gripping the horse's belly with his legs, taking care that the horse would not throw him to the ground, or be left behind by his traveling companions.The way of traveling on horseback is really not suitable for hobbits.

Gandalf steered his mount along with Thorin: "You have come quickly for a dwarf, Thorin. What is the important reason why you must come?"

"The injury Legolas has caused is ultimately my fault," said Thorin in a low voice, "and I should have ended this foolish engagement long ago."

"It doesn't seem fair to say it's just your responsibility." Gandalf raised an eyebrow.

"I have the ability to stop everything, but I didn't do anything," Thorin said inexplicably irritated, "I knew that such a day would come sooner or later since the first time Legolas escaped, but I didn't expect this time He took Frodo with him again."

"It's really hard to understand that Legolas took a hobbit with whom he didn't have any friendship to escape." Although the old wizard said so, there was no doubt in his tone.

"Given what happened last time, I think it's the same reason this time." Thorin thought of his sister's elopement.

"It would be more direct to make you angry than to make Aragorn sad." Gandalf took out his pipe.

"Or both," Thorin said.

While talking, Bilbo caught up with the two, and at last he was able to control his horse.

"Thorin, do we have any plans?" asked Bilbo, avoiding the wobbling horse's head.

"We may go by Rohan," Thorin said simply.

"But Legolas can't go to Rohan, that's tantamount to throwing himself into a trap." Bill remembered Smaug's words.

"No, we don't go to Rohan to find him," said Thorin, "but we can take a short cut from Rohan, and we can try to stop him, as Legolas must take a long way to avoid Rohan."

"Do you know which way he's going?" asked Bilbo.

"His destination should be Mordor, but he needs someone to assist him on the way, and there will only be one person." A gloomy look crossed Thorin's face.

Bilbo didn't ask any more. Since he was with Thorin, everyone seemed to agree that Thorin was the leader of the team. Now it seemed that Thorin knew more than he did, so he could only trust Thorin.

A group of people hurried on their way, passing through a forest at night, unable to move on, they found a small abandoned shed in the woods, and settled down.

Bilbo cooked the supper, and he sprinkled some of the seasonings he had brought from home into the cauldron of soup, and there was a burst of aroma from the bubbling soup.

"It smells good, your cooking skills are awesome!" Jinli sniffled.

Bilbo smiled and served him a bowl of broth: "It's not a big deal. If it weren't for such a simple condition, I could make a more fragrant soup."

"Bilbo is a good cook," confirmed Gandalf, smiling.

Only Thorin sat alone outside the halo of the flames, and the shadow fell over his face, making it impossible to see his expression clearly.

Bilbo thought for a while, took out a bowl of rich soup, and carefully carried the soup towards Thorin.He filled the soup so full that the soup would spill out with every step he took.It took a long time to get up to Thorin, and Bilbo put the soup bowl in front of Thorin. "Hey, it's time for something to eat."

Thorin looked at Bilbo and the big bowl of broth, smiled resignedly, and took the bowl.Unexpectedly, Bilbo lost his hand in the process of changing the bowl, and part of the soup in the bowl splashed out, and it all spilled on Thorin's sleeve.

Thorin caught the soup with his arm the instant the soup spilled, otherwise the scalding soup would splash on Bilbo's face.

"So...sorry!" Bilbo chagrined at his own clumsiness, that he should have made a fool of himself under the circumstances.

Sorin smiled nonchalantly, sniffed his sleeve casually, and said jokingly: "Looks like I have to set off with your fragrance tomorrow, maybe this way I won't feel hungry all day long! "

Bilbo couldn't help laughing too, and sat down in a comfortable place beside Thorin, quietly thinking about his plans for tomorrow.

It wasn't until Gandalf brought Bilbo's portion of supper that Bilbo realized he hadn't eaten anything.

"I thought hobbits never forgot to eat for anything!" said Gandalf meaningfully.

Bilbo felt his stomach growling. "Ah! I'm so hungry! Thank you Gandalf."

"You have brought a lot of food, and we can go faster if you reduce the amount of food." Gandalf joked.

"That's no good, there's not enough food to slow down!" Bilbo objected at once.

"I totally agree with this point!" Jin Li chimed in.

Thorin did not join in on the discussion of the food, and watched Bilbo's animated face in silence, with a deeper awareness of his responsibilities.

The four of them took turns on duty at night, and Bilbo woke up in the middle of the night. He saw Thorin's lonely back under the moonlight.Bilbo got up and walked softly to Thorin.Hobbits can disappear quietly into hillsides, grass and woods, and it is difficult for others to find them. It is said that they were good at being snitches in ancient times, but Bilbo disagrees with this statement. No hobbit he knows steals. —Except for that Rosso guy, and now the bastard might be playing with Bag End's idea.

Thorin didn't notice Bilbo's coming, he was dreaming looking at the seemingly endless night.

"Thorin." Bilbo called his name as softly as he could.

Thorin turned around and looked at Bilbo who didn't know when he came behind him in surprise: "Can't sleep?"

"Just woke up," said Bilbo, "is it my turn to keep watch?"

"No need, you go to sleep, it will be dawn in two hours." Thorin said.

Bilbo lingered and refused to leave.

"You're worried, aren't you?" Thorin saw Bilbo's hesitation.

Bilbo nodded. "I cannot sleep well when I think of Frodo being alone and alone in a strange place. Besides, the floor is not as comfortable as my bed."

Thorin's frowning eyebrows unfurled: "We'll find him, trust me."

"I believe," said Bilbo from the bottom of his heart. He didn't know whether it was because he had no one else to trust at the moment, or if it was just in his heart that he wanted to trust Thorin.

The two sat down against a big tree, and Bilbo babbled on about Bag End's trifles, about the annoying neighbors and the most annoying Rosso--they might be looking at his home right now. !As he spoke, Bilbo's voice dropped and gradually became quieter.Thorin felt his shoulders sink. The nagging hobbit had fallen asleep.

Early the next morning, the group set off again.Neither Thorin nor Bilbo mentioned what happened last night, but there seemed to be something different between the two of them, which was tense and yet expected.

After several days of running around, the capital of Rohan finally appeared in the distance, and the area they passed gradually became prosperous. Obviously, the surrounding area of ​​a prosperous kingdom is also full of vitality.Rohan is a kingdom with a large pastoral area. The natural scenery here is also unique. From a distance, groups of horses can be seen galloping on the grassland. The attire of the shepherds is also unique and full of exotic customs.Bilbo could not help feeling that, if he hadn't been so eager to find his nephew, he should really have seen the country.

"We need to go to the city to sell some supplies, and we need to give the horse a rest." Thorin said, driving the horse forward.

Bilbo followed closely behind him. "Are the people friendly here? Do they speak the Common Tongue?"

"Don't worry, Bilbo," reassured Gandalf, also following closely, "as far as I know they are friendly and speak the Common Tongue. And there will be no race in Middle-earth except Orcs." Trying to eat hobbits and dwarves for food."

"Will orcs eat hobbits?" Bilbo was startled, his dear nephew was on his way to goblin land!

"No, Orcs don't eat hobbits either," said Thorin, "their diet is about the same as Men's."

"Then I can rest easy, at least on this point." Bilbo need not worry that Frodo will be eaten.

"No, it's not worth worrying about," Thorin said in a serious and heavy tone. "Most half-orcs live a savage life. They are bloodthirsty by nature, and they are especially cruel to foreigners. And..." He paused and lowered his voice. The voice continued: "They also rape foreigners for fun, just to cause pain."

"What?" Bilbo almost jumped from his horse. "My Frodo! What will he do? The beasts will not let him go!"

"That elf might be all right," Gimli seemed to convince himself, "but what if there are too many of them? Maybe he can deal with twenty at once, but who knows how many damn places there are in Mordor Orcs!"

"So we must find them as soon as possible!" said Thorin in a low voice. "Gentlemen, welcome to Rohan."

It turned out that during the conversation, they had already arrived at the gate of the capital.

Thorin rode through the King City with ease, and Bilbo, nervously steadying his horse, watched the inhabitants of the city furtively. They all looked tall, but most peoples were tall to a hobbit.

Here, they met an acquaintance, which surprised Bilbo: it was Aragorn who greeted them.

"Your Majesty? You...how did you..." Bilbo's tongue was tied, and he turned to look at Thorin reflexively.

"He knows everything," Thorin confessed.

"You... how could you tell him?" Bilbo was annoyed. Although Aragorn had stopped courting Frodo, Bilbo still thought it wrong to let Aragorn know about his nephew's disgrace.

"Don't blame Thorin, Mr. Baggins," said Aragorn. "I must not stand by in what concerns Frodo."

Thorin didn't answer directly: "Aragorn is more familiar with the south than us, and it would be much better to have his help."

Aragorn folded his hands and said, "You are so slow in coming, Thorin, if there is not something wrong with the weapon, I will go to them first."

"Are you going alone?" Thorin looked at Aragorn distrustfully.

"And Boromir, who has gone to the smithy—as I said, something is wrong with his sword," explained Aragorn.

Bilbo was anxious to get his nephew back: "When can we go?"

"Tomorrow." Aragorn and Thorin said in unison.

"You need rest tonight," Thorin said to Bilbo. "We all need rest."

"Come with me, my friend Hiuden will be willing to entertain you." Aragorn waved his hand, "I hope we can find those two lost boys tomorrow."