Arthur's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected this man to be a member of the Lake-town Guard.
He would certainly know more about the dragon than anyone else.
So he asked, "Bard, can you tell me more about the dragon that attacked your Lake-town?"
Bard nodded, glancing at the Lake-town residents who had been attacked by the Dragon, and said with a somber expression, "It was three nights ago, when every household was preparing to sleep. I had just finished a day's work and returned home to prepare for the next day. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, and dust accumulated on the rafters fell down. I thought it was just a random earthquake, so I quickly woke up my three children and ran out of the house to an open area."
Then Bard's voice trembled, not from fear, but from anger: "Everyone else was like me, avoiding the earthquake by hiding in relatively open areas within Lake-town. But we soon realized we were wrong. It wasn't an earthquake at all, but the pile of boulders blocking the main entrance of the Lonely Mountain, which had been knocked down by Smaug, the dragon that hadn't appeared in decades, causing the tremors when it landed. It spewed flames from its mouth, looking down on Lake-town from the dark sky, bringing death there. My son, Bain, was burned at that time."
"This Dragon didn't seem to intend to destroy Lake-town. After casually destroying a few streets with its Dragon-fire, it demanded the Master of Lake-town come and see it. The cowardly Master was scared out of his wits. He did whatever Smaug told him to, even if it meant carefully selecting several innocent young women to be clutched in Smaug's claws and taken back to the Lonely Mountain. He didn't even think of resisting, and even disbanded the Lake-town Guard! And he also began to cast a golden statue of Smaug in the center of Lake-town."
Arthur and Millison could both tell that Bard's hatred for the Master of Lake-town was not much less than his hatred for Smaug.
Perhaps in his heart, the Master and the Dragon were not essentially different.
Arthur soothed, "Relax, Bard. What happened next? To avoid Smaug, did you lead these humans from Lake-town to the Woodland Realm?"
"Yes, but not entirely."
Bard nodded and then shook his head, leaving Arthur with a confused expression.
Bard sighed and explained, "After Smaug took those young women chosen by the Master, it didn't appear again. But the Master became very strange. He used to be a scoundrel who loved to exploit us, but after his last audience with Smaug, he exploited us even more intensely. But strangely, all the money he extorted was piled up in the center of Lake-town, where he was preparing to cast Smaug's statue."
"I suggested to him that we couldn't defeat the awakened dragon, but we could escape with everyone from Lake-town while it hadn't returned. But the Master wouldn't listen. Instead, he expelled me and some other residents who had the same idea from Lake-town, and forcibly separated me from my two daughters, leaving them behind. That scoundrel of a Master told me they would be the dragon's next delicious meal."
As Bard finished speaking, he clenched his fists tightly, filled with hatred for the Master and his cronies, and said, "That's why I came to the Woodland Realm, not only to heal these compatriots who were willing to come with me, but also to request the Woodland Realm to rescue my daughters."
Oh?
Arthur shifted his gaze from Bard to Legolas, asking with his eyes if this was true.
Legolas noticed Arthur's gaze and nodded slightly, confirming Bard's statement: "He did indeed ask us for help, but King Thranduil politely refused his request. Firstly, because the dragon's awakening is a serious matter, it's not good to act rashly. Secondly, our current manpower is truly stretched thin, and we don't have any extra hands."
Bard could only show a painful expression and nod helplessly.
Arthur nodded thoughtfully. From their conversation, he discovered something very interesting.
That was that the proud Elven King actually personally met this human named "Bard," instead of having Legolas or other trusted Elves handle the matter.
Bard's true identity, in the eyes of the Elves, was probably not simple.
Bernal spoke at this moment, "Are your Elves short-handed because of those large spiders?"
Legolas looked over with some surprise, and Bernal shrugged: "When we came over, that Radagast the Brown told us that those large spiders have recently become arrogant enough to invade your territory."
"Radagast the Brown? If that strange wizard told you, then he was indeed correct. The remaining descendants of Ungoliant are indeed expanding their range of activity, and my compatriots have all been delayed by this matter." Legolas replied, as the image of the eccentric old man who loved small animals and beneficial insects appeared in his mind.
Bard sighed heavily at the words: "My compatriots and I also encountered attacks from those terrifying man-eating spiders on our way here, and it was only because Prince Legolas helped us out that we were able to reach the Woodland Realm safely. Therefore, I can indeed understand King Thranduil's reason for refusing me."
Even if he didn't understand, there was nothing he could do, as the initiative was in Thranduil's hands.
Arthur then asked, "Bard, do you have any idea why the Dragon suddenly woke from its slumber?"
Bard heard this and fell into recollection, pondering bitterly.
But soon, a look of regret appeared on his face, and he shook his head: "I'm sorry, Sir Arthur, I don't know why the Dragon suddenly woke up. It flew out of the Lonely Mountain without any warning, came to Lake-town, wreaked havoc, and then left."
It couldn't be that it slept too long in the Lonely Mountain without eating and woke up from hunger, could it?
If that were true, it would be too much of a dark joke.
Arthur couldn't help but have this thought, then quickly dismissed this impolite idea.
He thought for a moment and then asked, "Then do you know if anything unusual has happened in Lake-town recently?"
Bard's answer this time piqued Arthur's interest. He replied, "I know all the residents in Lake-town well; nothing unusual has happened. However, outside Lake-town, something very rare occurred."
Arthur pressed, "What was it?"
Bard answered very straightforwardly: "A group of orcs were quietly walking along the edge of the lake at night. I happened to be rowing home on the lake at the time, and after spotting them, I immediately shot and killed these orcs with arrows. At first, they tried to swim to the center of the lake and board the boat, but somehow they all quickly fled, without even taking their companions' bodies."
As he spoke, he pulled a piece of animal hide from his pocket: "After they fled, I originally only wanted to pick up the weapons from their companions' corpses, but then I found that their tattered animal hide clothes all had the same symbol. Out of curiosity, I kept a copy. I had originally intended to search for the meaning of this pattern in Lake-town, but then you all know what happened."
Arthur frowned slightly, looking at the animal hide spread out in Bard's hand. He did find the symbol on it somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
He looked at Bernal and Millison. Igon, on the other hand, hadn't seen the symbol on the animal hide because he was still helping to treat the refugees in Lake-town.
Bernal and Millison also found the mark somewhat familiar, but couldn't recall where they had seen it.
Arthur looked at Legolas, the Elven Prince, and asked, "Have you seen this symbol before?"
Legolas shook his head slightly, but replied proudly, "I've killed too many orcs. They have all sorts of symbols on them, and I don't have the time to memorize these scribbles."
"Uh, I think perhaps I might remember?" Bilbo's voice suddenly rang out from behind Bard, making the man's body tremble a few times.
Arthur blinked. He seemed to have become immune to Bilbo's sudden appearances and no longer found them surprising.
"Bilbo, why did you come over?" he asked.
The hobbit showed an embarrassed expression and walked barefoot with his rough, hairy feet to Bard's side.
He first glanced at Legolas, then said to Arthur, "Thorin and the others are discussing what to do next, and they're almost arguing. I feel like my head is buzzing from their noise, so I wanted to come out and wander around to get some air. I happened to see you and Miss Millison walking away along the path by the door, so I followed behind, not daring to disturb you."
Then Bilbo said somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, I arrived a while ago, but none of you seemed to notice me."
Legolas said indifferently, "Except for me. I saw the hobbit a long time ago, and thought you knew he was following behind."
Bard, on the other hand, looked at Bilbo with some curiosity: "I've heard about hobbits from books, that they are naturally good at cooking, throwing, and stealth, but I never expected to see a living hobbit here."
Bilbo cleared his throat and snapped his fingers at Bard: "Ahem, which book wrote that? That's completely wrong. You just need to remember that we are very good at cooking. As for throwing and stealth, ha, that's all nonsense."
Bard thought to himself, you just weren't discovered, which is indeed an excellent stealth talent.
Arthur said with a chuckle, "Bilbo, look at the animal hide he peeled off the orc's corpse. Can you recognize that mark?"
Bilbo pouted, stood on tiptoes, and took the piece of animal hide from Bard's hand: "Actually, you don't need to add 'corpse'. Oh, let me see... Isn't this what we've all seen before? It's that symbol on the wanted posters we found on those three bad guys you, Sir Bernal, and Miss Millison caught last winter at the Prancing Pony Inn in Bree. I can guarantee it's identical."
Arthur' pupils constricted, and he blurted out, "Azog? Those orcs are Azog's subordinates?"
Legolas' expression became serious upon hearing that name: "Azog the Defiler, the Pale orc. Why do you mention his name?"
Arthur told Legolas about Azog's past bounty on Thorin, which eased his expression somewhat: "So that's it. Azog indeed has a blood feud with Thorin and his kin, so it's normal for him to offer a large sum for Thorin's life. But what's not normal is why Azog's people would appear in Lake-town. Among all the orc commanders I know, Azog's leadership ability is undoubtedly one of the best. If Bard truly saw Azog's orcs, then Smaug's awakening is likely related to them."
However, even so, Smaug is not easily awakened.
Even with Azog's military leadership talent, in the eyes of that Dragon, he is nothing more than an orc that can be easily crushed.
So the orcs sent by Azog must have been carrying orders from a significant figure that even Smaug would need to take seriously, which is why they were able to awaken him.
And the person who can make Azog submit and obey, and also make Smaug take them seriously...
As Legolas thought of this, a bad premonition arose from the bottom of his heart.
He spoke to Bard quickly, "Can you give me the animal hide in your hand? I have something I need to verify."
Legolas didn't want his people to have to face orcs and a Dragon simultaneously while dealing with the trouble caused by the giant spiders.
"Of course, I shot down quite a few orcs that night, and I still have a few more animal hides with that symbol on them."
Bard took out another fragment of an animal hide garment from his person and handed it to Legolas. The latter, after a brief thank you, hurried away from there.
Bilbo looked at Legolas hurrying away and asked Arthur uneasily, "Did something happen?"
Arthur half-squatted to comfort Bilbo: "Rather, your good memory allowed that Elf to prevent some bad things from happening ahead of time."
Then Arthur looked up at Bard and asked, "By the way, why didn't you mention encountering these orcs when you first met the Elves?"
Bard's face showed a helpless expression: "Because orcs often raid humans outside Lake-town, especially at night, so I never thought the orcs I shot down that night were a big problem."
Moreover, he had originally intended to investigate the meaning of the symbols on those animal hide clothes, but Smaug's sudden awakening left him with no time or energy to care about the matter anymore.
Arthur nodded, then thought of Bard's daughter, who was detained in Lake-town, and an idea emerged from his heart.
So he carefully chose his words and suggested to Bard, "The Elves said before that no Elves were sent to rescue your two daughters... If I said I happen to know a group of very capable helpers who also happen to be available, would you be willing to hire them?"
Bard's face showed a surprised expression, and he immediately said eagerly, "Of course! I'm willing to hire them!"
"Very well, I will recommend to you the great dwarf leader, the Lord of the Blue Mountains, the heir to the Durin royal house—Thorin Oakenshield and his dwarf kin."