While Igris and his team were meeting their two new members, entirely different plans were unfolding in the gloomy fortress of Dol Guldur to the east.
A group of red scorpion assassins knelt before Sauron. Every individual in the room was a master assassin of the golden scorpion rank. Their leader broke the silence, speaking calmly, his voice muffled behind his mask.
"What are your orders, my lord?"
Sauron hovered in the air in his ethereal form, his back turned to them. Without even deigning to look behind him, he spoke calmly in the Black Speech.
"Go to Rivendell. Kill Thorin Oakenshield and his right hand, Balin. Pin the blame on the elves of Rivendell."
He then gave a slight nod. Waiting for this signal, two servants clad in black stepped forward with two distinct pouches in their hands and approached the assassins. Sauron continued to speak calmly in the darkened room.
"Also, detonate these in Rivendell or mix them into the water. As for the talismans, they will shield you from the perception of the elves, including Galadriel, but finish your job quickly. It will not take long for that woman to realize something is amiss."
Then, he slowly turned his head and looked at his assassins on the ground.
"If you can, try to kill the Lord of Rivendell's wife or children. Elrond's twins are currently immobilized. Pin the blame on the dwarves, but do not take unnecessary risks."
The assassin leader accepted the offered pouches, bowed his head respectfully, and began to back away. Just then, Sauron spoke again.
"One more thing..."
The assassins halted their steps and awaited the new command. Although Sauron appeared calm, he added with a faint but vindictive fury bleeding into his voice.
"Kill that pathetic creature known as the Dark Knight as well."
ACHOO!
In the stables of Rivendell, Igris, who was taking off Bregoch's saddle, sneezed violently. Will and Gilan, standing off to the side, were startled by the sudden noise and looked at him curiously. Gilan asked.
"Are you alright? Don't tell me you've caught a cold."
Igris spoke calmly as he rubbed his nose.
"Nah. An enemy of mine probably mentioned me. Anyway, it's not that important..."
Then, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
"It could have been hay or horsehair that made me sneeze, too..."
Under the blank stares of the two Rangers, Igris cleared his throat to dispel the awkward atmosphere and turned back to Bregoch.
"Thanks for the help, buddy. Thanks to you, I had a comfortable journey."
The horse neighed calmly at him, replying in its own language.
Khkhkh!
'No problem, it gave me a chance to stretch my legs.'
After nodding to show he understood, Igris glanced out of the corner of his eye at his dear friend Shadowmane, who was still sitting in the corner, blowing smoke from his nostrils. He was about to sigh softly and turn back to Bregoch to ask for help with him, but the horse grasped the situation and shook his head.
Kihkihii!
'Leave him to me.'
Relieved, Igris nodded gratefully, set the saddle in his hands aside, and turned to walk out of the stable alongside Gilan and Will. As soon as they stepped outside, Will stared at the scenery of Rivendell, completely mesmerized. He whistled softly at the sight before him.
"And here I thought Castle Araluen was magnificent... what is this place?"
Agreeing with his old friend's reaction, Gilan nodded and spoke.
"I agree, this place is truly on another level. For the first two days after I arrived, I just sat in my chair on my room's balcony, stretched my legs out, and cleared my head. It was a very different but beautiful feeling."
Then, slowing his pace, he turned to look at Igris.
"What do you think, Igris?"
After contemplating the flawless scenery around him for a moment, Igris spoke calmly.
"The first week? Beautiful. The second week? Not bad, but after the third week, I'd probably lose my mind and become a philosopher. It's far too peaceful a place for me."
While Will was a bit surprised by this answer, Gilan sighed as if entirely unfazed by what he had heard.
"I had a feeling you'd say something along those lines... You're a bit of an odd one."
Igris smirked mockingly at the comment and shrugged, not taking any offense at the description.
"It's better than being normal."
Gilan chuckled and shook his head helplessly. After the trio walked a bit further, they stopped when they reached the grand building that was Elrond's house. Igris checked the time and looked helpless for a moment.
"Ah... I wanted to see Halt's face, but I need to make it in time for breakfast..."
Gilan chuckled and shrugged.
"Nothing to be done. Aside from the picky dwarves, you probably can't stomach raw vegetables either."
Igris agreed with him and waved his hand in farewell.
"Anyway, I'm off. See you at breakfast."
Gilan and Will, who was curious and unfamiliar with the situation, nodded. As Igris headed toward the kitchens and disappeared from sight, the two Rangers continued walking toward the guest quarters where the group was staying. Unable to hold back, Will asked curiously.
"What were you talking about?"
Gilan smiled and spoke as they calmly made their way down the corridor.
"Along with being the leader of our group, Igris is also our cook. The group has grown to nearly a hundred people, so he went to prepare breakfast."
Will was dumbfounded for a moment by what he heard.
"A cook!?"
Gilan nodded, continuing as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"And a damn good one at that! It looks like Jenny is going to find her ultimate role model."
Feeling a bit strange for a moment, Will imagined Igris sitting on a royal throne, wearing chef's clothes, holding a ladle and a kitchen knife. Then, shivering slightly, he violently shook the image from his head.
"He's better off as he is... anyway. Where is Halt?"
Gilan nodded and grinned.
"Come, this way. He's probably already awake and studying the maps of this world."
Will rolled his eyes at this unchangeable habit of his master.
"Does that stubborn old man never know how to rest?"
Gilan spoke with a mischievous tone, reminiscing about the old days.
"For the first four days we were here, he actually slacked off. He made his coffee, stretched his legs out, and enjoyed the view with me."
He paused for a moment, his expression turning serious as he continued.
"But we will be continuing our journey in a few days. That's why he's making preparations in advance. We're in an unknown world, Will. We don't know what we'll face; the only thing we can do is prepare."
Listening carefully and seriously to these words, Will nodded before asking about the main issue with curiosity.
"So, what's our mission? What are we doing right now?"
Encountering this familiar scenario once again, Gilan flinched slightly and scratched the back of his neck with a forced smile.
"Ahahah... so you don't know..."
Knowing Gilan very well and realizing he was about to hear something he wouldn't like at all, Will raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Know what?"
Not knowing quite where to start, Gilan cleared his throat and tried to broach the subject carefully.
"Ahm... well, you see, we're going to hunt a sort of giant lizard..."
Will furrowed his brows even deeper, looking at him skeptically.
"A giant lizard? Like some kind of crocodile?"
Gilan hesitated for a moment, muttering inwardly to himself.
'If only...'
Gilan decided to elaborate on the situation a bit more, easing Will into the truth.
"It has wings..."
Will didn't know what to say for a moment. Some old legends he had heard from his own world began to surface in his mind. Putting together what he had learned about this world so far, he asked in a dry, tense tone that nonetheless tried to sound joking.
"...Not the fire-breathing kind, right?"
Gilan merely spoke dryly, forcing a stiff smile.
"...Could be..."
Will stood frozen in his tracks, utterly astounded.
"What? Are you serious!?"
As Gilan shrugged helplessly, Will let out a deep sigh, covering his face with his hands as he muttered.
"...Suddenly, my months of captivity in Skandia seem a whole lot easier."
Gilan patted him on the back as if trying to comfort him.
"It's good to have you with us!"
Will pulled his hands away from his face and rolled his eyes.
"Tell me about it."
As the duo continued down the corridor, Gilan suddenly stopped and brought a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. Will grinned and nodded to show he understood; his master's ears had always been sharp. So, he slowed his steps, controlled his breathing, and fell silent.
He stopped with Gilan in front of a large set of doors. When Gilan softly pushed the door open, Halt—who was buried among various documents and maps at a desk inside—only briefly raised his head and saw Gilan at the door. Then, returning his focus back to his work and his map, he asked.
"Gilan. How are the new recruits? Will they be of any help?"
Gilan spoke calmly as he stepped further into the room, while Will stayed right behind him, purposely keeping out of Halt's line of sight.
"They're both genuinely good, Halt. A Ranger and a swordsman arrived. I had the chance to watch the swordsman in action; apparently, he is the teacher of the woman named Ciri. The two of them sparred for a moment... frankly, never mind me, I don't think even Horace could beat him."
In the back, Will raised his eyebrows just as Halt did; both were surprised that someone like Gilan could come to such an absolute conclusion. Without lifting his head from the desk, Halt turned the page in his hand and asked.
"And the Ranger? How does he compare to us? Elf? Human?"
Coming up beside his master, Gilan smiled faintly and replied.
"Human, and on a level that rivals ours. In fact, I'm sure we could form a great team with him."
This time, Halt raised a single eyebrow. Though clearly surprised by Gilan's highly praising assessment, he continued his work without lifting his gaze from the map.
"Good. I'll see him for myself later."
Gilan and Will looked at each other and raised their eyebrows; Halt was far too focused on the map at that moment. Leaning over the desk a bit more, Gilan asked curiously.
"What's captured your interest so much?"
Halt let out a tired sigh, rubbed his eyes with his hands, and completely unfurled the large map on the table to show Gilan.
"We're in a troublesome spot. Our group has grown to nearly a hundred people, which makes us open targets. Yes, we won't be ambushed like before, and we're all mounted, but passing through the Misty Mountains looks like it's going to be difficult."
Turning serious, Gilan leaned over and peered at the map of the Misty Mountains with curiosity.
"What's the problem?"
Still examining the papers meticulously, Halt spoke without looking up.
"Goblins, orcs, manticores, griffins... shall I list more?"
As Will hid in the shadows, trying to digest and analyze these strange new terms he was hearing, Gilan spoke up, utterly astounded by what he had just heard.
"WHAT!? Just yesterday, Lord Elrond's twins came riding from there! Even Lady Galadriel passed through there all by herself. They slipped through all those threats?"
Halt sighed in exasperation and spoke in a distressed tone.
"Not only are the three names you mentioned elves, they are elves of an abnormal caliber. No creature in its right mind would provoke those three. Furthermore, elves are so deeply attuned to nature that hiding themselves is child's play for them... but as for us, our group consists of more than fifty noisy dwarves and three battle-crazed humans..."
Reflecting on these highly realistic details of the group's dynamics, Gilan felt a sudden headache building at his temples. On the other hand, Will, who was standing in the back, craned his neck to look at the map, chiming in as he pointed at several spots with his finger.
"Then why don't we use the tunnels?"
Since Halt was in the midst of an intense thought process, he didn't dwell much on the voice coming from behind him, and instead spoke, focusing directly on the question.
"Because those tunnels are exactly what we need to stay away from, Will. They are the nests of Goblins, and these drawings are at least 50 years old. They've probably long since changed the layout of the tunnels... besides, we can't bring the horses in there."
Exhausted by what he was hearing, Gilan rubbed his eyes and spoke.
"So, we'll need to watch out for the caves too... to avoid getting ambushed."
Halt agreed with him and nodded.
"Correct, Gilan... plus, we'll have to hope a rain of boulders doesn't come crashing down on our heads along the way..."
Halt rubbed his tired eyes once more and let out a deep sigh.
"Our luck is so rotten that we're in the rainy season, and the rains in this world are excessively fierce. We are also facing the risk of landslides."
Although Will adopted a troubled expression upon hearing this pessimistic outlook from the back, he chuckled inwardly.
"Our first adventure after all these years is quite the tough one, is it?"
Halt nodded absently and seriously.
"It is..."
The moment he gave his answer, Halt froze in place, feeling as if his perception had been thrown off. When he slowly raised his head, he saw two men in green cloaks standing right across from him at the other end of the desk. He was stunned for a moment and rubbed his eyes again, then looked at the figures before him with suspicion once more. It wasn't an illusion; there were still two people standing there, one tall and the other short, grinning at him. Halt stood up slowly and spoke with an expression full of pure astonishment.
"Will!?"
Will smiled, looking at his master, and chuckled.
"Seeing you always brightens my day, Halt."