When Tarnes arrived near Haight Fortress, he hadn't yet seen Kenneth Haight but could already hear the clamor of voices.
He exchanged glances with Nepheli Loux and followed the sound.
"Distinguished guests who have traveled from afar, please remain calm. The great Lord of the Golden Tree, His Majesty Tarnes, will be here shortly." Kenneth Haight's very distinctive theatrical voice came through, as if he were communicating with someone opposite.
Around him, Godrick's Royal Army, led by their knight captain, stood in formation—straight and alert, with their weapons drawn and visible.
Tarnes, still in his White Wolf War Ghost armor, approached. He first inconspicuously glanced at the crowd opposite, then said to Kenneth Haight: "Thank you for your hard work, Kenneth. What's the situation? Why are there two groups of people?"
In front of Kenneth Haight were some humans dressed normally—even luxuriously—who had been communicating with him earlier. Behind them were wagons and armed escorts.
However, those escorts, after seeing the excellent equipment and full armor of the Royal Army soldiers, kept their heads down and didn't dare act arrogantly.
Not far from these humans was another group of raggedly dressed people—old, weak, sick, and disabled among them, very much like families who had come seeking refuge with all their members.
Their eyes held wariness and unease, with the stronger men standing at the front, protecting the women, children, and elderly behind them.
This group was talking among themselves about something, and most of the clamor Tarnes and Nepheli Loux heard came from them.
Kenneth Haight turned around upon hearing the voice, and seeing Tarnes' arrival, he breathed a sigh of relief: "You've finally arrived, Your Majesty Tarnes. Here's the situation: these people claim to be merchants from Gondor who heard of your reputation and came with their caravan. However, they cannot produce corresponding identity documents to prove themselves, so I had them wait here. But please rest assured, these merchants haven't caused any trouble and are patiently waiting for you according to my instructions."
Tarnes nodded, then looked toward the more distant group that resembled refugees: "What about those people over there?"
Kenneth Haight shook his head: "I don't know. They didn't come with these merchants. While I was communicating with this caravan, they approached from the distance and stopped there. I sent soldiers to inquire about their purpose, but received no answer, yet they haven't dispersed either. Honestly, I'm not clear what these people intend to do."
Tarnes said: "Then let's handle one matter at a time."
Kenneth Haight cleared a path for Tarnes, who walked up to the caravan.
This caravan was much larger than the Dwarf caravans that had previously come here. At a glance, Tarnes could see no fewer than ten wagons, and from the wheel ruts pressed into the mud, the wagons were probably loaded with quite a lot of goods.
Moreover... Tarnes could also tell that these wagons seemed to have suffered attacks. Some non-critical areas had damage that hadn't been repaired in time, and those armed escorts also showed signs of bandaged wounds.
"Greetings to you, Lord. I am from Lossarnach in Gondor, a land as beautiful as flowers and snow," the lead merchant said. He had already guessed Tarnes' identity through Kenneth Haight's actions.
This merchant appeared to be a middle-aged man of about forty. He had blue eyes, meticulously groomed golden hair, and a neatly trimmed golden beard. His appearance was ordinary, but thanks to his proper attire, he gave a good impression.
However, the long journey inevitably showed fatigue on his face, though upon seeing Tarnes he still tried to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, even slightly adjusting his travel-worn clothes.
Tarnes noticed that the other merchants slightly bowed their heads after this merchant spoke, understanding that he was the real decision-maker of this caravan.
Tarnes said: "But I heard from my minister that you cannot prove you are merchants from Gondor. How should I believe you?"
"Uh..." The merchant immediately showed an embarrassed expression.
He took out a silver badge from his coat, with a flower symbol carved on it: "My name is Guy. This badge is my family's emblem—everyone in Gondor recognizes it."
Tarnes raised an eyebrow: "But this is the Golden Tree territory. I need documents that can prove your identity, not a family emblem."
From this point, Tarnes could already sense the difference between Dwarves and humans in this world.
Dwarves were very sensitive about such things. They always carried identity documents with them, written in great detail and very formally, often several pages long.
Due to this somewhat exaggerated habit of the Dwarves, even trade lists written during transactions with them could serve as identity proof documents.
The humans before him wanted to use a badge as proof. This would work in Gondor or even Rohan territory, but unfortunately, this was neither Gondor nor Rohan.
Guy could only put the badge away. After all, facing a powerful wizard (as Guy had heard), he dared not and could not show his dissatisfaction.
Only an idiot would lose their temper randomly, and Guy was not such an idiot—otherwise, his family wouldn't have sent him as their representative to the wizard's territory.
So Guy could only say helplessly: "Lord, to be honest, we encountered Orc attacks on our way here and lost many men. We barely escaped to Tharbad to shake off those Orcs. But Tharbad has long been ruins and cannot be traversed normally. We lost several more wagons while crossing those marshes, and our proof documents happened to be stored with valuable goods in one of those wagons. If not for that damned attack, the caravan you see would be much larger. I really only have this family emblem to prove my identity now. Please investigate clearly, Lord."
"Orcs... well, I can see you've indeed experienced attacks." Tarnes nodded, actually believing his words.
Because Rogier and D had just told him about Tharbad's situation not long ago. Unless someone had personally been there and entered it, they absolutely wouldn't know what the interior of Tharbad was really like.
Moreover, when normal people discovered that Tharbad's interior was full of impassable marshes, they would definitely choose to go around it.
Since Guy chose to push through Tharbad despite the difficulties, it indeed showed he was driven by Orcs with no other choice.
Hearing Tarnes' words, Guy finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately bowed respectfully: "Thank you for your tolerance and mercy, Lord."
Tarnes said: "Don't rush to thank me. I temporarily believe your identity, but I still don't know what goods you're selling."
Guy's heart rose again at the first half of the sentence, then relaxed at the latter part, quickly saying with a smile: "That's easy to explain. Lossarnach is a land rich in flowers and fruits, so this time I brought many Gondorian specialty fruits and flower seeds. Of course, the fruits I brought are all easily preserved for long periods and absolutely not spoiled. As for flower seeds, I brought corresponding fresh flower samples for each category to facilitate your territory's residents in making selections."
Fruits and flower seeds? That seems pretty good.
Tarnes nodded faintly, then raised his hand and pointed to the largest, most tightly wrapped wagon in the middle: "What's in that wagon?"
Guy looked left and right, then stepped slightly forward and said in a low voice: "Lord, inside are some modest gifts to thank you for your generosity and mercy."
Tarnes recalled what Gandalf had told him—he could see that these people were actually coming for his reputation as a wizard, and they definitely wouldn't be the last group.
He said nothing but looked toward Kenneth Haight: "Kenneth, lead this caravan into the territory."
"Yes, Your Majesty Tarnes." Kenneth Haight agreed and walked over.
As Kenneth Haight passed by Tarnes, Tarnes quickly said in a low voice: "Remember to find some familiar Dwarves when they're selling things, to prevent these people from price gouging."
"I understand, Your Majesty." Kenneth Haight responded in equally hushed tones.
Then his face bloomed with a kind and friendly smile as he quickly approached Guy: "Mr. Guy, please have your caravan follow me. I'll arrange a good area for selling your goods."
Guy obviously wanted to say something more to Tarnes, but under Kenneth Haight's enthusiastic invitation, he could only swallow his words temporarily and follow Kenneth Haight with the same smiling expression.
Let Kenneth Haight, who is equally experienced and smooth, handle this troublesome matter of people coming to curry favor.
Tarnes thought silently.
The caravan's wagons slowly entered the Golden Tree territory. At the same time, the group of refugee-like people who had been motionless stirred, and several adult men jogged over.
"Swoosh——!"
The knight captain instantly drew his knight's greatsword from his back and stood in front of Tarnes.
His blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, while his Royal Army soldiers also drew their weapons, aiming at the approaching men.
Three men were immediately frightened and stopped in place, but the frontmost man continued approaching while waving something in his hand.
That looks like a letter?
Tarnes raised his hand: "Put away your weapons and let that person through."
The knight captain didn't hesitate and immediately sheathed his knight's greatsword, while the Royal Army soldiers also moved in unison to return their weapons to position.
However, the knight captain only stepped slightly aside and didn't completely expose Tarnes' figure.
Although sometimes Tarnes wanted to say that with his strength, he didn't need their protection, he quickly thought of his status in these knights' and soldiers' hearts and let them be.
The man drew closer while shouting: "Lord Tarnes, are you Lord Tarnes?"
Hmm, how does he know my name?
Tarnes instinctively looked at Nepheli Loux beside him, only to find this female warrior looking at him with equally confused eyes.
The man didn't foolishly run directly up to Tarnes but stopped about ten steps away, displaying the somewhat worn and damaged letter he had been waving.
Tarnes asked: "Where did you hear my name?"
The man was breathing heavily—the recent running had consumed considerable energy, and up close, the cold gazes of the knight captain and soldiers made his hard-won courage shrink.
He answered intermittently: "It was... was a grey-robed wizard named Gandalf. Our village was destroyed by Orcs. He saved us from the Orcs' slaughter, then wrote this letter, telling us to go to the southwestern continent, to the land of Minhiriath where there's a magical Golden Tree—the homeland of a wizard named 'Tarnes.'"
Tarnes' eyes lit up as he quickly asked: "Gandalf? You've seen Gandalf? Where is he now?"
The man shook his head in confusion: "I... I don't know. After that kind wizard gave me the letter, he continued eastward."
Tarnes felt somewhat disappointed. He said: "Bring the letter here, let me see it."
The man instinctively glanced at the vigilant knight captain, then slowly moved closer and handed over the letter.
The knight captain stepped forward to receive the letter, while the sharp-eyed Tarnes had already seen a rune symbol he recognized drawn at the seal of the envelope, one Gandalf had demonstrated before him.
"Give it to me. This letter is indeed written by Gandalf," Tarnes said. The knight captain, who had been preparing to check if the envelope was poisoned, immediately respectfully handed it over.
[My dear Tarnes, when you read this letter, it means you have already met these poor people. I know this is an unreasonable request, but aside from your territory, I really cannot think of anyone else who could take in these people whose homes were destroyed by Orcs. Perhaps before they can find a place that will accept them, they will freeze or starve to death in the coming winter.]
[I encountered them near the Greyflood River. Not only Orcs are destroying these people's villages, but even trolls have come down from the mountains. This means Middle-earth will soon face upheaval, yet I still haven't found any trace of Thorin's father. But Thorin's plan to expedition to the Lonely Mountain can no longer be delayed—before that terrible upheaval arrives, the Dwarves must reclaim the Lonely Mountain and establish a reliable defense line. Therefore, I've decided to search for Thrain for one more month. If I still can't find him, I'll go to the Blue Mountains to find Thorin and help him begin the Lonely Mountain expedition plan.]
[Finally, please take in these poor people again. Please trust this old man, they are all good people skilled in farming and herding, not idle vagrants, and will certainly help with your territory's reconstruction.]
[Gandalf, grateful for your generosity and mercy.]
[Chapter Complete]
***
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