Facing the brown-robed man's warm invitation, Thorin still wanted to refuse, but Arthur managed to dissuade him.
"Thorin, how much do you know about Mirkwood?" Arthur asked.
Thorin thought for a moment and replied, "Not too much, and I haven't been here in a long time."
Arthur said, "Then we should all the more get information about Mirkwood from Radagast. I remember you said that the Elves of Mirkwood betrayed you dwarves, right?"
Thorin nodded silently.
Arthur seized the opportunity to persuade him, "So you don't want to wander blindly in Mirkwood and then stumble into the Elves' territory, do you?"
Thorin's nod was even quicker this time.
So Arthur shrugged, "Then let's ask Radagast properly, and ideally get a detailed map of Mirkwood to bypass the Elves you dislike."
Thorin and his dwarf companions were thus persuaded by Arthur to come to Beorn's home.
Although Beorn's attitude towards the dwarves was not very friendly, he still observed basic courtesies, such as providing abundant and delicious meat, fruit, and honey milk.
Bilbo and the dwarves ate very happily; if Beorn hadn't been sitting at the head of the table with a grim face watching them, the dwarves would have wanted to sing loudly.
While they were eating, Arthur found Radagast alone and asked him for information about Mirkwood.
Upon hearing Arthur's words, Radagast chuckled like an old prankster, gently placed the little white mouse in his hand on the ground, and then stood up to reply, "Of course, of course, Gandalf told me everything. He told me you would definitely ask for a detailed map, so before you arrived, I had my lovely and diligent little wild rabbits pull me all over Mirkwood for a long time, and I drew everything that needed to be drawn."
He pulled out a relatively clean piece of paper from inside his mud-stained and… shriveled bird droppings-covered brown robe. On it was a very detailed map drawn with clear ink, and it thoughtfully annotated Radagast's opinions on the places next to the place names.
While Arthur was examining the map, Radagast explained with a warm smile, "You can just take the Old Forest Road straight through Mirkwood; there's no need to make it too complicated. You might encounter patrolling Forest Elves along the way; with their help, you'll get out of Mirkwood faster."
Upon hearing Radagast's words, Arthur immediately looked up from the map.
He first glanced at the dwarves, and only after realizing that they were engrossed in the delicious food provided by Beorn and no one was paying attention to their conversation did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Then Arthur didn't even mind Radagast's dirty clothes; he immediately pulled him away from the dwarves' dining table and said in a low voice, "You absolutely must not mention the Elves to the dwarves, especially those Elves of Mirkwood. There's an irreconcilable conflict between them. If Thorin and his group encounter patrolling Elves, I don't know if they'll treat the Elves as orcs first, or if the Elves will capture the dwarves first."
"Oh, oh." Radagast nodded blankly.
Then Arthur picked up the map again and asked, "So is there a safe route that can avoid those Elves? Can you point it out?"
Radagast nodded without thinking, but a troubled expression appeared on his face as he looked at the map.
Arthur noticed the change in his expression and asked, "There isn't one?"
Now it was Radagast's turn to pull Arthur to a more secluded corner of the room. Using the sunlight streaming in from the window, he held up the map and explained to Arthur, "There are, indeed, and they can all avoid the Elves. But…"
His unwashed, mud-stained fingers pointed out at least three paths to Arthur on the map.
However, Arthur did not show a satisfied expression; instead, he thoughtfully looked at the "big spider" symbols drawn next to all three paths.
He asked, "Do these symbols mean that we might encounter these big spiders on these three paths?"
Radagast explained, "Yes, the last time I saw you and Gandalf, I mentioned these evil creatures. Originally, their activity range was only in the forest around Dol Guldur, but in the past few months, their activity range has become wider and wider. Just two months ago, they even began to boldly intrude into the territory of those Forest Elves and attack them."
Arthur was a little surprised, "What was the result? Were there any casualties among the Elves?"
Radagast shook his head, "There were no casualties; on the contrary, all the big spiders that broke in were killed. But this attack also made the Forest Elves more vigilant. The Elves, who usually don't venture out of their territory much, have begun extensive patrols, or rather hunts, within Mirkwood. Their purpose for hunting is these big spiders, so many paths where Elves would not originally appear now also show their presence."
Then he rubbed his clothes with his hand and pointed out a few more paths, "These are the paths where Elves would not originally appear, but now, I can't guarantee whether they will or not. And you already said that the dwarves in the room and the Forest Elves have a grudge, so if the two sides really meet, I think it might be more troublesome than you imagine."
Arthur asked in confusion, "What's the reason for it being more troublesome?"
Radagast scratched his hair, which had not been washed for who knows how long and was even matted together, and said, "Those Forest Elves, compared to the Rivendell Elves you know, the former have a more irritable temper. What you said reminded me, I've also heard some rumors about the conflict between the Lonely Mountain dwarves and that Elf King. Since the dwarves consider the Elves their enemies, the reverse is also true; the Elves must also consider the dwarves their enemies. I'm just afraid that when you walk into Mirkwood, you'll be suddenly ambushed by hidden Elves. You know Elves are very accurate with their arrows…"
Arthur's expression instantly became serious, "So those Elves might also be our enemies? Thank you for the reminder, Radagast. I will pay attention to this when entering Mirkwood and will absolutely not let them harm my friends."
Radagast felt Arthur suddenly become murderous and quickly said, "No, no, no. Although the dwarves and Elves don't get along, you and the Elves are not sworn enemies. While the Forest Elves may have a bit of a temper, they aren't the type who won't listen to reason."
Arthur was silent for a moment, then finally sighed deeply, "Alas… if only Gandalf were here, I think he would definitely know those Forest Elves."
Radagast comforted him, "Look on the bright side, since Gandalf used magic to tell me to make some preparations for you, it's not impossible that he also used magic to notify the Elf King in the forest, so that his Elves would make way for you when they see you."
Arthur could only cheer up, "Then I can only hope so."
At this moment, a very heavy footsteps sounded behind the two of them.
Arthur and Radagast turned around simultaneously, only to find Beorn's large figure.
Arthur looked up at the shapeshifter, who was two heads taller than himself.
At this moment, Beorn looked at him and Radagast expressionlessly, not knowing what was on his mind.
Radagast blinked, asking Beorn with his eyes what was wrong.
Beorn then spoke, looking only at Arthur and saying, "Your dwarf friends and that hobbit have already eaten half of my food reserves, but they show no signs of stopping..."
"Oh, my apologies." Arthur glanced at the large table, already piled high with empty plates and food scraps, and quickly said.
The dwarves even took advantage of Beorn's absence from the dining table to jump onto the wide table, which was one and a half times their height, and began to tap dance.
Fili and Kili were the ones who started it. Thorin, why aren't you keeping them in line?
Arthur looked closely, only to find Thorin leaning against a main pillar in the house, holding a wine glass, watching Fili and Kili with a slight tipsiness and a smile.
Wait, why would Thorin be tipsy? He always avoids alcohol to stay sober, and I remember he drank honey milk, didn't he?
Beorn happened to add, "And my stored mead was also brought to the table by the dwarves when I wasn't paying attention."
Alright, I understand why Thorin was a bit tipsy, and why those dwarves started dancing on the table.
"Bofur, play your flute! Bring your good brothers Bifur and Bombur for a tune!" Dwalin drained the liquid in his wine glass, which had been replaced with mead at some point, and burst out laughing.
Around the dining table, almost everyone was laughing; even Bernal, Igon, and Millison were swept up by the lively atmosphere of the dwarves, their lips involuntarily curving into smiles.
Only one person was an exception, or rather, the hobbit.
Bilbo Baggins sat primly at the table. He always felt that this scene with the dwarves had happened in his Bag End.
Especially when he saw them so happy that they were using roasted pork or sliced cheese from their plates as projectiles to attack each other, and taking pleasure in catching the other's food with their mouths, the familiar scene from his memory completely returned.
Although the dwarves caught all the food they threw at each other, causing no waste.
But Bilbo still couldn't smile, because he had truly experienced the dwarves wreaking havoc in his own food pantry.
When Beorn turned and saw this scene, his face was ashen.
"I think Thorin will pay the corresponding amount for this, and by the way, do you have enough empty rooms here?" Arthur first poked his head out from behind Beorn with a pained expression, then quickly came to stand in front of him and said.
Beorn raised an eyebrow and repeated, "Empty rooms?"
Arthur nodded, "Yes, empty rooms. You see, these dwarves are a bit tipsy, and they definitely can't continue traveling today, so is there a place for them to rest?"
Beorn took a deep breath, as if enduring something, and said heavily, "Yes."
Arthur quickly expressed his gratitude, and after Thorin and the others had all passed out on the ground, Beorn threw them, one person in each hand, into his clean stable, which was covered with hay.
Of course, Arthur, Bilbo, and Bernal slept in the huge room where they had eaten during the day, and Beorn also brought them equally large bedding.
It seemed that this shapeshifter was indeed only displeased with the dwarves' attitude and was not so cold towards Arthur and the others.
Bilbo was a hobbit, and he was very polite during dinner, so Beorn did not dislike him.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the next day that the dwarves gradually woke up from their hangovers.
With Beorn's grim expression, Thorin generously paid for the food and drinks they had consumed last night, and even the overnight fee for staying in the stable.
Of course, Thorin only paid 13 silver coins for the overnight fee, reasoning that the place they stayed was just a stable.
"You get what you pay for; dwarves only care about that. We won't let those who host us suffer a loss, but don't think you can take advantage of us."
These were Thorin's exact words.
Beorn, of course, didn't care how much Thorin paid for the overnight fee; he only cared when the dwarves would leave.
Radagast had left with his rabbits in the morning, and without this wizard in brown robes, Beorn was clearly about to lose his temper with the dwarves.
So Thorin quickly led the dwarves away from Beorn's wooden house before the sun fully set.
A few days later, inside Mirkwood.
Arthur's mouth twitched as he watched a group of Elves, who had emerged from who knows which tree canopy or bush, all with their bows drawn and aimed at him, ready to shoot at any moment.
Before Radagast left, he had asked him about the daily routines of these Forest Elves, and after clarifying them, he formulated a method that would allow them to cross Mirkwood with the greatest possible safety.
But Arthur felt that he shouldn't have let Thorin lead the way, because he had just noticed that Thorin actually had a terrible sense of direction.
How did Thorin manage to lead the group into the territory of the Forest Elves?
Arthur had gone to great lengths to bypass the large spiders and the paths where Elves were likely to appear, but during a short rest, Thorin volunteered to lead the rest of the way, and he agreed.
Worried that Thorin might not know the way, he thoughtfully copied the map Radagast had given him and gave it to Thorin, even personally pointing out which way to go.
Now Thorin had led the party straight into the Elves' happy home.
Wait, it seems that ever since he arrived at Bilbo's house, he had mentioned that he almost went to the wrong door.
So, when they first plunged into the Old Forest, it wasn't just the problem of those Huorn, but also Thorin's doing?
Thinking of this, the expression hidden beneath Arthur's visor was exceptionally vivid.
Not just Arthur, but even the Forest Elves who emerged were very puzzled.
They communicated in Elvish: "How did these short ones manage to get past the defenses of our other kin and enter our territory?"
"I don't know, do they know a path even we don't?"
"Stop arguing! What's happening here?"
A young male Elf with his pale golden hair tied up stepped out and asked in a stern tone.
"Lord Legolas, we have found a group of intruding dwarves, and four humans, and one hobbit." The leading Elf captain said very politely to the Elf who had appeared.
Then he noticed Thorin and the other dwarves glaring angrily at him, stopped, skillfully drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and with a cold smile, threatened in a language Thorin and the others could understand, "Don't think I won't kill you, dwarf, I would be quite pleased to."
Thorin said nothing, only raised his head and tightened his grip on his frozen shell axe.
But a figure blocked Thorin's path. Arthur stood before Legolas, staring at him, the golden glow of a holy mark shining in his palm.
Because of Legolas's tone, Arthur's tone was also very unfriendly, and he threatened back, "And don't think that just because we're surrounded by you, you can control us. Elf, try to lay a hand on these dwarves?"
Although Thorin had taken the wrong path, he was still his friend, and Arthur could not allow Thorin to be pointed at with weapons by others.
As Arthur stood in front of Thorin, Bernal, Millison, and Igon positioned themselves in other directions, ensuring no Elf would suddenly wound a dwarf with a sneak attack.
Thorin's tense heart relaxed, and he even defiantly lifted his chin, looking at Legolas.