Chapter 131: The Herbs Arrive

Inside Amon Sûl Tower, Kael and Gandalf were on the seventh floor of the tower. This had been transformed by Kael into a meditation room. Gandalf had carved runes on the floor and surrounding walls. These runes carried mysterious power that could help one calm and focus the mind. Kael wasn't idle either. He had specifically opened up two fireplaces, tall enough for him to walk into while standing upright. Kael inscribed runic characters on the floor of the fireplaces, then held his staff and continuously channeled magic into the gem at the staff's core while chanting complex, lengthy incantations. As tremendous magical power was consumed, just when Kael felt like he was about to be drained dry, a silver-blue flame appeared. The flame was just a small one, but it emanated an inextinguishable essence. Even though there was no combustible material around, it continued burning in mid-air, neither growing nor diminishing. Looking at this flame, Kael's face showed a smile. Gandalf noticed the commotion on Kael's side and walked over to look at the flame in the fireplace, a flash of wonder in his eyes. "What kind of magical fire is this?" "This is Gubraithian Fire, also called Everlasting Fire. It's a flame that can burn forever," Kael explained. Gubraithian Fire was quite advanced magic, and even in the wizarding world, only very few wizards could achieve it. Kael had only succeeded in casting such a small flame by borrowing the amplifying power of his staff. Gubraithian Fire could burn forever, required no fuel, and was extremely stable. Though extremely difficult to cast, it wasn't violently uncontrollable like Fiendfyre. Throughout Hogwarts castle, there was Gubraithian Fire providing illumination. It had been burning continuously from the four founders' time through Harry Potter's enrollment and would likely continue burning indefinitely barring accidents. Dumbledore had also once had Rubeus Hagrid carry Gubraithian Fire as a gift for the giants, hoping to persuade them to stand against Voldemort. The giants had been very interested in this gift. "Everlasting Fire, truly a wondrous flame," Gandalf nodded with full appreciation. Then he came before the fireplace and raised his hand. "Let me help boost your fire." His finger shone with brilliant ruby light as a vast power flowed into the Gubraithian Fire. The small flame suddenly blazed up like gasoline had been poured on it, instantly becoming a roaring blaze. The spacious room immediately brightened and warmed. Kael looked at the Gubraithian Fire in the fireplace that was taller than himself, his expression stunned as he clicked his tongue and enviously glanced at the Ring of Fire on Gandalf's hand. Even with his staff at full power, he had only managed a small Gubraithian Fire, yet Gandalf had casually increased it dozens of times. No comparison! Kael then recovered and released Gubraithian Fire in the other fireplace as well. Gandalf likewise enlarged that flame. Under the illumination of two tall Gubraithian Fires, the meditation room was brightly lit and became warm and comfortable. As one of the most advanced magics in the wizarding world, Gubraithian Fire wasn't just notable for burning forever but also because it could draw in surrounding magical energy. So around it, magical energy would be much more concentrated than elsewhere. Under the blazing Gubraithian Fire, Kael soon felt the entire meditation room's magical energy was considerably more abundant. Meditating or practicing magic in such an environment would be twice as effective. "Thank you, Gandalf," Kael thanked Gandalf. Without Gandalf's help, those two small Gubraithian Fires couldn't have achieved such an effect. Gandalf smiled and accepted Kael's thanks, suggesting, "When you meditate in the future, you can throw meditation herbs into the Gubraithian Fire. That should make the meditation even more effective." Kael nodded thoughtfully. Just then, the transport fireplace outside the meditation room suddenly ignited with green flames. Bilbo's head emerged from the flames, calling to Kael, "Kael, the village chief Luke from Hogsmeade is outside, and he's brought guests." Brought guests? Kael was puzzled. He immediately used Floo Powder with Gandalf to travel to the first-floor fireplace. The tower was over a thousand feet tall with sixty floors. Going up and down floor by floor would be too exhausting. So Kael had simply opened fireplaces on every floor and connected them with the Floo Network, forming a local network, with Floo Powder containers installed beside each fireplace. This way, he could directly teleport to whichever floor he wanted, avoiding the hardship of climbing stairs. Now Kael had made a whole large barrel of Floo Powder, and Rivendell had agreed to regularly send moonstone in exchange for a little Floo Powder. So Kael was now financially comfortable and used Floo Powder without restraint. Upon reaching the first floor, Kael immediately saw the guests. "Lord Kael," Luke stood and spoke respectfully. Kael waved his hand, indicating he needn't be so formal. Then his gaze fell on the tall guest beside him, showing a surprised smile. "Halbarad, what a rare guest! I didn't expect the guest Luke brought would be you." The visitor was indeed Halbarad the Dúnadan, whom he'd met once at the Prancing Pony in Bree during the Lonely Mountain expedition. Halbarad bowed solemnly in greeting, saying with reverence and admiration. "Wizard Kael, your deeds at the Lonely Mountain are well-known even west of the Misty Mountains." "Dragon-tamer, slayer of two generations of Orc kings, Orc-enemy, the one who turned the tide in the Battle of Five Armies. The Elves sing of your bravery, and minstrels praise your deeds in song. Before long, your great name will spread throughout Eriador!" Kael humbly shook his head. "That's too much praise. It wasn't my achievement alone. Gandalf, the dwarves, Elves and others contributed no less than I did." Then he casually inquired. "I wonder what brings you here on this visit, Halbarad?" Seeing Kael change the subject, Halbarad didn't continue but stated his purpose. "Wizard Kael, we've collected almost all the herbs and plants you previously asked us to gather. But since you weren't here before, we couldn't deliver them to you. Hearing you'd returned, we specifically brought all the herbs we've collected." Hearing this, Kael's eyes immediately lit up. After clearing the Barrow-downs, Kael had traded the wight-blades with Halbarad, asking the Dúnedain to help gather various herbs. It had been almost a year now. If Halbarad hadn't brought it up today, he would have almost forgotten. He immediately felt anticipation. "Oh, you brought the herbs? Where are they?" "Just outside. Since there are quite a lot, it wasn't convenient to bring them in, so we came to ask your opinion first," Halbarad said. Hearing this, Kael became even more curious. Quite a lot? How much was that? "Come on, let's go see!" Kael took the lead going outside, with the others curiously following. Upon stepping outside, Kael first saw several tall Dúnedain. But his gaze was immediately drawn to what filled several large carts behind them. Countless herbs were sorted and piled together, packed in large wooden boxes. Most were living herbs, planted in soil with flowers and leaves. Kael's eyes lit up as he hurried forward to carefully observe these herbs. "This is Athelas, the King's Foil?" Kael looked at a wooden box densely packed with over a hundred plants, squeezed together like chives, and couldn't help but widen his eyes. So much Athelas? This was his first time seeing so much. Halbarad, who had followed, nodded and explained, "Athelas has harsh growing conditions and grows slowly. It's also difficult to transplant, so we could only bring these living plants. Please forgive us." Kael was so delighted he could hardly contain himself. How could he find fault? When he'd seen Athelas in Lady Galadriel's garden, he'd been somewhat envious. After all, Athelas had such miraculous healing effects. It could heal wounds, delay toxicity, and even block evil influences. But he knew his place and hadn't asked for any. Now the Dúnedain had brought him so much Athelas at once, making him overjoyed. Seeing these Athelas plants looking somewhat wilted, his heart ached. He needed to transplant them quickly. He'd be heartbroken if even one died. But he knew not to rush, so he moved his gaze to other herbs. Soon his attention fell on another wooden box. Inside were dozens of flowers. Half were golden flowers, star-shaped with slender leaves. The other half were white flowers that looked identical except for color. "The golden flowers are called Elanor, and the white ones Niphredil," Halbarad introduced. "They're two varieties of the same species. One blooms during the day, one at night. They usually only grow where Elves dwell." Kael had also seen these two flowers in Galadriel's garden in Lórien. He just hadn't expected these Dúnedain to find such flowers. Then Halbarad introduced him to Simbelmynë from Rohan. These were small white flowers that grew mostly on burial mounds, with eight petals, blooming year-round. There were also the even more magical eight-colored flowers, the Entwives' flowers. These flowers grew in the Old Forest. According to ancient legend, when eight Entwives entered the Old Forest and disappeared, flowers of their respective colors grew where they vanished: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, and white. Entwives were the females of the Ent race, while Ents were male. It was said that Ents and Entwives didn't live together, only coming together during mating season. But since the eight Entwives disappeared into the Old Forest, the Ent race had only male Ents left, all living in Fangorn Forest, unable to reproduce. There were even rumors that the more tree-like Huorns in the Old Forest were actually devolved descendants of the Ents. But none of this concerned Kael. He just regretted not encountering these Entwives' flowers during his time in the Old Forest. He was also amazed by the Dúnedain's efficiency in obtaining flowers that grew in the Old Forest. Besides these magical flowers, there were also blood-red Seregon flowers, detoxifying Nightshade, seaside Sea-foam flowers, Sunlight Orchids from Gondor's Ithilien gardens, Saxifrage growing on cliff faces...