As soon as he finished speaking, it was as if he had used up all his courage, and he shrank back again, hiding behind Luke.
Luke was stunned to hear Bilbo's quick reply.
Gandalf, however, was very happy and raised his wine glass, "Our Master Thief has returned! Let us welcome Bilbo Baggins to the party!"
"To Bilbo Baggins, the Master Thief!" the Dwarves cheered loudly.
When Luke came back to his senses, his emotions were somewhat complex. He didn't expect Bilbo to agree so quickly. He remembered that in his memory, Bilbo only made the final decision after Gandalf and the others left, and then caught up with the expedition team.
Obviously, such a change stemmed from him.
However, since Bilbo agreed, Luke also supported his decision, and immediately asked Thorin and Bilbo to sign a contract, specifying the reward for Bilbo helping the Dwarves reclaim Lonely Mountain.
He didn't want Bilbo to get no reward after helping so much.
And Thorin, in order to reclaim Lonely Mountain, was also very generous, agreeing to share the Lonely Mountain treasure. As long as the arkenstone was found and Lonely Mountain was reclaimed, one-fourteenth of the treasure would be given to Bilbo.
As for Gandalf, he didn't ask for any reward.
After getting the contract and signing his name, Bilbo felt a little dizzy.
If he were to obtain one-fifteenth of the Lonely Mountain treasure according to the contract, he would become the richest hobbit in the entire Shire.
Late at night,
The Dwarves, who had finished off all the liquor in Bag End, lay scattered on the beds, snoring like thunder.
Bilbo, in the master bedroom next door, tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep at all.
On the one hand, the Dwarves' snoring was too loud, and on the other hand, he was thinking about the upcoming adventure.
Luke and Gandalf, meanwhile, were sitting on the sloping lawn of Bag End's roof.
One looked up at the stars, the other silently puffed on his pipe.
"I went to the wilderness for a while and exchanged information with some ranger friends. I found that the Orc army in the Misty Mountains has been stirring recently, and there are even traces of several Orc squads in the wilderness," Gandalf exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice somewhat solemn.
"So I will part ways with you halfway and go to the Misty Mountains to investigate. The expedition team will be handed over to you then!"
Gandalf had told him about this before, so Luke was mentally prepared.
He nodded, turned to look at Gandalf, "Is there anything you need my help with?"
To be honest, compared to being with the Dwarves, he preferred to follow Gandalf.
Gandalf smiled and pointed to the sword at his waist, "I'd be very willing to have you as a helper, but haven't you already made a deal with the Dwarves to escort them?"
"By the way, your sword is really good! Have you named it?"
"This sword is called Flame Sword."
Seeing Gandalf interested in his sword, Luke drew it out with a hint of showing off and handed it to him. At the same time, he answered Gandalf's previous question, saying indifferently:
"I only promised to help them reclaim Lonely Mountain, but I didn't say I would take care of them like a nanny. And I don't think Thorin would want to see my prestige or yours surpass his in the team."
Speaking of Thorin, Gandalf also had a headache. Although the team had just been formed, the conflict between Thorin and Gandalf had already begun to emerge.
Thorin, a person with extremely strong control, has been trying to control the leadership of the expedition team.
Gandalf was not willing to contend for any leadership, and was even willing to give in to Thorin most of the time. But as the proposer and organizer of the team, with his powerful strength and prestige, he naturally had prestige in the team.
Not to mention that he also wore narya, the Ring of Fire, on his hand. The ring would make those around him feel warm, courageous, and hopeful, making people instinctively want to be close to him and revolve around him.
So unless Thorin or Gandalf actively bowed their heads or left, conflicts would sooner or later break out during the expedition.
But this was not something Luke needed to worry about.
And Gandalf didn't pay too much attention to it either. Now that Luke, a Wizard, was in the team, he felt much more at ease and focused more on investigating the surging dark forces.
Forgetting about Thorin, that troublesome fellow, Gandalf focused his attention on the sword in front of him, which looked like it was cast from gold.
"The craftsmanship of the Dwarves is indeed amazing!" Gandalf stroked the sword, full of admiration. As soon as he grasped the hilt, magic power surged into the sword body, and the sword instantly burned with scorching golden flames, emitting light like the sun!
"Flame Sword, it truly lives up to its name!"
Luke was stunned to see the golden flames released by the Flame Sword in Gandalf's hand.
These golden flames were different from his previous red flames, more scorching, sacred, and dangerous. Luke could feel that if he touched these flames, even if only a little, he would be instantly burned to ashes!
"Gandalf, what kind of flame is this?"
"This is the Fire of Arnor, also known as the Fire of the Sun," Gandalf explained.
Luke was struck by this. The Flame Sword only released red magic flames in his hand, but when it fell into Gandalf's hand, it actually released the Fire of the Sun!
The difference was too great!
Luke even felt that the Flame Sword in his hand was a treasure covered in dust, entrusted to the wrong person.
However, thinking that Gandalf was a Maia disguised as a Wizard, Luke felt a little better.
After all, the other party was a god, and he was just an ordinary Wizard. It's not strange to have a gap, isn't it? Luke comforted himself.
Putting away the flames, Gandalf discovered the mysterious runes appearing on the sword body and was very curious, "What kind of writing is this? I feel that it contains mystery and power."
"This is magic script, you can also think of it as the writing of Wizards." In order to avoid having the same name as the Dwarven runes, he still chose a different explanation.
"The writing of Wizards?" Gandalf was very surprised. He had never known that Wizards had any writing, but then a guess popped into his mind, and he stared at Luke in disbelief.
"Is this writing you created?"
Besides this guess, he really couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Gandalf, you think too highly of me!" Luke smiled bitterly and shook his head. He didn't dare to lie in front of this wise gray-robed Wizard, but he couldn't talk about the system, so he could only choose a vague explanation.
"You can think of this as heaven-bestowed. Although only I currently master this magic script, it was not created by me."
But the shock this answer brought to Gandalf was no less than his previous guess.
The term "heaven-bestowed" inevitably made Gandalf misunderstand, and then he looked at Luke with an envious gaze, "The favor of the Father of All is truly making me feel jealous!"
Huh? Luke was confused, what favor of the Father of All? Did Gandalf misunderstand something?
But Gandalf didn't mean to explain either. After returning the Flame Sword to Luke, he went back to Bag End to rest.
The next morning,
After eating the last bit of stored food in Bag End, everyone was ready to go.