Chapter 88: The Chase

As for using dark magic, none of them were the type to rigidly adhere to black-and-white ideologies. Then, to Kael and the others' surprise, Galadriel handed the crystal vial containing the Light of Eärendil to Kael. "Take it." "Dark magic corrupts one's nature and easily leads people astray. The Light of Eärendil will keep you in the light and prevent you from falling into darkness." "My lady, this is far too precious," Kael felt this gift was too valuable and hesitated to accept it. After all, he had witnessed Galadriel use it to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. Galadriel pressed the crystal vial into Kael's hands, her smile brooking no refusal. "Consider it payment for the potion you gave me earlier." "This... thank you, my lady!" Kael accepted the crystal vial containing the Light of Eärendil and made note of this favor. Everyone didn't linger long at Dol Guldur. Radagast the Brown Wizard would return to his forest cottage to continue living with his animal and plant companions. Elrond and Glorfindel, at Galadriel's request, planned to stay in Lothlórien for a while and discuss plans for dealing with Sauron. Kael and Gandalf declined Galadriel's invitation to visit Lothlórien and prepared to catch up with Thorin and the others. This time, Gandalf hadn't been imprisoned at Dol Guldur as in his original fate, waiting until later for White Council members to rescue him. So they had only spent a few days on this venture. Given the expedition's speed and route, Thorin and the others probably hadn't even left Mirkwood yet. After everyone parted ways, Kael and Gandalf hitched a ride on Radagast's rabbit-drawn sled. Radagast truly deserved to be called Middle-earth's speed demon, driving the rabbit sled swiftly through the forest, narrowly avoiding trees they were about to crash into each time, causing Kael and Gandalf to continuously cry out in alarm. He successfully delivered Kael and Gandalf to the Old Forest Road before bidding them farewell and returning. "Phew, that was too thrilling! This old man's heart can't take it," Gandalf said with lingering fear, patting his chest and catching his breath. "Let's go. We need to pick up the pace. I wonder where Bilbo and the others have gotten to... I hope we can catch up." Kael thought for a moment. He seemed to remember that Thorin's group first encountered giant spiders in the forest, then ran into the Elves of the Woodland Realm and were imprisoned by Thranduil in the dungeons. If that was the case, they shouldn't have gone very far. Kael took out the Palantír. "We can use the seeing-stone to find out where they are." Gandalf stopped him, shaking his head seriously. "The Palantír isn't omnipotent, Kael. This forest has a master." "If we use the stone to spy on the forest, the master here would consider it a provocation and cause unnecessary trouble!" Hearing this, Kael also remembered the previous incident when Gandalf had detected his use of the Palantír to observe him. He immediately put the stone away again. The Elves of Mirkwood, from top to bottom, weren't known for their good tempers. If that Elven King noticed, it would really be trouble. The two walked along the Old Forest Road, also called the Elf-path. Seeing that the trees along the way all looked diseased, becoming lifeless and gloomy, with air that wasn't fresh and carried a stench of decay and corruption, both men's expressions grew somewhat grave. "Be careful not to breathe in too much air. This place has been polluted by dark magic. Too much will cause dizziness and hallucinations," Gandalf warned, covering his nose with his sleeve. Then he muttered worriedly, "I just hope the dwarves haven't breathed in too much poisoned air and lost their way, or we'll be in trouble!" Kael smelled the air and couldn't help but frown, waving his wand toward his face. A transparent bubble enveloped his head, instantly isolating him from the contaminated air outside. "Gandalf, need one?" "I'd be delighted," Gandalf said, his eyes lighting up when he saw the bubble around Kael's head. Kael waved his wand and added a bubble around Gandalf's head as well. This was the Bubble-Head Charm that Kael had learned from The Book of Spells, originally used for breathing underwater but perfect for this situation. The two continued forward with transparent bubbles around their heads until they came to a broken bridge. Looking at the broken bridge before them, Gandalf immediately felt something was wrong, his face full of worry. "It seems my worst fears have come true!" "They couldn't cross the bridge, so they must have chosen another way to cross the river." His gaze constantly observed the surroundings, and he soon discovered traces not far from the bridge. There were some vines that could be used to cross the river, and mud and climbing marks were found on the vines. While Gandalf searched for traces of Bilbo and the others, Kael went to the riverside and used Transfiguration to create several bottles, carefully filling them with river water. The water in this river was contaminated by dark magic. Not only did it have hallucinogenic effects, but once touched, it would immediately cause sleep, making it easy to fall headfirst into the river and drown. The effect was comparable to the sleeping potions Kael made. Kael was very curious about this river water and planned to take several bottles with him for research or to use against enemies for hypnosis... both good options. "Kael, time to go. We need to find Bilbo and the others as quickly as possible," Gandalf called out. "Alright, coming!" Kael put the bottles of river water into his enchanted pouch and quickly walked toward Gandalf. "Reparo!" Kael waved his wand at the broken bridge. The broken bridge quickly repaired itself to its complete form. The two crossed the stone bridge and quickened their pace. But for the rest of the journey, neither found any signs of recent human passage. This meant that after crossing the river, they hadn't returned to the Old Forest Road but had gone somewhere else. Seeing Gandalf's worry, Kael comforted him. "Don't worry too much, Gandalf. Maybe they just didn't take the main road and might be ahead of us now." "Besides, I have a spell here that we can try to find them." Hearing this, Gandalf's eyes lit up, looking at Kael with hope. "What spell do you have, Kael? Try it quickly!" "This is my first time using it, so I can't guarantee immediate success." Kael didn't make any promises. Although he had seen this spell in The Book of Spells, he had never cast it before. He cleared his throat, then followed the casting motions from the spell book, waved his wand, thought of Bilbo, and said, "Point Me!" A blue line of light shot from his wand tip, the other end disappearing into the unknown depths of the forest. Looking at the light pointing due north into the forest, Gandalf and Kael looked at each other. While this wasn't completely opposite to their intended direction toward the Lonely Mountain, it was still quite a deviation. If the direction indicated was correct, then Thorin and the others had gotten lost. Gandalf sighed deeply. "Let's go see where exactly they've wandered off to." The two left the old road and entered the forest, following the direction indicated by the wand. With the wand's guidance, the two had a clear target and headed toward Bilbo and the others' location at maximum speed. The deeper they went, the denser the forest became. The sky was covered by thick leaves, with hardly any light filtering through. Not to mention the many spider webs that sealed many areas completely. Hmm? Spider webs! Kael immediately realized and became alert. "Kael, what have you discovered?" Gandalf noticed Kael's abnormal behavior. Kael pointed to the dense spider webs in the trees. "Gandalf, we seem to have come to the giant spiders' lair... those descendants of Ungoliant that Radagast mentioned." Before he could finish speaking, rustling sounds came from all around, like the scraping noise of heavy, sticky appendages moving across the ground or tree branches. Countless giant spiders appeared from the trees and ground, surrounding them from all directions, their numerous eyes glittering as they stared at them with hungry, predatory gazes. [Chapter Complete] *** Want more? Check out my Patreon for: ✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories ✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics ✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl ???? Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter! Thanks for reading and supporting the story