Rivendell, after the meeting concluded.
Gandalf was kept behind by Lady Galadriel.
This beautiful woman, golden and full of intellect and wisdom, gently asked Gandalf, "You are going with the dwarves who left early, aren't you?"
Gandalf nodded slightly: "Yes."
Galadriel praised him: "You are right; helping Thorin Oakenshield is the correct course of action."
But then a look of worry appeared on her beautiful face: "Yet I am troubled that this expedition will disturb forces we do not yet understand. The Morgul-blade Radagast gave you—its mysteries must be unraveled. And the well-trained orc warg army you spoke of…something is moving in the shadows, avoiding our sight and not revealing itself. At least not yet."
Gandalf nodded seriously.
Galadriel added: "You must be careful."
"I will be careful, Lady Galadriel," Gandalf said, bidding her farewell and preparing to leave Rivendell as well.
However, Galadriel suddenly called out Gandalf's Elvish name: "Mithrandir, why did you choose that hobbit and that Lord of the Erdtree?"
Gandalf's departing steps halted, then he slowly turned around.
The bright, gentle moonlight shone on Gandalf's aged face, yet a bewildered expression, one never seen by Arthur or Bilbo, appeared on his face: "I do not know."
"Saruman believes that only great power can control evil. But what I have seen is not so; what I have seen is that it is the small things, the daily trifles of ordinary people, that have curbed the spread of darkness—those simple acts of kindness and love."
As Gandalf spoke, he found himself smiling for reasons unknown, then wistfully answered his own question: "Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I was afraid, and he gave me courage."
Galadriel, having approached Gandalf unnoticed, gently took his rough hands and softly comforted him: "Do not be afraid, Mithrandir, you are not alone."
Gandalf silently looked at her with gratitude, and Galadriel continued in Elvish: "Ae boe i le eliathon, im tulithon. (When you need my help, I will come.)"
Gandalf's expression relaxed, and he bowed slightly to Galadriel to show his respect, then slowly stepped back, withdrawing his hands, ready to bid her farewell.
But Galadriel continued to ask: "Wait, Mithrandir. You only told me why you chose the hobbit, but you haven't told me why you also chose that Lord of the Erdtree?"
Gandalf stopped again, but this time a smile appeared on his face: "Because I did not choose him, Lady Galadriel, so I cannot explain this question to you."
"?" A very clear look of confusion appeared on Lady Galadriel's face.
Gandalf explained: "Because Arthur had already agreed to Thorin Oakenshield before I invited him, that he would help the dwarves reclaim the Lonely Mountain."
Galadriel suddenly understood: "So that's it, this is Thorin Oakenshield's destiny…"
Then Gandalf said with a smile: "Of course, if I must give an answer, it is this: Bilbo is the source of my courage when facing darkness, and Arthur is the foundation of my confidence when facing darkness. Please forgive me, however, for not being able to introduce him to you this time, Lady Galadriel."
Lady Galadriel smiled faintly and shook her head: "It's fine; I have enough time and patience to wait and meet this friend of yours."
Meanwhile, Arthur and his group, along with Thorin and his companions, led by Balin, traveled south along the edge of the Misty Mountains after leaving Rivendell.
According to Balin, who was familiar with the mountainous terrain, they had to reach the Misty Mountains near the Savage Lands, as only from there could they more safely cross the Misty Mountains to its eastern side, then follow the river north, pass through the Gladden Fields, and finally reach Mirkwood.
"This is the most ideal route, and it's the route Gandalf and I confirmed together. Don't worry, we don't need to actually reach the Savage Lands; that's too far," Balin said.
The dwarves all nodded; they had no objections whatsoever and tacitly avoided any mention of crossing through the closer Moria Mines.
After all, the "Bane of Durin" deep within the Mines had already deeply etched fear into the dwarves' hearts.
By now, they had been gone from Rivendell for a week, but Gandalf, who was supposed to catch up, had not yet appeared.
Arthur wanted to suggest waiting for Gandalf, but Thorin seemed somewhat impatient.
Thorin said that if the wizard wanted to catch up with them, it would be very easy. Since Gandalf had not appeared for so long, it meant he was delayed by something else, so it was better for them to continue their journey.
After hearing Thorin's words, Arthur felt that what he said was not wrong, so he nodded in agreement.
So they walked for another week along the edge of the Misty Mountains, heading south.
Although the weather was cold, fortunately there were no orc attacks.
Arthur thought that perhaps after entering Rivendell, the orcs could no longer track their whereabouts.
After all, the Elves of Rivendell were very martial, often patrolling the surrounding territory of Rivendell and hunting down any intruding orcs.
And Bilbo, who had been following them all this way, was, as Elrond had said, quickly adapting to the harsh conditions of the wilderness.
At least Bilbo could fall asleep quickly on the ground full of rubble, instead of secretly coming to Arthur to quietly complain about why he hadn't brought a soft bed for him to rest properly.
At noon, the sun was shining brightly, and golden light, like scattered gold dust, adorned the mist-shrouded mountains.
"Speaking of which, haven't we passed many mountain passes? Why can't we just go directly through the Misty Mountains?" Bilbo, sitting on Torrent, saw them pass another pass that could lead into the Misty Mountains without entering, and couldn't help but ask loudly out of curiosity.
The reason Bilbo was sitting on Torrent was that his stamina truly couldn't compare to that of the dwarves in a short amount of time.
Therefore, Arthur had summoned Torrent, letting Bilbo ride on him to rest when he got tired.
Balin heard Bilbo's question and said loudly: "Of course, because you can't go in there, Baggins. There are many roads that cross the Misty Mountains, and many passes over the mountains as well. But, Baggins, you must know that most of those roads are misleading. Otherwise, why would this mountain range be called the 'Misty Mountains' and not something like the 'Foggy Mountains'?"
Bilbo showed a thoughtful expression, and Balin continued to explain, "Most of the passes are either dead ends or wrong turns, and they are all infested with evil creatures, full of danger and terror.
Even the path I'm familiar with, I can't guarantee it's completely safe.
Who knows when dangerous creatures might occupy it, we'd best pray the winter is cold enough to keep those terrifying things from appearing on the mountain paths."
Bilbo shivered, startled by Balin's words.
But Arthur asked with interest, "Balin, do you know what those dangerous creatures look like?"
Balin replied with a humorous tone, "Of course not, Sir Arthur.
If I knew what those dangerous creatures looked like, perhaps you wouldn't be seeing me at Bag End, but in Mirkwood."
And Ori, the most learned member of the expedition, after hearing their conversation, said, "I do know a few things, but they are all things I've heard or read from my kinsmen or in books."
This statement piqued the interest of the other dwarves, and Kili urged curiously, "Well, out with it, Ori!"
Ori nodded, "Most of the dangerous creatures refer to the orcs or Trolls that infest the Misty Mountains."
Dwalin had been listening intently to Ori, but upon hearing it was orcs and Trolls, he immediately lost interest: "Oh, if it's just orcs and Trolls, my axe will make all their heads explode."
But Ori said, "Dwalin, I only said most, not all.
In fact, I once heard a fellow dwarf in a tavern say that he saw eagles larger than elephants in the Misty Mountains."
"Oh, this…" Dwalin fell silent.
Ori continued, "Of course, that's not the most terrifying part; he also saw something far more horrifying, so much so that even after I bought him three large tankards of ale, his legs were still trembling, and he couldn't calm down."
Bofur subconsciously said, "You weren't tricked out of your ale money, were you?
What kind of monster did he encounter that even ale couldn't calm a dwarf's fear?"
Bifur mumbled something in dwarvish, and the other dwarves immediately retorted.
"Impossible, Bifur, that fellow has been slumbering deep in the Moria Mines."
"Oin is right, that thing can't come out, otherwise the dwarf Ori mentioned wouldn't have recognized it."
Bilbo looked curiously at the suddenly noisy dwarves and asked, "What did Bifur say that got you all so excited?"
Bofur kindly explained, "He was talking about a terrifying presence in the Moria Mines.
Alright, let's not talk about that anymore.
Ori, you continue, what was it?"
Ori calmly said, "It was a Giant, a Rock Giant.
He encountered a thunderstorm while crossing the Misty Mountains, and then the ground began to shake.
He thought it was an earthquake, but then he found a shadow blocking him.
It was two colossal humanoids made of rock, and they were throwing rocks larger than houses at each other."
The moment Ori uttered the word "Giant," everyone, including Arthur, Bernal, Millison, and Igon, their eyes gleamed as they looked at Ori.
The gazes of the four of them made Ori shiver as well, and he asked, "Do you have any questions for me?"
Arthur and the other three exchanged glances, then Arthur spoke, "We are quite interested in the Giant you mentioned, Ori, could you explain it to us in more detail?"
Ori showed an apologetic expression and politely replied, "I am very sorry, Sir Arthur, everything I know I've already said.
The dwarf who told me about the Rock Giant also didn't know more detailed information; he said he fainted after seeing the Rock Giant and when he woke up, it was clear sky, and the Giant had vanished without a trace.
If he hadn't seen those huge rocks fallen on the ground when he left the valley, he would have thought it was just a nightmare."
So, thunderstorm weather is one of the conditions for the Rock Giant's appearance?
Arthur nodded thoughtfully, "I understand, thank you, Ori."
Bernal came to Arthur's side and asked with a light laugh, "What do you think, Arthur?
Do you think they could be kin to those Giant skeletons in The Lands Between?"
Millison also leaned in, and upon hearing Bernal's words, shook her head, "I don't think so, Sir Bernal."
Arthur pondered for a moment and agreed with Millison, saying, "I also think it's unlikely.
Since it's called a Rock Giant, it should be related to rock.
Whereas the Giants of The Lands Between are generally associated with fire.
However, we need to be more vigilant.
Giants are far more dangerous than Dragons."
Igon heard this and said, "My Dragon-hunting greatbow has never shot an arrow at a Giant.
If we encounter one, I'd really like to see."
Bernal smiled, "I'd also really like to experience the power of a Giant, but unfortunately, I can only glimpse a bit of a Giant's power from that Fire Giant in the snowy mountains.
How about it, Arthur, want to have a competition?"
Arthur's expression froze, and he said helplessly, "Why do you always want to have strange competitions with me?
Why don't we imagine what we should do if we really encounter the Rock Giant Ori mentioned…"
Bilbo sat on Torrent's back, silently listening to Arthur and the other three discuss how to deal with Giants, his expression quite something.
He felt that if such a massive creature really existed, one should just run away immediately upon encountering it, rather than thinking about how to defeat it.
Ori saw how seriously Arthur and the other three were discussing and said somewhat apologetically, "Sir Arthur, this is just something I heard; it doesn't mean it's real.
Perhaps that dwarf really just exaggerated after getting drunk."
Time flew by, and another two days quietly passed.
Led by Balin, the group entered a rugged path hidden among the rocks.
They traversed a mountain ridge, then arrived at another path—one almost at the edge of a cliff—and began to cross the Misty Mountains.
And unfortunately, they also encountered a thunderstorm.
Bilbo, dressed in wet clothes, wiped the rain from his face, his left hand gripping the rock wall, his right hand using the thick branch he had brought as a walking stick, carefully moving forward.
The path was too narrow, and the rain made the rocks somewhat slippery.
If one wasn't careful enough, they would lose their footing and fall.
"You said we've encountered a thunderstorm, so will we encounter that rumored Rock Giant?" Bilbo said loudly, trying to make light of the situation as he carefully stepped over a protruding rock, his head down.
But no one answered him; only the "rumble" of thunder echoed along this dangerous cliff path.
Then Dwalin's terrified voice came, "Look out!!"
Bilbo looked up and saw a massive rock smashing down from the sky not far away.