"Are you really here to save us?" a weak young man asked in a hoarse voice, his eyes fixed on the two.
Gandalf nodded, his demeanor as warm as a spring breeze, "That is why we are here."
Luke waved his hand, unlocking the large lock on the cage door, allowing the villagers inside to come out.
Seeing the cage door open, the villagers stumbled out, trembling as if in a dream, their faces dazed.
However, when Luke and Gandalf saw that only a dozen or so people had emerged, their hearts sank.
"Is it just you all?"
The villagers instantly fell silent, enveloped by grief, sobbing softly.
It was the young man who had asked the question earlier who provided the answer, his eyes red and his voice choked with emotion as he said, "Everyone else was eaten by Trolls! Today was supposed to be my turn to be eaten by the Trolls, but my mother convinced the Trolls to let me grow a little bigger before eating me, and then my mother took my place…."
Luke was silent, looking at the young man who was consumed by sorrow and self-blame.
Gandalf walked up to the young man and gently patted his shoulder: "What is your name?"
"Edward."
"Edward, you have a very great mother. She used her life to win you a chance to live. Don't let her down. Live well, carrying her share of life!"
Gandalf's words were concise but full of power, making them convincing.
After rescuing the villagers, Luke and Gandalf began to discuss how to lead them out of the Trolls' cave.
Gandalf's idea was for Luke to protect the villagers, while he would fight the Trolls.
But this plan was rejected by Luke.
Trolls are huge and have extremely strong defenses; they have almost no weaknesses except for being afraid of sunlight. It would not be easy for Gandalf to face five Trolls alone.
Although Gandalf is a Maia, his power was restricted in Middle-earth, and he was forbidden from using overly powerful magic to directly interfere with Middle-earth's natural order and the choices of its inhabitants, thereby breaking the balance of various powers and races.
Moreover, his current body is also flesh and blood, limited by a human body, and he can feel pain, fatigue, get injured, and even die.
Therefore, under various restrictions, Gandalf preferred to wield his staff and sword in close combat, rarely using powerful magic, at most a light spell.
Seeing Luke reject his suggestion, Gandalf did not insist but asked, "Then, Luke, do you have any good suggestions?"
Luke confidently pulled out a Potion, chuckling as he said, "Trolls are not easy to deal with, so we should outsmart them, using the smallest cost to achieve the greatest results."
"What is this?" Gandalf asked curiously about the Potion in Luke's hand.
"This is a Shrinking Potion I refined before. One drop can shrink a horse to the size of a palm. It's perfect for dealing with these Trolls."
Gandalf's eyes lit up, and he immediately guessed Luke's idea.
"Are you planning to put this Potion into the pot and feed it to them?"
"Exactly."
Luke nodded, then pointed his magic wand at himself, becoming invisible again with a Disillusionment Charm.
"Gandalf, you protect the villagers. I'll go and feed them the Potion first, then I'll signal you."
Saying that, he hurried towards the cave hall. He had to administer the Potion before the Trolls finished eating.
And the villagers in the cave, seeing Luke disappear like that, also widened their eyes in shock, while also gaining a bit more hope and confidence of escaping.
As soon as Luke arrived at the cave hall, he happened to see five Trolls fighting over the food in the large pot.
Luke quickly cast a Levitation Charm on his feet and cautiously approached the Trolls.
When he came before the Trolls, Luke felt the oppressive presence of their massive bodies more keenly.
One hand could swat him to death, or swallow him in a single gulp.
Luke carefully moved through the gaps between the Trolls, heading towards the large pot.
But just then, one of the Trolls stopped grabbing food, sniffing around with its nose, and asked in confusion, "Is there a living person's scent?"
Watching the Troll stretch its head towards him, Luke stopped and immediately held his breath, not expecting the Troll's nose to be so keen.
Seeing the Troll about to sniff in his direction again, Luke quietly raised his magic wand and whispered, "Confundus Charm!"
The Troll's expression became a bit muddled. It sniffed again, then immediately angrily punched the Troll next to it, "Was that you who farted? It stinks!"
"Who farted? You farted!" The innocent Troll next to it, who had been unfairly attacked, immediately retorted and punched back.
The two Trolls stopped fighting over food and immediately started brawling.
And the other three Trolls also stopped eating, loudly shouting for them to finish each other off.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Luke quickly stepped forward to the large pot.
He looked at the half-remaining sticky substance in the pot and smelled the meaty odor.
When Luke realized what it was, his stomach churned, instinctively feeling unwell.
But to deal with these Trolls, he could only suppress his discomfort, quietly approach, then pull out the Potion bottle, open it, and pour it all in.
A single drop was enough to shrink ordinary animals to palm size, but he wasn't sure how strong the Trolls' magic resistance was, so he had to increase the dosage to deal with them.
After adding the Potion, Luke carefully retreated behind a large boulder, quietly waiting for the result.
Soon after, the two fighting Trolls ended their battle and rejoined the struggle for food.
Once the Trolls had eaten all the food in the pot, the Potion's effect began to show.
"Hmm? What's happening to me? Why are you all getting bigger?" one of the fastest-eating Trolls asked in confusion, but quickly realized that he himself was continuously shrinking.
From six meters, he rapidly shrank… five meters, four meters… one meter, fifty centimeters, ten centimeters.
The other Trolls, still shocked and confused about how their companion was shrinking, also began to rapidly shrink.
Finally, five Trolls, only ten centimeters tall, appeared in their original spot, looking around at the enlarged environment with fear and unease.
Then they saw a giant human appear before them, waving a huge wooden stick in his hand, conjuring a cage that trapped them inside.
"Alright, Gandalf, you can bring the people out now!" Luke shouted loudly towards the depths of the cave.
As soon as his voice fell, Gandalf and a dozen or so villagers walked out.
"Resolved?" Gandalf asked.
Luke pointed to the Trolls in the cage on the ground, "It's not over yet. They are currently shrunk by my Potion, and I'm not sure how long the effect will last, so we need to deal with them quickly."
Gandalf looked at the miniature Trolls in the cage and raised an eyebrow: "What do you plan to do?"
"I plan to clear out the Trolls in the vicinity and see if there are any other living people in the hands of other Trolls. These Trolls all live in the Troll Forest, so they should know each other. I want to see if I can interrogate them for information," Luke explained.
"Do you need my help?"
"No, I'll try first." Luke shook his head, then aimed his magic wand at the five Trolls in the cage, and without another word, chanted, "Confundus Charm!"
The magic resistance of the five Trolls significantly decreased as their bodies shrank, and they instantly became muddled and confused.
"Tell me the locations of other Troll caves nearby that you know of," Luke said.
The five Trolls regarded Luke as their closest kin, and in their confused state, they revealed all the information they knew.
After obtaining enough information, Luke no longer hesitated. A small dagger flew out, instantly severing the heads of the five Trolls as if cutting grass.
As soon as the Trolls died, the effect of the Shrinking Potion gradually receded. Their ten-centimeter bodies rapidly expanded back to their original size, and dark, black blood gushed out from their severed necks like a fountain, emitting a foul, fishy smell.