With Gandalf's Glintstone Magic, Arthur and he brazenly walked out of Lake-town's heavily guarded gates, right under the watchful eyes of the Lake-town guards.
"What are you thinking about?" Gandalf asked curiously when he saw Arthur looking contemplative.
Arthur blinked, "I was wondering, why couldn't we use your Glintstone Magic when we were dealing with those orcs just now?"
Gandalf cleared his throat, "My Glintstone Magic only lowers our presence. It's like how we were just inconspicuous fallen leaves or pebbles in the eyes of those Lake-town guards. But if the fallen leaves or pebbles tried to suddenly attack someone, my Glintstone Magic would break down on its own."
Arthur then withdrew his gaze in disappointment, "Is that so… I was thinking, if possible, you and I could use this Glintstone Magic to sneak into Smaug's lair and give him a good beating."
Gandalf immediately shook his head repeatedly, "A dragon like Smaug would definitely see through my Glintstone Magic. This method certainly won't work. If it could, I would have tried it myself long ago, and not waited until today."
The two walked for quite a while, until they were too far to see the outline of Lake-town, before they stopped.
Arthur looked at the silent, deserted wilderness around them and asked, "Do we have to come this far?"
Gandalf explained, "Because the Great Eagles don't like to approach human territory, or rather, because of their size, humans would be very wary of them. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, the Great Eagles generally do not come near areas where humans live."
Arthur nodded, "That I understand."
Just then, a cry rang out, and a huge shadow covered Arthur and Gandalf. A Great Eagle swiftly appeared from the clear sky, bathed in the afterglow of the sun.
The Great Eagle's wings sliced through the air like a gale sweeping through a pine forest, stirring up snow from the ground.
As Arthur raised his hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling sunset, the massive creature landed with a thud, its wingspan seemingly covering the entire riverbank.
It lowered its body, and a graceful figure of a human female jumped down from the Great Eagle's back, carrying a bundle that seemed to contain something heavy.
Gandalf leaned on his staff and strode forward two steps, looking up at the Great Eagle's amber eyes. He thanked the Great Eagle, "Thank you very much, my friend. Iluvatar's favor remains in our hearts forever."
The Great Eagle raised its head and let out a clear cry, then eyed Arthur curiously. The airflow from its wings overturned the dead branches on the ground as it flapped its wings and ascended into the sky, flying away without hesitation, instantly transforming into a silhouette merging with the sky.
Arthur looked puzzled, "If I didn't feel wrong, was it observing me just now?"
Gandalf chuckled, "Don't treat the Great Eagles as ordinary wild animals. In essence, they are no different from me; they simply chose the form of a Great Eagle to come to The Lands Between."
This time, it was truly Arthur's turn to be surprised.
"My dear disciple, you've been chatting for so long, don't you think of coming over to help your master carry something?" Sellen's mature female voice came, with a hint of displeasure.
Arthur immediately apologized, went to Sellen's side, and took the heavy bundle from her hands.
It was really heavy—
The moment he took it, Arthur immediately felt that the weight of the bundle was off.
And from the feel of it, it seemed to contain some kind of stone.
However, Arthur could still bear this weight.
He carried the bundle on his back, opened his arms to Sellen, gave her a light hug, and then released her, "It's truly been a long time, Sellen."
What entered his nostrils from Sellen's body was not a pleasant fragrance, but rather the peculiar smell of those blue Glintstone and certain potions.
Sellen raised her hand, her cold fingers pinching Arthur's chin, moving it left and right to examine him carefully, before nodding in satisfaction.
Arthur was utterly confused, "Sellen, what are you doing?"
"Checking if my disciple got injured after leaving for a few months. So far, he looks the same as when he left the Erdtree."
Sellen explained indifferently, then turned to Gandalf, "Did you give my disciple that thing you promised?"
Gandalf chuckled and said, "Of course, I have already given Arthur the secret order from the Steward of Gondor. The Aenad region is now your Erdtree's legitimate territory."
Arthur asked, "Was it your idea, Sellen, to exchange the legitimate rights to the Aenad region with the Kingdom of Gondor by offering military support to Smaug?"
Sellen shook her head, "Not me, it was the barbarian warrior who inherited the Storm King's title who said it."
Gandalf also added, "Lady Sellen is right, it was indeed the condition given by Acting Lord Nepheli Loux. Gondor has no energy to manage the Aenad region anyway. I think entrusting it to your Erdtree to manage will surely restore its prosperity quickly. Therefore, I also agreed to Nepheli Loux's request, but I didn't expect the Steward of Gondor to agree so readily. Perhaps he also felt that instead of having a headache over the tasteless Aenad region every year, it's better to exchange it for other benefits."
Sellen had no interest in listening to Gandalf's analysis and asked directly, "Shall we start here?"
This time, it was Gandalf's turn to be confused, "Start what?"
Sellen retorted with a strange tone, "Of course, setting up the things I brought, so Arthur can return to the Golden Tree Territory?"
Gandalf was startled and asked politely, "Lady Sellen, you've been flying for so long with the Great Eagle, don't you need to go back to town to rest first?"
Sellen directly and impatiently interrupted, "No need, there aren't that many troublesome things waiting for me to do. Hurry up and set up the things, and I can directly go back to the Golden Tree Territory with my dear disciple to rest."
Then she looked at Arthur and bossed him around without ceremony, "Don't just stand there foolishly, put the things from the bundle on the ground. You must be very familiar with it."
Hearing this, Arthur quickly untied the bundle, revealing its contents—several stones carved with teal Glintstone Magic inscriptions. If assembled, they would form the Stone Slab Portal that Arthur often saw in The Lands Between.
That's right, with the portal, I can travel between the Golden Tree Territory and Lake-town in a very short time, and the problem of troop transport can also be solved by this.
He looked up at Sellen in surprise.
Sellen, however, said impatiently, "Don't look at me like that. I always thought you didn't set up a portal between Stormveil Castle and Castle Morne because you thought it wasn't necessary. Turns out you just simply forgot."
Arthur showed a hint of embarrassment on his face, "Mainly, my usual mode of travel is riding Torrent everywhere, and the few times I've used a portal haven't been very pleasant."
As he spoke, fragments of memories of entering unfamiliar areas and encountering dangerous enemies after activating a portal came to mind.
As Arthur spoke, he had already firmly placed the stone monument portal into the ground.
Gandalf, meanwhile, looked on with interest, watching the actions of Sellen and Arthur, master and disciple.
Sellen crossed her arms, her fingertips impatiently tapping her arm, and continued to order Arthur: "Now infuse the magic within you into those Glintstone Magic inscriptions, covering every single line. Be careful not to infuse too much at once. Have you ever poured oil from a lamp?"
Arthur's Adam's apple bobbed, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his fingertips hovering above the stone monument.
He rarely did such delicate work, especially infusing magic. It was even harder than threading a needle in a downpour, and he was truly not good at it.
He felt that he would rather run into Lonely Mountain and fight Smaug than be confined to this small space, letting the sticky sweat glue his hair to the side of his neck.
"Hey, mimic my magic flow and activate this stone monument with me, your master."
Sellen noticed Arthur's predicament, sighed softly, walked over, and leaned down to grasp his wrist.
If Sellen hadn't been wearing that witch's hood, this scene would certainly have had a more romantic atmosphere.
Unfortunately, there was no if; both Sellen and Arthur focused their attention on activating the stone monument.
The magic patterns from Sellen's fingertips spread a faint blue glow across the stone monument's surface, and Arthur's wrist trembled slightly in her palm.
"Breathe."
The low, husky voice, muffled by the Glintstone hood, brushed past Arthur's ear, but all Arthur smelled was the magic potion scent on Sellen.
Arthur felt Sellen's thumb pressing on the pulsating vein in his wrist. The magic from his teacher spread along his skin, forcefully organizing his restless magic into an orderly stream.
The stone monument suddenly hummed, and runes lit up one after another.
"Don't get distracted."
Sellen increased the pressure of her fingertips, making Arthur focus his attention even more.
Then Arthur found that his magic, as if by a natural process, successfully enveloped all the Glintstone Magic inscriptions on the stone monument.
The previously empty center of the stone monument showed silver-gray spatial fluctuations, and fine crystal dust erupted from the center of the vortex, like a star map in the night sky.
"So, this portal has been successfully activated?"
Gandalf spoke only then; before, he had been worried about disturbing Arthur and Sellen.
Sellen checked the stone monument one last time, nodding slightly: "Yes, it's successful. Do you want to try? Stand in front of the stone monument, and don't resist with your body."
Hearing this, Gandalf walked over curiously and stood in front of the stone monument portal.
From Arthur's perspective, Gandalf's figure was enveloped by the crystal dust emanating from the stone monument portal, then assimilated, and then disappeared.
After about sixty heartbeats of silence, the air suddenly rippled. Gandalf's grey robe tumbled out of the distorted ripples, and he stumbled two steps before steadying himself.
"I truly can't believe that one can travel between two such distant places in just about a minute. The fishy smell of Lake-town still clung to my hem, and the warmth of Minhiriath had already reached my brow!" Gandalf's pupils held an expression of disbelief as he looked at the portal behind him.
Arthur, however, asked Sellen curiously, "Teacher, I remember these portals are supposed to be one-way, aren't they? Why could Gandalf come back so quickly?"
Sellen said calmly, "That's why I also placed a portal with the same Glintstone Magic inscriptions in the courtyard of Stormveil Castle. Otherwise, why do you think this portal just now needed my help to activate? I wasn't sure if it would work, but since your friend came back smoothly, it means there's no problem with the portal on that side, which solves the one-way transmission issue."
Gandalf then asked in an uncertain tone, "Madam Sellen, what if it fails?"
Sellen replied in a relaxed tone, "Don't worry, you are Arthur's friend, and I wouldn't let you do anything dangerous. The portal on that side cannot locate the portal here; at most, it just won't work, and there will be no life-threatening danger. However, as Arthur's teacher, the possibility of failure is infinitesimally close to zero."
Upon hearing this, Gandalf's mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to speak but held back.
Finally, he heavily tapped the ground with his staff, and a transparent barrier appeared, protecting the portal beside him.
Seeing this, Sellen immediately asked with an interested tone, "What Glintstone Magic did you just cast?"
Now it was Gandalf's turn to reply casually, "Don't worry, it's not some dangerous sorcery, just protection to prevent this stone monument from being discovered by those evil dark creatures."
Arthur quickly interrupted their interaction, saying, "Then Gandalf, you stay here and guard it. I'll go back to the Golden Tree Territory with Teacher Sellen to bring my army over."
Gandalf nodded, "Go quickly and return soon. The mayor of Lake-town is still under the influence of my sorcery. I can control him to allow your army to reasonably station themselves in Lake-town."
Arthur pulled Sellen and stood with her in front of the stone monument portal.
He only felt the scenery before his eyes suddenly change from a snow-covered wilderness to the Erdtree courtyard of Stormveil, filled with golden light.
"This... is this the Erdtree?"
When Arthur found himself in the Stormveil courtyard, which he hadn't returned to for nearly a year, he immediately looked at the Erdtree within the courtyard.
Only then did he notice that the entire courtyard was almost completely taken over by the Erdtree.
Its canopy cleaved the entire sky, its gold-foil-like leaves rustled sixty feet above, and the falling fragments of light were like thousands of fireflies flutter on his upturned face.
The twin Erdtrees, so tall they blotted out the sky, filled Arthur's vision, causing him to let out a surprised gasp.
Now, the Erdtree's thinnest branches were as thick as an adult man's waist, intertwining to form a dome, and every leaf shimmered with a golden luster.
The Erdtree noticed Arthur's return, and its branches began to glow faintly; the entire giant tree seemed to suddenly come alive.
Tens of thousands of gold-foil-like leaves collided with each other, emitting rustling sounds, like a long-unseen pet, wagging its tail and acting spoiled towards Arthur.
"Lord Arthur!"
The Erdtree's unusual activity immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the territory, and two figures in silver heavy armor had already burst in, crunching on fallen leaves.
The left knight's halberd tip pushed open the courtyard gate, and the right knight's sword edge scraped past the door crack.
The two Banished Knights, or rather, Storm Knights as they should now be called, originally entered the courtyard cautiously, holding their longswords and halberds high.
But the moment they saw Arthur, they immediately put away their weapons and knelt on one knee to him in a knightly salute.
Arthur made a gesture with his hand, signaling them to stand up, then instructed the Storm Knight on the left, "Help me inform Nepheli Loux that I have returned."