Chapter 19: The River-Daughter, Goldberry

"Welcome, my good guest!" The woman rose from her chair, stepping lightly over the pottery basins at her feet, and ran towards him with a charming smile. "I am Goldberry, the River-daughter. Old Tom said a young Wizard had come to the forest. We haven't had guests here in a long time, and you must be starving. Come quickly and eat something!" "It is an honor to serve you, Goldberry. I am Kael the Wizard," he said, bowing slightly with a solemn expression. Tom Bombadil's identity was unknown, and the lady before him, who looked Elven, also had a sufficiently mysterious identity. In the songs of Buckland, Goldberry was the daughter of the Willow-woman, a water nymph. One day, as Tom passed by the river, she mischievously tugged his beard and dragged him into the water. From then on, Tom fell in love with Goldberry, and not long after, they held a wedding and lived in a small cottage by the Willow River. Although the veracity of the song could not be confirmed, Goldberry was indeed inextricably linked to the Willow River. Seeing Kael's solemn demeanor, Goldberry paused, then a bright smile bloomed on her face. "What a gentlemanly young man. Please don't be restrained. This is Tom Bombadil's dwelling, and all friendly guests are welcome to come." As Kael was invited to sit at the dining table, Tom also walked in, happily and proudly introducing him to Kael: "Ah, it seems you two have already met, but I still want to formally introduce you. This is my beautiful wife, Goldberry. She is the companion of my soul, the source of joy! I truly cannot imagine how lifeless it would be without her by my side!" Goldberry, sitting beside Tom, smiled very gently, her eyes full of love as she looked at her husband, holding his hand and saying, "Oh, Tom, I love you very much too. I cannot imagine life without you; how dark it would be!" Watching the two of them express their affection to each other as if no one else was around, Kael silently put down the grilled sausage in his hand. He felt a bit too full and somewhat superfluous. However, the couple finally remembered that Kael, their guest, was still there. While showering Kael with affection, they enthusiastically treated him to various delicacies until Kael truly couldn't eat anymore, only then reluctantly stopping their attempts to add more food. After dinner was chat time. Tom was like a cheerful child, oblivious to sorrow, eloquently narrating in a poetic tone about every tree, every flower, and every leaf he had seen. In his descriptions, everything seemed to gain color, becoming vivid and lively. And Goldberry was a perfect listener. She always watched her husband with gentle and focused eyes, listening attentively to those interesting stories. In this atmosphere, Kael also unconsciously became immersed. As Tom narrated, vivid scenes continuously emerged in his mind. He seemed to have witnessed the growth of a tree, the blooming of a flower, and the wilting of a leaf with his own eyes, and he also seemed to merge into it, becoming a wisp of wind, a stone, a tree... In this realization, Kael's soul seemed to break through its shackles, becoming purer and stronger. His spiritual power surged, and the magic in his body grew at an astonishing speed. Influenced by his magic, green grass grew on the floor of the house, the wood of tables, chairs, and benches re-rooted and sprouted, countless splendid flowers bloomed on the walls, and the water lilies planted in the pottery basins also flowered. Moreover, this change also spread outside the house; the lawn and garden were rapidly growing. When Kael emerged from this wondrous state, he saw such a scene: he seemed to be in a garden of green, surrounded by countless plants. Did he do this? Kael watched Tom and Goldberry curiously examining the plants and flowers growing on the table, feeling a bit flustered, and quickly apologized, "I'm very sorry, Tom, Goldberry, I didn't mean to. I don't know what happened..." Tom interrupted Kael's apology, looking very happy, and said cheerfully, "No need to apologize, Kael, I like it this way! Look, we are staying among flowers and green plants, this is truly wonderful!" Saying that, he picked a golden marigold and tucked it behind his wife's ear, "My dear, this beautiful flower suits you best!" "Oh, thank you, my dear," Goldberry's smile grew even gentler. She turned to soothe Kael, her eyes full of amusement, "Please don't be uneasy, Kael. In fact, I should thank you. My water lilies have all bloomed, which is truly good news!" Seeing that they had no intention of blaming him, Kael finally relaxed. Feeling the abundant spirit and surging magic, and recalling that wonderful state just now, Kael was both excited and amazed. He remembered that he had fallen into that realm after listening to Tom's story. This feeling was like an epiphany in cultivation stories, very magical. Just a moment of insight had caused earth-shattering changes in his spirit and magic. He knew this miraculous encounter was brought to him by Tom. He stood up and bowed solemnly to Tom, thanking him: "Tom, I don't know how to express my gratitude. Kael is willing to serve you!" Tom waved his hand, looking completely unconcerned, "I've told stories to many guests who came here, but they didn't have your situation, so there's no need to thank me." "Besides, I've already received your thanks, haven't I?" Tom pointed to the surrounding profusion of flowers, his blue eyes sparkling with delight, "This is the best gift!" Hearing this, Kael stopped expressing his thanks but kept his gratitude in his heart. Although he knew that with Tom's power, he didn't need any repayment, if there was an opportunity to repay him in some small way, he would do his best. It was late at night. After bidding farewell to Tom and Goldberry, Kael was arranged to stay in the guest room. The soft bed made Kael drowsy. His hazy gaze fell on the heartwood by the bed, thinking that he would ask Tom about it tomorrow, and then he gradually fell asleep. The next day, Kael awoke from his dream to the sound of beautiful singing. After breakfast, Kael finally found an opportunity to take out the Old Man Willow's heartwood and ask Tom about the method for carving this iron-hard material. Tom took the heartwood, flicked it with his finger, and, hearing the crisp metallic sound, nodded, "This is the Old Man Willow's heart, isn't it? It's indeed good material for making a magic wand." Then he answered Kael's question, saying, "I can indeed carve this heartwood into any shape and size you want, but I think you'd prefer to do it yourself?" Kael nodded. He indeed wanted to make his own magic wand with his own hands. "Then, Tom, do you have any sharp enough knives here that can cut the heartwood?" Tom casually picked up a butter knife, easily cut off a section of the heartwood as if cutting tofu, and then handed him the butter knife and the cut section of the heartwood. "Whether any knife is sharp or not makes no difference to me here, so I don't have any divine weapons or sharp tools you might be looking for." Kael took the butter knife in surprise, disbelievingly tried to cut the heartwood with it, and found that the butter knife really was just an ordinary butter knife, unable to leave even a single mark on the heartwood. Well, he couldn't learn this skill. Kael was a bit disappointed. Did he still have to search for a divine weapon to make a magic wand from the heartwood? "However, if you want to find a knife that can cut through the heartwood, I do know a place that has one," Tom continued. Kael immediately felt hopeful and quickly asked, "Where is it?" Tom pointed to the mountains behind the house, "That is the Barrow-downs, where many Númenóreans are buried. I once saw the weapons they forged; they could cut iron like mud. For humans, they are indeed considered divine weapons and should be able to help you." "The only problem is that the Barrow-downs are infested with dark forces, and Barrow-wights are rampant, making it very dangerous. I do not recommend you go." *** (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For More Chapters On All Of My Fanfics!!] [www. [email protected]/meowthtl] [+300 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]