Chapter 144: Guests

The shocked group, with an almost pilgrimage-like mentality, crossed the stone bridge and traveled up the wide, smooth road. Finally arriving at the castle gates. Seeing this magnificent castle up close, everyone's hearts beat even faster. Under the tall gatehouse, two massive bronze doors stood open, carved with intricate patterns and pictures recording scenes of victory from the Battle of Five Armies at the Lonely Mountain. Elven, dwarven, and human allied forces raised their swords in celebration, with Orcs, trolls, and others fleeing in terror and panic below. At the very top, an upright figure rode on a dragon's back, raising a staff and releasing blazing flames, like the Grim Reaper himself, as if commanding the entire battlefield. Even a king's palace probably didn't have such grandeur and presence, Mayor Tenderlarch thought. There were also villagers at the gates responsible for reception, dressed appropriately and smiling as they welcomed arriving guests. Tenderlarch looked at these villagers with surprise. Their behavior and demeanor carried an elegant naturalness that made them appear more aristocratic than he, a descendant of nobles, making him feel somewhat awkward. If the villagers knew the mayor's thoughts, they would probably be very pleased. They had instinctively imitated Legolas's behavior and mannerisms after seeing him staying here temporarily, making themselves more refined so as not to embarrass Lord Kael. They hadn't expected such an unexpected benefit. As the carriage entered through the gates, Mayor Tenderlarch saw a straight avenue paved with white gravel stones, with lamp posts erected on both sides of the road that were already lit even though it wasn't yet dark. The golden and silver trees that could be seen from down the mountain appeared even more magnificent up close. The golden tree was over a hundred meters tall, its luxuriant golden fan-shaped leaves gleaming brilliantly under the setting sun's illumination, bathing half of Weathertop's scenery in gold. Though the silver tree wasn't as tall as the golden one, it grew in winding dragon-like curves, reflecting silver moonlight-like radiance that tinted the other half of Weathertop's scenery with silver. Even without recognizing these two trees, Tenderlarch knew they were no ordinary trees. "Master Mayor, we've arrived. You can get out now." The servant's voice from outside brought Latch back to his senses. "When the servant opened the carriage door, Mayor Tenderlarch and innkeeper Butterbur stepped out one after another." The carriage stopped in front of the fountain. Villagers came to lead the carriage to the stables. Other villagers were responsible for reception, guiding them to the great hall. Looking at the golden dragon statue on the fountain, Tenderlarch swallowed hard. With his decades of experience, he was certain this was absolutely carved from gold! How extravagant! Mayor Tenderlarch tried hard to avert his gaze to avoid impropriety. Circling around the fountain to the hall entrance, the Mayor could no longer concern himself with the fountain statue. Because he saw his former old rival. "Mr. Tenderlarch, it's been so long!" Village Chief Luke greeted with a standard smile and courtesy. "I'm the banquet reception supervisor. Welcome to Lord Kael's banquet." "And Mr. Butterbur, I didn't expect you to come with Mr. Latch. We were originally planning to go to your inn to pick you up." "Luke Thompson, long time no see!" Tenderlarch said with a complex expression, feeling somewhat hollow inside. Back then, he had used his mayoral power to crowd out and suppress Luke, forcing him out of Bree. He never expected that now the man had become chief of Hogsmeade Village, become Kael's subject, and appeared to be trusted. If Luke held grudges about past events and whispered to Kael against him, would he have any way to survive? But just as he felt uneasy and worried, Luke behaved with courtesy and politeness. "Mr. Tenderlarch and Mr. Butterbur, you're among the first batch of guests to arrive. Please follow me inside to rest for a while." Then he led the two men into the hall. As for the other accompanying militia and coachman servants, other villagers led them aside to rest. Entering through the hall doors, the two were again dazzled by the magnificent golden interior. The hall was extremely vast, composed of white stone walls and a high tower-like ceiling that could accommodate several thousand people. Truly spectacular. What left the two men even more dumbfounded was that the ceiling had thousands of candles floating in mid-air, illuminating the entire hall. The ceiling looked just like the sky outside, with white clouds and warm sunlight shining down. Four very long tables were arranged in parallel in the hall, with dwarves sitting around the two tables on the left, laughing loudly as they competed in drinking. At the far end of the long tables, on the platform at the head, another long table was placed with a golden chair in the very center. There were also some musical instruments floating in midair, playing soothing music. Then they were criticized by a group of dwarves for sounding like a funeral march. Under the dwarves' strong demands, they could only reluctantly replay new music. Seeing that these instruments could understand their words, some dwarves found them like interesting toys, each one chattering with requests for the instruments to play music they wanted. The instruments were overwhelmed by the dwarves' requests, changing tune every moment until they were completely out of tune, becoming a pile of noise. Seeing this, the dwarves burst into laughter. The annoyed instruments stopped playing altogether and flew down to knock the heads of the troublemaking dwarves. Immediately the laughter in the hall grew even louder. Watching this scene, Mayor Tenderlarch and innkeeper Butterbur felt as if they had arrived in a magical place, shocked yet somewhat at a loss. Luke was somewhat familiar with this group of dwarves. Seeing this, he smiled and had no intention of interfering, directly leading the two men forward. Then he brought them to the front platform's long table, to two seats on the outermost sides. "Mr. Tenderlarch, Mr. Butterbur, you are both distinguished guests invited by Lord Kael. These two positions are your seats." Tenderlarch looked at his position and immediately felt dissatisfied. It was one thing for Prancing Pony innkeeper Butterbur to have the seat closest to the edge, but why was his seat second from the left end? As Mayor of Bree, he considered himself qualified to sit at Kael's left- or right-hand position. He looked suspiciously at the smiling Luke. Could Luke be holding grudges against him and deliberately trying to humiliate him with this seating arrangement? The angry Tenderlarch really wanted to storm off, but being under someone else's roof, he didn't dare offend the master of this castle. He could only ask with suppressed anger, "I see there are still so many positions here. I wonder what other people of noble status will be arriving? Could you tell me? I might have heard of them!" Luke seemed not to hear the sarcasm in his words and still nodded with a standard smile. "The guests for these seats are indeed all people of noble status, including seats for the human lord representing Dale, the dwarf king of the Kingdom Under the Mountain, the Elven king of the Woodland Realm, the Elven lord and lady couple of Lórien, the Elven lord of Rivendell, the lord of the Anduin Valley, and others." Hearing a string of titles like "King" and "Lord," Tenderlarch felt somewhat dizzy. Good heavens, what exactly was the background of this castle's master? How could he invite so many people of noble status? Compared to the people who would occupy these seats, he as a Mayor instantly became insignificant. He no longer felt dissatisfied and hurriedly sat in his assigned seat. Innkeeper Butterbur had no complaints at all, sitting in his position and admiring the surrounding environmental arrangements. Watching the dwarves drinking heavily made him even more delighted. The banquet's alcohol was purchased from his establishment. The more these dwarves drank, the more he earned. He seemed to already hear the clinking of gold coins drilling into his pocket. After arranging the two men's positions, Luke excused himself to arrange other banquet matters. Meanwhile, in the highest Amon Sûl Tower, Kael was also receiving guests who had arrived through the fireplace. The earliest arrival was Bilbo. He had arrived even earlier than Mayor Tenderlarch and the innkeeper, bringing malt beer brewed by hobbits. The second was Legolas, who had returned to the Woodland Realm and brought a gift from Thranduil: an exquisitely beautiful brooch set with white gems. This was very much Thranduil's gift-giving style. Moreover, this brooch was not only valuable but also contained the blessing power of the Wood-elves. Wearing it would establish a close connection with forests, gaining forest protection and moving through forests like a fish in water. This gift was quite precious, and Kael solemnly put it away. Following closely after Legolas was the skin-changer Beorn. He brought a barrel of royal jelly produced by the large bees he had carefully cultivated. This royal jelly could make people energetic and double their physical strength. A very good supplement. The fourth to arrive were Bard of Dale and Fili as Thorin's heir. The two came together. Fili represented Thorin and had joined with Bard before teleporting through Dale's fireplace. Kael wasn't surprised that Thorin hadn't come. But he hadn't expected Thorin to send Fili to represent him at the banquet. Kael had Edward take the group to the great hall first while he continued waiting here. Before long, green fire ignited in the fireplace, and a graceful figure emerged. Kael's eyes lit up. "Arwen, how is it that you've come?" "Not welcome?" Arwen raised her eyebrows, her bright eyes sparkling like the evening star. Kael quickly shook his head. "How could that be? I just didn't expect you to be the first to arrive." "By the way, did you come from Rivendell or from Lórien?" "Rivendell." Arwen stepped out of the fireplace, seeing some dust on herself and frowning slightly. Seeing this, Kael waved his hand with a Cleaning Charm to remove the dust from her body. "Thank you!" Arwen smiled. "Your Floo Powder is very magical. The only drawback is too much dust. Every time I travel between Rivendell and Lórien, I have to clean myself afterward." Kael shrugged and joked, "Nothing can be perfect in all respects, right?" "That makes sense." Arwen nodded in agreement, her bright, deep eyes carrying a hint of amusement, as if seeing through his thoughts. "But why do I feel like you want to see me in an embarrassing state?" "I'm wronged!" Kael raised his hands to show innocence. "How could I have such thoughts?" "If you're willing, I can teach you that Cleaning Charm I just used, so you won't have to worry about getting dusty when using Floo Powder in the future." "Then it's settled!" "It's settled!" "What are you talking about?" Green flames ignited in the fireplace as the Elven twins Elladan and Elrohir appeared one after another. Seeing the harmonious atmosphere between the two, they looked somewhat wary. "Kael said he'd teach me spells!" Arwen said happily. "Really?" The two brothers were immediately attracted by this matter, both looking at Kael expectantly. "Kael, could you teach us a few more spells? We've already learned the ones you taught us before." Seeing the expectant looks of the three siblings, how could Kael refuse? He nodded. "No problem. After the banquet ends, stay here for a few more days, and I'll teach you spells then." Hearing this, the three were immediately very happy. Just then, the fireplace flames ignited once more. "Lord Elrond!" Kael was very surprised. He had thought that with Arwen and the Elven twins' arrival, Rivendell and Lórien were represented. He hadn't expected Elrond to come personally! Elrond seemed to know of Kael's surprise and smiled somewhat mysteriously. "I'm not the last guest. There's someone even more important coming after me." With that, he stepped out of the fireplace and waited to the side. Hearing this, Kael's eyes widened as an incredible guess flashed through his mind. The next second, in the green flames, the tall and beautiful Lady Galadriel appeared. The surrounding dust seemed not to dare defile her. Not a speck of dust could be seen on her pure white robes or her gold and silver hair. She radiated holy light, her smile making everything around pale in comparison. "Kael, we meet again."